More stories I wish I could assign

That Alan Graham has a million ideas. After speaking with his yesterday, I’m even more compelled to bring back GivingCity in some way. (We announced yesterday that we’re suspending publication to pursue… revenue! What a concept!)
Here are a few ideas for stories in upcoming issues – and there will be upcoming issues – courtesy of [...]

The next GivingCity Austin

After GivingCity 4, we’re suspending publication of GivingCity, the blog and the magazine. It’s an important move for us because it leads us into the next stage of the publication.
The next stage is, for us, a tricky one because we have considerably less experience in this arena. We’re now going to build a revenue model. The [...]

3 GivingCity stories I wish I could do…

I just don’t have the time. And I’d be happy to assign them but I just don’t have the money. So instead, these stories sit and wait. Would you believe I mentally sketch out GivingCity stories all the time? Very frustrating.
1. Giving Circles
Reportedly, giving circles are on the rise and proving to be very popular [...]

Not how I remember Sunday school

I attended teacher training for Sunday school at my church today. I had no idea there were such advanced and complicated curricula! What ever happened to rote memorization of Bible verses and horrifying stories of beatings for sin? For this program, we’re going to have to make sure students are engaged and empowered. As opposed [...]

“At least these days when you tell people you’re hurting, they believe you.”

I’ll never forget that quote I read somewhere from someone in the Austin fundraising community. The person was referring to the fact that in a down economy, prospects seem to doubt a nonprofit’s needs less.
A number of organizations – United Way, Greenlights, RGK Center, I Live Here, I Give Here – are conducting surveys to [...]

Austin drops from #5 to #11 in rate of volunteering

The good news is in 2008 30.7 percent of people in Austin volunteered. That rate puts the city at #11 among large cities in the United States. This is indeed a totally decent ranking.
The bad news is in 2007 35.3 percent of people in Austin volunteered, which put us at #5.
Did I also mention that [...]

Congratulations to Lights.Camera.Help., first-ever nonprofit film festival

Austin may have fallen in the ranks of big cities that volunteer, but it should be proud of the people who do step up – especially those who do so in creative new ways.
David Neff, Aaron Bramley and Rich Vazquez deserve lots of credit for the immense amount of work they put into Lights.Camera.Help. The [...]