Nonprofit Newswire | The Mother of Invention in San Diego. Related Articles August 3, 2010; Source: San Diego Metropolitan Magazine | A number of San Diego nonprofits are proof that "necessity is the mother of invention. " In the face of one of the most challenging funding environments in years, several groups are applying creative approaches to help them ride out the downturn. These practices, spelled out in a recent study conducted by the University of San Diego's School of Leadership and Education Sciences, include the following: Meals-On-Wheels of Greater San Diego sells advertising space on its seven delivery vans. Habitat for Humanity sells donated building materials from retailers such as Lowes or Home Depot at a discount home improvement outlet called Restore. In the place of expensive fund-raising dinners, the Senior Community Centers of San Diego now takes donors on tours of its programs, so they can see the good their money does. “People don’t want to see their money paying for nice dinners, fancy tablecloths or center pieces.
Consider the bus stuffed ... and unstuffed and restuffed. Photo by: John Dixon/The News-Gazette John Sullivan, executive director of the Center for Women in Transition, carries as many diapers as he can to his van during the Stuff The Bus distribution at the Associated Transfer and Storage warehouse on Bloomington Road in Champaign on Thursday. 'I'll take as much as I can carry, and I'll keep on coming until it's gone,' he said, noting that the center was in special need of diapers because it's currently serving more than 30 children. CHAMPAIGN – Donors didn't just Stuff the Bus this week. They stuffed and restuffed, until the bus runneth over. The United Way of Champaign County's drive to collect a busload of school supplies and personal care items for social service agencies culminated Thursday with thousands of donations piled up at the Associated Transfer and Storage warehouse on Bloomington Road....
Social Innovation Conversations | Stanford Discussions | Chip Heath. 3A+The+Almanac+of+Hunger+and+Poverty+in+America+2010%3A+About+Feeding+America. Nonprofit Newswire | Funding Heroes, or Their Creators. Related Articles July 14, 2010; Source: Comic Book Resources | There’s a nonprofit for almost anything and everyone. That’s the beauty of the diverse nonprofit sector. How about a nonprofit that “creates a financial safety net for comic creators in need?” The Hero Initiative has helped comic creators with financial support for emergency medical care, other family or household needs, and even getting new jobs.
According to information posted on GuideStar, the Hero Initiative was established in 2001, and its press release suggests that the Initiative has spent $400,000 in grants since its creation. According to the organization’s 990 submitted for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2008, with $387,742 in revenues and $281,927 in expenditures, the Hero Initiative awarded only $30,102 in assistance to people in need, less than one-half of what it spent for travel, conferences, conventions, and meetings.