Obtaining the objective

Could there ever be a scenario where your non-profit organisation does not need to exist?

If your organisation's reason for existence - it's objects - are attained, what would happen? Would you contemplate advocating to disband or would you push to tweak the cause and pursue an alternative objective?

An inability to maintain focus, mission drift, or funding shortages could be the early warning signs that your time is up!

Speaking funding, this Thursday the NfP Revolution will arrive in Sydney. Make sure you register and attend this 1-day workshop that will enable you to create new and stronger revenue streams for your non-profit organisation.

Advice when sending invitations via email

Alex Makin is one of the presenters at NfP Revolution. Here's some great email advice (and you can get lot's more if you register and attend the event!).

"Many businesses and organisations are now preferring to send invitations via email instead of via post. Email invitations can save time, money and can be easily measured to determine responses.

While email invitations have definite benefits they are several factors that need to be considered to ensure that you are able to maximise your response rate.

The following is some advice to consider when sending email based invitations."

Read Alex's full article...

Support our Supporters

Our upcoming event, NfP Revolution, is only a few days away.  We wanted to take the opportunity to thank our two sponsors, APT Solutions and Debitsuccess.

Having worked with APT for a number of years, we personally know how good their offerings are for non-profits - it really is the best membership software on the market.

Debit Success have joined our network recently and having learnt about how they can help keep an organisation's cash flow flowing, we can see that their services would be a welcome addition to any non-profit's bottom line.

I'd ask you to visit their websites and contact Helen from APT or Karen from Debitsuccess if you want to learn more about how they might be able to add value to your work.

How to service sponsors & clients effectively

Our colleague Richard Woodward has put together an article showing how effective servicing of sponsors can reap a lifetime of rewards for your organisation.

Read the full article.

As a bonus to NFPN Members (but you must be a member!) you can attend one of his (always sold out) workshops at a reduced rate. The details of each are below.

Essential Sales & Business Development Skills

How to Attract and Retain Sponsors

ATO Consultation paper: A definition of charity

On 28 October 2011, the Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Human Services and Social Inclusion announced the release of the consultation paper, A definition of charity.

Some extracts from the joint media release No. 143 are included below:

"The Government is seeking the views of charities and other stakeholders on a definition of charity and charitable purposes. The consultation builds on a range of previous inquiries including the 2001 Report of the Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and Related Organisations, the Charities Bill 2003 and recent court decisions including the High Court's decision in Aid/Watch Incorporated v the Commissioner of Taxation."

"As this is the first round of consultation on this issue, the Government is seeking important feedback from the community. The Government wants to hear from the sector about how a single definition can best serve the needs of not-for-profits and their clients, as well as encourage charitable giving."

If you think that your non-profit might be affected by changes to the definition of charity then you should really consider having your say and putting in a submission.

Full details on how to comment on the consultation paper, and to view the paper can be found at - A definition of charity on the Treasury website.

The closing date for submissions is Friday 9 December 2011.