United Way to focus on impact…

September 29, 2009

With the recession forcing some local United Ways to trim their fundraising goals, even though community needs are growing, the network is shifting its focus from dollars raised to impact, USA Today reported Sept. 27 (see United Way story). United Way Worldwide has launched a 10-year focus on cutting dropout rates and boosting the health and financial stability of families.

UPS is launching a $9 million, multi-year effort to help relief groups better respond to global emergencies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sept. 24 (see UPS relief effort).

A wealthy investor, a university journalism school and a public radio station are teaming up to create a nonprofit local news website for the San Francisco area, an effort that could be the biggest of dozens of similar local efforts begun recently throughout the U.S., The New York Times reported Sept. 24 (see nonprofit news story).

The Heisley Family Foundation in Chicago is giving $2.5 million to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund for its planned underground education center on the Mall in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reported Sept. 24 (see Vietnam memorial story).

With over 1.4 million nonprofits in the U.S., or more than one for every 300 Americans, a new nonprofit model may be needed that might include a mix of peer-to-peer services, outsourcing, online-only organizations, neighborhood care councils, and revenue-generating social ventures, Paul Lamb, principal of Man on a Mission Consulting, said in an opinion column Sept. 24 in The Christian Science Monitor (see nonprofit opinion column).

While philanthropy in India is growing, too few donors are considering the impact of their contributions and too few are encouraging nonprofits to measure their results or practice transparency, says a report from New Philanthropy and Capital and Copal Partners, The Economic Times reported Sept. 27 (see India donors story).

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