Recession Obsession Sale

Times are tough at America's non-profits. Donations are down, and, at many charitable organizations, the need for their services is up. To help non-profits through the crunch, I'm offering a 30% discount on "Grant Writing Quick Tips" - a focused, finely-tuned e-book that offers all of the highlights of a foundation relations and grant writing seminar in one, high-impact resource.

From tips to help your grant proposal stand out from the pack, to guidelines and a worksheet on proposal budgeting, to strategies for finding and keeping donors, "Grant Writing Quick Tips" is a great resource for any non-profit organization (or a great gift for your favorite charity).

Check it out HERE.

How about a non-profit "bailout"?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reported that Independent Sector, a national coalition of charitable foundations, is working on a proposal to ask Congress for a loan fund to help non-profits deal with the current economic crisis. While non-profit donations are decreasing, their caseloads are increasing because of the crisis (for example, more people are in need of food, clothing, shelter, job counseling, health care, etc.).

Ideas for Giving

The December 2008 issue of Washingtonian magazine is focused on giving. It features articles on great Washington-area organizations that need your donations; how to set up a foundation, donor advised fund, or giving circle; ways to use your skills through volunteerism; and inspiring stories of people who are making great impacts in small ways. Pick up a copy today and get inspired!

Go Jo-Bros!

Teen sensations The Jonas Brothers just topped Charity Folks' list of the biggest draws on its online charity-auction web site. They raised $450,000 in an online charity auction to benefit their Change for the Children Foundation.

Who else is on the list? Check it out here. I was shocked! Hint: Nary a Bono or Brangelina in sight...

(OK, you have to admit... they are sort of unbearably cute!)

Advice for Obama

In a recent edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy (11/13/08, p.6), non-profit leaders from a variety of different fields (and with a variety of agendas) offered their advice on what our new President can do to promote and support charities and foundations. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

• Offer extra tax benefits for gifts to antipoverty charities
• Create a cabinet-level philanthropy position
• Help students pay for college, through Americorps and loan forgiveness programs tied to volunteerism
• Streamline the process that ensures that charitable donations do not flow to terrorist organizations
• Allow non-itemizers to deduct their charitable contributions from their adjusted gross income on their tax returns
• Create a National Institute of Philanthropy, similar to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Require Americorps service for all college students who receive federal financial aid

Do you agree with these ideas? Have any new ones?