PANO will be closed on Monday, September 3 for Labor Day. Have a good holiday weekend.

1. PANO Golf Outing. Get into the swing of networking! PANO's Annual Golf Outing is fast approaching. Have you registered yet? Enjoy a day of fun in the sun and take this opportunity to spend quality time with board members, peer organizations, vendors and customers. Help support to the organization that supports nonprofits! Mark it on your calendar – Friday, September 21 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York - and register today at www.pano.org.  We look forward to seeing you there!

2. Benefits Updates

Merchant Services-As a nonprofit organization, you are dedicated to serve the people and communities of Pennsylvania. Shouldn't your credit card provider be just as community focused? PANO is partnering with Graystone Bank and First Data Corporation to offer a new Merchant Services Program. As a member of PANO, you will receive discounted rates and transaction fees on credit card processing.  Please contact the Customer Service Center at Graystone Bank to learn more about these opportunities available to your organization at 866-Graystone.

Additional Health Insurance Product Available in Western PA- PANO and The United Way of Allegheny County will offer HM Care Advantage limited benefit medical plans to its employer members through the Health Alliance for Nonprofits Program (HANP). In partnership with HM Insurance Group, HANP has developed unique, customized programs that can provide limited health benefits to those employees without access to medical coverage either due to cost or qualification. For more information, visit http://www.pano.org/benefits_health.php.

Make the Switch to GiftWorks, Get Great Pricing. PANO members who are current users of eTapestry, GiftMaker, and Blackbaud are offered a Make A Switch program to introduce GiftWorks fundraising software for nonprofits.  Mission Research, makers of GiftWorks, is a preferred partner of PANO, and PANO members receive exclusive GiftWorks pricing in addition to the current members' discount.

The GiftWorks migration package comprises licenses, migration services to support the transfer of data from their current platform to GiftWorks, one full year of technical support, and two special webinar trainings – a quick start Webinar to get up and running right away, and a more in-depth training Webinar to support power-users. GiftWorks has over 6,000 customers with more than 15,000 users and is usually priced at just $299. (Only $249 for PANO members.)  More information about GiftWorks is available at www.missionresearch.com/giftworks.    PANO pricing at www.missionresearch.com/pano.

3. Opportunity. The Grable Foundation in the Greater Pittsburgh area (Allegheny, Butler, Beaver and Westmoreland counties) has teamed up with KaBOOM! to bring play to their community! The Grable Foundation is awarding 13 grants worth $10,000 to community organizations building a playground before August 15, 2008. The Grable Foundation seeks to help children and youth to become independent, caring, contributing members of society by supporting programs critical to a child's successful development. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. KaBOOM! has used its innovative community build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,200 playgrounds, skate parks, sport fields and ice rinks across North America. Deadline to apply for this grant is September 7. To download the application, go to: http://www.kaboom.org/WhatWeDo/Grants/KaBOOMChallengeGrants/tabid/96/Default.aspx.

4. Standards for Excellence News and Resources

Modified Standards for Excellence Training Programs:

Proactive Accountability and Transparency for Today's Nonprofits- Central PA on September 27 (with McKonly & Asbury, LLC) and Centre County on October 10 (with Boyer & Ritter).

What Board Members Need to Know in a Changing Nonprofit Environment- Westmoreland County on October 18 (with Herbein + Company).

The Buck Stops with the Board: What You Need to Know About Legal Requirements, Accountability and Brand Integration - This program is coming to Hazleton on September 25 and Luzerne County on October 5 (both with Jones Kohanski, Consultants CPA's).

For more information on these programs please visit http://www.pano.org/events.php or contact tony@pano.org for a registration and information brochure.

Traditional Standards for Excellence Clinic Sessions:

The Susquehanna Valley Clinic Training Series will begin on November 5 at the Degenstein Community Library. Subsidies are still available to attend this training series. Contact tony@pano.org for a subsidy application or visit http://www.pano.org/events.php for more information.

The Standards for Excellence Clinic Series is coming back to Pittsburgh! In partnership with the Nonprofit Leadership Institute at Duquesne University, the first Clinic Session will be held Thursday, October 25. For more information or to register, visit www.nli.duq.edu/nli or call(412) 396-6231.

Advance the Nonprofit Sector!  The Standards for Excellence Program is looking for a few more Peer Reviewers. Our Peer Review volunteers are an integral part of the Standards for Excellence Certification Program; their time and expertise is crucial to the Standards for Excellence Program and in increasing the strength and efficiency of the nonprofit sector. To be considered for this training, we ask that applications be in no later than September 23. Feedback from current Peer Reviewers attests that this is an activity where you are able to contribute your talent and expertise to the sector and at the same time learn "best" practices of other organizations. For more information on the Peer Review Program, please visit http://www.pano.org/standards/standards_peerreviewer.php where you will find links to the Peer Reviewer job description, application, training and a list of current Peer Reviewers.

New Standards for Excellence Business Model: The new business model for the Standards for Excellence program goes into effect September 1. For more information, please visit http://www.pano.org/standards/Documents/Business_Model.doc.

Educational Resource:  A new and improved "Compensation and Employee Evaluation" Standards for Excellence Educational packet is now available and includes a sample Executive Director Evaluation Form. This resource is free to PANO members. Contact tony@pano.org to request a copy.

5. PANO to Testify at August 30 Hearing in Pittsburgh on Act 55, Charities Contribution. The Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee will hold a public hearing August 30 in Pittsburgh on Act 55 of 1997, Pennsylvania's Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act.  This hearing is part of a statewide fact-finding tour to review the impact and adequacy of Act 55 of 1997 after 10 years of the law being in effect relatively unchanged.  The hearing will run from 9 am-12 noon at Pittsburgh City Council Chambers, Fifth Floor, City Council Bldg., 414 Grant St., Pittsburgh.  On behalf of PANO and Pennsylvania's charities, Jack Owen, Esq., will testify that Act 55 has helped to build a community of dynamic and thriving charities in Pennsylvania that together advance the quality of life in Pennsylvania.  Act 55 works, works well, is a model for other states, and should not be changed. For a copy of the Hearing Agenda and the testimonies, go to http://www.senatorbrowne.com/finance/083007.htm.

6. PA Lobbying Disclosure Regulations Deplete Charities; Harm Communities.  According to David Ross, PANO Public Policy Officer, in a recent article in the Harrisburg Sunday Patriot-News, "Pennsylvania's new lobbying disclosure laws and the recently released draft regulations deplete charitable resources and harm charities' ability to advocate on behalf of those they serve."  See commentary article in the Harrisburg Sunday Patriot-News, August 26 at: http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/review/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1187981718103181.xml&coll=1.  For additional information on state lobbying disclosure for charities go to http://www.pano.org/publicpolicy/publicpolicy-lobbying.php#State.  

7. ASAE Sign-on Letter to Extend Public Comment Period for IRS Form 990 Revisions. Has your organization commented on the to the draft IRS form 990 revisions?  Have you received adequate opportunity to review the proposed changes and their potential consequences for your organization?  PANO wants to know.  The IRS Comment Period closes on September 14.  What would you do with an extension to the public comment period?  Sign-on to ASAE's letter before August 30 and urge the IRS to extend the public comment period for the recent draft revisions to the IRS form 990. The ASAE sign-on letter deadline is August 30. For more information go to http://www.pano.org/publicpolicy/publicpolicy-irs.php.

8. FEC Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Electioneering Communications.  The Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the US Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC (WRTL). The court ruled that the specific ads in question were not the "functional equivalent of express advocacy" because they were "susceptible of a reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified federal candidate." Therefore, the court determined, the ads in question were entitled to an exemption from the restriction on the use of corporate or union funds for electioneering communications.  The public comment period closes on October 1.  For more information, go to http://www.pano.org/publicpolicy/publicpolicy-electioneering.php#Supreme%20Court%20Upholds%20Charities%20Rights.

9. Nonprofit Congress Launches New Interactive Website and Resource. The Nonprofit Congress has launched its new interactive website. Please visit http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/ to see what's new, sign up for updates and have your voice heard!  The site now includes information about the 2008 election, its Media Project launching in September and much more. Pennsylvania Delegate and PANO member Mike Sand submitted a helpful guide to knowing your elected officials on a first name basis here: http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/?q=advocacy.   Watch for news about PANO's statewide Nonprofit Congress to be held in April 2008 and how you can get involved.

10. Egger-Eisenberg Square-off in the Great Charity Electioneering Debates.  Somewhere between the Lincoln-Douglas debates and "Celebrity Deathmatch" is the Egger-Eisenberg Charity Electioneering Debates. Consequences for the sector are profound.  These are not the same-old tired issues, hashed out in a board meeting, by risk-averse leaders fueled more by inertia than by innovation.  On the contrary, this may be the most interesting philosophical debate to face our sector in over a decade.  For more information, go to  http://www.pano.org/publicpolicy/publicpolicy-engagement.php.