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|
| Lag |
The span of time in which it appears
that a computer is frozen, in that it is not responding to input or not
connecting to a requested Web site or URL. In more serious cases, when a
system has to be rebooted, a lag results in a computer crash.
|
| LAI
Principle |
The fundraising axiom of qualifying
prospects on the basis of Linkages, Ability, and Interest. |
| Lame
Duck Session |
When Congress (or either chamber)
reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the November general elections
to consider various items of business. Some lawmakers who return for this
session will not be in the next Congress. Hence, they are informally called
"lame duck" members participating in a "lame duck" session.
|
| LAN |
Local Area Network. A short-distance
network used to link a group of computers together within a building. |
| Land
Acquisition |
Grants to purchase real estate
property.
|
| Lapsed |
Customers or accounts who have
not responded to any solicitation in a reasonable period of time are considered
to be lapsed records or accounts.
|
| Laptop |
A portable computer that is smaller
and weighs much less than a desktop computer. It is considered easier to
use while traveling or away from home.
|
| Latency |
In networking, latency and bandwidth
are the two factors that determine the speed of your connection. Latency
refers to the time it takes for a data packet to move across a network connection.
|
| Launch |
To start, begin, or open up a
computer program or application. A launch is also the first day a Web site
is "live" on the Net, as in, "When are you launching your Web site?"
|
| Law |
An act of Congress that has been
signed by the president or passed over his veto by Congress.
|
| Layoff |
Suspending or dismissing employees,
generally due to company reorganization or lack of work.
|
| Layover |
Informal term for a period of
delay required by rule. For example, when a bill or other measure is reported
from committee, it may be considered on the floor only after it "lies over"
for one legislative day and after the written report has been available
for two calendar days. Layover periods may be waived by unanimous consent.
|
| LCD |
Liquid Crystal Display. Created
by sandwiching an electrically reactive substance between two electrodes,
LCDs can be darkened or lightened by applying and removing current. Large
numbers of LCDs grouped closely together can act as pixels in a flat-panel
display.
|
| Lead |
The first sentence of a press
release, designed to grab the attention of the reader.
|
| Leadership |
The force within an institution,
agency, or program that stimulates others to act or give. |
| Leadership
Development |
Attaining the skills and experiences
that will enable a person to assume a leadership position in a community
and meet the challenges this entails.
|
| Leadership
Gifts |
Substantial or the largest gifts
- generally, six or seven figured - that are required to provide the stimulus
for a major campaign. |
| Leadership
Goal |
Anything that, by virtue of its
achievement, will place an organization in a leadership position among similar
organizations. |
| Learn
and Serve America |
A national initiative available
to states and localities which integrate service or volunteer work with
learning. Learn and Service America programs have been implemented through
schools (K-12 School- based programs), community agencies (Community-Based
Organization programs) and colleges and universities (Higher Educational
programs).
|
| Learning
Organization |
An organization that looks for
meaningful solutions, then internalizes those solutions so that they continue
to grow, develop, and remain successful. Learning organizations incorporate
ideas from many sources and involve a variety of people in problem solving,
information sharing, and celebrating success. |
| Learning
Styles |
Different approaches or ways of
learning. Different types of learning styles include: visual, auditory and
kinesthetic. |
| Leased
Line |
A dedicated private line that
is primarily used to link two remote local area networks (LANs) together.
|
| Leave
of Absence |
An extended period of time in
which an employee is absent from work, with or without pay.
|
| Leave
to Sit |
Permission for a committee to
meet during the proceedings of the parent chamber. Under Senate Rule XXVI
committees are forbidden to meet after the first two hours of the Senate's
daily session, and in no case after 2 p.m. while the Senate is in session,
without special permission from the majority and minority leaders.
|
| Legacy |
A bequest of cash. |
| Legal
Compliance |
Includes basic compliance with
IRS regulations and the myriad of federal, state, and local requirements
of staff and programs. |
| Legal
Endowments |
Legal endowments are those which
donors give with restrictions for particular uses. |
| Legal
Fiction |
An entity which exists only on
paper, but which due to formalities, history, and human acceptance, has
certain characteristics which are otherwise attributed only to people.
|
| Legal
Remainder |
Same as Remainder Deed. This term
is sometimes used to distinguish remainder deeds from remainder interests
in trusts.
|
| Legally
Defensible |
An action, conclusion, or statement
that can be upheld under current legislation, governmental mandates, and
court decisions. |
| Legislative
Advocate |
An individual retained to present
the views of a group, organization or individual to legislators and required
by law to register with the secretary of state's office; commonly called
a "lobbyist"
|
| Legislative
Day |
The "day" extending from the time
either house meets after an adjournment until the time it next adjourns.
Because the House normally adjourns from day to day, legislative days and
calendar days usually coincide. In the Senate, however, a legislative day
may, and frequently does, extend over several calendar days, weeks or months.
|
| Legislative
Session |
That part of the Senate's daily
session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions,
and actions related thereto).
|
| Legitimacy |
The perceived fairness of a dispute
resolution process. Legitimacy of decision-making procedures is important,
because illegitimate procedures almost always escalate conflicts, making
their ultimate resolution more difficult. |
| Lessons
Learned |
The process of discovering what
happened and why, through evaluation, then applying what is learned to improve
performance in the future. |
| Letter
of Commitment |
The document signed by board members
who agree to certain coniditions of service. Outlines expectations relative
to meeting attendance, financial support, fundraising responsibilities,
participation in specific events, the length of term, committee assignments,
the time commitments and any other miscellaneous assignments.
|
| Letter
of Inquiry |
A brief letter outlining
a program and its funding needs, sent to a foundation to determine if it
would be interested in the project and would like to receive a full proposal. |
| Letter
of Intent |
A grantor's letter or brief statement
indicating intention to make a specific gift. |
| Letter
Ruling |
A letter which the I.R.S. writes
to a particular taxpayer in response to that taxpayers request for a decision
about a specific transaction. The I.R.S. now charges fees for letter rulings.
The fees depend on the type of request. Letter rulings are binding between
the particular taxpayer and the I.R.S.. |
| Leverage |
A method of grantmaking practiced
by some foundations. Leverage occurs when a small amount of money is given
with the express purpose of attracting funding from other sources or of
providing the organization with the tools it needs to raise other kinds
of funds. |
| LIA
Principle |
The fundraising axiom of separating
advocate/askers from donors on the basis of Linkage, Involvement, and Advocacy. |
| Liabilities |
Claims on assets held, excluding
ownership equity. For a foundation, payments outstanding for grants authorized
and not yet paid or remaining grants to be paid over multiyear periods,
are liabilities. |
| Libel |
To publish in print, writing,
or broadcast through radio, television, or film an untruth about another
which will do harm to them or their reputation, by tending to bring the
target into ridicule, hatred, scorn or contempt of others. |
| Life
Estate Gift |
A life estate includes such things
as life tenancies and life income interests in trusts. It is sometimes used
to refer to remainder deed gifts.
|
| Life
Income Plans |
Planned gift arrangements that
offer a current income stream and a current tax deduction to the donor in
exchange for an irrevocable commitment to a charitable purpose or purposes
at some later date. The result may be an increase in current expendable
income for a donor.
|
| Life
Tenancy |
Most commonly, a life estate in
an asset not in trust. Sometimes also referred to as a "legal life estate."
|
| Life
Tenant |
Owner of a life tenancy.
|
| Like-Kind
Exchange |
An exchange of properties similar
in nature and character (other than stocks, bonds, notes, other evidences
of debt or securities, or partnership interests) under Internal Revenue
Code Section 1031. If properly structured, the parties to the exchange will
avoid capital gains tax. The like-kind exchange is perhaps most common in
real estate transactions.
|
| Limited-Purpose
Foundation |
A type of foundation that restricts
its giving to one or very few areas of interest, such as higher education
or medical care. |
| Line
Item Veto |
Authority to veto part rather
than all of an appropriations act.
|
| Link |
A portal to another Web site or
to another area within a Web site.
|
| Link |
Text or images on a Web page that
a user can click on in order to access or connect to another document. Links
are most commonly thought of as the technology that connects two Web pages
or Web sites.
|
| Link
Checker |
A software program that checks
a Web site for broken links. It generates a report indicating which external
and internal hyperlinks are no longer working.
|
| Link
Popularity |
A method used to measure the quantity
and/or quality of sites that link back to your Web site.
|
| Linkrot |
Another name for a broken link,
it refers to all broken links on the Web in general.
|
| Linux |
An open source operating system,
based on Unix, that comes in many distributions.
|
| Liquid
Assets |
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable
securities. |
| Liquidity |
An organization’s ability to meet
financial obligations, as debts are due.
|
| List
Broker |
An establishment that buys, sells,
exchanges and rents mailing lists.
|
| List
Sanitizing |
A program to check addresses records
for accuracy. Some service bureaus have programs that will be able to correct
addresses that have been incorrectly entered. |
| LISTSERV |
An automatic mailing list server
that when sent, automatically broadcasts to everyone on the list. The result
is similar to a newsgroup or forum, except that the messages are transmitted
as e-mail and are therefore available only to individuals on the list.
|
| Live |
A stage of Web development at
which the site is finished and launched.
|
| Living
Trust |
A trust that can be revoked by
its creator. Revocable trusts become irrevocable when their creators die.
They can become irrevocable sooner if the creators give up the power to
revoke. The most common kind of revocable trust is a device used as a testamentary
or will substitute. Their principal purpose is to avoid probate.
|
| Loan
Guarantee |
Loans to third parties for which
the federal government in the event of default guarantees, in whole or in
part, the repayment of principal or interest to a lender or holder of a
security.
|
| Loaned
Executives |
Corporate executives who work
for nonprofit organizations for a limited period of time while continuing
to be paid by their permanent employers.
|
| Lobbying |
Efforts to influence legislation
by influencing the opinion of legislators, legislative staff, and government
administrators directly involved in drafting legislative proposals. The
Internal Revenue Code sets limits on lobbying by organizations that are
exempt from tax under Section 501(c)(3). Public charities may lobby as long
as lobbying does not become a substantial part of their activities. Private
foundations may neither lobby nor fund lobbying activities. |
| Lobbyist |
See "Legislative Advocate"
|
| Lobbyist |
A group of people or individual
citizens seeking to influence the passage or defeat of legislation. Originally,
the term referred to person frequenting the lobbies or corridors of legislative
chambers to speak with lawmakers.
|
| Log |
A file that keeps a record of
the activity on a Web site or server.
|
| Log
File |
Created by a Web server or proxy
server, it is a file that records each server action in response to user
requests. Since raw log files are difficult to interpret manually, analysis
software is used to extract useful information.
|
| Logic
Model |
A systemic, visual way to present
a planned program with its underlying assumptions and theoretical framework.
It is a flow chart that traces how inputs and activities interact to produce
outcomes and impacts. |
| Login |
The act of connecting to or accessing
a remote computer system, network, server, or Web site. To login, you must
provide a username and a password.
|
| Logo |
A symbol or picture, often based
on a brand or trademark used by the company to help consumers identify and
remember products.
|
| Long-Range
Plan |
A description of the desired future
the organization seeks to create, as well as means for attaining that future.
It is prepared and continuously updated to guide and help determine current
actions. |
| Long-Range
Planning |
Long-range planning builds on
anticipated trends, data, and competitive assumptions, and tends to be driven
by numbers.
|
| Long-Term
Capital Gain |
Capital gain in an asset held
for investment or use in a trade or business and obtained from a decedent
or held for more than one year. Long-term capital gain is now taxed at a
lower rate than ordinary income, but not because of a special deduction;
rather, simply due to a lower rate.
|
| Long-Term
Goal |
Any goal that needs at least 1-5
years to be accomplished. |
| Longitudinal
Study |
An investigation or study in which
a particular individual or group of individuals is followed over a substantial
period of time to discover changes that may be attributable to the influence
of the treatment, or to maturation, or the environment. |
| Loss
Leader |
The term given to a product priced
below the average costs.
|
| Loyalty
Card |
A card issued by a retailer which
offers the customer incentives and rewards for continued shopping.
|
| LYBUNTS |
Acronym for donors who gave "last
year but not this" year.
|
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Glossary information provided by the Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, a project of the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Knowledge Management Initiative (PNKM) at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership.
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