This past Saturday I was interviewed on a Maryland radio station about the state of corporate philanthropy. In reviewing the latest data beforehand, I came across two blog-worthy points. The first is the growing trend of companies seeking alternatives to cash giving to support charitable activities, such as promoting employee volunteerism or offering staffers paid… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Donors
“Anonymous” May Not Be the Same for Everyone
Yesterday Wendy and I attended the AFP North Carolina Philanthropy Conference. Along with conducting her “Making the Successful Ask” presentation, Wendy hosted a round-table discussion during lunch on donor cultivation and stewardship. One guest at our table recounted a story that illustrates the importance of listening to donors and asking how they’d liked to be… Read more »
The Common Courtesy of Stewardship
At the Giving Institute Summer Symposium last month, a representative of a major national corporation who sat on a panel of philanthropists offered good advice to nonprofits about giving and stewardship. One request he made concerned nonprofits to which his foundation has made a gift. He said he would appreciate a call from a board… Read more »
Keep Your Funders in the Know
Last Thursday’s Funders Forum, held by Volunteer Hampton Roads and moderated by Keith, gave nonprofit professionals and board members a direct line to a panel comprising the Hon. Richard Bray of the Beazley Foundation, Angelica Light of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, Deborah Wyld of the Norfolk Southern Foundation, Michael Howland of the Southeastern Council of… Read more »
Funders Point Out Red Flags at Forum
Plenty of helpful insights were shared at yesterday’s Funders Forum, which was produced by Volunteer Hampton Roads, moderated by Keith, and well-attended by nonprofit professionals and board members. The panel of funders was impressive: the Hon. Richard Bray of the Beazley Foundation, Angelica Light of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, Deborah Wyld of the Norfolk… Read more »
Grant-Making Up Among Smaller Foundations
A new study by Foundation Source reports that the number and size of grants of less than $1 million increased by 15 percent in 2009. The firm, which provides services for small and medium-size philanthropies, based its findings on data collected by processing grants from nearly 700 client foundations. This runs counter to the trend… Read more »
Giving Institute Panel: What Skills Will Fundraisers Need in the Future
Last Friday, I was one of five Giving Institute members who served on a panel organized by editors of The Chronicle of Philanthropy and moderated by Holly Hall, a Chronicle features editor. The session was part of the Giving Institute’s conference, held in conjunction with the AFP International Conference that kicked off Sunday. Our panel… Read more »
Upswing in Corporate Giving? What It Means
An article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy last week reported that “cuts to corporate giving budgets are slowing this year.” A study by the Conference Board said 20 percent of the businesses surveyed plan to reduce their charitable giving in 2010, compared with 53 percent in 2009. While this is good news, it doesn’t mean… Read more »
Tuesday Fundraising Tip
Here’s the sixth fundraising tip in our series of 10 Tips for 2010: Develop a detailed cultivation plan for each of your top donors. No two donors are alike. They have different funding interests, different concerns, different schedules. But when they’re your top donors, someone connected with your organization has a relationship with them. And that’s… Read more »
How to Find New Donors
Recently several people have asked me about prospect research—how to find and manage new potential donors. After asking some questions, it became clear that these organizations were thinking more about new prospects than they were about renewing or increasing past donors. When I mentioned this to Keith, he said that in the last three trainings… Read more »
