Scarcity or Abundance? An Experiment in Collaborative Fundraising

Sejal Choksi-Chugh via Blue Avocado

August 19, 2018 | How tos

Many of the principles of fundraising I learned early on really are true: listen to prospective donors to connect them to your cause; build relationships to move supporters to the next level of giving; and thank donors more often than you ask for money. These do result in better fundraising outcomes. But based on my recent experience, I’m wondering if the scarcity-based approach of holding your funding sources under lock and key could use an upgrade.

Welcome to the new “picturesque” gateway to the Texas Hill Country: rich peaceful land and the Edwards Aquifer buried under the the pollutants and fugitive dust of aggregate mining. Wait, we can stop this.

Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry

August 13, 2018 | Corporate Responsibility, Environment, Funders and Foundations, Strong Communities, Tragedies

Imagine this: you are on an outing to enjoy a weekend on Canyon Lake or canoe the Guadalupe River. Your journey takes you on Texas Highway 46 or FM 3009. In route to your scenic destination, you encounter numerous heavy trucks emitting pollutants and bellows of fugitive dust. Then you pass a huge, unsightly hole in the ground with massive equipment making unbearable noise and spewing carcinogenic dust into the air. The peace, serenity, tranquility and beauty you came to enjoy will be gone. Welcome to the new “picturesque” gateway to the Texas Hill Country.

HEART Program Reopens Grant Applications for Hurricane Harvey Housing Recovery Projects, Announces 14 Initial Awards

Rebuild Texas Fund

August 19, 2018 | Grants Available

Nonprofits providing critical home repairs and other housing assistance to low-income Texas families affected by Hurricane Harvey now have a second chance to apply for grants to accelerate their work. This opportunity, made possible by generous donations from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and The Meadows Foundation, comes just days after the awarding of 14 initial grants totaling $500,000 for recovery projects. The Housing… Read more »

Return On Investment – A new age of business-mindedness dawns for nonprofit enterprises

Tom Ahern

August 19, 2018 | How tos

Suddenly it seems like everyone’s talking about it. Or maybe “finally” is better than suddenly. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has gotten weighty on the subject. On June 7, it featured a scathing article by Amanda Pearce, CFRE, under the headline, “Nonprofit is a Tax Status, NOT a Business Model.” Even US charity watchdogs have admitted they got it wrong. In case no one at… Read more »

TECH IMPACT’S 2018 TECH FORWARD CONFERENCE AIMS TO TRANSFORM NONPROFITS THROUGH THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Tech Impact

August 19, 2018 | Events

Tech Impact, a national nonprofit organization and leading expert in nonprofit technology, announced its second annual Tech Forward Conference, a three-day event bringing together nonprofit leaders and industry experts to discuss how technology can transform nonprofit organizations and the sector as a whole. Taking place from September 30 – October 2 in Austin, TX, Tech Impact and its conference partners, TechSoup, NetSuite, and Microsoft,… Read more »

Six San Antonio nonprofits awarded capital grants of $3M from the the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation

San Antonio Area Foundation

August 17, 2018 | Giving Around Texas

Six nonprofit organizations received a combined $3 million for future capital projects. The gifts were a result of the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation, a fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation. Area Foundation board members and staff, John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation committee members, and Santikos Enterprises representatives visited the six nonprofits the week of Aug. 6 with award checks in hand.  These… Read more »

NASA award seeks to encourage STEM study among minority youth

Texas State University

August 17, 2018 | Giving Around Texas

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded Texas State University a $324,000 grant to help build the interest, skills and knowledge necessary for K-12 students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. The NASA Future Aerospace Engineers and Mathematicians Academy (FAMA) Central Texas Minority Youth is a two-year research project at Texas State with Araceli Ortiz, an associate research professor… Read more »

New funding opportunity

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

August 13, 2018 | Grants Available

Communities across the country are reshaping their neighborhoods, schools, and businesses toward health, opportunity, and equity. Each of these trailblazing communities—urban, rural, tribal, large, and small—face a myriad of challenges, but show us what a Culture of Health can look like.   The RWJF Culture of Health Prize celebrates communities like these that are making health a priority for all—especially for those facing the… Read more »

Texas Commission on the Arts Announces Call for Nominations for State Poet Laureate, Musician, Visual Artists

Texas Commission on the Arts

August 13, 2018 | Awards

On behalf of the Texas State Legislature, the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is seeking nominations for the positions of 2019 and 2020 State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State Artist two-dimensional media (i.e., painting, photography), and State Artist three-dimensional media (i.e., sculpture).   All Texas citizens are encouraged to make nominations, and self-nominations are accepted. Citizens can nominate more than one artist. The… Read more »

Grant opportunities from the Laura Jane Musser Fund

Laura Jane Musser Fund

August 13, 2018 | Grants Available

Through the Intercultural Harmony Initiative, the Laura Jane Musser Fund supports projects that promote mutual understanding and cooperation between groups of community members of different cultural backgrounds. Project planning grants up to $5,000 or implementation grants up to $25,000 will be considered. New programs or projects in their first three years are eligible. Applications will be accepted online through the Fund’s website from September… Read more »

USDA grant to enhance student awareness of global ag opportunity

Texas State University

August 13, 2018 | Giving Around Texas

Texas State University has been awarded a $300,00 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture for the development of leadership and global competency of minority students. In addition to instilling a broader understanding of international opportunities in the agricultural industry, the innovative program will also work to improve recruitment and retention of minority students in the undergraduate and graduate programs, focusing on those… Read more »

Donor-Advised Charity Funds Sequestering Billions in the Face of Growing Inequality

Institute for Policy Studies

August 13, 2018 | Impact & Sustainable Investing

At a time of staggering inequality, wealthy individuals are using donor-advised funds, or DAFs, to claim substantial tax benefits, while often failing to move funds in a timely manor to independent nonprofits addressing urgent social needs. Of particular concern are the growing number of DAFs founded by for-profit Wall Street financial corporations that provide incentives for the warehousing of wealth. This report, Warehousing Wealth:… Read more »

Going Beyond the Game: Teams Volunteer in the Community

San Antonio Sports

August 13, 2018 | Awards, Events, Youth

Do you know a high school or middle school athletic team that has volunteered at the Food Bank? Visited older adults in assisted living? Shared their time with special needs students? Our high school and middle school coaches are working hard to help our youth learn key values that will serve them well in life. They teach more than the basic skills of their… Read more »

Registration Now Open: Texas Health Champion Award Ceremony

Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living

August 13, 2018 | News

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN Texas Health Champion Award Ceremony September 13, 2018 5:00 – 6:00 PM Networking Reception 6:00 – 7:30 PM Award Ceremony This ceremony is held annually to recognize leaders who have demonstrated exemplary achievement in reducing the burden and raising awareness of the obesity epidemic in Texas. The 2018 award ceremony will take place during the 11th Annual Texas Obesity Awareness Week,… Read more »

Surviving Vision Block – How to Turn Your Crushing Experiences into Wins

Karen Eber Davis

August 5, 2018 | How tos

I was pinned under a 200 pound guy, and he had scissors. The volunteer assignment was simple: help a young man with developmental disabilities to learn a new skill, one-on-one.  We were working on learning scissor use.   How did I end up flailing on the floor needing assistance?     I had a clear goal for my college volunteering experience: Explore different ways to help people reach excellence.  … Read more »

A new conservation grantmaking strategy for today’s challenges

Andrea Keller Helsel - William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

August 5, 2018 | Funders and Foundations

People of the North American West depend on healthy rivers, national parks, forests, monuments, and other public and working lands to sustain their families and their communities. These majestic landscapes provide refuge and inspiration, and fulfill economic, cultural, and spiritual needs. And yet, we are losing the equivalent of a football field of natural land in the Western United States every two-and-a-half minutes. Family… Read more »

My Top Eleven and Three-Quarters Bits of Advice for Winning at Donor Communications – Part II

Tom Ahern

August 5, 2018 | Communications

7. Donors aren’t forever. Mostly. Again: Why do you need a donor acquisition program as well as a donor relationship program? Because donors come and go, like pee holes in the snow. A couple of years ago, I polled experts around the world with the question, “How long does the average donor stick with a charity?” There was a gawdly lot of hemming and… Read more »

My Top Eleven and Three-Quarters Bits of Advice for Winning at Donor Communications – Part I

Tom Ahern

August 5, 2018 | Communications

1. Why Eleven and Three-Quarters? Be a little less predictable. “10 Top Tips” is predictable. “11 Top Tips” is a little less predictable, but still pretty obvious. I ripped this idea off, as most of you immediately recognized, from Harry Potter’s Track Nine and Three-Quarters at King’s Cross Station. Steal well. And often. But don’t steal from failures. Which means you’ll have to learn… Read more »

Hogg Foundation Awards $4.5 Million to Address Well-being in Rural Texas Communities

Ike Evans - Hogg Foundation for Mental Health

August 5, 2018 | Giving Around Texas

The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is pleased to announce $4.5 million in grants to six Texas organizations to support collaborative approaches to well-being in rural communities. The grants will strengthen efforts to transform the environments where people live, learn, work, play and pray, bringing a population health approach to support resilience, mental health and well-being. The initiative grows out of the foundation’s new… Read more »

THE Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approves innovative new Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology

Texas State University

August 5, 2018 | News

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has authorized Texas State University to offer an innovative new Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology. The program—focusing on practical applications for anthropology in non-academic settings—will be the first of its kind in the state of Texas and one of only three such programs in the nation.             The degree program was approved by the Texas State University System Board… Read more »