GuideStar is a valuable online nonprofit resource whose mission is to “revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.” Information on 1.8 million nonprofits is available on GuideStar through a free basic search. Most savvy... Continue

The 2013 Giving USA annual study reports that, on average, 21 percent of a nonprofit’s income comes from a combination of private foundations and corporations. This is good news for nonprofits because foundation giving is up 4.4 percent over the prior year and corporations are... Continue

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community. They give tirelessly of themselves in the service of others. And they receive nothing more than a simple “thank you,” a smile on the face of someone they’ve helped, or that inner satisfaction of knowing that they have... Continue

As part of Sonoma County's ambitious goal to become California's healthiest county by 2020, the Department of Health Services is leading the Cradle to Career initiative, in partnership with close to 100 Sonoma County community-based organizations, government agencies, and businesses. Cradle to Career is based... Continue

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has a vision to make Sonoma County the healthiest county in California by 2020. To help make this goal a reality, the county Department of Human Services is managing the implementation of Sonoma County Upstream Investments, an initiative that... Continue

Leaders of nonprofit organizations who want to connect with supporters in their 20s and early 30s, known as the Millennial Generation, need to share information about their cause, not the organization itself, and they had better be sure their websites are updated regularly, according to... Continue

The most recent meeting of the Wine Country Chapter of the Association of Professional Fundraisers (AFP) featured two nonprofit social media experts, Alice Ferris and Jim Anderson from GoalBusters Consulting of Flagstaff, AZ. Throughout their presentation, Anderson reiterated, “ Social media is not only for... Continue

Representatives from 20 different Sonoma Valley nonprofits gathered for a presentation last week to learn about a new concept in user-friendly online fundraising called Charity of Choice. Launched just two years ago in the Sonoma area for the Echelon Gran Fondo bicycling series, Charity of... Continue

One of the most overlooked aspects of nonprofit board development is the process of orienting new board members to their role of leading a nonprofit organization. Board orientations range from a comprehensive year long, month-by-month program of acquiring new knowledge about the organization to a... Continue