NonprofitEye

New Feature! Nonprofit Trend of the Week Nonprofit Innovations disclaimer: this is NOT a plug - please read to end of article for pro's and con's! A friend introduced me to a for-profit product that dovetails well with nonprofit values. Produced by GiveWell.com , the product itself is called the "Healthcare Gift Card". There are pros and cons (discussed below), but first, what is it? Givewell bills itself as: ...a new way to help employees cover health and wellness costs. It is designed to encourage healthy living and staying well. Employees can use it to cover a variety of healthcare costs including co-pays at doctor’s offices and pharmacies or for vision care, dental care, health club memberships and elective procedures at businesses that accept Visa debit cards. Pros Giftwell tells us that Because the Healthcare Gift Card is targeted to work only with health and wellness providers, you can be assured your gift card will be used as a “gift of health.” Better t...

Does the LA Coroner Need Money? by Pam Ashlund Back in December I wrote a post on Earned Income Strategies for Nonprofits addressing the topic from a philosophical point of view; but looking back it seems too abstract. It's time to talk hands-on people! Sometimes it's hard to get your mind around the idea of nonprofits running money making enterprises. In the first place, we aren't in business to make money; in the second place, how could we make money and still fulfill our mission? It all sounds like one of those loopholes that is too good to be true. Make money and fullfill your mission? Since income that is unrelated to your purpose is taxable, it follows that there must be the concept of "related" income. If we can't make money on our own, are we doomed to live at the whim of government funding or continue begging for change from our ever more impatient patrons? How many foundations offer funding to start up or build capacity? Many. How many offer funding...

The Oxymoronic Challenge - More on the Nonprofit Identity Crisis by pam ashlund A nonprofit making a profit? marketing its brand? The first time I heard someone talk of “marketing our brand”, I thought “what on earth can we be marketing? We’re a non-profit, we’re not selling anything!. It seemed oxymoronic. But how wrong I was. In nonprofit accounting, I’m frequently asked by members of the for-profit world “what’s to account for if you can’t make a profit?”. Har Har. “But of course we can make a profit!” I want to shout, but I have to take these conversations slowly and carefully. Re-education is possible, but sometimes frustrating. So many myths to dispel, so many insights to articulate. Thinking about innovation today. First, what IS innovation ? The standard definition is: “the process of making improvements by introducing something new”. posted in my NetSquared blog, The Dearth of Nonprofit Innovative Thought : It's time to strike up a conversation backed by sound research, p...