On the day before we gorge ourselved on turkey and all the fixings, let's remember to take a minute tomorrow to reflect on what we are thankful for. And let's remember our community nonprofit and social service organizations at that time.  How can we help but be thankful for the organizations and people who bring happiness, education, nourishment and a better life to those who need it most?  On this holiday, and during this tough econoic time, please thank the organizations in your community that provide so much to your family, friend and neighbors.

Word is out on the Alliance for Effective Social Investing and boy, are people talking.

Check out Tactical Philanthropy's Sean Stannard-Stockton who mentions the Alliance here and here.  The Foreign Policy Association's Philanthropy blog also included a post on the Alliance as did the Traccing: Green blog.

Its great to see people talking about such an important issue all over the blogosphere. 

Got an opinion yourself?  Share your comments below!

If you have yet to perform your civic duty today or even if you already have, check out the Chronicle's piece which details each of the candidates stances on philanthropic topics. Depending on how you feel about certain issues, the info just might help you decide or change your mind altogether. Though they both support the New National-Service Bill and share public service backgrounds, their opion on  certain issues differs.  On topics as varied as education to health to the federal governement charities, you'll get the scoop here.

This election season, the Chronicle has done a great job of summing it all up for us. Articles have told us what we want to hear most about what we care about so deeply - the future of philanthrop and the nonprofit sector in this country.

Social Solutions and founder, Steve Butz, were featured in the Washington Business Journal yesterday detailing a new effort to establish a systems - and a set of metrics - by which to measure nonprofit organzations. Bravo for their determination to change the sector and the way we give. 

Check out the article below.

Area nonprofit execs study new way to measure return
Washington Business Journal - By Jonathan O'Connell

A Baltimore software company is working to create a new national model for evaluating the work of nonprofits, and it has convinced a slate of big names in charity to jump on board.

Begun in 2000, Social Solutions Inc. provides data-tracking software to thousands of nonprofits that offer social services. But founder and President Steve Butz still sees no standard measure by which givers can judge which organizations actually deliver social good.

He is trying to create a new system that will use six data-driven metrics to rate nonprofits and has convinced some of the Washington area’s leading thinkers about philanthropy to join him.

They include Brian Gallagher, chief executive officer of the United Way of America, Bob Ottenhoff, CEO of GuideStar, a Williamsburg, Va.-based organization that tracks nonprofits nationally, Mario Morino and Carol Thompson Cole, founder and president of Venture Philanthropy Partners, and Robert Egger, founder of D.C. Central Kitchen, a job training program.

Nonprofits frequently convince funders to give by providing anecdotes and basic data, such as the number of teenagers their program serves. What they don’t do is show whether those teens are doing better afterward and if the program caused that improvement, Butz said, and some programs actually make their lives worse.

Domestic violence counseling might lead abusers to attack more than they did before, for example, or a youth program might discourage kids rather than motivate them.

“The risk that we’re talking about, very frankly, is the risk that the money is going to no good at all,” Butz says.

The informal group plans to meet Nov. 18 in D.C. to iron out plans.

Egger said he joined because the current culture of judging organizations based how much they spend on overhead “is an intellectual albatross around the neck of the nonprofit sector.”

Nonprofits must have the expertise and money to innovate, just as businesses do, he said. “The sector is dying from this intellectual quicksand.”

Readers of this blog probably aren't surprised to hear that Isaac Castillo of the LAYCis a fan of ETO Software, but did you ever think it would go this far?

We might be biased, but we think Isaac's Query Wizard beats out any Obama, McCain, Hannah Montana, or other costume de jour this year. 

Happy Halloween!

Check out Social Solutions featured here in a Fast Company article. The piece details not only nonprofit's need for funds and the tools, such as ETO,  that can help secure them, but also the software's ability to increase program and organizational effectiveness.   Anisha Chablani at Roca and Isaac Castillo at LAYC, phenominal users of ETO,  are also included. 

A good time to spread the word of the need for nonprofit effectiveness. As we all encounter a slow economy, organizations have to find a way to stand out and prove their worth to funders. What better way than through ETO.

Fast Company, nonprofit, LAYC, Roca

If you’ve seen USA Today’s recent Q & A article offering tips on giving – and giving smarter – you know it contains some useful common sense tips for the donating public.

As a first step, we know to beware of email solicitations from dubious sources, the old fake change bucket at the shopping center schemes and to resist giving over the phone without first examining some materials from the charity that’s seeking a donation.

The article gets some things right – like giving with your head and not your heart and making sure to do your due diligence regarding an organization’s financial statements and structure before giving – but misses the mark on others. For instance, should our first step really be to “focus on your interests and priorities”?  This might be a tad elementary in our book.

Without question, we advocate giving to an organization/cause that you’re passionate about and have an emotional connection to.  Not only will you be more involved in your giving, but you’re likely to keep giving if you have a native interest in where your money is going. 

But let’s not forget, it’s important to realize that you can still give to “pet” causes and give to effective organizations at the same time.  Just do a little more digging, that’s all.

No matter what the cause we know some organizations are more accountable and more effective at delivering results than others.  Make sure to check their efforts and ask questions. Make sure to give to that organization that is focused not only on its performance but on measuring its efforts and relating that to its performance. 

With GuideStar estimating that there are 1.7 million nonprofits in the U.S. alone, shouldn’t you find the one that gets the most bang for your buck?  Give smart this year, identify and reward organizations who value getting the job done and prove that their efforts continue to lead to successful outcomes.

In the midst of all the news about the financial meltdown on Wall Street and Capitol Hill and how it will impact the nonprofit sector we were struck by an interesting piece in the International Herald Tribune that talked about the issue of donor anxiety as related to high net-worth individuals.  While the sector is bracing for big changes as a result of the crisis and what this might mean for fundraising and corporate giving, this article discusses the pressure facing those who have big money and are likely to give in spite of the gloomy economic climate.  And how do these individual philanthropists and donors in general, give responsibly?  By looking at the impact of their dollar.  Sounds simple ... but it is a crucial step that is often overlooked. 

Responsible giving is more than looking at one of the many online charity rankings.  It is more than selecting a group based on its name or mission.  Responsible giving is making sure that when your dollar leaves your hand it arrives in the hands of those who will do something with it.  Something that makes a difference.  Something that counts. 

The uncertain future of Wall Street has almost every industry questioning its financial future — the nonprofit sector included. Speculation of today’s economy and the impact on the nonprofit world has been addressed over and over (see here, here, and here). This latest financial crisis seems to have convinced many that the impact will be great. Mike Spector of the Wall Street Journal addresses the crisis and how charities and other organizations who heavily rely on corporate giving are already feeling the aftermath of the fall of giants like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and the uncertainly of other major institutions.  According to Spector, many NYC organizations rely on gifts from the financial industry and those that do are already feeling the heat.

It is times like these that organizations need to tell—and show—potentials  donors and funders exactly what they are doing with their money.  This will make for more effective giving, in the hope for a more effective sector.

How might the latest financial crisis affect the industry as a whole — corporate giving, individual donations, fundraising, etc.?  Sound off in our comments section.

Our own Steve Butz was featured on WYPR on Tuesday discussing the important topic of nonprofit management as well as efforts by Social Solutions and future efforts by the Superstar Foundation to change the way nonprofit organizations and the sector are managed and supported.                                               

Here’s a summary of the segment.

After working with juveniles for a nonprofit, Baltimorean Steve Butz thought he saw inefficiencies- and opportunities- in the way nonprofits are commonly managed.  His software company Social Solutions has made a name for itself helping nonprofits streamline their operations.  Now, he’s started the Superstar Foundation to give grants to outstanding direct service providers.  We’ll ask how a little bit of cash might actually motivate the ‘not-in-it-for-the-money’ set.

To listen, click here.