Posts tagged nonprofit

This semester, I am taking a class called the Business of Nonprofit Management taught by Aria Finger, the COO of DoSomething.org. If you don’t know who she is or what the organization does, check out this great profile of her in Crain’s.

Although I have only had five sessions so far, I have already learned a wealth of information from the class. Below are ten of the many facts the class has taught me. Hopefully, these tidbits will interest, inspire, and teach you a few things. 

1) When a nonprofit organization merges with another nonprofit or for-profit organization, it must purchase the organization for $1

2) If you donate money to MercyCorps for disaster relief, it must use the money you donate for that disaster. Otherwise, it can assume legal liability.

3) According to Interbrand, The Habitat For Humanity Brand is worth $1.8 Billion Dollars (If I had to guess, the Trip of a Lifetime brand is probably worth in the low six figures)

4) KFC once funded Breast Cancer Awareness. (Wouldn’t anti-obesity be a better social platform for the fast food chain?)

5) New York State is considering capping non-profit CEO compensation at $140,000 a year.

6) Animal causes have the highest fan engagement on social media.

7) Only 501(c)4 organizations, not 501(c)3’s can carry out political lobbying.

8) Changing the Images on a website can improve click through rates by as much as 80%

9) Smartphone penetration in Africa is over 50%.

10) 98% of all registered nonprofit organizations have Facebook Pages. (For more awesome facts about nonprofits and social media, check out this infographic)

If you ever come across any interesting nonprofit facts, please share them with us on our Blog, Twitter, or Facebook.

- Stan

After six weeks and countless hours, the time has finally come. We are happy to announce that Trip of a Lifetime has selected ten students to send on trips this summer. All of the ten students we selected stood out to us for their academic achievement, numerous activities, and most importantly their desire to become a catalyst for change in their communities. Each student has their own distinctive story, and we hope their narratives truly shine this spring and summer.

Unfortunately, we received more applications than we had spots available and had to make some very tough decisions. We can honestly say that every application we received stood out and wish we could extend this opportunity to more students. Every year, we have been expanding this organization and hope to send even more students on trips in 2013 and beyond.

On behalf of everyone at Trip of a Lifetime, we would like to thank all of the schools who have helped us identify applicants: Validus Prep, Cristo Rey, the High School for Language and Diplomacy, Harlem Village Academies, and White Plains High School. Without their help, we wouldn’t have received our strongest applicant pool ever. In addition, we would like to thank our teen tour partners - American Trails West and Rein Teen Tours – for allowing us to provide amazing trips to these students. Both companies have been supporters of Trip of a Lifetime since its inception and have provided us with invaluable guidance and support.

We are excited to get to know our accepted students better in the coming weeks. Hearing their stories is what makes working with Trip of a Lifetime worthwhile every year. Thanks again for your continuous support.

Summer Is Less Than Two Months Away! 

- Stan

Move over New Years. March 15th has taken your place as one of the happiest and most exciting times of the year. Not only is it the NCAA Tournament, arguably the best sports championship in the world, but it is also the application deadline for Trip of a Lifetime. All three of these events signify a beginning of an exciting, yet unpredictable future.

By the time the last few applications trickle in, we are expecting to exceed our projections for this summer. With this many applications, our selection process will be harder than ever yet this is a challenge we are excited to take on. To ensure our program selects the best students possible, every application is read by multiple co-founders and board members. In addition, all finalists are interviewed, adding another dimension to each selection. Our goal is to select between 10-12 of these students by the middle of April. 

There will be our fair share of disagreements but this is all part of the process. By challenging each other, we are able to develop multiple perspectives and make a more holistic decision. In an ideal world, every student would be selected but we have to do our best given the financial constraints. 

In the next month, we hope to offer this life-changing opportunity to deserving students while keeping our brackets intact. This isn’t a perfect world but we can still hope and dream.

- Stan

Being in the Holiday Spirit, I would like to thank many of the unsung heroes that have influenced, donated to, or shaped Trip of a Lifetime and made it what it is today. Without their guidance and support, there is no way the charity would be able to send ten students on trips this summer. For the whole list of our supporters, please check out our website!