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NOTIONS: Bless the blogosphere, all praise social networking

A few months ago, after considerable cajoling, my friend Erik convinced me to join yet another online social network. This one’s called Smaller Indiana. It bills itself as “making people and ideas findable.” So now, in addition to being “LinkedIn” with a few hundred of my friends and colleagues past and present, and in addition to being what BusinessWeek calls a “fogey on Facebook,” I’m also a Smoosier-the moniker for Smaller Indiana members. No sooner had I become a Smoosier…

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Charitable giving becomes bigger part of event celebrations

Kathryn Morgan and Richard Cimera met at a dog park in Greenwood, where Cimera’s basset hound won over Morgan’s shy Labrador
and boxer mix. And the owners soon followed suit, dating and then marrying on June 13. When the Greenwood couple planned their
wedding, they wanted a way to share a bit of their happiness. So, in lieu of party favors, they made a donation to an animal-welfare
organization.

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IRS requires not-for-profits to disclose more info: Organizations gearing up for new rules in 2009

For the first time in decades, the Internal Revenue Service is making a major revision to the way not-for-profits disclose information about their finances, governance and operations. Coming in the wake of scrutiny from federal lawmakers and regulators alike, the changes to IRS Form 990 that take effect next year require not-for-profit leaders to provide more information on executive compensation and potential conflicts of interest, for example. And for the first time ever, most organizations will be required to file…

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Wheeler Mission backers to kick off fund drive: Push to address building needs, ease financial strain

In February, Indianapolis’ Wheeler Mission Ministries cut non-residential programming to stave off a budget shortfall as donations flat-lined and more homeless people came through its doors. Now the mission is facing more tough times, projecting as much as a $500,000 shortfall for the fiscal year that begins June 1. To help close the gap, supporters are kicking off Operation Restoration, a fund drive they hope will raise $11 million to help the mission expand, pay building debts, and build a…

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Zoobilation sells out fast despite $200-plus admission

Far from the typical rubber-chicken fund-raiser attended mostly by board members and their friends–Zoobilation, the 22-year-old,
annual black-tie fund-raiser for the Indianapolis Zoo–attracts 4,300 ticket holders eager to spend an evening wining and
dining at the zoo.

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Colts, God license plates slice into sales of charity tags

Sales of specialty license plates benefiting colleges, not-for-profits and other Indiana organizations fell by nearly a third
last year after the state unveiled “In God We Trust” tags as a free alternative to the lime-green pastoral fields plates reviled
by many motorists.

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VIEWPOINT: ‘Buy local’ should be rallying cry

In recent months, our governor and mayors across the state proudly have announced business developments and out-of-state companies’ plans to expand or relocate in Indiana. They’ve worked overtime to earn these economic boosts, and they’re to be congrat ulated for helping bolster the state and local economy. But we’re ignoring a simple strategy that could yield many more high-paying jobs: Buy local. Here’s the irony: Pursuing this strategy doesn’t have to cost a dime. No recruiting trips to China, no…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Talk of corporate greed falls flat with this economist

It is an election year again, and talk of corporate greed, that stalwart in the lexicon of electioneering, once again fills the airwaves. An economics columnist usually wouldn’t write about matters of sin. But attacks on greed always seem to have a policy message attached, and that is a big problem for all of us. Formally, corporations cannot be greedy. Corporations, not being human, cannot feel the weight of sin and so do not exhibit greed any more than they…

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Charities are feeling pain of gas price spike: Groups scrambling for volunteers, dollars to beef up transportation

With gas prices on the rise-and expected to reach $4 a gallon this summer-local not-for-profits are losing volunteers and throwing money at skyrocketing transportation budgets. Indianapolis Meals on Wheels Inc. Executive Director Barb Morris is used to fielding calls from reporters whenever gas prices fluctuate. In the past, she quashed their theory that high prices at the pump drove away volunteers. Not now, though. “If you’d asked me four or five months ago, I would have said, ‘Absolutely not,'” Morris…

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Commentary: Indiana needs social entrepreneurship

In the Middle Ages, the French coined a new word that today we would identify as “undertake.” Around 1828, this old French word, “entreprendre” was absorbed into the English language and after some use and m o d i fi c a t i o n s became a word we recognize and vener ate in our society today … entrepreneur. As a nation founded and populated by men and women who risked life and fortune to reach our shores,…

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When work no longer satisfies, execs answer charity’s call

When Jim Cotterill became president of the newly formed Hoosier Christian Foundation in August, it capped off six years of
soul-searching for the Indianapolis entrepreneur. Cotterill represents growing numbers of local business professionals who
have diverted their time and talent to charity and service.

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EDITORIAL: ‘Tis the season to help others: Don’t forget charities when giving

‘Tis the season to help others Don’t forget charities when giving If our early December snowfall didn’t get central Indiana’s bells jingling, the overflowing mall parking lots should make it clear: Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s bringing plenty of credit-card-toting elves with him. The National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend almost $475 billion on holiday-related purchases this year, up 4 percent from 2006. That’s a lot of fruitcake. Our economy could use the boost, no doubt…

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Simon family donates $40M to Riley

A $40 million gift from the Simon family to Riley Hospital for Children will help finish a new 10-story in-patient building and launch a fund-raising campaign, Riley Children's Foundation announced this morning.

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Endowments on rise for small not-for-profits

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.

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Clicking for dollars starting to compute?: Online donations to not-for-profits show signs of growth after sluggish years

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…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: It’s OK for philanthropic motivations to be a little selfish

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…

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Charity alliances in United Way’s shadow seek their share

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.

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