Folks, I deeply appreciate your loyalty to my blog.

To all my subscribers and readers … I hope you’re having a marvelous holiday season. And I wish you the best for the coming year.

I’m taking a break this week, but I wanted to share something with you just for fun.

It starts with the video which I think you’ll enjoy watching. Oh, and there’s more beneath the video too.

Those are the New Year’s Eve fireworks in 2011 that the people of London enjoyed. Spectacular to say the least.

Next I leave you with a few quotes regarding the New Year:

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. (Edith L. Pierce)

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. (Albert Einstein)

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions! (Joey Adams)

New Year’s Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time. (James Agate)

See you again in 2012!

Today, December 22nd of 2011, is the first day of winter. Personally I like winter with its cold temperatures and snow. And I’m disappointed that it won’t be a white Christmas where I live!

However, I realize for many of you living farther south it’s impossible to have a white Christmas.

Folks, if you’ve never experienced one … I recommend you plan a holiday “up north” some year. I believe everyone ought to enjoy frolicking in the snow at least once in their life and having it at Christmas is extra special. Enough of the editorial.

Just two light-hearted items to share with you today – no official business. First is a super short podcast which I think you’ll find amusing.

Here’s the story behind the podcast: Although I’m no longer fluent in the German language, there are a few Christmas carols I always sing in German. My husband, on the other hand, never studied German. When he hears me sing them in German his clever wit kicks in.

He has a unique translation of how the Christmas carol – sung in German – sounds to someone who doesn’t speak the language. The one I’m sharing is O’ Tannenbaum (i.e., Oh Christmas Tree).

In the podcast you’ll hear me sing a phrase in German, and then my husband will pop in with his translation.

Oh, and I’m not a vocalist so please don’t get side-tracked by my singing voice. (Yikes) Click on the link below…
O Tannenbaum - Translated (well, sort of)

Second item I’m sharing today is this cartoon…

Related post:

Sing a Christmas Fundraising Carol

Today is a special day in America. It’s when we celebrate one of our oldest traditions.

Tom Turkey on the run!

Although history is a tad fuzzy, we generally recognize the year 1621 as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

It’s when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest meal.

Granted, their meal looked nothing like what we traditionally have today … their dinner included lobster, seal and swans … but the point is they gathered over a meal in gratitude for what they had.

Actually the Plymouth colonists barely survived that first year after landing in 1620. It was in the spring of 1621 that they were befriended by Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe. He taught them how to cultivate corn and other food, and he helped them form an alliance with the Wampanoag.

Anyway, after 1621 there were similar celebrations each fall throughout the colonies and eventually by the individual states as they formed.

But it wasn’t until 1863 that it became “official.”

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day for November. He designated the last Thursday in November as the national day of thanksgiving.

Then in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted it to the fourth Thursday of November. This was at the request of retailer associations who wanted to start the holiday shopping season earlier – one week earlier to be exact.

Enough on history for now. My best to you and all my readers and subscribers for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy today and the entire 4-day weekend (at least I hope it’s a 4-day holiday weekend for you too). And thanks for all your support.

I can’t let this Federal holiday pass without mention: Friday, November 11th is Veterans Day.

And although it isn’t a “big” as Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter (nor even as big as Halloween – I’m sorry to say) … it’s still an important holiday.

“This nation will remain the land of the free
only so long as it is the home of the brave.” (Elmer Davis)

And there are many nonprofits (charities and associations) that help veterans and their families. I follow dozens on Twitter and I know there are many more.

One thing I’ve discovered is that many people who have never served in the Armed Forces tend to get Memorial Day and Veterans Day confused.

By that I mean that they’re not certain what each one commemorates.

Memorial Day commemorates members of the Armed Forces who died while on active duty. And we also honor any veteran who has passed away.

And as for Veterans Day … here’s a short history of this special day:

Veterans Day originated at the end of WWI. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Then in June 1954 – by Public Law 380 – November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars and became known as Veterans Day.

Today it honors ALL veterans – past and present – of our Armed Forces regardless of whether they served during time of war.

It is a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Fly the flag on Friday. Wear a US flag lapel pin. Carry a small flag with you around town. Say “thanks and God Bless” to anyone you see in uniform and to anyone you know who is a vet.

Related post:

Salute to the nonprofits that serve veterans

Just over a month ago I reached out to the nonprofit industry.

I asked leaders at nonprofits, colleagues at agencies, and other professionals to cast their vote to help establish classifications of nonprofit organizations by size. Specifically by annual gross receipts. 

Once I made adjustments to the SMALL classification and broke it down farther, 88.6% of voters were in agreement. 

Micro … annual gross receipts less than $500,000

Small … annual gross receipts greater than $500,000 and less than $10-Million (Range $500,000 – $10 million/year)

Medium … annual gross receipts greater than $10-Million and less than $50-Million (Range $10 – $50 million/year)

Large … annual gross receipts greater than $50-Million and less than $100-Million (Range $50 – $100 million/year)

Mega … annual gross receipts greater than $100-Million

There were a number of requests (via email, blog comments, and comments within the poll) to break the MICRO classification down further.  So as an option I offer the following:

Nano … annual gross receipts less than $250,000

Micro … annual gross receipts greater than $250,000 and less than $500,000 (Range $250,000 – $500,000 per year)

Small, Medium, Large and Mega classifications remain the same.

Also recognize that no classification method is perfect. We could slice-and-dice this so fine that research and grant guidelines would become a nightmare.  For simplicity sake, my preference at the small end is to stop at the MICRO level (Micro, Small, Medium, Large, and Mega).

In any case, a solid starting point was needed and I believe we’ve accomplished that.

Now when research institutes and large agencies conduct research, they can all use the same classifications to group respondents.  Foundations and other grant sources can use these in their guidelines. And when any of us refer to nonprofit organizations by size, we’ll know what the speaker or author means by the “large nonprofits they work with.”

If you want more on WHY I took this on and how I approached it, I suggest you read my August 9th post which started the ball rolling, “Definition of Small, Medium, or Large Nonprofit Is …” 

In addition, I urge you to read over the comments to the August 9th post. As I answered reader comments I gave more reasoning behind my approach to this challenge.

Spread the word. I’d deeply appreciate your help in letting as many people as possible know about the classifications we’ve set. You’ve spoken. These are the results. Thanks again to all who participated.

On September 11, 2011 we mark the 10-year anniversary of the heartless terrorist attacks on the USA.  By an act of Congress this day is designated Patriot Day – a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

I hope you’ll join me and so many others on Sunday and …

◊ Remember ALL those we lost

◊ Say thanks for all the emergency responders on that day and for many days that followed

◊ Say thanks and pay tribute to the members of our Armed Forces who continue to fight the war on terrorism

Flight #93 crash site in Pennsylvania

Americans everywhere are asked to honor all these sacrifices with a moment of silence at 08:46AM Eastern Time. 

Why then?  That’s the time when the first aircraft slammed into the World Trade Center in New York.

Also, please remember to fly the flag on Patriot Day. 

And if you can’t fly it at half mast until noon (this isn’t possible for most of us who have a bracket mounted on the side of our home), then try to fix a black memorial sash on your flag pole. 

Pentagon in Washington D.C.

You may also choose to visit one of the memorials. (NOTE: There’s a memorial located at each of the three crash sites.)

Four aircraft were hijacked. 

As former President George W. Bush pointed out, this was the first time terrorists used American assets against us.  However, the American spirit prevails and we are stronger than ever.

We have not forgotten our fellow citizens and military who were lost 10 years ago on 9/11.

World Trade Center in New York City

Update – Aug 29, 2011: Whether it’s an earthquake or something like Hurricane Irene … when you can tie your message to a major news story in a relevant way, you’ll naturally get more publicity.  And that leads to more donations – directly or indirectly. [End of update.]

If your nonprofit is located in the vicinity of Maryland, Virginia or Washington D.C., then you can zip out a press release on how the 5.8 magnitude earthquake impacted your mission.*

Breaking News

Of course, if there was no impact then you can’t make something up. 

On the other hand, don’t assume you need to sustain major damage to be newsworthy.  Or the impact had to be catastrophic. 

Any impact will be interesting to read. 

“Interesting is the key.  Earthquakes aren’t as commonplace in this region as in California.  So this topic is definitely interesting news for today and tomorrow.

◊ Perhaps the food was rattled off the shelves in your food pantry. Snap a photo. Publish an online press release asking for volunteers to help clean up.  Or for donations to replace damaged goods.

◊ Perhaps the residents in your elder care facility were frightened more than other folks. What did your staff have to do to calm them down? How can donors help?  What happened?

Tying into a current news event is a terrific way to get additional publicity.  The press is hungry for examples (including photos) of the impact of this event.  Act fast and zip out that press release!

* [Note: On August 23, 2011 at approximately 1:50PM Eastern Time, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck about 40 miles NW of Richmond, VA.  I’m located roughly 85 miles away (as the crow flies) and it shook our house, caused a chandelier to sway, and rattled some objects on shelves.]

UPDATE (9-15-11): Voting closed. Classifications established. I recommend you first read this post for the background. You’ll find the results of the poll in my September 15, 2011 post, “Votes Tallied. Classifications of Small Medium & Large Nonprofits Set.” Thanks again to all who participated!  [End of update.]

The definition of a small nonprofit … a medium nonprofit … or a large nonprofit organization is a MYSTERY.  It’s UNKNOWN. 

Apparently there are no industry standards or guidelines so nonprofit organizations can easily be grouped by their size.  We refer to nonprofits this way a lot but base the terminology on nothing “official.”

Let’s set the industry standards – please VOTE

Since nothing could be found … Let’s set the industry standards together.

Why bother?  Well, for one thing it will add more consistency to all the research projects that occur within the nonprofit sector ― there’ll be no doubt what is meant by small, medium or large nonprofit.  And when we attend conferences we’ll all have the same understanding when nonprofits are grouped by size during presentations or for any other reason.  Polls, surveys, contests, blog posts, etc. … we’ll all be on the same sheet of music.

I’m establishing five (5) classifications because nonprofit gross receipts range from well under $1-million per year to over $60-billion (according to NCCS).  Three classifications (i.e., small, medium & large), don’t allow for enough distinction based on gross receipts; and lump too many nonprofits together that really don’t belong in the same category in my opinion.

On the other hand we don’t want to get carried away and slice it too fine. 

Please use the poll box below to vote on the following classifications (IF you “disagree,” please use the OTHER box to fill in your recommendations.  Or IF you “click disagree” you can either add your recommendations in the POLL comment section or here in the comments for the Zapp Nonprofit Blog):

Micro … annual gross receipts less than $1-Million

Small … annual gross receipts greater than $1-Million and less than $10-Million (Range $1 – $10 million/year)

Medium … annual gross receipts greater than $10-Million and less than $30-Million (Range $10 – $30 million/year)

Large … annual gross receipts greater than $30-Million and less than $100-Million (Range $30 – $100 million/year)

Mega … annual gross receipts greater than $100-Million

Thanks for voting!  And IF by chance you disagree with my classifications, please use the comment box for this blog to make your suggestions (unless you already wrote them in the “Other” box when voting).

The results will be published here in my blog after the voting is closed on September 10, 2011.

I have a favor to ask:  I’d appreciate it if you would help spread the word throughout your own networks such as your co-workers, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and email contacts.

My goal is to get as many votes as possible within the next few weeks and I need your help to accomplish that. 

Oh, and if you know of some “official” definitions that I couldn’t find … please, please, please share them by adding a comment to this post (see below).

My research efforts

And just in case you’re interested in how I determined that there is no industry standard . . . my research began with several hours of online digging.  I didn’t find anything that defined nonprofits by size in any way.

So I asked a number of folks who work at agencies, several of my peers (veteran freelance consultants with over 100 years of combined experience), and I raised the question in four different groups on LinkedIn for nonprofit professionals. Finally I also asked numerous vendors with years of nonprofit experience at the recent 2011 Bridge Conference.

Everywhere the answer came up as … “Gee, I don’t think I’ve seen anything but if you find it I’d love to know what it is.”

That’s how I came to the conclusion that there’s no definition – most likely based on annual gross receipts – to define nonprofits.  In other words, there are no official industry standards or guidelines to determine which organizations could be classified as small, medium, or large nonprofits.

Don’t forget to vote using the poll box above!  And please spread the word to get more nonprofit employees and consultants to vote so we can set some guidelines.  It will help future research efforts, presentations at conferences, and so much more!

Today’s post is a “feel good” story.  It’s about a charity, Pilots N Paws, and the 747 pets they helped match with new families after the tornado struck Joplin, Missouri this past spring.

Joplyn in the plane flying to her new home (photo courtesy of AOPA Online)

You’ll find the complete article, “Joplyn flies out of Joplin, lands new home” on AOPA Online.

The Weather Channel’s Mike Bettes was on the scene very shortly after the tornado had struck Joplin, killing 150 people.  More than once he got a bit choked up while covering the story. 

For example: The camera captured the moving moment when a dog sprang liberated from a pile of debris.  “Oh, they just pulled out their dog.  That’s great,” Bettes said while filming live.

A month later Bettes and The Weather Channel returned to Joplin for a follow-up story.  One of their stops included the Humane Society to talk about the animals left homeless after the tornado.

According to the Humane Society, pets are often left on their own after a disaster strikes.  There are many reasons: The owner may have been killed; injured or left homeless.  Many times the owners simply can’t be found despite all the efforts made to reunite pets with their owners.

Mike Bettes ended up adopting one of the dogs – a golden retriever – and named her Joplyn.  In addition, the senior producer of The Weather Channel also adopted a rescued dog.

Both dogs were flown to their new homes by the charity, Pilots N Paws (founded by Deborah Boies).  Volunteers for Pilots N Paws provide air transportation so displaced animals are brought together with new adoptive owners in distant places.

According to Mike Bettes, Joplyn is doing great.  “She has adjusted very well,” Bettes wrote in an email.  “She loves to go hiking and of course to be petted.”

Charity and aviation once again team up to do great work.

Mary Latimer and her daughter Tamara Griffith are both Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs).  

From July 29 through August 7, 2011, Mary, her husband and daughter and other flight instructors will hold the Girls In Flight Training (GIFT) academy.  It will take place at the Wilbarger County Airport in Vernon, Texas.

Why am I sharing this here?

To begin with I think it’s a neat story.  Second, these professionals are sharing their expertise … they’re volunteering their time to help young women realize their dreams.  That’s charitable behavior.  And third, as a pilot I’m partial to these stories.

And who knows?  Many of these women pilots might go on to help the numerous charities (certified 501-c-3 nonprofits) who use aviation to fulfill their mission.

One thing that’s unique about Mary Latimer’s academy is this:

Getting women interested in aviation is not GA’s stumbling block, Latimer said. “Our stumbling block is once we get them started, how do we keep them going?”

Other groups are focusing on bringing women to the airport and introducing them to aviation, but there’s also a need to ensure women pilots progress through their first certificate and on to commercial and instrument ratings. “I need to find out what’s interfering with them finishing. Then we can fix the problem,” she said. “You can’t fix the problem until you identify the problem.”

Here’s something else that’s special: “They won’t charge for ground or flight instruction—only for the use of the airplane and fuel. What’s more, Latimer is working to ensure free or low-cost housing is available. She leases a small house at the airport that can hold six to 10 people. Participants also are welcome to pay for their lodging at a local motel.”  Now that is charitable!

So if you’re a female (youth or adult) and would like some help completing your rating, want a refresher, or anything else … contact Latimer and head on down to Texas.

You can read the full article here on AOPA Online and also get the info on how to contact Latimer for more information.