NPQ’s Week in Review

 

Good Morning! Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. At NPQ, what moves you is what moves us. Our Week in Review highlights the items our readers nominate as their favorite content as well as what they share with us and the world in the form of tweets, comments, contributed articles, and newswires.

But first, take a look at what you might have missed last week in some of the major news stories covered by NPQ:

9/11 CHARITIES EXPOSED: Last week AP reported that some 9/11 charities “failed miserably” and spent huge sums on themselves. Now New York and Arizona are investigating 9/11 charities that have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and have nothing to show for it. One charity raised $700,000 for a mysterious quilt that never surfaced. NPQ asks the question, “So what happens now, 10 years after 9/11?” Will the thieves get what they deserve? We can only hope. Maybe the states shouldn’t have waited a decade to look into these fraudsters.

KHAZEI APOLOGIZES: City Year co-founder and U.S. Senate candidate Alan Khazei is no stranger to the limelight these days, and not in a good way. This week Khazei finally came forward and took responsibility for hiring his brother for marketing work without his nonprofit board’s approval. We’re sure this left the Boston Globe with a satisfied smirk. A lesson we can all learn from this story is to always keep your board engaged in important decisions.

STEVE JOBS’ LACK OF PHILANTHROPY: Apple’s Steve Jobs, worth an estimated $8.3 billion, is not following in the philanthropic footsteps of his fellow tech-genius billionaires. Jobs is not a member of the Giving Pledge nor does he have any record of prominent philanthropy. Maybe he would rather focus on the social good he has generated through Apple instead of becoming yet another generous philanthropist. With the examples of fraud at charities that we unfortunately hear about all the time, Jobs could also be ensuring his money gets into the right hands.

 Readers’ Pick: THE Hottest article OF THE WEEK

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From Surviving to Thriving? A Newspaper’s Four Suggestions for Nonprofit Sustainability

This captivating newswire article speaks to the leaders of struggling nonprofits entering “survival mode”—and who isn’t these days? The editors of the Modesto Bee offered advice to the Great Valley Center, a nonprofit think tank and leadership development institute that serves the 19 counties in California’s Great Central Valley. While we’re sure the editors are well-intentioned and want to see the Great Valley Center survive and thrive, we still wonder if most nonprofit leaders would welcome such detailed, personalized advice from a newspaper—or if they would consider it meddlesome. Let us know what you think!

 

 EDITOR’S PICK of the week

altHappy 47th Birthday, You Old Economic Opportunity Act, You!

Rick Cohen guides us through the arduous journey of the Economic Opportunity Act, including the innovative programs the EOA gave us that keep the nonprofit sector humming to this very day. Many of us nonprofit advocates had our passion and careers launched in VISTA and community action programs, so it’s fascinating to read about the origin of crucial programs we take for granted. 

 

Religion is always a controversial subject, and this article really ignited some heated debates. Google for Nonprofits chose to bar groups with church affiliation from applying for its program. Some people objected to this decision, insisting that faith organizations are just as genuine and charitable as any other nonprofit. Others were sticking strong to Google for Nonprofits’ verdict, arguing that religious groups generally try to recruit followers and tend to push their faith on the ones they are helping. Although we are thankful Google for Nonprofits grants its cutting-edge technology to nonprofits, it appears faith-based nonprofits will have to sit on the sidelines for now.

 

 Trending Tweets of the week

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Thanks to all you tweeters out there. You help us spread the word and we’re grateful for your engagement.  Last week our stories about six Wisconsin nonprofits sharing office space and possibly staff and a fellowship program that places MBA students with nonprofits as board members sparked some interesting tweets.

The #NPQ10K campaign is still going strong and we have about 200 more followers to go! NPQ is right around the corner from 10,000 followers and a chance for you to win a one-year subscription, so keep up the great work!  Thanks for sharing! And if you don’t already, follow us on Twitter: @npquarterly.

 

YNPNChicagoSep 01, 5:00pm via HootSuite

RT @GTak: Any employment legal issues with sharing staff? RT @npquarterly 6 NPs in Wisc share work space – and staff?bit.ly/psAY7w

 

SingleStopSep 01, 11:33am via Web

 

@npquarterly Thnx 4 article about amazing achievements of the Economic Oppty Act, incldng Head Start, Job Corps & moreowl.li/6iND5

 

Andy_C_PhillipsSep 01, 11:55am via Hootsuite

Some better ways to measure fundraising performance, it’s not all about the Benjamins owl.li/6iPdy. RT @npquarterly

 

 

lhaseyAug 31, 1:07pm via Tweet Button

Interesting but I am curious hows funds are shared-6 Wisconsin #Nonprofits Will Share Space & Maybe Staff:http://t.co/hhMCNEq #NPQ10K

 

alissaajordanAug 31, 1:39pm via Web

 

Sweet idea! RT @npquarterly Innovative fellows program @ Rice U. matches MBA students w/ local nonprofits, not as interns but board members

 

facilitationproAug 30, 12:58pm via Web

 

Sure Does! RT @KateSBarr My article about making timely financial decisions still applies @npquarterly http://t.co/r8Idyuf #NPQ10K

 

 NPQ’s Contributor of the week

Jennifer Young

A couple weeks ago, Jennifer Young came to us with an idea for an article based on her experiences as an intern at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the nation’s leading medical professional organization dealing with kidney disease. Her job at the ASN was to bring the naturally conservative, careful organization into the social media age. Knowing that she was dealing with scientists, Jennifer and the rest of the communications team approached the job methodically, conducting research, testing hypotheses, and tracking results with statistics. Her intern’s-eye view of the process of rolling out a social-media strategy instantly caught our readers’ attention and the story shot to the top of our page rankings. Young is currently a graduate student in the Communication, Culture & Technology program at Georgetown University, and we hope to hear more from her in the future as she continues her studies and starts her career.

 

 NOW IT’S YOUR TURN! GIVE IT TO US.

Got a Tip for Us? We Need Your Voice Here

Did we miss something this week? What do you want to see us cover next week? Be our eyes and ears on the ground. Don’t hold back. Let us have it. And we’ll put it right here. Just let us know if you want it to be confidential.