An Unusual Charity Hire Brings Big Payoffs

Plus, billionaire Jeff Skoll says the Giving Pledge has had a profound impact on his life, and how to attract corporate support for a gala [Philanthropy Today] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Please sign up]( to receive your own copy. Leadership [St. Louis Nonprofit Sees Big Payoff From Hiring Leader With Unusual Background]( [Image]( WHITNEY CURTIS By Jim Rendon Lesley Hoffarth had spent her entire career with the Missouri Department of Transportation until Forest Park Forever called. (PREMIUM) ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Foundation Giving [Billionaire Jeff Skoll Sings the Praises of the Giving Pledge]( By Marc Gunther The first president of eBay, who signed the pledge in 2010, says it has had a profound impact on his life and his philanthropy. (PREMIUM) More About the Giving Pledge Read the [full story]( on how the Giving Pledge has yet to live up to its promise, and see the Chronicle's full [data analysis]( of giving by the signers. Online Tools and Advice [How to Attract Corporate Support for a Gala]( By Emily Haynes Consider all the ways your nonprofit interacts with companies and customize sponsorship deals (PREMIUM) More Tools and Resources Plus see more than [1,000 other items]( in our resource center, exclusively available to subscribers. Paid for and Created by Salesforce.org [Improving Fundraising with AI]( Artificial Intelligence can be instrumental in helping organizations reach their goals of improving fundraising, donor engagement, performance, and recruitment. Subscribe to the Chronicle Propel your organization's mission with a subscription to the Chronicle. You’ll get unlimited access to the Resource Center, a complimentary membership to GrantStation, and our subscriber-only monthly magazine, filled with premium content and expert analysis on breaking news, policy changes, and fundraising tips. [Subscribe Today]( Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Eighty top grant makers have given $54 million to groups trying to reach noncitizen immigrants they worry will not be counted in the new census due to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question. The nonprofit effort, led by the Bauman Foundation, is still short of the $73 million goal. The issue is still before the Supreme Court, but advocacy and civil-rights groups — which fear an undercount in some populations could lead to inaccurate congressional representation, among other problems — are working on 24-hour helplines in multiple languages and outreach at public libraries, churches, and elsewhere. ([BuzzFeed News]( See more in the Chronicle about [new grants by foundations]( to improve the accurate of the count. Libra, a new digital currency founded by Facebook with 27 nonprofit and for-profit partners, is being touted as an effort to appeal to low-income people, women, and people without bank accounts. Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking, and Kiva are among the founding partners. Mercy Corps’s CEO says a low-volatility global currency could help the people it serves in countries struggling with conflicts or disasters. But critics worry about privacy issues due to Facebook’s previous security breaches. ([Devex]( Large corporations say it’s hard to measure the impact of their social-responsibility programs. Some businesses are promoting tools and guidelines to help, but they have little in common, which makes it difficult to compare results. And companies that do their own tracking often fail to look at the overall picture, such as a grocery that gives to health-related groups but ignores its own practices that waste food. ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) More News - Despite New Law, Trump Administration Has Not Given Puerto Rico Emergency Food Stamp Aid ([Washington Post]( - Indianapolis Catholic School Fires Teacher in Same-Sex Marriage at Archbishop’s Request ([Indianapolis Star]( - Opinion: Philanthropy is Not Enough, Eli Broad Says: Please, Please Raise My Taxes (Opinion: [New York Times]( - Watch: Valley Sham Charity Forced to Pay ([ABC Arizona]( About Giving and Volunteering - Study Finds People Prefer to Donate Time, Even When Charities Lose Out ([Phys.Org](. See more in the Chronicle about [where people are searching online to volunteer](. - Mindy Kaling to Donate to 40 Charities for Her Birthday ([Boston Magazine]( What Everyone Else Is Reading [3 Universities Get a Total of $50 Million to Build Leadership in Media and Performing Arts (Gifts Roundup)]( Plus, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia receives $13.5 million for a new club building. [‘Giving USA’ Shows Tax Changes Didn’t Matter Much to Donations (Opinion)]( Charity fundraising was anemic in 2018, but fresh evidence says other factors had far more impact than a measure that affected the charitable deduction. (PREMIUM) [Why College Fundraisers Should Focus on Small Gifts]( Political campaigns have shifted their focus from major donors to lower-level contributors over the last 15 years. Here’s what nonprofits — especially colleges — can learn from this evolution. [Gifts to Charity Dropped 1.7 Percent Last Year, Says ‘Giving USA’]( The decline, fueled by a drop in giving by individuals, could be a warning sign that the new tax law and other challenges will stall giving in future years. [New Data on Fundraising Points the Way to What Charities Should Do Next]( Focus on the mission, small donors, and corporate employees, say fundraising experts. And don’t ignore the people who give through donor-advised funds even though they are hard to find. (PREMIUM) Communicate Your Impact to Busy Donors Join our Next Webinar and Save 20% — Today’s donors want to see results. Whether you are writing a grant proposal, seeking a big gift from a philanthropist, or hoping to attract new annual donors, it is vital to convey your impact. Join us for a one-hour session that will demonstrate how to show your results in donor-friendly ways using a variety of real-world examples – including infographics and online dashboards that track results over time. You’ll learn from the head of data analysis at D-Rev, a global health nonprofit, and from the top marketer and fundraiser at the California Symphony: - How to share results in ways that inspire donors to give more - Tips for balancing emotional stories and facts to appeal to the head and the heart - How to present data in ways that are visually appealing and easy to understand [Save 20% when you sign up]( to join us on July 18. 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: [Gift Officer, The Seeing Eye, Inc.]( The Seeing Eye, Inc. [Chief Executive Officer, DRI]( Defense Research Institute [Executive Director]( Stonewall National Museum & Archives [Senior Program Officer, Healthcare]( UniHealth Foundation [Search the Chronicle's jobs database](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sign up]( for other newsletters, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2019 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy](