That’s why my eye was caught by a page in an Audubon magazine (January 2008 happened to be the one I was looking at), with the heading: “Your Beneficiaries: There are more of them then you realize!”

Accompanied by a photo of children looking at a bird nest, it aptly, even humorously, reminds people that they care about a wider circle of life than their immediate family; and that by naming Audubon as a beneficiary in their wills or other documents, they can contribute to a better future for all.

Unfortunately, now that they came up with this nice language, it’s off-limits, copyright-wise, to anyone else who might want to use it. But it’s a good source of inspiration, and proof that you don’t have to get into a language rut over this.

First off, did you notice the FTC warning consumers about scam charities supposedly fundraising for people affected by the earthquake in China and cyclone in Myanmar? (It was written up by Dan Thanh Dang in the June 15th Baltimore Sun.) Potential donors are being warned to double-check that any phone calls really came from the charity, ask what percentage of the donation will go toward services, and more. Of course, this affects every nonprofit as donors’ level of suspicion goes up. No sense fighting it — just be ready to provide every possible tidbit to reassure donors that you’re for real.

Another interesting story came from the June 12th edition of Conde Nast’s Portfolio, written by Dalia Fahmy and titled “Charity Prize Fight”. The story discusses how nonprofit foundations are using contests — for example, to create the best, most commercially viable solution to global warming — as a way to simultaneously address a problem, get publicity, and stimulate more giving. (The global warming contest is, by the way, from Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite foundation.)

How is this news important to smaller, non-foundation charities? Aside from staying alert for a contest you can enter (been keeping a solution to global warming up your sleeve?), creating contests among your donors and members might make for an interesting change of pace. The simplest would be an online contest — say, to raise the most money through grassroots efforts, suggest the best name for an animal under your care, or the like. Instead of cash prizes, offer a personal tour of your facility or a meeting with the E.D.. And be sure to call the media!

Finally, on the lighter side of fundraising, it’s interesting to watch overseas trends. As far as I can tell, the British are maniacs for stunt-based fundraising — like this bungee-jumping priest, or this skydiving grandmother. And then there were the two store managers who (voluntarily, it appears) were locked in their shop window, given a phone, and told to raise 1,000 British pounds for charity before they’d be let out. Is there a lesson to be taken from these? I await your comments.

Here’s an interesting blog post by Christopher Campbell on Cinematical, talking about the practice of enlisting movie theatre ushers in efforts to collect donations for nonprofits.

At first glance, it sounds like a reasonably creative idea: The ushers will be walking the aisles anyway, among theatre-goers in a presumably good mood. Why not have these ushers carry a can to collect some coins for a cause?

But as Cristopher’s blog points out, the results have made some patrons feel they were being hassled — especially when ushers were given incentives to “do whatever they could to get as much money as they could.” He describes some ushers’ aggressive tactics, including name-calling behind the non-givers’ backs, and other ushers who may have skimmed money from the donation jar, referring to it as the “cigarette fund.”

If ever there was a reminder that every volunteer needs proper training, this is it. I’m guessing those ushers didn’t feel they had much choice in their charity collection activities. Did they receive an in-depth orientation from actual members of the charity, to inspire them about the cause and make sure they were committed to helping out? The blog doesn’t say.

Before your organization says, “Wow, free volunteer help!” in any similar way, make sure to do the training first, to avoid the need for damage control and retraining later. And if it’s going to be an ongoing effort like this one, follow up to see how it’s going.

Landlords hate to have an empty storefront. It’s a potential target for thieves and vandals, and reduces traffic to other stores in the same strip or complex. But finding another tenant and negotiating a new lease can take weeks or months to complete.

Some nonprofits have been finding ways to fill the gap. For no or very low rent, they’ve used empty retail space for such temporary purposes as animal adoptions, a soup kitchen, a depot to collect and contribute clothes to the poor, and more. It’s a win-win situation: The nonprofits get higher visibility and a way to reach more people (both clients and potential donors); the landlord gets the benefits mentioned above, plus possible increased foot traffic to other stores; and both might get some good media coverage from the partnership.

If your nonprofit could benefit from such an arrangement, look around your area for empty storefronts and get in touch with the landlords. They might have already heard of your idea — particularly if they read the “Commercial Lease Law Insider,” a respected publication that featured an article called “Protect Yourself When Temporarily Filling Retail Space with Nonprofits” in its September 2007 issue.

The “protection” part of the article simply referred to the fact that the landlord needs to sign some sort of agreement with any nonprofit to which it lends or rents space. Signing such an agreement is in your interest, too, to make sure everyone has the same understanding of price and other terms.

Instead of a standard lease, the landlord is most likely to want a license agreement, which is appropriate for situations where the arrangement is so temporary that the landlord shouldn’t have to evict you if you refuse to leave by the agreed-upon date. If, however, your organization turns into a long-term tenant, you’ll want to sign a standard commercial lease. For help with this, see Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business, by Janet Portman and Fred S. Steingold (Nolo).

DeBare is careful to point out that, unlike C and S corporations, B corporations have no actual status under the tax code. And if you’ve researched the dividing lines between taxable and tax-exempt corporations, you know that the tax rules can get gnarly. But by banding together with a self-invented status, B corporations at least put the shareholders and would-be company buyers on notice that they’re serious about serving other ends besides sheer profit.

And the services providing these goods have mushroomed — try Googling “fundraising” if you want to see what I mean. The Internet is awash with services promising to provide items everyone will want to buy, while making it easy for you, the nonprofit, to sell them.

So, I recognize that there’s something to be said for ease of setup. And many small charitable groups rely on candy and other sales for a lot of their revenues. But as a donor, I’d always assumed, when laying out a ridiculous $2 for a candy bar, that much of the money was going to the charity. Now I see from these online providers that they’re charging the charity as much as $1.20 a bar! (They don’t always make that clear — you may have to do the math yourself.) Meanwhile, they tout the virtues of a 40% profit to the charity. Hmm.

Why not just go down to your local drugstore or discount grocery, see what’s on sale, and buy a few cases? A quick online search shows that various energy bars are on sale near where I live for only $1 apiece, and I’ll bet I could do better if I looked harder.

You’ll have to create your own forms for the volunteers to fill out when selling, but really not much more. And is that so much work compared to the time you’d spend online figuring out which middleman service offers the best services for the lowest (but not all that low) price? For no less work, you could easily have profits over 100%.

That’s hardly a headline-worthy revelation — but then why are some organizers still missing their chance at a little bribery? Particularly when the weather is getting better and motivation to sit around inside is going way, way down?

Maybe bribery is too harsh a word — anthropologists can give us plenty of examples where the first words out of a host, even when greeting a stranger, concern whether the person would like some food. It’s a primal welcoming thing.

Anyway, if the reasons are budgetary, that doesn’t seem like much of a barrier. No one needs to promise a hot gourmet meal, just some snacks. In fact, two or three people planning to come (board members or other volunteers, for example) can be asked to bring those snacks. Some cookies, fruit slices, nuts, and cheese and crackers will not break anyone’s budgets.

Colleen has a hilariously cute habit of greeting people with a chew toy in her mouth, running back and forth making an odd sighing sound that may be due to a past owner having cut her vocal cords. Unlike many dogs I meet at the Humane Society, she remains good natured even as the weeks go by — doesn’t get jealous when I go to walk other dogs, doesn’t act demanding or desperate.

On the radio this morning, a caller to a talk show raised the issue of why people choose certain charities or causes and ignore others. The example given was that people in Britain give more to animal charities than to those helping victims of domestic violence. I do sometimes ask myself whether there isn’t something more immediately useful I should be doing than dogwalking. And I haven’t come up with a brilliant answer, except to say that spreading happiness can’t be a bad thing, even if it’s via a lonely dog.

The first three interviewees are Pat Joseph, talking about his experience blogging for The Sierra Club; Lynn Eve Komaromi, sharing insights from ten years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; and Elizabeth Stampe, discussing strategies for attracting new members to Greenbelt Alliance.

Enjoy — and let me know your suggestions for future interviewees!

I got a nice surprise the other day while filling out my federal tax return: That $10 apron I’d had to buy in order to walk dogs at my local Humane Society (modeled at right) was tax deductible! (And I was looking for every deduction I could get, given the number of unpleasant surprises in this year’s return – but that’s another story.)

It occurred to me, however, that while most nonprofit organizations do a good job of reminding contributors of money about the tax deductions they’ll enjoy, very few say much about tax deductions their volunteers can take. And these volunteers might include everyone from board members to advisory council members to those who assist at special events or commit to regular activities.

True, we’re probably not talking about big bucks, since there’s no tax deduction for the very thing these volunteers contribute the most of — their time. However, on the “every penny counts” theory, here’s what the IRS will allow volunteers at nonprofits to add to their list of deductions:

• Car and transportation expenses. Volunteers might need to get back and forth from home to your office, or to meetings or other sites (such as a special event or to deliver food to a homebound AIDS patient). If driving, they can choose between deducting gas and oil, or mileage at the standard rate of 14 cents per mile. As Stephen Fishman advises in Lower Taxes in 7 Easy Steps, however, “Given the cost of gasoline today, the 14 cent per mile limit is absurdly low, so you’d be better off keeping track of your actual driving expenses.” Volunteers can also add in parking fees and tolls. But they can’t claim general car repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees, or the costs of tires or insurance. The public transport-minded can, of course, deduct subway, bus, or taxi fare.
• Travel expenses. In cases where the volunteer is away from home performing services — perhaps attending a convention or board meeting, taking underprivileged kids on a camping trip, or monitoring environmental destruction — they can deduct their related expenses, such as airfare and other transportation, accommodations, and meals. However, there are important limitations on this one: The volunteer must gain no significant personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel. (Going on a fun trip and refusing to enjoy it probably won’t make it deductible, either.) And the volunteer must really be working — tagging along on an outing while performing nominal duties, or even no duties for significant parts of the trip, won’t cut it.
• Other out-of-pocket expenses. For example, board members might deduct unreimbursed phone, postage, and copying charges associated with preparing for meetings. I can deduct the dog treats that I’m asked to provide in order to help train dogs while walking them.
• The aforementioned uniforms. This includes both their cost and their upkeep, so long as they’re not suitable for everyday use (i.e. a T-shirt with a logo won’t fly). Also, your organization must require the volunteers to wear the uniforms while performing services.

Some limitations apply to all deductions associated with volunteering. Volunteers must be itemizing their deductions to take advantage of this (so people who fill out a 1040EZ won’t get any benefit). Volunteers cannot double-dip by claiming expenses for which the nonprofit already reimbursed them. The expenses must be directly related to the volunteers’ work, and incurred only because of that work. They can’t be personal, family, or living expenses (such as meals for children while they accompany the volunteer to a convention). And volunteers must keep reliable written records of the expenses.

Of course, in alerting volunteers to their potential tax deductions, you don’t want to get into the business of giving personalized tax advice. For more information, suggest that they see IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, or talk to a financial adviser. Tax-preparation software programs also provide guidance on this deduction.