From the President's Office
Dear Friend:
Many of you have told us that you dislike having to log in every time you use GuideStar. I am happy to report that you no longer do—last week, we launched a "Remember Me" feature on our site. Just click the "Remember Me" box beneath the password box on our home page or log-in page, and you will be logged in the next time you use GuideStar, as long as you don't log out when you leave our site and as long as you return within 60 days.
I find two things about this new feature particularly satisfying: it makes our site easier to use, and it was added in direct response to our users' feedback. This feedback came to us through our user surveys, feedback links, and face-to-face conversations at conferences, meetings, and presentations.
A number of my colleagues and I are about to have new opportunities to receive your feedback in person. Although it is still, in Longfellow's words, "the long and dreary Winter," we are braving the elements to take GuideStar on the road. During the next several weeks, GuideStar representatives will be showing up on the West Coast, East Coast, and points in between. Click here to see where we'll be. ... Read more
If You Didn't Get the Gift, Here's Why
You don't understand it—your application was brilliant. Your mission fits the foundation's guidelines perfectly. So how could you not get the grant?
If you didn't get the gift—and in some instances you won't—there are usually ten "horrid reasons." There may be more, but these are the primary ones.
You may find that it'll take a call or two before you're able to avoid them all. I know in my own solicitations, my immediate instinct was to pull the shades and devote the rest of my life to reading the collected works of Emily Dickinson. ... Read more
Nonprofits and Antiterrorism Updates
- Anti-Terrorist Financing: Lower Court Finds Executive Order Provisions Unconstitutional—The United States District Court, Central District of California, declared certain portions of Executive Order 13224 unconstitutional on November 21, 2006. ... Read more
- Nonprofits Ask Treasury to Withdraw Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines—On December 18, 2006, acting on behalf of the Treasury Guidelines Working Group, the Council of Foundations (COF) asked the Department of the Treasury to withdraw its Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines in favor of the working group's Principles of International Charity. ... Read more
Conducting Effective Interviews: What You Need to Know
Don't let your interviews resemble Whitman's description of military medicine: "No thorough previous preparation, no system, no foresight, no genius."
Hiring is one of a manager's most important responsibilities. Although most organizations recognize the opportunities and consequences involved with talent selection, few are prepared to lead a truly effective interview process. This article will give you a few tips for making the most of your limited time with a prospective employee.
First, you should develop an interviewing structure that can be kept consistent across all candidates. As much as possible, standardize the questions, environment, and interviewers involved so that you can really compare apples to apples when it comes down to a few finalists. This structure will not only make your interviews more effective but will also increase the professionalism, equity, and legality of the whole process. ... Read more
Initial Success: Expressing Your
Nonprofit Brand through Initials
Your organization's initials may be more powerful than you realize.
"AARP is dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age. We lead positive social change. Using our collective will, influence and good intentions, we make things better not just for ourselves but for everyone."
Whereas I'm personally not ready to join their ranks (although the milestone is not that far off!), AARP's mission statement is intriguing and someday soon will be relevant in my life. Conspicuous by its absence, however, is the spelled-out name of the organization. So ... what is AARP? Is it the Adopt A Road Program? Is it the Association Against Rational Policy? Could the initials stand for Appletalk Address Resolution Protocol? Of course not. ... Read more
Free IRS Training Available from Your Desktop
User-friendly IRS information? Yup. And it's free, too.
The IRS has taken its workshops and resources for small and mid-sized charitable organizations to cyberspace. The new on-line workshops and materials are free and completely anonymous; no registration is required to access them. Although the workshops and resources focus on issues related to 501(c)(3) organizations' compliance with the tax code, anyone can view them—in any order, as often as they wish.
Stay Exempt—Tax Basics for 501(c)(3)s offers five interactive training modules. ...
Read more
More Than Alphabet Soup: GuideStar's FAQs
(January Question of the Month Results)
Got a question about using GuideStar? Want to know more about our data? Chances are you'll find what you want to know in our FAQs.
January's Question of the Month asked, "Have you ever consulted GuideStar's FAQs (frequently asked questions)?" We were pleased to see that 41 percent of the people who responded had. Another 9 percent weren't sure, and 50 percent had not. For those of you who fall into the last two groups, here's a brief discussion of how to get to our FAQs, what you'll find there, and why you might want to consult them.
The FAQs are located in our Help section. To get to them, click on the Help link at the bottom of any page. Then click on the FAQs link at the right of the next page. ... Read more
In This Issue
If You Didn't Get the Gift, Here's Why
Anti-Terrorist Financing: Lower Court Finds Executive Order Provisions Unconstitutional
Nonprofits Ask Treasury to Withdraw Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines
Conducting Effective Interviews: What You Need to Know
Initial Success: Expressing Your Nonprofit Brand through Initials
Free IRS Training Available from Your Desktop
More Than Alphabet Soup: GuideStar's FAQs (January Question of the Month Results)
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