We’ve just launched our 2010 internal United Way fundraising campaign. We have a goal of 100% of our staff contributing! (And if all of us do, the whole company gets an extra day off in December—go team!) As you might expect, we have a very high participation rate to begin with, usually around 90-95%. But [...]

Graphic from the World Bank's EVOKE game

This piece on Mari and the inspiration for GlobalGiving is great. It explains accurately and concisely the rationale Mari and I had when contemplating leaving the World Bank to start GlobalGiving.

The article explains, “But Kuraishi had spent years working to change the world with a top-down approach and saw its shortcomings as clearly as its strengths. The idea of top-down is that if you can effect change in governments and economies, then you’ll naturally reduce poverty and improve lives. And while that approach works, Kuraishi decided there was also room for a bottom-up approach—especially in countries with weak or corrupt governments. ”

Indeed, when we left, that was the idea–an alternative model that would grant access to funding and markets to people and communities that were otherwise left out, whether because their government was too corrupt or they weren’t established enough to acquire high-level grants with big institutions like the World Bank or USAID.

That was and is our vision. But, as the article documents, our vision is also expanding with our success.

Tara Swords writes in the article, “Eight years later, the organization has raised US$29 million for grassroots charity projects in more than 100 countries. Perhaps Kuraishi’s former World Bank colleagues should reconsider.”

I won’t lie. I smile every time I wrap my mind around the extent of our growth and success (2,800 projects now funded, in fact). And you might wonder what thoughts cross my mind when I read thoughts like “Perhaps Kuraishi’s former World Bank colleagues should reconsider.”

What runs through my mind is hope.

Because our success indicates that this model is working, and will continue to work.

But what makes me even more hopeful is that as I realize the effectiveness, potential, and power of our model–now tested for eight years–I’m increasingly aware of the possibility that GlobalGiving will not only serve as an add-on to traditional aid structures, but actually can serve as a model on which to base their work.

My hope is grounded in reality.

The World Bank’s Urgent Evoke project, for example, is a brilliant concept that puts development entrepreneurship into the hands of, well, anyone. And next month, they’ll be working with us to launch the funding component where the best, brightest ideas will have a shot at the GlobalGiving marketplace.
But the impetus and the seed money for this huge undertaking came from the World Bank.

This initiative is new, innovative, and smart. Not your standard World Bank funding fodder. I commend them for this type of open-access initiative.

I also admire their documentation of best practices and lessons learned, including what hasn’t worked. That’s brave and serves as powerful learning for the entire development community–exactly how it should work.

There are other hopeful signs out there of a shift in aid–that’s it’s moving, albeit slowly, to recognize that the true potential for change lies within the people and communities who are affected by the world’s problems, and not necessarily the people who write the most effective grant proposals.

So, when I hear others comment on our success, I’m hopeful. We no longer want to just be the guys who left the World Bank. We want to be part of a larger community of people dedicated to the democratization of the aid process. And it’s happening!

Back in January, when the earthquake happened in Haiti, I felt like I do in all catastrophic disasters. Sick to my stomach. Human suffering is always hard to see, but for me, I’ve always been really sensitive to the suffering of others, and my whole life these instances had left me feeling like what could [...]

Written by guest blogger, MeiMei Fox, @meimeifox and cross-posted to TechSoup blog.

 

 

 

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Turnfront is organising a conference on using the web for activism on 7th August in London.

It will have a mixture of presentations from activists and technologists, along with time for more open conversations between the participants. The talks will cover activist video, open source social media, hi-tech direct action and online democracy (to name a few).

You can register at: http://turnfront.com/dotactivist

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Flickr photo: kcolwell

We know that you, my fellow NTEN community members, are rock stars.

You can write fundraising email copy in your sleep and hand code your e-appeal while making breakfast and watering your plants. You track metrics while you're on the treadmill (without falling off).  

You are fundraising email campaign ninjas!

Like all good ninjas, you don't do it for the glory, you do it because it's right. But we want to shine a spotlight on your selflessness and showcase your amazing work.

Enter the Paperless Choice Challenge.

If you've been using email, websites, videos, and other electronic communications tools to give your stakeholders a choice other than paper mailings, we want to celebrate you. Four prizes totalling $20,000 will be awarded to organizations demonstrating innovation and results in paperless fundraising. The Paperless Choice Challenge submission period ends August 16th, 2010, so get your entries in today.

Paperless Choice is a program of Catalog Choice funded by the Overbrook Foundation. You can learn more about the Paperless Choice Challenge here.

I’m always impressed by the kindness of strangers.  Sometimes in a world full of such turmoil, one forgets to believe it exists.  But it does.  You just have to pay attention. I’ve noticed a handful of random acts of kindness lately.  Either they’re happening more frequently or I’m just more observant lately. A number of them occur [...]

We've just launched BlackbaudTV, an online video portal for nonprofits to learn, interact, and share their stories. You can "tune in" for the latest nonprofit news, trends and best practices, and we also welcome your participation!

As part of our BlackbaudTV's Inspire Contest, we invite you to submit a video about how your nonprofit inspires supporters to take action. The video can be a simple recording--don't fret about the quality. We just want to learn how you inspire your supporters to share your passion and work with you toward achieving your mission.

From now until October 18th, you can submit up to one video per day. Each submission will be entered in our Inspire Contest drawing: two winners will receive free registration to Blackbaud’s 2010 Conference for Nonprofits in Washington, D.C. (Oct. 20-22), and two people will win an Apple iPad!

Read the press release and visit BlackbaudTV to learn more. We look forward to seeing your videos! 

The House Financial Services Committee approved the Shareholders Protection Act, H.R. 4790. The bill requires shareholder approval of a corporation's political spending for federal races. The Securities and Exchange Commission would have to issue rules requiring corporations to disclose any materials for political activities created with or purchased using company money. The bill was introduced by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) in March, and is another effort by House Democrats to try and mitigate the effects of the Citizens United decision.

According to CQ, the "bill would allow shareholders to vote on the total amount of proposed political expenditures for that fiscal year. It would require corporations to include in its bylaws a requirement for a shareholder vote on political expenditures in excess of $50,000 or any expenditure that would make the total amount spent by the corporation more than $50,000. A majority vote would be required for approval."

The legislation is strongly opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which sent a letter to the committee urging their rejection of the bill, as "an assault on First Amendment rights."

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said during mark up that the bill, "simply clarifies that the right actually belongs to a corporation's owners, i.e., its shareholders. In Frank's view, the bill and the court's [Citizens United] decision work hand-in-hand." Frank asserted it, "would simply require companies to add an additional item to their annual proxy materials and, as such, would not impose new costs."

An amendment offered by Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE) would have allowed states to opt out of compliance. The majority of large U.S. companies are incorporated in Delaware. The amendment did not pass. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) proposed another failed amendment, which would have prohibited the bill from taking effect until Congress enacts another bill he sponsors, H.R. 5860. Hensarling's bill, the Union Member Protection Act, would require labor unions to obtain approval for political expenditures and disclose those activities to its members.

The Shareholder Protection Act now moves to the full House, and may be considered in September. The Senate is unlikely to act.

Business beat correspondent and editor Eric Pooley parlayed his inside-the-tent contacts in Eastern U.S. power establishment circles to be a fly on the wall for many of these Beltway insiders, and he observed and reported on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the climate debate in those circles. That alone gives important insight to the machinations of spin, message control, and dirty politics—as well as the bright side: those working tirelessly for honest messages and policies to right our sinking ecological ship. From that perspective there could hardly be a better reporter than Pooley, and indeed he witnessed a climate war and reported it quite accurately. Here is what his publisher’s own blurb says to frame his book, which (despite the obvious self-hype) describes his objectives well: “Pooley [deputy editor of Bloomberg BusinessWeek], the former managing editor of Fortune and chief political correspondent for Time, spent three years embedded with an extraordinary cast of characters: from the flamboyant head of one of the nation’s largest coal-burning energy companies to the driven environmental leader who made common cause with him; from leading scientists warning of impending catastrophe to professional skeptics disputing almost every aspect of climate science; from radical…

An Interview with Minnesota State Rep. Nora Slawik Throughout her six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Rep. Slawik has collaborated with foundations working to advance several early childhood and education initiatives. We chatted following her participation on a public policy panel hosted by the Minnesota Council on Foundations. Here is an excerpt of [...]

submitted by BlueOrange [link] [comment]

Sunday afternoons, I usually end up folding laundry while watching the most interesting documentary I can find on cable. A week or two ago, that documentary was about the history of Pixar. Just watching Pixar staff talk about their work...

(Mitchell Sakofs is dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies at Central Connecticut State University. This is his first post for PhilanTopic.) Even as predatory carnivorous dinosaurs terrorized their plant-eating kin on the Mesozoic plain, hiding in small...

In the wake of the G8 in Canada, during which wealthy nations gathered to discuss and pledge their commitments to maternal, newborn, and child health, African leaders met this week in Uganda for the 15th African Union Summit. Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, Africa regional director of Partners in Population & Development, gives us his take on [...]

Recombinant Records on Huxley versus Orwell's vision of Dystopia. The piece is a short comic. And it's moral is that Huxley was right; we are amusing ourselves to death. Given my attention span, I would have prefered a tweet rather...

An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Catholic Charities USA received more than $160 million in donations to help the needy of Louisiana and neighboring states.   However, in the weeks since the BP oil spill, the group has received a mere $37,000 to help out-of-work fishermen, oil industry workers and others, according to President Larry Snyder. That's despite working just as hard to solicit donations for oil spill victims as the group did for hurricane victims, he added. 

"That's unreal," U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta said at a congressional hearing earlier this week that focused on charitable giving in the Gulf Coast region. "That's unbelievable."

Lewis, a Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, said he's concerned philanthropic groups that enjoy tax-exempt status aren't giving enough to charities like Snyder's. Lewis threatened that Congress might get involved, too, if tax-exempt nonprofits don't start doing more.

"I am somewhat shocked and dismayed that the foundations do not appear to be doing their part, " he said. "People are suffering. They're hurting."

At some charity locations, out-of-work fishermen line up at 3 a.m. for food vouchers to feed their families, Snyder said. Many get turned away because there aren't enough vouchers to go around.

The reasons are multiple, after Katrina the disaster area was declared so, that meant that the major charities, the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Southern Baptist Convention and the host of Volunteers Active in Disasters, VOADS would be activated.  Donations would pour in to help these agencies help others, but this disaster crept into our consciousness a gallon at a time. 

We waited on BP to stop the flow, while the world of fisherman, deck hands, osterman, and the sea food processors came to a complete halt.   The charities were caught flat footed in their ability to assist and citizens didn't know how to help because the usual calls to support your local charitiy didn't go out as they did in response to Katrina or Haiti.  The personal tragedy of this disaster has not got the attention of the headlines.

 

Your organization’s mission matters.  You know that.  Your staff knows that.  Your donors know that. So… are you acting like your mission matters?  Do your fundraising activities reflect that knowledge?  Most organizations start-off with their mission front and center in their fundraising activities and appeals… but over time, too many non-profits turn to asking their board [...]

I just got a call from Geoff Woolley, the person named to lead “Unitus 2.0” as they redirect their efforts away from microfinance and towards a new area of “maximum social impact”. Given certain legal issues around the SKS IPO, Geoff is unable to immediately take me up on my offer to have him guest [...]

On Wednesday, Facebook began rolling out a new feature: Questions. The idea is simple. You ask a question and the Facebook community can answer. Yes, the ENTIRE Facebook community, not just your friends.

Of course, we've seen something like this before. But Marshall Kirkpatrick of Read Write Web thinks that this is something entirely different:

Scale, social software smarts and real identities have the potential to add up to something really magical. Company founder Mark Zuckerberg, wrong as he is about many things like privacy, has said that his goal with Facebook is to build empathy and connection between different people all around the world. If he was in it for the money, he would have taken Yahoo's $1 billion offer years ago and run. That goal of cultural change may very well be served better by Questions than by any other Facebook feature to date. 

His article sites a question about Rush Limbaugh:

The question is one of those that can clearly be taken as bait. But instead of vitriole, we get a sensible, and pretty compelling, answer. Marshall thinks this just might be the first step toward civil dialogue -- and away from the kind of rhetoric that has been so divisive lately.

Is Marshall right? Or is this just another move to position Facebook at the center of all things web, as most of the pundits are saying: 

• Facebook Launches Questions Product in Beta (cnet)
• Facebook Q&A Service 'Questions' Begins Rolling Out, Could Be Massive (TechCrunch)
• Facebook Officially Launches Questions, a Possible Quora Killer (All Facebook)
• Facebook Goes (Very) Public with Questions Product (GigaOm)

Christine Egger commented on the blog post 'Opportunity Alert: Four Powerful Enhancements to the Social Actions API'

This is a guest post from Tim Ogden. Tim is Editor-in-Chief of Philanthropy Action, a journal for donors, and Executive Partner of Sona Partners, a thought-leadership communications firm. Follow him on Twitter: @philaction and @timothyogden. By Tim Ogden

If there is one thing that Americans excel at, it is coming up with creative solutions to problems. And with so many chronic social challenges facing our nation, we love the fact that President Obama and the Corporation For National And Community Service are looking to stimulate innovation from the nonprofit sector. Back in May, President Obama announced he would ask Congress to set aside $50 million in the 2010 fiscal year budget for the new Social Innovation Fund (SIF).

The Fund was an initiative enacted under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, and according to the White House the idea is to identify the "most promising, results-oriented non-profit programs and expand their reach throughout the country" and create a policy environment for them to thrive. Along with a total $123 million from the annual budget and other federal funding streams, the grants included $74 million in private donations. In total, SIF will funnel millions of dollars in private and public funds to scale effective solutions in three focused areas: health, economic opportunity and youth development. 

To get it all rolling, last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced its first SIF grants to a portfolio of 11 nonprofit organizations. The organizations were selected through a rigorous process to ensure that each demonstrated desire and ability to find proven solutions to social issues. "This portfolio is a collection of extraordinary organizations with an unparalleled body of knowledge and expertise on growing that works"  reported Patrick Corvington, the Corporation's CEO.  "They are all driven by the search for bold solutions and recognize that we must use evidence to target limited resources where they will have the greatest impact".

Above: Michelle Obama and Patrick Corvington Announcing The Social Innovation Award Grantees

Here are some of the SIF recipients profiled by the Corporation for National and Community Service: 

Economic Opportunity

• Jobs for the Future, Inc. ($7.7 million; 2 year grant) the money will expand their training and technical assistance program for unemployed, low-income adults. The funds will increase economic opportunities for workers and job seekers.

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($4.2 million; 1 year grant) will grow Financial Opportunity Centers – a workforce development and asset-building model that boosts earnings, reduces expenses and coaches low-income families on how to make better financial decisions – to five new cities and 7,500 total participants. The Centers are a core component of the organization’s strategy to build sustainable communities. 

• Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City ($5.7 million; 1 year grant) and the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) will replicate five effective anti-poverty programs originally piloted by CEO in eight urban areas. By advancing the education, employment and financial savings of low-income adults and families, the programs will combat poverty across a diverse cross-section of America.

Healthy Futures

• National AIDS Fund ($3.6 million; 1 year grant) will support innovative strategies that increase access to care and improve health outcomes for at least 3,500 low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The project will employ rigorous evaluation, informing the implementation of the White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy and offering lessons that reduce barriers to care for a broad range of people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases. 

Youth Development and School Support

• New Profit, Inc. ($5 million; 1 year grant) will collaborate with five to six innovative youth-focused nonprofit organizations with existing evidence to yield significant improvements in helping young people navigate the increasingly complex path from high school to college and productive employment. The project will expand the reach of these nonprofits to improve the lives of nearly 8,000 young people in low-income communities throughout the country. 

• The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation ($10 million; 1 year grant) will combine large grants, strategic business planning, rigorous evaluation and capital aggregation to increase the scale and impact of up to 10 youth development organizations in communities of need across the U.S. The subgrantees will focus on improving economically disadvantaged young people’s educational skills and workforce readiness as well as helping them to avoid high-risk behavior. 

• Venture Philanthropy Partners ($4 million; 2 year grant) will create a powerful network of effective nonprofit organizations in the Washington D.C. National Capital Region supporting an integrated approach to addressing the education and employment needs of low-income and vulnerable youth ages 14-24

 

comScore, a leading collector and analyst of digital/internet data, has just released Women on the Web: How Women Are Shaping the Internet. From the introduction to their 31-page global study: “Everyone from advertisers to content producers to agencies to non-profits to politicians and policy makers can benefit from understanding Web usage through a gender-specific lens. While some [...]

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David Martel added 4 blog post

We're going to jump right into this week's roundup with a quick look outside the association sector with two posts in the world of social psychology, a personal favorite of mine. I'm going to start with the Psyblog and it's...

The Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act passed the House to establish a task force to strengthen enforcement of rules for federally registered lobbyists. Originally, the bill was the Fees on Lobbyists Act. It would have set up registration fees and fines for lobbyists' late filings to fund enforcement. However, the bill was amended to simply create the Lobbying Disclosure Enforcement Task Force.

The bill, H.R.5751 replaces the U.S. Attorney with the Attorney General (AG) as the recipient of referrals of cases under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). The task force will investigate and prosecute possible LDA violations. The bill also calls on the AG to make recommendations on LDA enforcement.

We have previously reported on the lack of enforcement of the LDA. Usually, lobbyists who do not comply with registration requirements face no repercussions. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH). She issued a press release which stated that the task force, "will go after lobbyists who engage in shoddy reporting practices and hide behind ignorance of the law."

"When Americans on Main Street try to cheat or break the law, there are repercussions; but for years, there was no way to hold lobbyists accountable for games they play with their disclosures."

We want YouTube to be the best place to upload video. Without question, the number one requested feature by our creators is to upload videos longer than 10 minutes. We’ve heard you, and today we’re pleased to announce that we’ve increased the upload limit to 15 minutes.

We encourage you to take full advantage of this new time limit by making a video of your “15 minutes of fame.” Imagine that this video is all the world will ever know about you: what would you want to communicate? What will be the enduring stamp you’ve left on us all? Tag your video with “yt15minutes,” upload it by Wednesday, August 4, and we’ll select a handful of people to truly gain their 15 minutes of fame by featuring them on the YouTube homepage in a future spotlight.

In the meantime, you may wonder “why now?” -- the upload limit for non-partners has been 10 minutes for years. Well, we’ve spent significant resources on creating and improving our state-of-the-art Content ID system and many other powerful tools for copyright owners. Now, all of the major U.S. movie studios, music labels and over 1,000 other global partners use Content ID to manage their content on YouTube. Because of the success of these ongoing technological efforts, we are able to increase the upload limit today. We will continue our strong commitment to provide advanced technology and tools to protect the rights of small and large copyright owners worldwide. We’ll also do everything we can to release incremental improvements like this one that benefit our video creators.

One final note: if you’re uploading a video that was previously rejected for being too long, you’ll have to go into “My Videos” and delete it before attempting to upload it again. Thanks and happy uploading!

Joshua Siegel, Product Manager, Upload and Video Management, recently watched "Gulf - Jack Conte VideoSong."

Ideas about the role of corporations in society have changed a lot in the past few years. Twenty years ago, many corporate executives believed that “the business of business is business,” and that social issues had no place in corporate management. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts rarely went beyond an occasional employee volunteer day or a [...]

This piece on Mari and the inspiration for GlobalGiving is great. It explains accurately and concisely the rationale Mari and I had when contemplating leaving the World Bank to start GlobalGiving. The article explains, “But Kuraishi had spent years working to change the world with a top-down approach and saw its shortcomings as clearly as [...]

Twilight’s Robert Pattinson is just one of a group of stars who have donated their artworks to charity for a special celebrity auction.

To commemorate International Missing Children’s Day, the charity PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together) invited celebrities and dignitaries from around the world to decorate an image of a balloon – the symbol of International Missing Children’s Day.

The vampire heartthrob has joined Roger Moore, Quentin Blake, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Kirk Douglas, Michael Caine, Frederick Forsyth, Neil Sedaka, Arfi Lamba, Christopher Plummer, Zoë Wanamaker and many, many more for the auction of sketches from over 100 celebrities.

The auction of original sketches ends soon, but you can also bid on a book of all the sketches together. Click here for details.

Related past articles

• Robert Pattinson And Others Raise Their Hands For Charity
• Robert Pattinson Doodles A Balloon For Charity
• Simon Cowell Awarded For Charity Work
• Handbags Signed By Robert Pattinson And Barack Obama In Celebrity Charity Auction
• Robert Pattinson Signs Guitar For Charity Auction

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I’m really excited to [finally] announce that I’m going to be redesigning this blog/website. And, I hope it will come as no surprise to any of you when I say that I’m hoping to make it an open process! Why This website has been a great place for me to post ideas and share lessons [...]

It's hard to keep a really good thing a secret, but today I finally get to tell you about BlackbaudTV. The new website launches today with close to 40 videos from across the nonprofit sector. As you might have guessed, the website is at www.blackbaud.tv.

The site features videos and interviews with Randi Zuckerberg from Facebook, Social media expert Chris Brogan, Twitpic founder Noah Everett, Holly Ross from NTEN, and NetSquared's Amy Sample Ward. Plus lots of customer stories and thoughts from Blackbaud experts.

Blackbaud is holding the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest to encourage nonprofit professionals to submit a video in response to the question “How do you inspire supporters to take action?” Each video response submitted will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two free registrations to the 2010 Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits – North America and one of two iPads. Learn more about the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest at www.blackbaud.tv/Inspire.

The BlackbaudTV video portal was built using Blackbaud NetCommunity and will continue to grow over time. The current channel line-up is:

Nonprofit News: Learn about trends, issues, and news—stay current on issues facing your specific sector, and be the first to find out about events that impact the nonprofit community.

TechKNOWlogy: Hear about the latest innovations in nonprofit technology—learn about the latest technology tools and tips and hear from peers about how they are leveraging technology in their organizations.

Philanthropy in Action: Watch how organizations are making the world a better place.

Blackbaud Community: Hear from Blackbaud customers and partners about how they are leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions.

Blackbaud LIVE!: Watch sessions as they are happening from nonprofit events. Live coverage starts with select sessions from Blackbaud’s 2010 Conference for Nonprofits — North America

Give it a look. And don't forget that you can submit your own videos too.

Few users. Mostly male. Educated and influential among friends and family. It’s great, but wait until it becomes more mainstream before jumping in. Those are the findings of a recent Forrester study on location-based services like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt. You can check out the executive summary here. Forrester’s “wait and see” findings on location-based [...]

Lack of funding threatens future of HIV drug therapy in developing world – New concerns about the rising costs of antiretroviral therapy dominated last week’s International AIDS Conference, where estimates indicate that there is barely enough money to pay for people currently on treatment, let alone enough to start treatment for about 5 million more. [...]

As part of our research into United States causes, we’ve been looking at Invest in Kids, an organization focused on implementing evidence-based programs in Colorado, and we recently had the chance to speak with Lisa Merlino, Invest in Kids’ Executive Director (edited transcript of our conversation (DOC)). While our research is still in progress, we want [...]

Be dazzled, be enthralled. Be there. For a once in a lifetime night of sheer rapture clear your diary for Handbag Heaven 2010, a unique charity evening encompassing an exclusive Harvey Nichols fashion show, as well as an auction of handbags donated by celebrities.

Handbags donated so far include a Coccinelle bag from Annie Lennox and a vintage turquoise expanding clutch bag donated by Sienna Miller.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Women's Fund for Scotland, which supports charities and voluntary organisations working with disadvantaged women and girls. These groups provide life changing skills; opportunities to learn and ways to build the confidence of those overcoming domestic violence, poverty, or ill health.

“I am happy to donate something I love to such a good cause,” said Sienna.

Bubbly and divine cup cakes will delight the taste buds, before your eyes feast on the dazzling array of designer handbags donated by the biggest celebrity names, slung over the arms of the most beautiful models. Should you spy an accessory that’s heaven on earth, be prepared to aim high at the auction to follow.

Paradise isn’t confined to the celebrity handbags on offer. There’s also the brown paper bag raffle. Its plain exterior hides treats that will send you to seventh heaven.
You won’t go home empty handed. A heavenly goody bag filled with a cornucopia of must-have’s will be yours to take away. Cloud 9 awaits!

The event takes place on Monday, September 27. LookToTheStars.org will keep you updated with news and the location as soon as it is announced.

Related past articles

• Judi Dench Donates James Bond Clothes To Charity
• Robert Pattinson And Others Raise Their Hands For Charity
• Annie Lennox Talks AIDS At TED Global
• Sienna Miller's Charity Trip To Haiti Featured In InStyle
• Annie Lennox Records Video For AIDS Rally

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A blog post by Christine Egger was featured

América Latina en Acción Solidaria (Latin America in Solidarity Action) is made up of a group of Latino artists who are confronting the social emergency facing millions of children in Latin America.

Celebrity supporters

ALAS has 10 known supporters, including Bill Clinton, Wyclef Jean, and Shakira

Areas of work

• Children
• Human Rights
• Hunger
• Poverty

Read more about ALAS's work and celebrity supporters.

Related articles

• Shakira Launches Charity T-Shirts
• Shakira Receives Charity Medal
• Shakira Launches Early Childhood Charity Initiative
• Shakira To Talk Charity In Oxford
• Shakira and Latin Singers Unite Against Child Poverty, Again

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Copyright © 2010 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.

Frederique Constant, one of Switzerland’s leading watch brands, is honored to be the official sponsor of the Par Coeur Gala 2010.

This Gala event, hosted by the founders of the Par Coeur Association – actress Eva Longoria and NBA star Tony Parker – will once again be held on September 20th in Paris at the beautiful Cambon Capucines Pavillon by Potel and Chabot.

The Par Coeur Association, a French foundation, seeks to bring attention to fiscally responsible charities that continuously make substantial differences in the lives of countless families and children worldwide.

This year, the gala will benefit Toutes A L’Ecoles, a non-profit organization that operates to create schools and educational programs for young girls in developing countries, as well as Eva's Heroes, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of those with developmental challenges by creating environments in which they are free to interact, grow, learn, and love.

The annual Par Coeur Gala is meant to be a night of hope and inspiration, attended by prestigious guests and celebrities, with the sole of aim of benefiting Par Coeur Association’s charity partners.

“We are proud to be the official partner for this year’s Par Coeur Gala,” said Frederique Constant CEO Peter Stas. “We are committed to celebrate and support those passionate charitable organizations that go the extra mile to improve the lives of less fortunate people worldwide. Thus, Frederique Constant and the Par Coeur Association form a perfect match.”

Frederique Constant’s company motto is “Live your passion” and it is true passion that made CEO Peter Stas and his wife Aletta Bax evolve from lovers of fine watches into the reputable founders of one of the main success stories within the Swiss watch industry.

“Each year, the gala gains more and more attention and attendees, and we are so honored to have Frederique Constant participate as our official sponsor,” said Eva Longoria. “This year’s Par Coeur Gala will bring together individuals who are dedicated to making a contribution to improving the lives of young girls.”

Find more information here.

Related past articles

• Eva Longoria Hosts Makeover Madness For Charity
• Rage Against The Machine Leads Celebrity Protest In Arizona
• Eva Longoria Talks Charity Rally
• Eva Longoria To Rally For Kids With Cancer Again
• NBC Nightly News Features Stars Who Make A Difference

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Welcome to the second installment of “Why do my taxes look like that?”! Last time we went over how to find the annual taxable wages (or adjusted gross wage) and how to find the federal income tax deduction. This time we’re going to talk about Medicare, Social Security and FUTA.

We will need the adjusted gross wages for this as well. We’ll use Zelda as our example again. Her adjusted gross wages are $37,000.

First let’s look at Social Security. To find the pieces we need next, open the Federal tax table and select the Social Security tab. Note the rate and the limit. For 2010 the rate is 6.2m, and the limit is $106,800.00.

To find out how much Social Security is taken out for Zelda, we take 6.2% of $37,000 for a total of $2,294. The same way we did with the federal, we can divide this number by 24 pay periods to get $95.58 per check.

What is the limit for then? The limit places a cap on how much Social Security tax can be taken out for an employee. It’s the maximum wages subject to Social Security taxes. So if you have employees that get paid more than $106,800 annually then part way through the year their Social Security tax will stop deducting. The maximum Social Security tax any employee should have taken out is $6,621.60, give or take some cents for rounding.

For Medicare we want to look at the Medicare tab of the Federal tax table. For 2010 the rate is 1.45. Same as we’ve done so far, we take 1.45% of $37,000 for a total of $536.50. Divide that by 24 to get $22.35 of Medicare tax per check.

For both Medicare and Social Security, the calculation for the employer portion is the same as for the employee portion. In general those numbers should always match.

FUTA calculates much the same way Social Security does. We can find the information on the FUTA tab of the tax table. The rate for 2010 is 6.2, and the limit is $7,000. For Zelda the FUTA total would be 6.2% of $37,000, which is $2,294. So that means she gets $95.58 each month just like Social Security. The difference is that because the limit here is lower than $37,000. FUTA will stop deducting when it reaches the maximum, which is 6.2% of $7,000, or $434.

Unlike Social Security and Medicare, FUTA is an employer only tax and will not deduct anything from the check itself.

That’s all for this time! Next time we will go over Advanced EIC and Non Resident Alien.

I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I've found recently (as of July 29th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• How Women Use the Web [REPORT] - "In the “Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet (Internet)” report, comScore concludes that women are the digital mainstream, a group of savvy Internet explorers who are more engaged than their male counterparts, and are the primary drivers of online and group buying."
• Why Do You Participate in Twitter Chats? | Community Organizer 2.0 - "Why do people participate in Twitter chats? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot. I posed the question “what Twitter chats do you participate in and why?” on Twitter and Facebook. What came back was pretty consistent: people participate to get information, ideas, contribute to a community, and meet new people."
• Fire Your Marketing Manager and Hire A Community Manager - David Armano - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review - "Okay, maybe that's going too far. I don't really recommend firing your marketing manager. I do however believe that most companies will eventually need to hire or contract with a community manager, if they haven't already. A recent BusinessWeek article called "Twitter Twitter Little Star," describes social media as a booming industry which has caught the attention of corporations everywhere, and suggests the role of a "social media director" and what that person should do. I'd like to dig a bit deeper into what this core function, necessary to create to what's becoming known as social engagement. I'll call the role the community manager."
• Q&A: A West Point for Community Organizing - Walking Distance - GOOD - "Since its first boot camp in 2006 the New Organizing Institute has trained more than 700 organizers across the country in leveraging online tools to generate offline action. It’s the nation’s leading progressive advocacy and campaign training program and it’s quietly and forcefully redefining the way campaigns are run and social change happens. Judith Freeman, one of the organization’s founders, worked on the new media strategy for the Obama campaign and is using those same tactics to train leaders from organizations like the NAACP and the Red Cross. We spoke to Ms. Freeman about what community organizing looks like in the 21st century."
• Where does Social Media belong on the Org Chart? — Global Neighbourhoods - When everyone wants a bit of the social media juice, having a strategy and usage policy become even more important. Interested to hear how organizations are dealing with this issue!
• The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide | Idealware - "Social media can be useful to your organization… but how useful? For what? What tangible results are people seeing from it? Created in partnership with the New Organizing Institute, the Decision Guide walks you through a step-by-step process to decide what social media channels make sense for your organization via a workbook, guide, and the results of more than six months of research. And through the included Consultant Directory, you can find a professional to help define and implement your strategy."

We're going to open our doors to Pit Ed class this Sunday, August 1st, and invite visitors who want to greet, question, stare, marvel, or just snuggle the remaining barn puppies who are still looking for homes.

Our volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the classes that will be in session during this hour. If you're thinking about volunteering yourself, this is the place to be. And if you're looking to adopt, you'll see a smorgasbord of dogs of every age, size and color from both BADRAP and Berkeley Animal Care Services. In fact, BACS is running really full right now, so if we see a couple or more adoptions from this event, we'll be doing cartwheels.

Please leave your dogs at home for this one, but bring your cameras! Sunday August 1st from 11:30-12:30. Training grounds are at Second Street and Addison in Berkeley, one block south of Berkeley Animal Care Services. Hope to see you soon!

Click on map to enlarge.

Charleston, S.C. (July 29, 2010) – Blackbaud, Inc (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced the launch of BlackbaudTV, a new resource for the nonprofit community, with videos featuring nonprofit news, technology tools and tips, philanthropy in action, Blackbaud customers, partners, and events. 

To celebrate the launch, Blackbaud is holding the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest to encourage nonprofit professionals to submit a video in response to the question “How do you inspire supporters to take action?” Each video response submitted will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two free registrations to the 2010 Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits – North America (drawing being held August 20) and one of two iPads (drawing being held October 21). Learn more about the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest at www.blackbaud.tv/Inspire. 

 

In order to update our website and provide you with some new functionality, the NetSquared site will be down intermittantly between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Pacific Time both today and tomorrow.

If you have any questions, you can contact us via email or Twitter. 

Singer, songwriter, and actress Mandy Moore announced today she is joining the United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign to respond to an urgent need for life-saving, anti-malaria bed nets in the Central African Republic — where a child dies every 30 seconds from malaria.

Moore, an Ambassador for Population Services International, is partnering with Nothing But Nets and its UN partners to deliver bed nets to each family in the country who needs one, by the end of this year.

“Malaria is preventable, yet it continues to kill nearly one million people every year,” said Mandy Moore, who has seen the effects of malaria in Africa firsthand. “Insecticide-treated bed nets are one of easiest ways to protect families from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. I’m proud to be part of this initiative to send nets and save lives, and am hopeful we can reach this goal for the Central African Republic.”

Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign to end malaria in Africa, has helped distribute more than 3 million long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets in 15 countries across Africa. With the help of Moore and PSI, covering the Central African Republic with bed nets will be a key step toward the global goal of ending malaria deaths by 2015.

“People need to know that malaria, a disease that has existed for centuries and killed millions, can be stopped within the next five years,” said Adrianna Logalbo, Director of Nothing But Nets. “Mandy Moore’s voice, and the global reach of social media, is helping spread the buzz about the urgency of stopping this preventable disease.”

Moore has been active in the fight against malaria since she saw its impact firsthand in South Sudan last year, on a trip to distribute nets with PSI—an experience that inspired her to raise awareness to end malaria deaths. “I’d like to invite my fans to join me for a live discussion on August 12 at 2:00 p.m. [ET] to learn more and find out how they can help. I’m eager to spread the word about this deadly disease and its simple solution—just $10 to send a life-saving bed net.”

Moore will join experts from Nothing But Nets and PSI for a “Town Hall” on malaria in Africa, broadcast live on Facebook, to speak more about the emergency appeal for nets in the Central African Republic and what Americans can do to help. To learn more, please visit www.NothingButNets.net.

Related past articles

• Groundbreaking Documentary Sheds New Light On The Global Fund‏
• United Nations Gets A Helping Hand From American Idol Viewers‏
• Football Stars Kick Out Poverty At FIFA World Cup
• Simon Cowell Awarded For Charity Work
• Idol Gives Back To Charity With Celebrity Help

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Written by Tim Saunders

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a special guest on CNN’s Connect The World program this week, and answered some questions sent in from viewers around the world.

The leader answered questions about his new bible for children, and his work to make the world a better place.

• As you retire, is the world a better place? And how do you think you’ve contributed to that better place, if, indeed, it is?

“The world is a great deal better place. I mean, today most people take very seriously the fact that women are equal to men. You get yourself into a lot of trouble if you are still a male chauvinist. You get all kinds of stares. That used to not be the case.

“It’s a better world in the fact that you have incredible young people, so idealistic, who believe that we can in fact have a world where there is no war, where there is no poverty.”

• How have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq impacted the world that we live in, do you think? Have they made it a more divisive place or, indeed, a better place for you to retire into?

“The one major conclusion with me was that it isn’t the faiths that are a problem, it is the faithful, the adherents of a different faith who can make an awful mess of things. Christians are responsible — have been responsible for the Holocaust. Christians are at each other’s throats in Northern Ireland. So Christians can’t begin to be hoity-toity.

“There are good Christians, there are bad Christians. There are good Muslims, there are bad Muslims. And that’s almost a tautology.”

To watch the entire interview, click here.

Related past articles

• Celebrities Pen Letter From Oxfam To G8 Leaders
• Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales Wins Top Audiobook Award
• Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales Up For Award
• Nobel Peace Prize Winners Demand Fair Trial In Japan
• LTTS Gift Idea - Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales

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Copyright © 2010 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.

A very special event to raise money for a very special little girl will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK in September.

In January 2007, 18 month old Tilly Lockey contracted a rare deadly strain of Meningococcal Septicaemia nearly costing her her life. Tilly was saved but unfortunately lost the tips of her toes and both hands. Since then the family have been trying to give their daughter a normal life and making her life as comfortable as possible.

When looking into what prosthetic options were available for children in the UK there wasn’t a great deal available unless it was privately funded but this came at a cost of around £23,000 per set. As Tilly was a normal growing child, these would have to be replaced 2 to 3 times annually. Through the frustrations of the family the novel idea of approaching celebrities to take their hand casts to place in frames came about, after collecting literally hundreds of celebrity handcasts the Give Tilly A Hand Appeal was born.

These handcasts were sold at auction at the first Celebrity Ball, last September, raising in excess of £40,000. This year the family are holding the ‘Diamond Ball’ and selling a mixture of celebrity handcasts and bespoke jewellery that has been made for Tilly.

The event will take place on September 25, at the Hilton Hotel Gateshead, Bottlebank, Newcastle upon Tyne. The show will feature Diana Vickers and X Factor 2008 finalists Badlashes, with appearances by Denise Welch, Duncan Bannatyne, Big Brother’s Anthony Hutton, Rob Lee and many more.

“I’m thrilled to be able to support the Give Tilly a Hand Appeal and I’m looking forward to performing on the night,” said Diana Vickers. “Hopefully we can help to give this wonderful little girl the hands she needs.”

Find more information here.

Related past articles

• Dragon's Den Star To Present Charity Appeal
• Stars Make Wishes Come True In The UK
• Celebrities Donate Mugs To Charity Auction
• The Stars Come Out For Tilly

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Copyright © 2010 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.

Have you ever thought, "I wish I could [fill in your suggestion]"? Well, now's your chance to help develop the next generation of financial products. Become a member of the Financial Software Interactive Design Project to interact directly with members of our design team as they make decisions about features and functionality for future versions. All conversations take place on the Financial Software Interactive Design Project forum, available to members only, where you can easily comment on potential features and functionality. Join the project team today by emailing accountingdesign@blackbaud.com.

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