Fundraising Headlines - May 18, 2009

Are you a puzzle person? There’s something satisfying about sitting down to a large number of pieces and walking away with one cohesive picture. It’s also fascinating to see how many ways there are to get to the same conclusion. Some people group the pieces into different colors, some people do the edges first and others are somehow able to work on everything at once. What is your puzzle solving style? Is there a different problem solving style that can make yours more effective?

Many organizations are trying different things to engage donors. One idea below came from Elon College – they are trying to find ways to engage their alumni at younger ages. Another article listed below is a mystery (and who doesn’t like a good mystery). There have been several significant gifts made anonymously to colleges run by women over the past several months. The usual suspects aren’t taking credit.

Here are this week’s headlines. Happy reading!


ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Hire More Fundraising Rain-Makers During Recession, New AHP Study Concludes (May 14, 2009, Fundraising Success Magazine) As the recession's grip tightened on nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in the U.S. and Canada, high performing philanthropic fundraisers in charge of major gifts and planned giving programs were often their most effective and efficient rain-makers, according to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). "Health care executives and boards should think twice before downsizing their fundraising staff and mix of fundraising activities to cope with the recession," said AHP President and CEO William McGinly. "The data confirm that such cost-cutting would be penny-wise but dollar-foolish..." http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/hire-more-fundraising-rain-makers-during-recession-new-ahp-study-concludes-407117_1.html

Corporate Giving Flat in 2008, Decrease Expected in 2009, Report Finds (May 12, 2009, Philanthropy News Digest) Giving by the nearly twenty-five hundred corporate foundations in the United States remained virtually unchanged in 2008 at an estimated $4.4 billion but is likely to decline in 2009, a new report from the Foundation Center finds. http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=251800031

Donor Confidence on the Rise (May 2009, Donor Speak) Confidence among individual American donors edged higher in April 2009 to an index level of 88.2, according to a nationwide survey published by polling firm Campbell Rinker. While nearly half of donors (48%) say they expect to give the same this year compared to last February, 28% expect to give less, and 15% expect to give more. In April, a 51% majority of donors were satisfied with the country’s direction, up strongly from just 32% of donors in December. Furthermore, the proportion of donors who see the economy in decline is now 29%, half the level it was in October 2008, and the proportion that expects the economy to improve within the next year jumped from 23% in February to 33% in April. http://www.campbellrinker.com/e-newsletter/5-2009.html


TIPS AND RESOURCES

So you want a Facebook Fan Page for Your Nonprofit? Here's the Scoop! This is a summary of an NTEN Webinar on the emerging best practices for nonprofits who want to set up Facebook Fan Pages. This webinar is a resource for non-profits and other organizations for social good. Expanding on the Non-Profits on Facebook page, we want to help you harness the power of Facebook and bring positive change to the world. Facebook empowers non-profits by enabling them to mobilize communities, organize events, increase fundraising, reduce costs with free online tools, and raise awareness through viral networks. http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/05/so-you-want-a-facebook-fan-page-.html

Animoto Gives Free Pro Accounts to Non-Profits and Causes (May 9, 2009, Wild Apricot Blog) Animoto is quite possibly the easiest way to turn your photos and music into a dynamic, DVD-quality video without special skills or expensive technology. Last year, the video creation platform gave free pro accounts to educators - now, "Animoto for a Cause" offers free all-access pro accounts to "organizations and people who are working toward improving their community and the world at large."… http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2009/05/10/animoto-gives-free-pro-accounts-to-non-profits-and-causes.aspx

10-Point Basic Website Checklist for Nonprofits (NonprofitMarketingGuide.com) No matter how small your nonprofit may be, focus on the most important elements first. Here’s the 10-point checklist I use to give the home page of a nonprofit website a quick evaluation. 1) Does the Domain Name Make Sense? 2) Do I Know Where I Am? 3) Is There a Clear Path to Answers or Actions Visitors are Most Likely Seeking? 4) Does the Home Page Include Images? 5) Can I Donate Online Easily from the Home Page? 6) Are You Capturing Email Addresses? 7) Are People Featured? 8) Are There Stories on the Need or Successes? 9) Is It Easy to Contact Staff? 10) Are Your Google Keywords on Target? http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/resources/website_and_blogs/10-point-basic-website-checklist-for-nonprofits/



ONLINE / SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social Media for Non-Profits: 26 Great Slideshare Presentations You Can Use. Great new presentations on social media are coming out almost daily, now that we're deep into conference season, and many are directed specifically to the needs of non-profits. If you've been thinking of launching or expanding your organization in social media, Slideshare is a good starting point for information and advice. But it can be time-consuming to pick through a wide range of slideshows to find those that are up-to-date, actionable, and appropriate to nonprofits. Here's a hand-picked selection of presentations to get you started. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2009/05/12/social-media-for-non-profits-26-great-slideshare-presentations-you-can-use.aspx


OTHER ARTICLES

Mystery Donor May Have Started Handing Out Gifts More Than a Year Ago (May 8, 2009, The Chronicle of Higher Education) The mystery surrounding the top-secret donations to colleges led by women shows no signs of abating, with more gifts announced this week and a new report suggesting that the donor may have started distributing the multimillion-dollar checks as early as the beginning of 2008. Temple University may have been the first college to receive one of the anonymous donations, which are earmarked for scholarships for female and minority students and come through an intermediary such as a bank, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this morning. http://chronicle.com/news/article/6446/mystery-donor-may-have-started-handing-out-gifts-more-than-a-year-ago

Young alumni program aims for new giving tradition (May 12, 2009, The Pendulum – Elon University’s Student Newspaper) Elon University has created a program to reach out to their young alumni. IGNITE allows alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years to join by making a gift of any size to Elon. In addition, the program hosts IGNITE NITES, regional events where alumni gather together to raise awareness for the program. They are hosted by a group of young alumni and are open to all in the area. So far, 11 IGNITE NITES have been held in Atlanta, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Greensboro, Hampton Roads, New York City (2), Raleigh, Richmond and Washington D.C. The events have raised $286,634.80 in the last fiscal year and to date, have had 214 alumns in attendance. http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=2246

Emotions & Logic in Philanthropy (May 13, 2009, Philanthropy Daily Digest) This blob discusses the need to focus on both the heart and the head when appealing for donations. While stories are important – they also must be true.When the analytical part of our brain is activated, even by unrelated math problems, our empathy/altruism declines. But this doesn’t mean that money is best raised by offering donors empty emotional calls to action! The authors of Made to Stick are focused on what makes ideas have an impact on people and stay with them (from urban legends to Jared the Subway Diet Guy to The Girl Effect Video). Their point is not that people are best manipulated by emotions, it is that humans are better at absorbing and preserving certain types of information better than others. http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2009/05/emotions-logic-in-philanthropy

First Lady Speaks to Corporation For National and Community Service (May 13, 2009, Service Nation Press Release) As a part of her listening tour of federal agencies, First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that is in change of service programs (including AmeriCorps), to discuss service and its profound role in her life. “And as you know, national and community service is near and dear to my heart. It is the reason that I breathe,” she told the employees. Her words were striking, not just because of her office, but because of the very real role that service has played in her life, and the service advocate she has become over the years. She also praised the Serve America Act and the broad, bipartisan support it attracted. Her speech was one of thanks, encouragement, and readiness for the new challenges that lay ahead. http://www.bethechangeinc.org/changewire/2009/05/13/first-lady-speaks-to-corporation-of-national-and-community-service/