Protestors worldwide are preparing their signs for the March for Our Lives taking place this weekend. The march, spearheaded by the survivors of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, FL, is a protest advocating an end to gun violence and mass shootings in schools. On Saturday, March 24, the March for Our Lives will provide an opportunity for kids and families to speak out as the collective voice of a movement that demands change—change that protestors hope comes in the form of a comprehensive bill, brought before Congress, that addresses gun issues. The Washington, D.C. rally is expected to bring as many as 500,000 people to march on Pennsylvania Avenue, with at least 838 marches and events synchronously scheduled across the globe. Before you start searching for details of the events taking place in your city tomorrow, check out these five nonprofit headlines from the news this week.

1.  Considering Third-Party Fundraising Help?

It is no secret that nonprofit organizations rely heavily on donations to stay afloat. Staff members and volunteers often take charge of fundraising endeavors, but some campaigns require more people-power to meet their goals. According to Forbes, nonprofits looking to enlist the help of an outside agency should not take the decision lightly. The choice to outsource a fundraising campaign can result in saving, or wasting, precious time and resources depending on the partnership. Is your organization considering an extra push to meet fundraising goals? Click on the link above for six factors to consider when hiring a third party to assist with fundraising.

2.  Parents Teaching Philanthropy

Is charitable giving a learned behavior? A recent study entitled “Women Give 2018, Transmitting Generosity to Daughters and Sons” from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at Indiana University seeks to answer this question. The study examines the relationship between parents that give to charity and potential influence on their adult children. The study suggests that children growing up in a household with parents that donate to charitable causes are more likely to give when they enter into adulthood. The report’s data also shows that adult daughters tend to absorb philanthropy lessons at a quicker rate than sons. Want to know how this data may be impacting charitable giving to your organization? Check out the link above from The NonProfit Times to discover more of the study’s key findings.

3.  Shaking up Board Diversity

It is a long-standing criticism of nonprofit boards that they tend to be homogenous. The University of California, Davis’s Women in Leadership Club, however, is looking to address head-on the lack of diversity that make up nonprofit boards. With their Board Fellowship Program, the club has designed an experiment that places carefully vetted and trained MBA students on nonprofit boards. According to the Nonprofit Quarterly, the benefits for both the students and the nonprofits have been significant. While students gain valuable leadership and management insights, boards are infused with fresh perspectives and new enthusiasm. Could your board benefit from a program like this? Follow the above link to learn more.

4.  Tap into Impact Investing

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are a small—but continually growing—sector of mission-driven organizations that strive to create equity in underinvested communities. But as funding dwindles and the disparity gap continues to widen throughout the U.S., CDFIs and nonprofits are forced to make hard-hitting decisions about how and where to focus their efforts. According to an article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), impact investing may offer new hope as well as access to capital. Is your mission-driven organization looking to develop new revenue streams? Check out the article linked above for a list of seven recommendations for tapping into the impact investment market.

5.  Traits of an Ideal Nonprofit Hire

Hiring great employees in the nonprofit sector can prove more difficult than in the for-profit world—a world that generally offers higher compensation for comparable positions. While this may be the case, nonprofit hiring managers should not be any less rigid when it comes to the expectations they have of any potential job candidate. When money is an issue, however, managers should consider the benefits of bringing someone with a less extensive resume on board and grooming them for a position. Want to increase your nonprofit’s chances of making quality hires? Follow the link for three traits to look for in potential candidates, despite relative inexperience.

That’s it for this week’s Friday Five! We're feeling inspired by the students who are leading the charge on gun control and we're wishing everyone participating in the March for Our Lives a safe, productive and peaceful protest. See you next week!

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