The middle of October cometh. It is October 14th, and as of this week it’s actually starting to feel like fall, or at least fall-esque. Wherever you are, we hope that you are enjoying a pumpkin latte as you peruse these five articles about the nonprofit world:
1) Nonprofit Quarterly flags an investigation conducted by the Washington Post about the impact of donations from “Big Soda” (aka the soda industry) on health and medical groups. The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are among 96 nonprofits that accepted sponsorship money from PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and then lobbied against more than two dozen health bills aimed at reducing soda consumption. The appearance of conflict of interest is certainly eyebrow-raising. Read on to find out what the American Beverage Association, which represents both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, has to say:
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/10/11/eat-big-sodas-impact-nonprofit-health-advocacy-groups/
2) The fundraising activities of nonprofits—specifically, foundations—have been in the news a lot recently, so the Council of Nonprofits’ overview of charitable fundraising practices for nonprofits is timely and useful. For example, every fundraising solicitation must contain language confirming you're registered to fundraise in that state. If you’re involved with a nonprofit, you can use this entry to make sure your organization is in full compliance. Check your best practices here:
https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/charitable-solicitation-registration
3) Network For Good is conducting a weekly countdown of fundraising tips and tricks until the end of 2016. In this entry, author Connie Paulos speaks to how an organization can effectively use storytelling in its year-end fundraising appeals. Want to know what the 5 “C”s of storytelling are? Satisfy your curiosity:
http://www.networkforgood.com/nonprofitblog/year-end-countdown-week-12-tell-story-craft-winning-appeal/
4) School funding. Patent wars. Recycling. The Supreme Court (still at eight members instead of ninedue to a lack of hearings for nominee Merrick Garland) just began its 2016-17 session, and on its docket are five cases that could impact the nonprofit community in various ways. If you want to know what arguments and decisions to keep an eye on, NPQ (via The Hill) has you covered:
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/10/03/one-man-scotus-faces-docket-consequences-communities/
5) The Boston-based Bridgespan Group is designing a series of “billion-dollar bets”—studies on how one billion dollars could best be spent to address various causes. Bridgespan has now turned to incarceration, especially as it pertains to racial inequality and over-criminalization. Now that all of Bridgespan’s “deep dives” are completed, it plans to connect with philanthropists to see if they can be implemented. To learn about the specifics of Bridgespan’s incarceration deep dive, see what Nonprofit Times has to say:
http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/authors-propose-1-billion-philanthropic-bet-incarceration/
That’s it for the Friday Five. We're off to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte. We’ll be back next week with more highlights from the nonprofit world… and more pumpkins. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter; you can also ask us anything about the nonprofit world at info@b-alaw.com. See you next week!