Friday Rewind

The Friday Rewind offers a snapshot of PhilanthroNews —  that means news stories, articles, events of note, or information updates — from around our network and throughout the broad world of philanthropy. Whether you take a quick skim of the material or a deep dive through each item we hope to help inform your work and inspire your thinking.

1. With retailers closing thousands of stores and malls growing emptier, it’s easy to think Americans would be less inclined to pony up for good causes at the register. But the latest Charity Checkout Champions report says that people contributed $441 million last year to some of the biggest point-of-sale campaigns, up 4.5% from 2014. Read the Full Story Here.
2.  Though the Syrian crisis is a huge and heartbreaking story, it has translated into relatively little charitable giving. One large relief organization, GlobalGiving, found that people were three times as likely to donate to victims of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal or the 2011 Japanese tsunami as to those fleeing the war in Syria. Other refugee causes fare even worse. So why does one of the most important and heart-wrenching issues have so much trouble attracting donations? Blame bad marketing. Read the Full Story Here.
3. Of all the things philanthropists are trying to fix, there’s one major issue the sector seems to continually ignore: itself. As a new report by the Building Movement Project, a nonprofit research group, points out, there’s an intense lack of racial diversity among nonprofit and foundation leaders, an issue that remains unaddressed despite having been well documented for at least 15 years. Read the Full Story Here.
4. An event to share with your grantees — the University at Buffalo Law Library and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Buffalo,NY from July 27-28. This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines and will give attendees key information on how to find grants and write winning grant proposals. See More Info Here.
5. Most nonprofit and social impact leaders share a belief in the positive potential of human beings. We seek to alleviate suffering and lift up the good in people. We advocate, champion, and care for the needs of others. So why don’t more of our workplaces reflect these core values and beliefs? While our purpose in the sector is to empower others, we aren’t immune to limiting beliefs that permeate our educational and economic systems, namely “there isn’t room at the top for all of us.” This is an example of “scarcity thinking,” and without even realizing it, many managers in the social impact sector are steeped in it. Read the Full Story Here.

Friday Rewind is published each Friday by NY Funders Alliance staff. To submit a story for the Friday Rewind, please email programs@nyfunders.org.