Last week Wendy and I attended an interesting presentation on annual giving at our Hampton Roads AFP chapter meeting. Kim Sperling, Director of Development at the Mason School of Business at William and Mary, revealed “Ten Truths and a Myth about Annual Giving,” which reiterated much of the advice we’ve been giving recently around the… Read more »
Summer Symposium provides an abundance of thought-provoking takeaways.
If you’ve visited our Facebook page lately you’ve seen some of our takeaways from the Giving Institute’s recent Summer Symposium. The annual event, co-chaired this year by Keith, drew a diverse crowd of Giving Institute board members, senior managers from member and guest firms, as well as distinguished practitioners from across the country. After four… Read more »
Know the Key to Building Capacity?
Last week Nonprofit Finance Fund issued a report about the successful results of NFF Capital Partners’ efforts to help nine charities around the nation raise philanthropic equity. Philanthropic equity, according to Nonprofit Finance Fund, is money a nonprofit uses to build its capacity to deliver services, as well as the business operations that will make… Read more »
Board Roles & Responsibilites: Part 1
Last week while making a presentation, I asked the group if the members of their boards were hesitant to make calls asking for gifts. When many attendees said yes, I assumed that a big reason was the current economy. Instead, I learned that the problem was much more basic. What it boiled down to was that… Read more »
Making the Most of Changes in Corporate Giving
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 »
Time for an Endowment?
Creating an endowment seems like a sound business practice to most nonprofit boards. But is it really the next logical step for your organization? “For many, amassing an endowment represents a ‘nirvana’ state, where fundraising (and related pain) ceases and programs are amply funded,” wrote Clara Miller, CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, in a… Read more »
Percentage-Based Compensation: Why Not?
Three times in the last month I’ve been asked this question by nonprofit board members and leaders: Can we bring on a fundraising consultant and pay him or her a percentage of what’s raised? To someone in the business world, this results-based compensation approach may make sense. But in the world of fundraising, it’s highly unethical…. Read more »
Tuesday Fundraising Tip
Create a challenge gift: That’s number eight in our series of tips on how to remain a philanthropic priority in the economic recovery. Challenge gifts can come from individual donors, foundations, businesses, or even your collective board. It doesn’t have to be huge, although those can work well too. When the Virginia Living Museum was offered $6… 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 »
Community Joins Oasis for Groundbreaking
Despite the cold weather, the community came out in force today to celebrate the groundbreaking of Oasis Social Ministry’s new building. City and business leaders joined in the celebration, including Portsmouth Mayor James Holley, who spoke at the event. The building is coming to life as the result of Oasis’ successful capital campaign, which has… Read more »
