Professional Query
How Should We Distribute Funds From Our Booster Club?

School groups and other organizations often set up booster clubs to raise funds to help with out-of-town trips, purchase of equipment, and other expensive activities. There was active discussion in a national nonprofit email list in October about the question of how these funds should be distributed.

Essentially, the initial question was "If we raise tax-deductible funds, can we allocate a share to a member of the group based on the amount of money that member raises plus any contributions made in the member's name?"

The short answer is "no."  Contributions for the benefit of an individual are never deductible from personal income taxes.  The club needs to decide how to use its funds in a way that benefits all its members, and the community, without looking at how much came in from any particular donor. (The New York Times reported November 5 that the IRS has seized $500 million in assets in funds that people were using  -- among other abuses -- to convert college tuition payments into sham donations!)

To read the original question and the answers that came in from several states....[[[click here]]].

Invitation to Nonprofit Leaders
Prosperity Summit on November 19

Nonprofits have been invited to the table for decision-making and planning for our region's future at the Prosperity Partnership Regional Economic Summit on November 19 at Qwest Field. This is an important time to affirm our commitment to community leadership; to join our unique perspectives, values, knowledge and contacts to those of other leaders in the for-profit and public sectors.

For more Information see http://www.prosperitypartnership.org/. (You can also get a copy of the full Economic Summit Brochure. (This is a 1.32 MB .pdf file; it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you don't have a copy of Acrobat Reader, it can be downloaded without charge at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.)

Be a Part of Building the Regional Economic Strategy

Nonprofit directors, boards, key volunteers and funders... Join hundreds of leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors at the Regional Economic Summit,  8 to 4:30 pm at Qwest Field on November 19. The Summit is a gathering of leaders from Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap and King Counties.

Participate with Prosperity Partnership Co-Chairs:

• Rita Ryder, YWCA President, Strategic Initiatives
• Mark Emmert, President, University of Washington
• John Ladenburg, Pierce County Executive
• Tomio Moriguchi, Chairman and Chief Executive, Uwajimaya
• Alan Mulally, President, Boeing Commercial Airplane Company
• Brad Smith, General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation

The first step of the Prosperity Partnership is to create a regional economic strategy to identify the actions we as a region can take to improve our attractiveness to enterprise and create good jobs. The Summit is the centerpiece in that effort. It will be informative, interactive and designed to engage our region's leadership in tackling the primary economic challenge we face - adapting to the changing global economy and creating good jobs for residents of the Puget Sound region.

Our nonprofit sector is represented both on the management team for the Prosperity Partnership and in the leadership as a co-chair.

Executive Alliance will be holding a pre-event briefing and sending out material in advance to nonprofit leaders (staff and boards) who are able to participate, as well as a post-summit debriefing.

To register online, visit https://www4.adhost.com/prosperitypartnership/regform.php.

Please register now to attend this important day of learning and planning (see link above). Please also let Executive Alliance know so that we can include you in our pre-event communications. If you have any questions, please contact Robbie Rohr at 206-328-3836 or rrohr@exec-alliance.org.

News about Nonprofits and Their Work

Robert Egger, author of Begging for Change, on November 10

Director of the DC Central Kitchen and interim director of the troubled United Way of the National Capital Area, as well as author of a book challenging many conventions of nonprofit work, Robert Egger will join in a Civil Society conversation from 8 to 9:30 am on November 10 on the Seattle University Campus.  For links to his work, and details of the event....[[[click here]]].

"All About Boards 2004 -- Governance as Leadership"

William P. Ryan of the Hauser Center at Harvard will be the featured speaker on "Leadership as Governance: Reframing the Work of the Nonprofit Board" on Thursday, November 18, at the Tacoma Convention Center.  More information from www.npcenter.org. 

Mark Thomas of KPMG will speak about "Financial Accountability Challenges" and Christopher Gilbert presents "Ethics and Transformation: The Power of Spirit in Decisionmaking." Fourteen practical workshops will round out the day. 

ePhilanthropy eTour -- November 12

A half-day seminar (all new for 2004) designed to help nonprofit organizations learn how to effectively use the Internet to build community and attract philanthropic support online.  The training is provided by ePhilanthropy Master Trainers from the ePhilanthropy Foundation. Each training seminar will end with a general Q&A session with the experts. The seminar lasts from 8:30 to 12:30 at North Seattle Community College.

For more information and to register online, visit the AFP's eTour page.

National Philanthropy Day

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington Chapter will celebrate community leadership and personal generosity at a luncheon at the Seattle Sheraton on Tuesday, November 16. See http://www.afpwashington.org for details.

"Shameless Plug"

The Holiday Shop is Open!  l1708 Main Street, Vancouver (360) 695-6443
Now in our 8th season, proceeds from the Holiday Shop benefit 26 local nonprofit organizations. New gift items, décor, jewelry, holiday, and more - gifts for you and the community.   (The title is taken directly from Nonprofit Network News circulated by Jeanne Kojis for organizations in SW Washington.  To learn more, visit http://www.npnnw.org.)

National Data on Conditions for Nonprofits

The Listening Post Project at Johns Hopkins University collects and compiles data on finances, program services, and other operating conditions from nonprofits across the country.  Its second report is now available online as a .pdf file...[[[click here]]]. The Listening Post is one of the research efforts described by Lester Salamon when he spoke here in Seattle earlier this year.

Observing Nonprofits

Observing Nonprofits is an occasional publication of Executive Alliance, sent by email to members and supporters. A few days after publication, it is also emailed to a wider audience of people interested in nonprofits in Washington state and simultaneously posted on the the World-Wide Web at http://www.tess.org/pages/Observing_Nonprofits.html

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