Using the Whole Whale - A Nonprofit Podcast

291: (news) Historic Refugee Crisis & $80M Crypto Donation Response

As Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Becomes Historic In Size, Elements of Media Coverage Criticized For Ahistoric Framing

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war enters its second week, the size and scope of the refugee crisis has spiraled into a full-scale disaster of historic proportion. The humanitarian situation in Ukraine has grown dire as reports of the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure have grown into nearly indisputable evidence of war crimes. However, certain media outlets’ framing of the conflict in juxtaposition to the Middle East has raised eyebrows and drawn criticism for “normalizing” violence in non-Western countries. Additionally, while the generosity of European countries taking in refugees should be lauded, international observers have criticized reports that suggest discrimination of ethnic minorities and non-Ukrainian nationals at border crossings.

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Crypto-Donations To Ukraine Surpass $80 Million

As the world watches in horror at the atrocities and suffering in Ukraine, cryptocurrency donations have topped over $80 million, according to Yahoo News. Approximately $44 million of those dollars have gone directly to the Ukrainian government. Interestingly, the report finds that donors are more willing to give to established organizations and entities like the Ukrainian government and organizations like the Come Back Alive foundation as opposed to DAOs. Ethereum was the most donated currency, topping Bitcoin.

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Summary

• What 10 Nonprofits Are Doing to Aid Ukraine and Its Refugees
• They Came to Help Migrants. Now, Europe Has Turned on Them
• Nonprofit Civica Plans to Deliver Low-Cost Insulin

290: (news) Invasion of Ukraine Triggers Humanitarian Catastrophe

Russia Invades Ukraine, Triggers Full Scale War & Humanitarian Catastrophe

Early Thursday morning, Russian ground troops launched an all-out war against Ukraine, with the assumed intention of overtaking the entire country and overthrowing its government. Here are 5 key takeaways from the NGO and humanitarian perspective:

1. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees now estimates half a million Ukrainian refugees have entered neighboring countries, especially Poland, Hungary, & Romania.
2. According to the Ukrainian military, hundreds of Ukrainians, including civilians, have been killed. Calls have been made to gather evidence of war crimes to be presented to the International Criminal Court.
3. Doctors Without Borders, known for often being the first to arrive and last to leave during the conflict, announced they were forced to “halt [their] activities” in Ukraine
4. Patreon Suspends Ukrainian NGO Come Back Alive For 'Funding Military Activity'
5. The World Food Programme estimates that 50% of its grain comes from Ukraine and Russia, and warns that war could impact global food security.

 

Social Media Facilitates Global Outrage, Large-Scale Grassroots Mobilization

Condemnation of Putin’s actions have united the western world with a cohesiveness not seen in decades. Global protests and grassroots humanitarian action are being broadcast to the world via social media. Here are 5 key takeaways from the global perspective:

1. The world erupted in emphatic protest against Putin’s actions and in support of Ukrainians. From Madrid to Berlin to New York to London, protestors chanted colorful slogans that had blown up on social media that show the spirit of Ukrainian resolve.
2. A grassroots humanitarian mobilization effort has begun in Eastern Europe to support the now estimated half a million refugees. Efforts are underway in Poland, Romania, and Hungary. Even in the Czech Republic, which doesn’t border Ukraine, volunteers are being asked to drive to the Polish border to assist.
3. The Ukrainian diaspora community have used social media to consolidate ways to help contribute to solidarity as well as donate to local organizations.
4. Ukraine's Twitter account messaged out their Crypto wallet addresses and have received nearly $15M in contributions.
5. Russia has been trying to stamp out unofficial narratives of the war by blocking and or slowing major social media platforms. Major U.S.-based social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have prohibited Russian state-owned media outlets including RT from advertising.

289: (news) DOJ Headaches & Public Benefit App

DOJ Rules On Foreign Agent Registration Could Cause Headaches For Nonprofits According to reporting from Axios, the U.S. Department of Justice’s new proposed rules regarding foreign agents and influence could cause major headaches for nonprofits. The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), aims to minimize the influence peddling of foreign countries and organizations, however some advocacy groups assert that an “overzealous” application of the rules could have serious repercussions. Major groups including the NRDC, ACLU, and AFP have delivered warnings to the DOJ during its open comment period. Foreign funding of policy think-tanks in particular have come under intense scrutiny over recent years. Read more ➝   Nonprofit Helps Families Access Public Benefits Left On The Table Patrice Berry, a nonprofit entrepreneur, has built an app that helps folks access public benefits that they often didn’t know they have. An estimated $60 billion in public assistance is left on the table every year - with access issues to the labyrinthine bureaucratic processes posing a major challenge to helping folks in tough financial circumstances. AssistHub serves as a virtual assistant to help bridge the gap between the public and public benefits. Read more ➝

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✅ The Summary... Having trouble reading these articles with popups? Use the Feedly Boards linked at the bottom to quickly go through curated articles. 20% of Nonprofits Urge People to Vote, Study Shows Why is the left silent on Trudeau’s crackdown? Opioid settlement plan: Nonprofit organization to handle funds from long list of lawsuits Deal Done For City of Hope To Acquire Cancer Network

🙋‍♀️ Opinions & Resources Fundraising Automations to Setup in Q1 Nonprofit organization strives to end racism in the community Many nonprofit hospitals aren't earning their tax exemptions - STAT The Individual Donor Problem — Are You Addressing It?

288: Fundraising Automations to Setup in Q1

Isabelle Brauer, Fundraising Manager at Whole Whale shares a few insights from the newest Whole Whale University Nonprofit Fundraising course. 

 

You can’t automate empathy, but you CAN automate a thank you. We all care about our donors but sometimes get lost juggling the ‘human touch’ of nurturing leads and manually completing tasks on time. Creating and sustaining a robust supporter base is one of the most important things your team can do to support your organization, but building relationships with donors often involves time-consuming repetitive tasks.  

 

One of the most significant sources of nonprofit professional pride is also one of the greatest difficulties: one person is doing the work of 3 people! Recent research states 86% of fundraisers believe technology can automate manual tasks that divert them from their most important task: Raising critical funds to support key programming. 

 

Ready to spend more of your time relationship-building and less time on repetitive, tedious tasks? Join Whole Whale Fundraising Manager Isabelle Brauer as she shares 7 automated tactics – from easy to hard to execute – nurture leads to donors. 

287: (news) Nonprofits Prepare for Ukraine Evac & Volunteer Shortage

Weekly news for the nonprofit sector.

 

 

Nonprofits & NGOs Prepare As The Russia <> Ukraine Standoff Becomes Dire

As the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, the nonprofit organization Project Dynamo has announced it is preparing for the potential emergency evacuation of Americans from Ukraine. The organization, initially formed to aid in the evacuation from Afghanistan, is just one of many civil society and NGO organization focused on preparing for the fallout of a potential war. The Russian military has approximately 140,000 troops surrounding Ukraine on all but its western border. On Friday, the U.S. government advised all American citizens to leave the country within 48 hours. While official intelligence publicly referenced by the U.S. notes that an invasion is not certain, that intelligence has assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has assembled the necessary military force to launch an attack should he chose to do so.

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The Great U.S. Volunteer Shortage & CEO Transition at VolunteerMatch

Greg Baldwin, CEO and President of VolunteerMatch, says that the number of open nonprofit volunteer opening positions needed has increased to approximately 10.5 million at the beginning of 2022. This represents a jump of nearly 2 million open positions since before the pandemic, which saw a need for 8.5 million volunteers. Macro trends related to the shifting impact of the pandemic have resulted in a shortage of volunteers felt by nonprofits large and small across the country. Baldwin joins Whole Whale (the publisher of this newsletter) CEO George Weiner to discuss this volunteer shortage as well as VolunteerMatch’s process for finding a replacement CEO after his scheduled departure.

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Summary: 

• Eminem takes a knee during the Super Bowl halftime show  | wbur.org
• How the National Butterfly Center Became the Center of Online Lies |  nytimes.com
• For the first time in its history, Facebook is in decline. Has the tech giant begun to crumble? | the Guardian
• Salary competition adds to staffing challenges for nonprofits | MiBiz: West Michigan Business News

286: The Great U.S. Volunteer Shortage & CEO Transition at VolunteerMatch

Greg Baldwin CEO and President talks about the current needs for volunteers across the VolunteerMatch network. What are the macro factors causing the return to normal volunteering behaviors and what can nonprofits do?

Greg also discusses the CEO transition and how the organization is approaching finding his replacement.

"Volunteer Demand has rebounded to over 10M but volunteers are in shortage"

 

VolunteerMatch is the most effective way to recruit highly qualified volunteers for your nonprofit. We match you with people who are passionate about and committed to your cause, and who can help when and where you need them.

And because volunteers are often donors as well, we make it easy for them to contribute their time and money.

The Topline numbers from VolunteerMatch

• 8.5 Million were needed pre-COVID
• 4.35 Million were needed in 2021 Jan
• The number is now 10.5 Million open opportunities starting 2022

 

 

About Greg Baldwin

Greg Baldwin is the CEO at VolunteerMatch. He joined what is now VolunteerMatch in the spring of 1998 as its Chief Imagination Officer to finish hot-wiring the Internet to help everybody find a great place to volunteer. Today, VolunteerMatch is the web's largest volunteer engagement network strengthening communities and organizations across the country by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. Greg completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University in 1990 with a degree in Public Policy. He is a life-long volunteer and currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife Kathryn and kids Ellie and Matt.

285: (news) Don’t GoFundMe in Canada & Crisis at Textline Around Data Sharing

Weekly nonprofit news summary from hundreds of sources.

 

Crisis Text Line Ends Data-Sharing Relationship With For-Profit Entity

As reported by Politico and other outlets, Crisis Text Line has ended its data sharing relationship with for-profit spin-off organization Loris.ai, which uses data to inform customer service software. Crisis Text Line, which uses a text-based approach to provide crisis support to those contemplating self-harm or suicide, stated that while “the data is handled securely, anonymized and scrubbed of personally identifiable information,” “we have ended our data-sharing relationship with Loris.” The change came amid criticism from privacy experts and lawmakers including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Crisis Text Line is a former client of Whole Whale, the publisher of this newsletter.

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GoFundMe At Center Of International Dispute Over Funds To Anti-Vaccine Mandate Trucker Protests

As anti-Vaccine mandate protests led by truckers have forced Ottowa to declare a state of emergency, GoFundMe finds itself at the center of a complicated dispute over individual contributions to the protest movement. As reported by the Washington Post, the fundraiser for the convey had generated over $8 million in funds, of which $1 million had been distributed. After determining with local police that “previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation,” the company announced they would no longer distribute the remaining funds. The move drew ire from conservative lawmakers on both sides of the border and raises complicated questions about the role of decentralized fundraising with regards to disruptive protest movements.

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Summary

• Tribes Reach $590 Million Opioid Settlement With Johnson & Johnson | NY Times
• Cryptocurrency users are creating “decentralized autonomous organizations” that function as nonprofits |
  Philanthropy Daily
• The Jed Foundation Receives $15 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott | businesswire.com
• Melinda French Gates No Longer Pledges Bulk of Her Wealth to Gates Foundation | 
  WSJ
• Nonprofit uses Super Bowl parties as way to help homeless | Santa Monica Daily Press
•  

284: The Case for Crypto Donations - The Giving Block

A lively discussion with Pat Duffy, the co-founder of The Giving Block about where crypto philanthropy is and important lessons from 2021. Is it time for your nonprofit to start accepting cryptocurrency? What are the questions and issues that might come up? We discuss the topic in depth. 

 

Data from 2021 in Crypto Philanthropy from The Giving Block

• The total donation volume on The Giving Block in 2021 was
  $69,644,535, an increase of 1,558% from 2020.
• The average crypto donation size on The Giving Block in 2021 was
  $10,455, an increase of 236% from the previous year.
• NFT projects donated $12.3 million to charities via The Giving
  Block in 2021.
• Crypto donation volume increased every single quarter in 2021.
• The Giving Block’s Cause Funds (index funds for crypto
  philanthropy), established in November, raised $418,200 in their
  first two months.
• The Giving Block’s Crypto Adoption Fund (a mission-agnostic index
  fund for all pro-crypto nonprofits on the platform), established in
  November, raised $444,700 in its first two months.

282: (news) Nonprofits VS Spyware & National Blood Shortage

Pegasus Spyware Poses Major Threat To Civil Society Globally

In a detailed post released last week by Human Rights Watch, the global advocacy organization details the exact ways that its Crisis and Conflict director was targetted by the Pegasus spyware “five times between April and August 2021.” The breach was “peer reviewed” by Amnesty International’s Security Lab, where it was determined that hackers had used a “zero-click exploit,” which means that no action has to be taken by the victim to initiate the breach. The sofwtare, made by the company NSO Group, has been purchased by multiple governments. Reporting by the New York Times uncovered that the FBI had purchased the software before deciding not to use it.

Read more ➝

 

National Blood Donation Crisis 

Arizonans are working hard to organize blood drives, amid a national blood donation crisis. The American Red Cross estimates that a 62% drop in college and high school blood drives are partially able to explain the national shortage. According to the report, many hospitals in Tucson have had to cancel elective surguries as the state sees a two-year low in blood donations. Learn more about donating blood from the American Red Cross.

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282: (news) NGO Capital for Capital Rioters & Red Cross Hack

Nonprofit news for the week of Jan 24th, 2022.

 

‘Red Flags’ At Nonprofit Backing U.S. Capitol Rioters

Experts see lots to worry about with the far-right endorsed Patriot Freedom Fund, a registered nonprofit organization fundraising money to support people charged with crimes involving the events of January 6th, 2021. As reported by NPR, the fund, led by an avid supporter of the U.S. Capitol rioters, and backed by far-right nationalists (chiefly Steve Bannon) , is sourcing donations using cryptocurrency. However, many nonprofit experts and even backers themselves are upset with the lack of transparency, lack of independent oversight, and potential failure to meet legal requirements. Laurie Styron, chief executive of rating organization CharityWatch, said the fund would undoubtedly receive a failing grade.

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ICRC Data Breached By Hackers

As reported by The NonProfit Times, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements have been targeted by hackers in what amounts to a significant data breach. Nearly 515,000 clients have had data stolen, according to organization communications. Those clients were part of the effort to help “people separated by migration, violence, war and other causes,” according to The NonProfit Times.

Read more ➝

 

Summary

• Chicago Public Media acquiring Chicago Sun-Times as nonprofit newsroom (The Spokesman Review)
• FBI investigates Minnesota nonprofit for allegedly misusing millions of dollars meant to feed kids (KARE11.com)
• Nonprofit proposes $50 million low-cost housing project on industrial site near Truax Field on North Side (madison.com)
• Bay Area Student-Run Nonprofit Offers Free STEAM Virtual Classes (Patch.com)