Non-profits

Random quotes from NICAR2010, Day 1

By Robin Phillips on Mar 11, 2010 in Basics, IRE CAR 2010, IRE CAR 2010 Blog, Investigation, Non-profits, TrendingTopic

“There is almost never a smoking gun. What it takes is to overlay data, to build a story that’s never been done before.”
Doug Haddix, IRE training director
“Start thinking about building your own database library for whatever you cover, wherever you are.”
Brant Houston, the Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting at the University of Illinois

“Half the [...]

Networking at industry awards ceremonies

By Melissa Preddy on Mar 05, 2010 in Beats, Featured, Non-profits, Private companies, Story ideas

We’ve all received those calls and e-mails extending chipper invitations – with interview opportunities! – to an awards ceremony to honor the Midwest Mortician of the Year or the new inductees to a sales representatives’ billion-dollar club.
“Thanks so much, but I expect to be ‘on deadline’ that night,” you murmur, grateful for the vague and [...]

Finding stories inside drugstores and urgent care clinics

By Melissa Preddy on Feb 18, 2010 in Beats, Featured, Health care, Non-profits, Personal finance, Retail

It’s shaping up as a busy little week for merger and take-over bids in the retail industry. Following Simon Properties’ bid for rival mall-operator General Growth, we got word on Wednesday that Walgreen Co. wants to acquire New York’s Duane Reade pharmacy business.
Drugstore chains – especially the one-on-every-corner variety – may not seem like sexy [...]

Tracking down local business ties to the Haiti earthquake disaster

By Melissa Preddy on Jan 13, 2010 in Non-profits, Personal finance, Story ideas, TrendingTopic

A day after the 7.0 magnitude quake struck the impoverished Caribbean island of Haiti, as many as one-third of the nation’s citizens may be displaced and in need of aid, according to CBS News. Tens or even hundreds of thousands may be dead. It’s a horrific blow to a country already laboring under the worst [...]

Donation prime time

By Melissa Preddy on Oct 26, 2009 in Beats, Best Practices, Featured, Non-profits

Whether givers are motivated by a kind heart or the prospect of a hefty deduction on Line 19 of the Schedule A, the next two months generally are prime time for donations to nonprofits.
Toss in a lousy economy, doleful consumer sentiment, increased scrutiny of corporate spending and an exponential growth in the number of people [...]