Repeating this favorite from last January as it still holds true. Have you made your checklist yet? Year-end gift acknowledgments and tax receipts are going in the mail. For many development professionals, January is the time of year for shifting gears, perhaps from a winter appeal to an upcoming signature event, or from fundraising for operations to [...]
During the past several weeks, two nonprofits have shared with us some “big wins” with their emerging major gifts programs. One of these groups is a performing arts organization located in a major metropolitan area; the other serves vulnerable children and families across a largely rural state. Despite the differences in their service areas, missions, [...]
Aggie’s post last week got me thinking about how I give. And the result is: I give somewhat haphazardly. For the most part, I know to whom I give every year, but when I do my taxes I am often surprised when I see the pile of receipts stuffed into my tax folder. I tend [...]
Vanguard Charitable has released information about its 2010 donor advised fund activity that indicates strong growth despite a 9 percent decrease in total contributions: 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 [...]
When Giving USA reported last summer that overall giving had decreased in 2009, many wondered how long this trend would continue and how philanthropy will be affected during the long, slow recovery period. Last week Guidestar shared encouraging results from its November 2010 Fundraising Survey. The survey shows more organizations are reporting increased contributions for [...]
This is counsel I always provide to my clients. Too often when crafting donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, nonprofits focus on the husband, brother, uncle, or father. When the wife, sister, aunt, or mother is considered, it is usually as a secondary player or one who can “work behind the scenes” to help forward [...]
“I was in Montana, conducting feasibility study interviews.” That was the dry, seemingly boring answer I gave to friends and colleagues who asked me where I went last week. In fact, interviewing an organization’s stakeholders is a critically important part of the planning process for any special campaign initiative. The one-on-one conversations provide candid community feedback about the strength of [...]
Not a day has gone by in the past few weeks that I haven’t seen something written about the Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge on a philanthropy blog. But with each passing day the commentary surrounding the project seems to be getting more and more critical. Who could have anticipated that the mega-rich pledging their fortunes to [...]
According to an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, there have been more eight- and nine-figure gifts given in the first half of 2010 than in 2009. The article states: “At least 20 people have made gifts of $20-million to $35-million in the past six months; in the first part of 2009, only 13 such [...]
The results of the new Money for Good report will surprise you. The Money for Good initiative seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the behaviors, attitudes, and motivations of affluent Americans with respect to impact investing, charitable giving, and international entrepreneurship. Focus groups and an online survey (Hope Consulting conducted the research) tapped the [...]
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