Ruth K. Hansen

Every year I ask my undergraduate fundraising class to do a SWOT analysis on the nonprofit sector. One of the best focus groups ever! #academicsky #nonprofitsky

Column | Think stores get the tax break? The truth about checkout donations. Incorrect information about donation requests at store checkouts is proliferating on social media.

Not sure if it's ok to round up for charity? The Washington Post's @michellesingletary.bsky.social used the paper @laurendula.bsky.social & I wrote to help challenge some misconceptions about charitable giving at the checkout. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
#nonprofitsky #academicsky

In my book, any day an undergraduate asks me if I know how to read a 990 has already exceeded my expectations. #academicsky #nonprofitsky

Managing Mission and Uncertainty in the US Civil Rights Era: A Historical Case Study of Gary, Indiana's Neighborhood House This presentation focuses on Neighborhood House’s final decade.

How does a community organization survive—or not—amid social upheaval? On Mon, 20 Oct (6–7.30PM BST), Ruth Hansen explores the rise & fall of Gary, Indiana’s Neighborhood House, shaped by race, politics, & shifting resources in the civil rights era. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

A big thank you to University of Kent's Emily Royston, archivist for the UK Philanthropy Archives, for showing me around! Now my work begins... #nonprofitsky #academicsky #fundraising #research

AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Research Grants & Initiatives | Association of Fundraising Professionals The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy engages in several research grants, initiatives and projects, including the Research Council Forum and Emerging Scholar Program, the Wilson C. "Bill" Levis Fundrais...

Attention researchers!
Thanks to Fidelity Charitable Catalyst Fund, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy has two rounds of Levis Fundraising Research grants in 2025 for projects related to fundraising performance. Next deadline: October 31st. #academicsky #nonprofitsky

afpglobal.org/research-rep...

I loved this project because we got to identify some opportunities for research and practice to learn from each other. The full open-access paper is here. #nonprofitsky journal-bpa.org/index.php/jb...

YouTube video by The Fund Raising School Annual Fund Fundraising: What Works and Why

I love sitting down with Bill Stanczykiewicz to discuss fundraising! Good company, good conversations, & practical take-aways. In this podcast, we discuss experimental studies on fundraising. #nonprofitsky www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2F...

BBB Foundation Ethics Awards and panel in Milwaukee - good to hear extended discussion on fostering a long term ethical approach. Congratulations to this year's award winners!

OK, #nonprofit #fundraising #academics - what text are you liking for teaching about grants these days? Prefer something that addresses both foundation and government grants, focuses on proposal prep, but also talks about post award.

A picture of a daffodil of the "altruist" variety

I'm pleased to share my altruist narcissus, 2025
#nonprofitsky #academicsky #prosocial #puns

What to know about checkout charity Candid insights | Learn about checkout charity, including how this form of impulse giving works, which donors give most often to checkout charity campaigns, and how nonprofits can benefit from over ha...

It's always a pleasure to work with my friend and colleague @laurendula.bsky.social - so when @candiddotorg.bsky.social invited us to write about how impulse giving at the checkout - aka checkout charity - can help support #nonprofits we jumped at the idea! blog.candid.org/post/what-is...

Otoh, an honest exchange can do wonders. It's just not small talk.
I never got the hang of small talk.

YouTube video by UWW Continuing Education Women and the American Philanthropic Tradition

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking at Fairhaven Senior Services as part of UWW's Fairhaven Lecture Series. This year's theme is "Remarkable Women" - so I spoke about Women in the American Philanthropic Tradition. I'm pleased to share the recording here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlR-...

On March 31, I'll be speaking as part of the UW-Whitewater Fairhaven Lecture Series, which is focusing this spring on Remarkable Women. If you'd like to hear more about women in America's philanthropic tradition, join us! Lectures are free and open to the public. www.uww.edu/ce/fairhaven

What Is the Financial Risk of Nonprofits Losing Government Grants? See the financial risks that nonprofits in every state would face without government grants.

@urbaninstitute.bsky.social brings the data! Here's a visualization of how important government grants are to nonprofits across all 50 states. #nonprofit #funding #grants #data www.urban.org/research/pub...

Echo chambers are rarely helpful.
Fundraisers still need to bridge the realities between their organization's lived experiences and those of their (potential) donors.
Jeff Brooks' blog on assessing AI-written appeal letters.

I am honored to join the AFP Foundation for a two-year term as Chair of the Research Council. Evidence-based practice is important; and practice-informed research helps strengthen the potential of the nonprofit sector. #nonprofit #research

a woman in a school uniform is standing on a set of stairs in front of a blue door . ALT: a woman in a school uniform is standing on a set of stairs in front of a blue door .

My undergrads taking #fundraising have been so engaged in our theory and ethics discussions... I did not expect this but I'm so excited!

Staff of the granting agencies, the nonprofit organizations, and the IRS all take great care with the taxpayer money that our elected representatives decided should be used to benefit the public. Better yet, there are processes in place to dissuade, discover, and remedy any improper use.

The process is one with a great deal of transparency, certainly more than unsupported posts on social media.

Federal grants sometimes also have their own audits as part of the regular process. A negative finding in the audit can affect the organization's ability to receive federal funds in the future.

Large nonprofits have organizational audits, release annual reports, and file informational returns with the IRS that are publicly available.

These nonprofit organizations are doing work our elected representatives have decided is important. There is a high degree of transparency about how the money is used, with reporting back to the government and to the public.

Every dollar of government support is money that has been allocated, usually by congress or state legislatures, to address specific goals for the public benefit.

Government grants and contracts make up an average of 1/3 of nonprofit revenues in the US - less than in most countries. Many human services, health, and education organizations have roots with religious traditions, but they are still human services, health and education organizations.

I have served as a reviewer for state and federal grants. Now I study and teach about nonprofit management, fundraising, and the limits of people's willingness to help others.

Obviously I can't comment on the specific instances, but I can speak generally about government grants and contracts. I worked with similar grants for charitable organizations for more than a dozen years in my capacity as a fundraiser.

This week, we've heard a lot about federal support of nonprofits. This included comments about payments of this sort being illegal, or some sort of money laundering. These comments don't pass the sniff test.

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