In This Issue

Should Your Organization Plan a Media Tour?

Hey, Kids! Let's Put on an Auction!

Donors Rule: February Question of the Month Results

From the President's Office

Question of the Month

Stat of the Month

Should Your Organization Plan a Media Tour?

A media tour—isn't that what actors and directors do when their new movie is released? Well, yes. But a media tour could have relevance in your life, too. Learn why the nonprofit you work for or support might want to launch a media tour of its own.

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"Hey, Kids! Let's Put on an Auction!"

OK, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney don't work with you, and it takes more than boundless enthusiasm and energy to put on a successful charity auction. (Although they surely help.) Here are some guidelines to help you decide if an auction is the right fundraiser for your nonprofit.

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Donors Rule: February
Question of the Month Results

Nonprofit issues are rarely cut and dried. Newsletter readers, however, made it clear that there are no gray areas when it comes to respecting donors' preferences for the use of their contributions.
See what they said.

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From the President's Office

Dear Friend:

The first round of recommendations from Independent Sector has now been delivered to the Senate Finance Committee. Regardless of what eventually is adopted, I applaud IS for working so energetically on these issues. I think it's healthy for the sector and important for all of us to be exploring how we can be more transparent and accountable.

It's been interesting to see the universal enthusiasm for publicly posting more information. We see this as a confirmation of GuideStar's valuable role as the nation's premiere public disclosure site. Last year, more than 5 million unique viewers came to our Web site, many of them to look at 990s.

I'm often asked what will happen to GuideStar once nonprofits begin filing their 990s with the IRS electronically. The question is arising even more frequently now that the IRS is requiring the nation's largest exempt organizations to e-file.

Our view is that the IRS and the nonprofit sector need a strong and robust GuideStar now more than ever.

We believe that e-filing will ultimately happen. It must—it makes too much sense. But getting to the point where all 990 filers submit their returns electronically will take years ... Read more

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