Yesterday USA Track & Field (USATF) announced the results of a recent study that showed road runners and walkers raised $714 million for charity in 2006. The figure marks a nearly 9 percent increase over 2005 and shows continued, steady increases since USATF began its annual charity survey in 2002. Conducted internally by USATF, they gathered data from national charitable race series/organizations and a sample of nearly 200 running/walking races, including many of the country's largest races.

"The continued growth of charity fundraising in the current economic climate shows the dedication of charity runners and walkers to their cause, as well as the strength of road running in this country," said USATF CEO Craig A. Masback. "The phenomenon of running and fitness as a cultural, social and economic movement continues unabated. It is only a matter of time before the billion dollar mark becomes the norm for this study."

USAFT also named the USATF Charitable Race of the Year: Nike Women's Marathon, and the USATF Charitable Organization of the Year: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

For more information about the USATF, the latest study, the awards and the organizations that received them, and dollar totals from past years please visit the USATF website: http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2007_10_29_09_33_04.

The Foundation Center has been rapidly expanding its national network of Cooperating Collections to bring funding information resources to more people in more communities across the country. The designation of 50 new U.S. funding information centers in 2007, as well as one in Mexico City, brings the grand total to 345 to date.

Located at libraries, nonprofit resource centers, community foundations, and other agencies and organizations, Cooperating Collections provide access free of charge to detailed information on foundation grants and how to apply for them, as well as training sessions on how to effectively use resources in the collection to identify potential funders. The Foundation Center's core collection includes its database profiling more than 90,000 U.S. grantmakers, print directories, and proposal writing guides.

"We are delighted to find more and more organizations that want to work with the Foundation Center to offer special services to the grantseeking public," said Kief Schladweiler, coordinator of Cooperating Collections at the Foundation Center. "Our collaboration with these partners in every state in the nation and beyond — many in under-resourced urban areas and isolated rural communities — gives us a way to help build the fundraising capacity of nonprofit organizations that might not otherwise have access to high-quality resources and expertise."

The nation's leading authority on philanthropy, the Foundation Center serves grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Establishing new Cooperating Collections helps the Center accomplish one of its key initiatives: to share knowledge with under-resourced and underserved populations in need of vital information and training to become successful grantseekers.

For more information about the Cooperating Collections and locating the nearest one to you please visit: http://foundationcenter.org/collections/

What can you learn about nonprofit marketing in 60 minutes? You are invited to find out at Nonprofit 911's free training series.

Here are some recent subjects they have covered:

• How to Tell Your Story
• Email Fundraising on a Tight Budget
• Crafting Your Call to Action
• Website 101 for Fundraisers
• Cultivating Donors Online

To view the transcripts or listen to the seminars (free) visit: http://www.fundraising123.org/.

Sandy Rees is offering a free ebook about a subject that will interest everyone that cares about fundraising. Here is a short message from Sandy about her new book.

Here’s a new, hot-off-the-presses e-book that every fundraiser should read.

It’s called "Ten Deadly Fundraising Mistakes and How to Avoid Them" and it’s available free to anyone who wants to read it.

I've spent the past two years coaching and supporting small nonprofit organizations. I've seen things that work, things that don't and things that are so toxic they kill organizations. You wouldn’t believe the kinds of mistakes that some groups make. On second thought, you probably would. You may have seen some of them yourself!

I wrote this report after seeing the same tragic situations over and over. I'm hoping that other small nonprofits can learn from these mistakes and course-correct before it's too late.

I think there’s something valuable for most every nonprofit in this short e-book. You’ll read about a variety of mistakes made by Boards and staff members. Plus you'll get links to internet resources that can help you avoid the pitfalls of fundraising.

Want to see it? Get a copy for yourself at http://www.deadlyfundraisingmistakes.com.

NEW EDITION DEMYSTIFIES FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTIES

The first edition got the party started. Now the expanded seconded edition keeps the party rolling.

Nonprofit consultant and author, Morrie Warshawski, announces the publication of: THE FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTY: HOW TO PARTY WITH A PURPOSE AND RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CAUSE – 2nd Edition (ISBN # 9780971278912), $19.95 plus $4.00 s&h (available December 1, 2007).

The Fundraising Houseparty completely demystifies this useful and flexible method of garnering donations from individuals for a wide variety of nonprofit programs - from community education programs to capital campaigns to individual arts project - and with every type of donor in both grassroots and wealthy settings. The book contains sections on:

• Key Elements of a Successful Houseparty
• Pre-Party Check List and Timeline
• Instructions for the Evening Presentation
• Sample Invitations and Donor Cards
• Bibliography

Is your organisation a small, tax-exempt nonprofit (less than $25,000 gross receipts)? Have you gotten a letter from the IRS about its new e-Postcard filing requirements?

Up to now, tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or less were not required to submit information returns such as the Form 990. But that all changed with the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA).

Don't risk your nonprofit status by not filing. An electronic version is promised but no date has been announced.

Check out the IRS website for further information: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=169250,00.html.

Download a free 22 page preview of an upcoming book by Betty Stallings called, "Missed Opportunities: Valuing All of Your Donors". Her new book will feature an eye-opening study capturing why and how CEOs/Executives value and support successful volunteer engagement. You can download her free 22 page e-book excerpt titled "12 Key Actions of Volunteer Program Champions".

Please also take a moment and visit her website and check out the other great things she has going on of interest to nonprofit leaders.

Betty Stallings, M.S.W., is an international trainer, consultant, author and keynote speaker specializing in volunteerism, nonprofit fundraising, board development and leadership. Perhaps she in most known for her book, "How to Produce Fabulous Fundraising Events: Reap Remarkable Results with Minimal Effort".

From the Official Google Checkout Blog-

Today, I'm happy (OK, more like ecstatic) to introduce Google Checkout for Non-Profits -- with this launch, U.S. non-profit organizations (IRS-certified 501(c)(3)s) now have an easy way to accept online donations, and donors have a fast and secure way to support their favorite groups. The best part: it's completely free for the organizations. Through at least the end of 2008, non-profits will pay 0% + 0 cents in transaction fees for each donation they accept through Checkout. And that means donors can support these groups knowing that 100 percent of their donations will reach their charity.

Besides being free, Checkout for Non-Profits is designed to make the entire donation and collection process more efficient. For donors, it enables you to complete a donation with just your Google login, and it helps you track your giving in a convenient and central place (a feature that should be particularly useful for those of us who tend to start our tax returns on April 14). It also helps to drive more donations to non-profits by making it easier for donors to give, and it makes collecting funds as easy as pushing a button. With Checkout for Non-Profits, we hope to do for donations what we're currently doing for e-commerce: increase the volume of transactions by making the process as simple and secure as possible for everyone involved.

To learn more, head over to our Checkout for Non-Profits page: http://www.google.com/checkout/npo/

From the Official Google Blog-

Ever since YouTube first launched, people and organizations have been using it to broadcast their causes and engage supporters around the issues they care about. In that spirit, today YouTube unveiled its Non-Profit Program at the Clinton Global Initiative to help non-profit organizations more easily connect with the world's largest online video community. In the past few years, online video has emerged as a key tool for grassroots organizing on the Internet -- a short, simple video can demonstrate the impact and the needs of an organization in a uniquely compelling fashion. This program will enable non-profits to create dedicated YouTube channels for themselves, making it even easier for people to find, watch, and engage with the organization's video content.

One other thing the YouTube Non-Profit Program offers: the ability to collect donations directly from these channels using the new Google Checkout for Non-Profits. Checkout for Non-Profits -- which can also be integrated directly into a non-profit's site -- helps drive more donations for U.S.-based 501(c)(3) groups by making it possible for supporters to contribute quickly and securely. It also offers supporters the satisfaction of knowing that 100 percent of their contributions will be sent to the non-profit, as Google has committed to processing donations through Checkout for free through at least the end of 2008. This functionality is particularly exciting, as today's fund-raising is increasingly moving online -- and Checkout for Non-Profits makes the entire process even easier.