The Curtis Group | Planning - Fundraising - Marketing
Focus on Philanthropy
A blog by the staff of The Curtis Group
The Restricted Gift Dilemma
Posted February 29, 2012 by Wesley Stanley, Marketing Director.
Wendy had an interesting question following a presentation last week that we felt was noteworthy. A participant inquired how best to handle a donor who offers to make a restricted gift that could be put to better use if directed toward a different area. This nonprofit leader described a situation in which a donor wanted to give $50,000 restricted specifically to endowment. This was a very significant gift for this organization but at the time their primary need was debt reduction, which meant that restricting a gift of this size was not going to help them meet their immediate challenges.
Komen-Planned Parenthood: The Importance of a Crisis Communication Plan
Posted February 21, 2012 by Wendy McGrady, Vice President.
An article that ran last week in the Chronicle of Philanthropy got us thinking about the recent controversy between Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood. No matter where you stand on the issue, there are valuable lessons to be learned for any nonprofit. The most obvious to us is the importance of a solid crisis communication plan.
Before the Campaign Planning Study There’s the Business Plan
Posted February 17, 2012 by Wendy McGrady, Vice President.
Last week, as a result of our webinar on “What Makes an Effective Capital Campaign?” a question arose that we thought was worth addressing. One participant asked us to further explain the need for the business plan that we often recommend developing before moving into any type of campaign.
Impact of Proposed Tax Changes on U.S. Giving
Posted February 08, 2012 by Keith Curtis, President.
The Giving Institute recently hosted an informative webinar on the proposed changes to the U.S. tax code and what it means for giving in our country. We wanted to share some of the valuable information presented in the webinar, led by Patrick Rooney, PhD, Executive Director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
The Importance of Engaging (and Retaining) Volunteers
Posted February 01, 2012 by Wesley Stanley, Marketing Director.
Last week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch interviewed Keith for an article addressing the surprisingly low volunteer rate in the Richmond,Virginia area. The article juxtaposes this reality against the fact that 2010 actually showed the highest growth rate in U.S. volunteerism since 2005, climbing to 63 million.
