Stigma of Drug, Alcohol Abuse Undermine Nonprofit Fundraising Efforts: Philanthropy News Digest, 8/31
Fundraising is more challenging for groups whose work involves social issues such as drug or alcohol abuse, the Financial Times reports.

The stigma of substance abuse, which is often viewed as a failing of the self, has undermined many fundraising efforts. Compounding the problem is the fact that many nonprofits cannot rely on program alumni as a significant donor base, often lack an endowment and simply do not have the fundraising and marketing clout of higher-profile national organizations.

Faced with such challenges, nonprofits that tackle drug and alcohol abuse issues need to be especially nimble, ferreting out funds wherever they can find them and appealing to donors in every way possible. “I have to pay special attention to what it is the donor is responding to,” said Donna Wiench, development director of Daybreak Youth Services, noting that she does a lot of person-to-person fundraising. “If I see the eyes getting bigger, or that someone’s responding to mention of a special interest, then I’ll try and connect.”

Coalition Representing People of Color Calls for National Aids Strategy: Philanthropy News Digest, 8/27
Over 30 national organizations working to prevent HIV/AIDS called for the development and implementation of a national AIDS strategy. The agencies represented in the coalition work on behalf of African American, Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, and Asian and Pacific Islander communities. According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, communities of color now account for a total of 65 percent of the approximately 56,300 new HIV infections in the United States—40 percent higher than the CDC’s earlier estimate of 40,000 infections per year.