Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

We often talk about nonprofit executive compensation in skeptical terms: how much is too much? While no one supports wasteful public spending or abuse of power, the cases that grab headlines and provoke legislation are actually far from the norm. At Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), what we see far more often is staff turnover due to burnout and low pay. We routinely work with nonprofits that are struggling to determine if it’s financially possible to make a much-needed new hire, even on a part-time or contractor basis. This week’s installment of Research Friday will examine a range of new data from the field about our sector’s human resources—often, our most powerful but undervalued form of capital.

First up: The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s recent survey  of more than 900 young nonprofit professionals. With help from the…

Internships are a great way for organizations to find human capital to address urgent needs at very little cost. Nevertheless, most organizations have much larger objectives in mind with internship programs. Oftentimes, internship programs provide a great way to find future employees by test-driving the talent first.

Internships often result in job offers
Obviously, many interns are motivated to do an internship in hopes of having the experience evolve into a full-time job. Some studies indicate that nearly 70% of
interns are offered full-time jobs as a result of the internship, with over 80% of the interns accepting the employment offer. There are however, other reasons why people get involved in internships. Some of these reasons are listed below:

• They desire to gain more work experience and build their resume
• They are fulfilling graduation requirements
• They are exploring new career options in different industries

Finding interns

In the past, finding interns could be a tedious process. Organizations used to post ads in classifieds and work through employees using word of mouth. Although these methods are still employed and still work, in the internet age the process is incredibly easier and much more targeted through the use of websites. Listed below is just a sampling of internship matching sites…

Social media is useful for casual communication, but it can also be a tool for job seekers. By using social media to your advantage, you may even be able to land your dream job. Below are five strategies you can use to increase your chances of success.

If you are interested in working for a particular organization, follow that organization on Twitter, like it on Facebook and try to make a connection on LinkedIn. When you connect with the organization on multiple platforms, potential employers and members of the human resources department are more likely to notice you and remember your name. Monitoring the organization's social media profiles will also keep you up-to-date on any open positions within the organization.

Reaching out to an organization is a good start, but you should also try to connect with the organization's leaders. People in leadership positions may have the power to invite you to an interview, recommend you for a job or even hire you. Whenever possible, follow them on Twitter, become Facebook friends and make a connection on LinkedIn. Respond to their posts, monitor their profiles for signs of a job lead and do your best to build on-going, amicable…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

The ASU Lodestar Center Research Friday Blog is on hiatus for the summer.

"Research Friday" Bloggers Needed 
We are currently recruiting bloggers to write for us in the fall. If you are interested, please contact Stephanie La Loggia at Stephanie.LaLoggia@asu.edu.

The ASU Lodestar Center is currently working on publishing the findings from the 2011 Nonprofit Compensation and Benefits Report and the 2011 Arizona Nonprofits: Scope of the Sector report. To view past research reports, please visit: http://lodestar.asu.edu/research.
 

Some nonprofit organizations hire professional fundraisers to help reach funding goals more quickly and easily. But how do nonprofits know that the professionals they choose to work with will appropriate the funds in full? One way that government agencies help curb professional fundraising fraud is by requiring individuals and businesses to purchase surety bond insurance before they can be licensed to work on behalf of nonprofits and other organizations.

Fundraiser bonds are not like financial bonds that are used for investment purposes, nor are they like performance bonds that provide financial returns to investors. These bonds are a specific type of license and permit bond, which government agencies often require before certain professionals can be licensed to work. License and permit bonds function as lines of credit that can be tapped into to pay for monetary losses or fines that result from licensing violations made by, in this case, professional fundraisers. Simply put, surety bonds guarantee professional fundraisers handle funds ethically.

Thousands of individual surety bond types exist, each providing a specific type of financial protection that depends on the bond's purpose and its contractual language. Despite their individual differences, all…