Leaders of small not-for-profits often are so concerned with day-to-day survival that they have little–if any–time to worry
about saving for the future. A growing number of local organizations are bucking that trend, taking a proactive approach to
build an endowment its leaders hope will result in more stable, predictable income.
Not everyone is welcoming the launch of an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit, backed by billionaire businessmen, that aims
to curb colleges’ discretion in spending donor contributions.
During 1990s Internet mania, some in philanthropic circles had high hopes for online fund raising. After all, if people were buying books and clothes on the Web, they might just as impulsively click on a not-for-profit’s “donate” button. “They always expected it was really going to take off,” recalled Eugene Tempel, director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. “But it never did.” That may be changing: A new study by the Indianapolis-based center finds that not-for-profits “may be…
It probably goes without saying that New Yorkers can be, well, a bit difficult. As a fund-raiser for a NYC-based not-forprofit for many years, I encountered my fair share of these folks, which is one reason why I really looked forward to coming back to my home state of Indiana. Having grown up in Indiana, I knew of the kindness and generosity shown to me by neighbors, teachers-even complete strangers-but I’d never lived and worked here as an adult. More…
Once a year, the CEO implores employees to sign pledge cards to the United Way. Local health and human services agencies that
benefit wait to redeem your tax-deductible gift. But others are preaching there’s another path to charitable-giving heaven.
Lesser-known federations continue to nip at the heels of the United Way establishment in the workplace.
Not-for-profits that banked on consistent support from the banker down the street can no longer count on a tip of the top
hat, thanks to ever-larger mergers among institutions that have changed the dynamic of their charitable giving.
Only 29 percent of executives have discussed a transition plan with their boards, according to a study by San Francisco-based
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. Converging with this lack of preparedness is an approaching deficit of leaders.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University plans to share more of its prolific research through two new courses to be tested this fall in Indianapolis, and launched here and elsewhere next spring. Both new courses, including one on the dynamics of women’s giving, could be a gold mine for perpetually prospecting not-for-profits-and for wealth advisers and wealth managers. “We’re hoping there could be some niches we can carve out in this area. There’s a great thirst for knowledge,” said…
Fresh off the debut of a $9.5 million Oceans exhibit, the Indianapolis Zoo is already laying the groundwork for its next blockbuster. But it may come with a beastly price tag. A gorilla and bonobo habitat scheduled to open in 2013 is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars. “I can’t tell you if this is a $30 million project or a $50 million project,” said Indianapolis Zoo President Michael Crowther. “What I can tell you is that we’re…
Thrifty Threads store manager Tim Waldrip can hardly keep up when he puts stylish used clothes on the thrift store’s mannequins.
Customers snag them so quickly he has to change the outfits three to four times a day. Regardless of what its mannequins are
wearing, the not-forprofit shop on West 86th Street is flourishing. Sales in 2006 reached $336,000-a 24-percent increase from
the previous year. Now the Julian Center, the Indianapolis shelter for abused women that runs Thrifty Threads, is…
In the village of Armenia, in western El Salvador, the Barahona Bautista family last month got a $246 loan to start a pig
farm from Ambassadors for Children. Micro loans are new to Ambassadors, which assists children in more than a dozen countries.
Small-business owners have plenty on their plates-like finding customers and keeping them happy. But CIK Enterprises partners Scott Hill and Andy Medley have found room for a heaping helping of generosity, too. The west-side direct marketing firm has a program in place that directs 1 percent of monthly profit to local charities, a seemingly small number that nevertheless is growing along with the 7-year-old company. That’s the idea. “Capitalism has a negative connotation as something that’s profitdriven and cut-throat,” Medley…
Indianapolis businessman Barton Kaufman is auctioning off 26 paintings by notable New York artist LeRoy Neiman. Kaufman plans
to donate the money to Indiana University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1962 and law degree in 1965.
DOING GOOD LINDSAY CORNELIUS MBA student emerging as philanthropic leader To hear Lindsay Cornelius tell it, Indianapolis is the best place to live: It’s a growing city, with terrific new restaurants, fabulous art galleries, great parks, excellent museums, hip clubs and a booming downtown. But like any major metropoli tan area, it has its problems. And that has Cornelius, 26, determined to be among the legions of young men and women who care deeply about things like quality schools and…
But can a movie to be released March 9, “The Ultimate Gift,” inspire the masses to give money to charitable groups? Not-for-profits hope so, although the idea that an emotion-driven Hollywood film can translate into a thoughtful and deliberate giving plan remains to be seen. “Donor education is a very difficult thing to get done. This may be a good start,” said Gene Tempel, executive director of the IU Center on Philanthropy. The movie is based on the book of…
Indianapolis not-for-profits are growing as more universities embrace service learning–an educational approach that encourages
students to incorporate academics into community service.
Attracting people under 40 with money to give is one of the latest challenges faced by not-for-profit organizations. As fund-raisers
look toward cultivating the next generation of supporters, they see a younger generation that appears less inclined to do
so.
The IUPUI Solution Center soon will expand into cyberspace, launching a free Web site not-for-profits can use to network and find consultants. Its new Nonprofit Solutions Initiative will run the site and provide a database of consultants grouped by 25 areas of expertise. The site also will offer advice on how to work with them. The Solution Center, launched in 2003 with the help of a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant, helps bolster small businesses and not-for-profits. The new initiative, which…
Restricted gifts have long been common among foundations and corporate funders, but now individuals are getting into the act,
too. Experts say more donors are attaching conditions to their contributions to encourage the recipient to push itself to
achieve.
You can turn to a township trustee for help if a fire leaves you homeless or a hospital stay leaves you penniless. You also look to the office if a dog devours your livestock or you need a fence dispute resolved. Indiana’s 1,008 trustees make up the state’s largest single group of elected officials, and their lengthy list of duties ranges from the conventional to the odd. Some are charged with destroying “noxious weeds” and “rank vegetation,” according to the…
