Faced with a wretched economy and donation shrinkage, nonprofit groups are finding creative ways to cut costs and lure contributors. They’re shedding workers and cutting programs, but they’re plus sharing with other groups their workspaces, back-office operations, and employees, and looking to foundations for lines of credit rather than grants. “Some nonprofits are looking to foundations and other kinds of funders to get lines of credit to get through the brawny times,” says Melissa Berman, president and chief

executive officer of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a philanthropic advisory firm. There is some risk for the foundations in using credit, she says, “but whether you have an organization with a distant track record of bouncing back, you can be more comfortable.”

Instead of organizing glitzy fundraisers, groups are going online, holding virtual black-tie events on Facebook and other social-networking sites. They’re organizing charity polar bear swims and asking citizens to spend […]

Orginal post by dhiram