Nonprofit panic: The economy sucks. Are we doomed?

Do people give less when they worry about having less?How will nonprofits and charities, which rely on your donations, weather the economic downturn, which seems less about the effect on our wallets than the effect on our psyche?
The Austin nonprofit community – like small businesses, individuals close to retirement, parents about to put kids in college, [...]

What the MS 150 looks like from the power chair

In our first issue, Elizabeth Eckstein wrote about her participation in the MS 150 and what the ride means to her. She’s done three at this point, and she tends to be the star, with random people handing her presents, slapping her high-fives and cheering her on.
She’s not a rider, though. She’s an observer from [...]

Food bank volunteering opportunities for the holidays

The Capital Area Food Bank receives more than half of its total donations for the year in November and December. That’s more than 635,000 pounds of food, people. And it will just stack up and get dusty unless you’re there to help sort it and get it ready for distribution.
Get a group together and sign [...]

How to help put $26 million back into the Central Texas economy

Did you know that last year more than 400 Central Texans volunteered to do somebody else’s taxes? Thanks to those folks, more than 17,200 tax returns were prepared for low-income singles and families who received more than $21 million in refunds.
This year, Community Tax Centers wants 500 volunteers to put $26 million back into the [...]

A simple guide to what happened with the housing market and the big bailout

“Everyone thought someone else was checking that the underlying mortgages were good loans.”
The nonprofit public policy research institute, The Century Foundation, makes it a big part of its mission to explain issues and challenges in the United States in plain language. One of their most recent discussion papers was about the housing market and the [...]

On Board: 5 Great ideas for your next board meeting

Don’t go to your next board meeting without some of these great ideas in giving and volunteering. Below are some quick hits to consider….
1. The Candidates and Your Work-Life Balance
The presidential candidates were interviewed by the Families and Work Institute about their platforms on work-life issues. The Washington Post sums it up, but you can [...]

Greening low-income homes is good for environment, but even better for utility bills

When you’re strapped for income and doing whatever you can to stay in your home, you have to find a way to trim down any expense. The people who live in the 14 housing communities owned and operated by Foundation Communities spent $4 million on the water and energy bills last year, and despite the [...]

Guess whose blog posts made Blog Action Day 100 Best?

Ha. No, not mine. Mando’s.
Armando Rayo, like a lot of nonprofiteers, sees nothing but possibilities. And even better, he acts on them. When he told me he was going to take advantage of Blog Action Day on poverty and post the whole day, staying awake for 24 hours (which turned into 42 hours), I first [...]

Meeting Nicki today to talk about her breast cancer

You might have heard that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You might have also heard the statistics – the ones that scare the bejeesus out of you: “The National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, estimates that, based on current rates, 12.7 percent of women born today will be diagnosed [...]

GoodSearch.com makes all your searches charitable

Here’s a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause.
Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they’ll donate a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search!
(Interruption to boilerplate by Monica, here: There are more than 60 nonprofits from Central Texas participating in GoodSearch. See the complete list [...]