Giving Days Fight Tech Meltdowns; Starbucks Expands Volunteer Program

Plus, social change won’t happen until grassroots leaders have more power (opinion) [Philanthropy Today] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Please sign up]( to receive your own copy. Fundraising [Giving Days Try New Ways to Avoid Tech Meltdowns]( [Image]( TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE CHRONICLE By Heather Joslyn Early-bird pledges that are processed when online systems are less busy are helping to ease the load on essential software during philanthropy marathons. PREMIUM ADVERTISEMENT More in Our May Issue Read the entire [special report]( on the rise of giving days. Volunteering [Starbucks Foundation and Points of Light Expand Employee Fellowship Program]( By Julian Wyllie The $3.5 million grant will fund 100 fellows who will split their time between work at Starbucks and a nonprofit. Opinion [Social Change Won’t Happen Unless Philanthropy Gives More Power to Grassroots Leaders]( By Yordanos Eyoel, Tulaine Montgomery, and Jeff Walker Top-down problem solving creates practices that hobble giving. PREMIUM Corporate support [8 Ways Nonprofits Can Make the Most of Pro Bono Consultants]( By Joan Steinberg The head of the Morgan Stanley Foundation shares lessons learned from more than a decade of running a pro bono employee-engagement program. PREMIUM More Tools and Resources Plus see more than [1,000 other items]( in our resource center, exclusively available to subscribers. Nonprofit News From Elsewhere U. of Alabama officials are in talks to return a $21.5 million donation from Hugh Culverhouse Jr., a donor who is against the near-total abortion ban in the state, and strip his name from the law school. Culverhouse had called for a boycott of state institutions, including the university, because of the state’s new abortion ban. University spokesmen say the decision to try to return the gift is unrelated to abortion legislation. Culverhouse says he plans to support a legal challenge to the law. ([Tuscaloosa News]( See more in the Chronicle about the [importance of gift agreements]( particularly during a time of crisis. The NRA Foundation allegedly failed to report payments from 2013 to 2017 to a Christian charity that provides services for children with acute psychological and behavioral problems. Susan LaPierre, the wife of Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice-president of the National Rifle Association, is a longtime member of Youth for Tomorrow's board and, until very recently, its president. Nonprofits are required by the IRS to report all grants and other forms of assistance. ([New Yorker]( Student reporters were denied access to Harvard U.’s gift-policy guidelines after they made inquiries related to Arthur M. Sackler’s name appearing on the façade of its art gallery. The university is refusing to remove Sackler’s name from the building or return the gift to his estate because the donor had died before OxyContin, the opioid at the center of an addiction controversy, was developed. OxyContin is produced by Purdue Pharma, and members of the Sackler family have served as executives there. Other controversial gifts have come from the billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Saudi Arabian government. ([Harvard Crimson]( Plus, see how [a student’s reporting a on big-gift lawsuit]( has caused him legal troubles in this Chronicle article. More News - Investigators Cannot Account for $63 Million in Funding for the American University in Afghanistan ([New York Times]( - Lawmakers Push for More Security at Houses of Worship ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) - N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Nonprofit Received a Check From a Developer After a $12 Million Deal ([City]( - Hilton Launches a Global Foundation for Travelling and Names New Grantees ([Fast Company]( - Alliance of Connecticut Nonprofits Push The Governor to Set Aside $100 Million for Social Services ([Connecticut Mirror]( - MacKenzie Bezos and the Pitfalls of Tech Philanthropy. ([Wired]( See more in the Chronicle about [others who signed the Giving Pledge]( including a cryptocurrency billionaire. Solutions Journalism Embracing a Challenge Solutions Journalism Network is a nonprofit that promotes reporting on innovative ways nonprofits, governments, and others are tackling thorny social problems. It gives newsletter subscribers suggested reading each week from its [Solutions Story Tracker]( a searchable database, to help grant makers and charities learn about promising approaches. - [Months After Maria, Puerto Ricans Take Recovery Into Their Own Hands]( Before Hurricane Maria, it was not uncommon for Puerto Ricans to consider leaving the area to pursue careers elsewhere. Months later, however, the wreckage from the disaster is far from remedied, but community members of Las Carolinas and neighboring towns are finding empowerment and strength by working together and sharing resources as they create Centers of Mutual Support throughout the island. - [Thai Orchestra Fights Bloodshed With Music]( In the midst of chaos and bloodshed between Muslims and Buddhists, a small province in Thailand has created a youth orchestra to bridge divides between people. The orchestra was met with initial skepticism but has since grown to over 150 children, who play regularly with 650 graduates of the program. Their performances are always sold out, and the model has since been replicated in other parts of the country. - [Living Homeless in Calif.: Dignity Is a Hot Shower]( While Los Angeles works to build permanent housing for homeless people, trailers have popped up around the city offering free showers and restrooms to people in L.A. County. The showers provide a sense of dignity as well as a gateway to longer-term resources like substance-abuse support. These stories come directly from Network’s [Solutions Story Tracker](. Google Assistant devices now link to solutions stories with the command: “[Hey Google, Tell Me Something Good.]( A new story, selected by the Solutions Journalism Network, is available every day. What Everyone Else Is Reading [Billionaire Robert Smith Pushes Plan to Boost Minority Students’ Access to Internships]( His pledge to wipe out the student debt of 400 Morehouse graduates drew big headlines, but he has even bigger goals to help minority students, including a plan to help thousands nationwide get their first crucial work experience. [Use This Simple Form to Create a 'Snapshot' of Your Donors]( It creates a handy way to prepare for meetings with wealthy individuals. PREMIUM [Forging Human Connections Is Essential to Advance Nonprofit Messages (Opinion)]( Visits to health clinics, homeless shelters, museums, and other such places better convey ideas and plans for community-based change than digital communication alone so we need to invite journalists and others to see philanthropic work in action. [U. of Chicago Nabs $75 Million for Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (Grants Roundup)]( Also, three health companies make a combined grant of $15 million to house homeless people in Seattle, and Walmart gives $1 million to find jobs for military veterans and their spouses. [MacKenzie Bezos and a Cryptocurrency Billionaire Among New Giving Pledge Signers]( Jeff Bezos has not signed the pledge, but his ex-wife is among the new signatories who helped push the total number above 200. PREMIUM Save 20% on Our Next Webinar Learn How to Get Grants to Measure Impact Many charities find themselves in a Catch-22: Donors want to know whether charities are making a difference — but don’t want to pay for the systems (or people) needed to gather and analyze meaningful data. You'll learn how to overcome this challenge in our next webinar. Hear from: Jeannie Annan, senior director of research and evaluation at the International Rescue Committee, who will show you how to secure support to cover the full cost of monitoring and evaluation. Annan also will provide examples of how IRC communicates to donors the cost of assessing its results. Joseph Pyle, president of the Scattergood Foundation, a behavioral health grant maker in Philadelphia who will explain what he looks for when assessing nonprofits’ evaluation efforts and deciding to support them. He’ll also offer tips for talking to donors about the need for such funding and outline pitfalls to avoid when making your case for support. [Sign up today]( to join the Chronicle's Alex Daniels and our two expert guests on June 20 at 2 p.m. — and save 20 percent. Job Opportunities Find your next job in the Chronicle's jobs section, where employers have posted hundreds of the best career opportunities in the nonprofit world. Here are a few: [President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)]( Astronaut Scholarship Foundation [Director, OPP (Office of Philanthropic Partnerships) Operations and Strategy]( Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Director of Development - Cancer Initiatives]( UAMS [Search the Chronicle's jobs database](. Subscribe to the Chronicle Get insight into critical issues and the actionable analysis you need with a subscription to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Get instant access to in-depth articles, fundraising resources, and much more. [Subscribe Today]( [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( [Stop receiving]( this email. [Sign up]( for other newsletters. [View]( our privacy policy. © 2019 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037