Volume One Number Eight

The Landscape of Nonprofits in Washington

The concluding paragraphs of Nonprofits in Washington 2004 summarize the findings of the Society's recent report on the scope and character of the state's nonprofit sector.

"Nonprofit organizations are a fundamental part of American Life and every Washington community.  So much so that they exist behind what might be called a veil of familiarity - touching everyone's lives in myriad ways, yet seldom observed with care." 

[[[Read "The Landscape of Nonprofits in Washington"...click here.]]]

[[[Read the whole report with supplemental data...click here.]]]

Evergreen Awards

Seven Organization Recognized
for Community Service April 1, 2004

The 2004 Evergreen Awards for Outstanding Community service were presented at a ceremony in Bellevue to Catholic Community Services of King County, Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, Elder and Adult Day Services, Executive Alliance, Hedgebrook, Northwest Development Officers Association, and Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight and Hearing.

[[[Read citations describing these organizations' work....click here.]]]

News about Nonprofits and Their Work

May is the month when many nonprofits file their Form 990 with the IRS for the previous year.  This year, for the first time, electronic transmission of Form 990 to the IRS is possible (instead of sending the document the familiar way....in an envelope).  The IRS announcement of this development is at http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=108211,00.html

The Center on Philanthropy at the Urban Institute has developed software to fill in the 2003 990 (and 990-EZ).  The EZ version is ready for electronic filing now; adventurous small nonprofits can use the Urban Institute's system for online filing of their 990s this year!  See http://www.form990.org for details.

The 2004 legislature passed the Senate Bill 6188, allowing nonprofits to use electronic communications for some kinds of board communications and notices to members.  An article in the December 2003 issue of Observing Nonprofits discusses the previous restrictions on official use of email by nonprofits - see http://www.tess.org/ON/0312_ONLINE.html. To read some background about SB 6188 and  its text, visit the summary page at the Legislature's website.

The legislature also passed Senate Bill 5869, authorizing nonprofits to participate in self-insurance risk pools.  For more information about SB 5869, visit its summary page.

Action Without Borders is organizing the second national Conference for Nonprofit Human Resources in Portland, Oregon, on June 2-5.  Further information, and online registration, is available at http://www.idealist.org/conferences/hr/2004/index.html.  The early-bird registration rate is available through May 14th.  To help promote the conference Idealist has made a special offer for all nonprofits in Oregon and Washington state. From now until the end of May, all http://www.Idealist.org job postings are free for any organization in these two states. As you may know, job postings on Idealist are usually $50, so this is a great opportunity to try out Idealist, and reach the thousands of people who subscribe to our daily nonprofit job alerts in Washington and Oregon. All you do is post your job announcement following the usual procedure and ignore the invoice information at the end; no invoice will be issued.

A Conversation Gathering Wednesday, May 12, 11:30-1:00 in Seattle will discuss Begging for Change by Robert Egger, president of D.C. Central Kitchen. “As John Gardner (former president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and co-founder of Independent Sector) says, it’s better to be an excellent plumber than a bad philosopher. The era of talk is over. Say what you’ll do, and do what you say.” Egger's book was the subject of "Hard Words to Swallow" in the April 1st issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy which quotes him saying  "Every aspect of our society has changed in the past 100 years - art, science, music - but not charity. No one questions the charity formula that Rockefeller and Carnegie concocted 100 years ago, which says that you make money, then give some of it back at the end of the year, or at the end of a career. No one has said to the nonprofit world, 'Let's take a timeout and really look at what we're doing and at how we're funded.'" Presented by Executive Alliance; a flyer and the article are available online at http://www.exec-alliance.org/pdf/ConvoGathering051204.pdf Register required, please email rrohr@exec-alliance.org.

On her retirement from active teaching, Seattle University has named Dr. Mary Stewart Hall professor emerita in recognition of teaching excellence, scholarship, and service. The book she and Susan Howlett wrote, Getting Funded, has been re-issued in its fourth edition by the Continuing Education Press of Portland State University.  You can see more details, and order a copy of the book, by clicking on this link to Amazon.Com.

A comprehensive list of the region’s news media — the Puget Sound Media Directory 2004 — has just been released. The eighth annual edition details more than 500 newspapers; business, special-interest, trade and online publications; news bureaus; and radio and television stations. It offers beats, program details and direct contact information for key editors, reporters and producers from Bellingham to Olympia. Indexed and tabbed, it is also offered with a database for conducting keyword searches, sorts and mail merges. The Puget Sound Media Directory is published early each year. This year's book goes for $74.95, the book/database combination for $94.95. For more information about the directory and how to order it, visit http://www.pugetsoundmediadirectory.com.