Join Us This Week

We hope to see you this week at one of these upcoming workshops at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement. Click each listing below for event and registration details.

• Wednesday, April 28, Volunteer Management Boot Camp
• Thursday, April 29, Increasing Revenue From Fee-for-Service: Development Done Different
  

Action Alert: Arlington County

The residents of Arlington County need your help. The Board of Supervisors will finalize its Fiscal Year 2011 budget tomorrow. The vote is a crucial one. Help us tell Board of Supervisors members to protect critical services counted on by so many in our area.

Join other nonprofits by adding your name to our sign-on letter. Click here to access the online letter. After you have signed on, please spread the word!

Sign On to Support Arlington County Nonprofits!

Grant Opportunity: 2010 Washington Gas Environmental Innovator Grant

Washington Gas seeks proposals for its 2010 Washington Gas Environmental Innovator Grant. According to Washington Gas:

"The purpose of the Request For Proposal (RFP) is to identify and promote programs that encourage practices among residential households to improve energy efficiency; raise awareness of natural gas as a clean and efficient fuel; and influence actions targeting the reduction of total energy consumption thereby reducing greenhouse gas emission.

"The company is seeking to award a grant in the amount of $50,000 to a qualifying organization that demonstrates a commitment to improving quality of life and environmental innovation. Washington Gas seeks to engage a nonprofit organization in a capacity building opportunity to strengthen their long-term ability to achieve their mission, goals and programs that are compatible with the grant."


Interested applicants may participate in bidder conference calls scheduled for April 22 and May 12. Applications are due Friday, May 21 at 5:00 p.m.

Visit the Washington Gas Charitable Giving Program Web site or download the Request For Proposals (PDF) to learn more.

Cast Your Vote: 2010 Viewers' Choice Awards

Cast your vote in the 2010 Viewers' Choice Awards from Center member the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia (DCTV). Competition categories for the best shows on DCTV include Health, Youth, Short Film/Documentary, Enrichment, Sports, International, Short Program, Best Community Focused, Entertainment and News/Public Affairs.

Vote today!

Fundraising Opportunity

Opportunity from Centerplate at The Washington Redskins:

Centerplate at The Washington Redskins is actively recruiting nonprofit organizations to work with them for the upcoming Redskins season. On average, nonprofits made $1,100 per event last season. Requirements to become a part of this winning team are: nonprofits must have a strong volunteer base of at least 18 people, all 18 volunteers must be available to work all 12 events for this upcoming season and be willing to go through customer service and alcohol training. If your nonprofit meets these requirements and could use a great fundraiser contact Opal Scott at 301.276.6456 or scotto@redskins.com. Space is limited so call today!

Probono Architectural Services

Are you a nonprofit looking for architectural services? Community Design Services (CDS), a program of Center member Washington Architectural Foundation, can help! Founded in 1991, CDS provides local nonprofits with pro bono design services if they can not otherwise afford these services. CDS architects can:

• put clients’ dreams on paper in drawings or reports to be used to gain community support or for fundraising;
• assist in preparing a design program for your project;
• evaluate buildings to determine whether the structure can accommodate your program;
• and provide conceptual designs, and cost estimates

Visit the Washington Architectural Foundation Web site or click here to learn more.

View the March/April Nonprofit Agenda Online

The March/April 2010 issue of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement's print newsletter, Nonprofit Agenda, is available electronically.

Inside this issue:

• Find Out What Back Office in a Box (BOB) Human Resources Can Do For You
• See How Social Media Can Meet Your Goals
• Meet the newest Center Members
• Welcome our 2010 Class of Project LEAP
• Discover Area Leadership Opportunities
• Explore Organizational Culture: A Nonprofit Management Model
• Meet Our Newest Partners in Advancement
• Member News
• And much more
  

Click here to download the PDF.

And don't forget to explore upcoming courses from the Center's Learning and Leadership Institute. View upcoming classes by date or subject.

Explore Creative Ways to Reduce Costs

In today's tough economic environment, we are all looking for ways to stretch the resources we have a little farther. By taking a good hard look at the costs your organization incurs, you will be surprised at how many opportunities there are to change the way you meet your mission and save money in the process.

If you are looking for ways to reduce costs and ultimately improve the financial health of your organization, join the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and Arlington Economic Development on Tuesday, April 13 to learn creative ways to reduce your variable costs and make fixed costs more variable.

Event Details:

• What: Creative Ways to Reduce Costs
• When: Tuesday, April 13,11:30 am to 1:00 pm
• Location: Arlington County Central Library, 1015 North Quincy Street, Main Auditorium, Arlington, VA
• Special Cost: Free for Arlington Residents and Non-profits; $49 for Center members; $89 for non-members

Click here to register.

Make a Nomination: National Capital Philanthropy Day Awards

The Association of Fundraising Professions/Washington DC Metro Area Chapter seeks nominations for its National Capital Philanthropy Day Awards. Awards will be presented in the following six areas:

• outstanding philanthropist
• outstanding fundraising volunteer
• outstanding corporate partner
• outstanding foundation partner
• outstanding fundraising professional
• outstanding diversity leader
  

Nominees and nominators do not have to be AFP members, they simply have to understand the value of philanthropy to our community.

Nominations are due by Friday, April 30. Click here to learn more or make a nomination.

D.C. Council Holds Hearing on New Nonprofit Corporation Law

A D.C. Council Committee held a public hearing last week on a bill (B18-500) to overhaul the city’s laws governing the incorporation and operation of a variety of business organizations, including nonprofit corporations.

Most of the testimony at the four-hour hearing focused on how the bill would impact the way nonprofits operate. Among the changes the bill, as introduced, would implement:

• A volunteer immunity provision in current law, insulating volunteers, officers, directors and employees from law suits, would be eliminated.
• Individuals designated as “members” of a nonprofit would have to be given a right to vote on certain “fundamental transactions” involving the organization.
• Individual members of a nonprofit could be held personally liable for obligations of the corporation if the corporation is unable to satisfy a court judgment against it.
• Organizations engaged in “religious activity” (a term that is undefined) might not have to provide their members with access to detailed financial information.
• Under certain circumstances, one director could effectively “veto” amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation.
  

One of the most sweeping changes proposed would be to require all nonprofit corporations incorporated in the District prior to 1962 (called “old Act” corporations) to file periodic reports with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) or risk losing their right to operate. DCRA estimates that there are some 10,500 such corporations.

Center members are encouraged to review the proposed legislation with their legal advisers and provide comments directly to D.C. City Council Member Muriel Bowser. The official comment period closes in late April, but Ms. Bowser has indicated that she plans to convene a working group of interested individuals to come up with changes to the proposal, with a view toward moving it out of Committee by the fall.

Further information can be obtained from Center for Nonprofit Advancement Board President James M. Goldberg, a Washington attorney who testified at the hearing, at 202-628-2929 or by e-mail.

Thank you to Center Board President James M. Goldberg for contributing this post.