nonprofits

Nordstrom To Open Non-Profit Store In New York City

Nordstrom will be opening a unique store in Manhattan next year. The department store chain has announced that it will open a store that will turn over all its earnings to nonprofits. The Soho store will not be branded as a Nordstrom but will instead be another type of store with a name to be determined later. It won't sell used clothes like a Goodwill or other thrift store. Exactly what it is and what it will sell doesn't seem to be clear yet.

An article in the Seattle Times says that the Seattle-based company will open the store next fall at the base of a new 10-story residential building on West Broadway. The building is home to luxury full-floor residences. At just over 11,000 square feet, the new store will be much smaller than a Nordstrom or Nordstrom's Rack store.

Corporate spokeswoman Pamela Lopez told the Seattle Times that the intention is not to create a "mini-Nordstrom" but to come up with something new that will have its own identity. Lopez also revealed that the project is unique to New York, a one-off concept that won't be expanded to other cities. The chain still hopes to open a full-size Nordstrom in Manhattan and the project is one way to learn more about doing business in Manhattan (the brand also has a Nordstrom's Rack store in Union Square).

Tags: NonProfit, NonProfitOrganizations, nonprofits, nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, SohoNotes

Could The Stimulus Package Hurt Some Nonprofits?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity

Some unintended fallout from President Obama's economic stimulus package may be fewer donations to charities. Nonprofits have already been facing tough times in recent months, some because of their association with Bernie Madoff, some simply because of the economy. Those who are making less money are giving less money, a situation that could be exacerbated by the economic stimulus package which bars firms that accept federal bailout funds from paying their top earners exorbitant bonuses. The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans gave more than $300 billion to charity in 2007 and that much of that may have come from the big bosses on Wall Street. Some nonprofit leaders are worried that the financial restrictions imposed by the stimulus package could mean that executives will give less. Some of the richest executives also funnel money through private foundations. Even executives in companies that aren't accepting bailouts may feel less inclined to donate because of the fear that their own financial situation is far from secure. The trend isn't just affecting New York charities. In Detroit, museums, shelters and other nonprofits are struggling without the largess of the executives at some of the big auto firms. While the stimulus package will offer support for some nonprofits those who've been depending on the big salaries of others may be preparing for lean months ahead.

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Tags: culture in trouble, CultureInTrouble, economy, nonprofits, stimuluspackage

Foundations Invested with Madoff Gave Away $73M in 2007

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Big Givers

Each morning's papers yield new names and devastating losses of those invested in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, including hundreds of prominent U.S. nonprofits and foundations.

While many betrayed investors lament the disappearance of their nest eggs, it seems that foundations that benefited from Madoff's time bomb of lucrative returns gave much of their profits away, leaving them with little to continue operations and grant-making.

In a report compiled by Bloomberg from last year's tax returns listed on Guidestar.org, foundations who have disclosed their investments with Madoff gave away a total of $73 million last year.

Several foundations have been forced to close their doors as a result, including the JEHT Foundation, which blamed its investments with Madoff in a heartfelt letter to supporters, and the Picower Foundation, which had previous assets of $1 billion, from which it gave generously to institutions such as M.I.T. and the New York Public Library.

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Tags: foundations, guidestar.org, JEHT foundation, JehtFoundation, madoff, nonprofits, picower foundation, PicowerFoundation