As a nonprofit staff member, how can you help create a board of directors who are both willing and able to do their part in raising major gifts for your organization? Nonprofit consultant Keith Curtis, whose company The Curtis Group provides board development training, among other consulting services, says the process starts with board recruitment and continues… Read more »
At The Giving Institute’s November board meeting, Rodney Christopher of the F.B. Heron Foundation and Richard Shaw of Youth Villages delivered a thought-provoking presentation on an emerging trend in philanthropy called growth capital. The basic premise the speakers suggested is that healthy organizations can achieve greater success through investments of growth capital. Foundations seeking measurable,… Read more »
What would you say if someone asked you to give 50% of your net worth to charity? My guess is that most would gasp at the mere idea of it. However, with the desire to truly make a significant positive impact, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet started “The Giving Pledge.” Made public in… Read more »
The Association for Fundraising Professionals and their strategic partners adopted the third week in October as National Estate Planning Awareness Week. Through this initiative, AFP and the Financial Awareness Foundation hope to educate, highlight and celebrate estate planning and the important role nonprofits play in this field. According to the 2012 Bank of America Study of… Read more »
A recent article by Doug Conant, chairman of CECP (Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy) and former CEO and president of Campbell Soup Company, sparked dialogue among our colleagues at The Curtis Group. Conant convincingly makes the case of how philanthropy can “help companies reduce risks, open new markets, engage employees, build their brand, reduce costs, advance… Read more »
Although Baby Boomers make up only 34 percent of the donor pool, they are the generation responsible for giving the lion’s share of donations to charities. In an online survey conducted by a division of Blackbaud, results showed that Boomers gave 43 percent of all money contributed by individuals. And when factoring in giving by… Read more »
How soon is too soon to begin year-end fundraising? According to a new Google and Millward Brown Digital Path to Donation research study, engaging your donors before the first chill is in the air may be the answer. In 2012, Google noticed an interesting trend: donation-related searches increased by 30 percent from August to September…. Read more »
AFP of Hampton Roads recently hosted a seminar featuring industry expert Penelope Burke on “Donor-Centered Fundraising,” which is also the title of a study published by her research firm Cyngus Applied Research, Inc. Burke opened her presentation with three attributes donors define as most important when making a gift to a nonprofit. 1. Receiving prompt, meaningful acknowledgment… Read more »
For years, the state of the economy was one of the only things on which nonprofits and donors could focus. As nonprofits begin to feel more confident with the future of philanthropy, they are addressing issues that were pushed to the backburner during the economic downturn. Nonprofits are being forced to take a hard look at… Read more »
Giving USA Foundation recently released Giving USA 2013, the 58th consecutive edition and the longest running comprehensive study on philanthropy in America. The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, researches and writes Giving USA. As one of 40 members of the Giving Institute, and with our president as vice-chair of the Giving USA Foundation, The… Read more »
