The Seattle Foundation (TSF) took additional steps to motivate donors by raising funds for a “stretch pool”: $500,000 that nonprofits received based on the percentage of donations they earned throughout the day (if a nonprofit earned one percent of the total GiveBIG funds, they received one percent of the stretch pool). Needless to say, the community embraced the giving event with open arms. GiveBIG 2012 looks to be bigger and better than ever, involving more nonprofits and encouraging more philanthropy across the city. Pretty amazing!

Did you know…

• 13,000 individual donors gave on June 23^rd, with 18,000 transactions (meaning many donors gave to more than one organization)
• 904 nonprofits received GiveBIG donations
• The average gift size was $189.99
• 85 percent of nonprofits attracted new donors, while 64 percent had previously lapsed donors return to give
• 16 percent of nonprofits raised additional funds outside of TSF’s stretch pool to further incentivize their donors with stretches or matches on the day of GiveBIG
• TSF employees worked from 5:30am-1:30am on the day of the event, and kept the technology running without a crash the whole day (in contrast, when Texas did a similar initiative their technology went down, and they had to record thousands of transactions over the phone!)
• Reel Grrls produced a five-minute documentary about GiveBIG, following around key executives and nonprofits recording the success of the day
• Many nonprofits used GiveBIG to jumpstart their social media programs, finding new ways to reach out to donors

Looking ahead to 2012:

• Bigger and better: TSF hopes to increase the scope of GiveBIG, partnering with more nonprofits and increasing the stretch pool in 2012. TSF is also looking into ways to offset transaction fees, to ensure as much money as possible ends up in the pockets of NPOs
• Mobile giving: From a text-to-give campaign at a Sounders’ game to an optimized website for your smartphone, you’ll be able to donate right from your pocket wherever you happen to be
• Education opportunities: TSF hopes to educate more donors about GiveBIG, giving them plenty of notice about how dollars make a difference on the day of the event
• Partnering with the Sounders: TSF will once again partner with the Sounders to ensure a stadium full of people cheering for Seattle philanthropy and making a difference by donating to volunteers or with their smartphones

We love the GiveBIG challenge. What do you need to prepare for the 2012 event? How can we help you or the community get ready? Share your ideas!

• The number of grants made to charities through their donor advised funds grew by 50 percent
• The average grant award increased by 35 percent
• The fund saw a 77 percent increase in the number of new DAF accounts created
• Thirty percent of the fund’s existing DAF account holders made additional gifts to their accounts
• The fund reports a 75 percent increase in gifts of appreciated stock and a 46% increase in gifts of appreciated mutual funds

The number of donor advised funds has been growing over the past several years, and if Vanguard’s results are typical, this news indicates a continued interest in using these vehicles to support charities.  Our clients should be paying more attention to identifying donors and prospects with DAF accounts and cultivating them accordingly.

You can get the full report here

First, let me start with a perspective on how big philanthropy and the nonprofit sector are. For the past three years, giving in our country has topped $300 billion. The largest foundation in the world (in assets), makes up one percent of total giving in America. Last year approximately 10 percent of all money given was given by individuals to foundations that will invest it and, over time, it will trickle down to charitable programs. While investments in foundations and advised funds has slowed a bit due to the recession, the amount of funds set aside for philanthropic purposes has steadily been growing. The nonprofit sector is today about 10 percent of our overall economy. For more information, review Giving USA at www.givingusa2010.org

If the top billionaires in our country and world committed 50 percent of their fortunes to philanthropy, the ripple effect of others giving more and the increased confidence in results could mean a significant uptick in giving, possibly even doubling in the next generation.

Here’s my perspective on the leading change elements, and I invite your ideas and welcome your counter-comments.

*  Major funders are investing in issues rather than organizations, and channeling their investments through providers with strong track records: This trend has been gaining steady momentum over the past 15 years, and has resulted in a change for federated giving programs, such as United Ways, across the country and has also been adopted for the channeling of government funds into community programs. Individual donors and grant makers have demanded accountability and have stepped up significantly to fund compelling issues with proven results. Nonprofits that are well-positioned as preferred providers, and with the willingness to enter into collaborative partnerships and be rigorous about evaluation, have been the channels for new social impact philanthropy.  The trend has enabled some lesser-known providers to grow significantly, while others with high recognition and large donor bases have been left out.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s grantmaking has followed this direction for the past decade. They have prioritized a limited number of issues where they want to create significant and lasting change, and they are investing heavily in promising ideas and proven approaches.  Similar to both venture capital investing and scientific inquiry, they are willing to make mistakes and change course if results are not achieved.

This past week there was a gathering in New York of 400 nonprofit leaders and grantmakers, convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to help charities with proven approaches solve social problems and get the funds they need to sharply increase the number of people they serve. Gone are the days when “doing good” or “promising results” was enough to secure significant and ongoing funding.

*  Investors are looking for both financial returns and social impact: The federal government’s Social Innovation Fund and several for-profit private equity firms are making investments to help entrepreneurial nonprofits find the capital funds they need to expand. Some nonprofits, such as Kiva, are directly connecting investors willing to make a loan with program recipients. Others are serving as the “holding entity” for investor loans, and a financial return is expected.  Last week in Seattle, Global Partnerships launched this innovative capital generation vehicle, and many others nonprofits, primarily in the global development arena, are preparing to follow suit. The National Nonprofit Finance Fund and for profit firms, such as Sea Change Capital Partners and Affinity Partners, are looking for creative ways to achieve social impact and financial returns. Gone are the days when nonprofits could get by with strong visions and a weak business plan.

*  Partnerships are essential for growth and even survival: As evidenced by the gathering this past week in New York and Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s joint appeal to other billionaires to invest in philanthropy, significant wealth is in and will be transferred into foundations that will then have the challenge and opportunity to make smart investment with high social returns. The major foundations across our country are partnering for maximum results, and expect nonprofits to work collaboratively to do the same. Significant investments have been made in evaluating effective grantmaking and it will continue. Nonprofits working in areas identified as top community priorities and with proven results have the opportunity for growth and increased social impact. “Going to scale” can be achieved many ways and partnerships with other providers will likely occur at a faster pace than in the past. Gone are the days when funders (and even loyal individual donors) will have the willingness to invest in “boutique” organizations intent upon survival that lack capacity through their partnerships to create true social impact.

For the third year in a row, giving exceeded $300 billion even though overall giving declined 3.6 percent in current dollars. As expected, giving increased in sectors providing services to those most in need: human services, health, and international affairs.

So now that we know what happened last year, what can we anticipate moving forward?  The folks at Giving USA say that giving will recover, but it will be slow going. We can expect at least a three- to five-year period until giving returns to pre-recession levels. It was a hard year, but not as bad as we thought. The loyalty of the majority of donors should be applauded.

This year, the Giving USA Foundation is generously offering a free copy of the executive summary for anyone interested.  Click here to download it.  To order a copy of the full 2010 Giving USA report, click here.

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