New Location for the Nonprofit Literature Blog

The Nonprofit Literature Blog now has a new location, please update your bookmarks and RSS readers:

New blog URL:
http://literature.foundationcenter.org

New RSS Feed for blog:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/nonprofitliterature

Hope you like our new site!

Prospect Research Resources

If you plan to visit the Foundation Center library/learning center to use our prospect research resources mentioned in an earlier blog post, note that we have just acquired the latest edition of Prospect Research Fundamentals. While not as detailed as Cecilia Hogan’s Prospect Research: A Primer for Growing Nonprofits, visitors who are pressed for time may find that the 48-page booklet contains enough guidance to get started. Several experts contribute tips on:

-hiring prospect researchers
-using call reports
-developing a cultivation plan
-keeping track of prospect data
-researching individuals, foundations, and corporations
-rating prospects
-using technology

You will find several sample forms and documents as well.

Prospect Research Fundamentals, 3rd was edited by Michel Hudson and published by Stevenson, Inc.

Grantmaker Site Visits

Before making grant decisions, some foundations may schedule site visits to develop a better understanding of the organizations that submitted the proposal. To help foundations with few or no staff on planning and conducting site visits, the Association of Small Foundations (ASF) has released a brief guide on the topic, With Your Own Eyes: Using Site Visits to Make Better Grants and Fulfill Your Mission. Written by Elaine Gast and Andy Carroll, the paper will help foundations:

-Understand the different purposes of site visits
-Develop a strategy (Who will make the visit? Which organizations should be visited?)
-Get ready for the site visit (What will be on the agenda?)
-Analyze the information collected.

Turn to the appendices for a sample site visit checklist that can help with recording data.

For more information about other papers from the Primer Series, visit the Association of Small Foundations web site.

Cultivating and Retaining Donors

When browsing the fundraising section of our Foundation Center libraries, you may come across Simone Joyaux and Tom Ahern’s new handbook, Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships. Look through the volume for the practical advice you have been searching for:

-Learn about the “deadly sins” of solicitation, such as asking prematurely
-Understand how storytelling can support your fundraising efforts
-Determine your “social style” to improve your interpersonal communication
-Become familiar with the three types of case statements
-Recognized the common flaws found in newsletters

For other articles or books on donor relations, click here to search our Catalog of Nonprofit Literature.

Establishing and Operating a Nonprofit Organization

If you need help on setting up a charity and managing it effectively, ask our librarians to see the guide, Starting and Building a Nonprofit by Peri H. Pakroo. The handbook from Nolo Press provides practical information on a number of topics, ranging from incorporating and selecting a name, to budgeting, fundraising, and accounting practices.

Another basic reference book you can explore is the Nonprofit Handbook by Gary Grobman. The new fifth edition released this year contains a new chapter on program evaluation. In addition, the book contains chapters that briefly discuss bylaws, risk management, e-commerce, online fundraising, and other key areas.

If you are interested in online information, try these web resources below:

The Foundation Center's Establishing a Nonprofit Organization online tutorial

The Foundation Center's Webinar Series for Nonprofit Startup Organizations

Idealist.org's FAQs for start-up nonprofits

Nonprofit Marketing: A Benchmarking Survey

The American Marketing Association and communications firm Lipman Hearne conducted a survey earlier this year to provide charities with benchmarking data on marketing at nonprofit organizations. Here are selected findings, based on responses from more than 1,012 participants.

Priorities: Nonprofits currently rate building awareness and revenue generation as top priorities. In five years, however, organizations expect revenue generation to be a greater challenge.

Budgets: The data indicates that marketing budgets are generally 2% to 3% of the operating budget (excluding salaries and benefits). Larger organizations spend a smaller percentage on marketing budgets.

Evaluation: Many participants indicate that their organizations are not measuring web activity effectively (28% do not track web statistics).

For full results of the survey, download the report, The State of Nonprofit Marketing: A Report on Priorities, Spending, Measurement and the Challenges Ahead from the Lipman Hearne web site (registration required).

Funding for Overhead Expenses

A common challenge for nonprofit organizations is obtaining funding to cover administrative costs, especially when foundations limit how much overhead they are willing to cover in their grants.

What’s the typical limit for overhead costs as part of a program grant? Results from a recent survey conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University indicated that the median percentage permitted by foundations was 15% of direct program costs. Foundations often allow nonprofits to allocate these funds for salaries, supplies, and other costs.

Some organizations may submit proposals specifically for overhead expenses. In those instances, foundations are more likely to fund strategic planning initiatives and staff training than employee salaries.

For additional survey results, download the Paying for Overhead Study at the Center on Philanthropy's web site.