Charting a Decade of Online Donations

Charting a Decade of Online Donations
November 23, 2011, 11:04 am
By Cody Switzer
Only 4 percent of donors had given online in 2001. This year, about 65 percent have given to charity through the Internet.

That’s one of the comparisons made in a new graphic from Network for Good, a fund-raising and volunteerism Web site that celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.

In 2001, the average donation through the site was $226. But this year the average gift is $73, a change that Network for Good interprets as a sign that online giving has “gone mainstream.”

Here’s the full graphic:

NY comptroller says late checks hurt nonprofits

NY comptroller says late checks hurt nonprofits
Nov. 15, 2011, 3:01 a.m. EST
AP
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says late contract approvals and payments by the state are hurting nonprofit providers and jeopardizing services.

DiNapoli says state agencies last year were on average six months late in approving nine out of 10 contracts valued at $50,000 or more, often after services were provided.

An analysis of the first half of 2011 shows nearly 90 percent of contracts approved by the comptroller were submitted late by state agencies.

DiNapoli says nonprofits operate on thin margins and provide basic services ranging from health care clinics to work programs, with 22,000 active grant contracts totaling $16.8 billion.

The nonprofit sector employed 1.25 million people statewide last year.

You can access the article by Clicking Here.

Conference to highlight volunteerism

The Center for Social Responsibility and Community at the State University College at Oneonta is cosponsoring the 11th annual Conference on Volunteerism and Social Responsibility from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. in the Morris Conference Center on the college’s campus. Admission is free, and community members are invited to attend. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and every participant will receive an official conference T-shirt.

The program will open with a keynote address by Stephen G. Post, professor of preventive medicine and director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University. The award-winning author of “The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times,” Post is recognized as a leader in the study of altruism, love and compassion in the context of scientific research, health care delivery, philosophy and spirituality.

Following that participants can attend up to three workshops.

These include an interactive session by Julie Dostal of the LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions, entitled Truth in Advertising: Media and Social Responsibility. It will provide an opportunity for her to interact with participants about such topics as the realities of how alcohol use is reflected in the media, and body image.

Bonnie Laugen, the interim director at the Kennedy-Willis Center at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, will lead the group: “Pathfinder Community Partners: An Experience You’ll Never Forget.” Pathfinder Village is a community where people with developmental disabilites can live and be independent and have meaningful lives, she said.

The session includes a panel discussion with four people who live at Pathfinder and volunteer in the community, who will talk about what life is like there. They will also talk about the importance of volunteers helping the residents. Hopefully when participants learn about the programs, more will want to help out, she said. One student from the college already volunteers there, she said.

Also presenting is SUNY Delhi instructor Peter Campbell who will talk about “Alternate Spring Breaks: Rebuilding America One House at a Time.” Over the past six years he has worked with other volunteers, taking students to Habitat for Humanity sites in the South, to help rebuild homes. This is in addition to work he does with students locally to help people rebuild from recent disasters. During the colder months, students enjoy going to warmer climates, he said.

One of the students volunteers, culinary major Kelsey DeHey, will be helping him present. “There are a lot of different opportunities,” he said.



Other workshops include:

• “Meditation for Stress: Stress Relief for the Over-worked and Super Busy,” by Rebecca Harrington of SUNY Oneonta;

• “Together WE win: Fun Activities for Effective Team Building,” by Glenda Bolton of SUNY Delhi;

• “Putting the ‘Community’ in ‘Sustainable Community,’” by Jack Tessier of SUNY Delhi;

• “Community Connection: Connecting Campuses for Social Justice,” by students from SUNY Oneonta and the Oneonta Job Corps Center.

More information is available from Drake at 436-2098 or csrc@oneonta.edu.