Fundraising Headlines – January 13, 2009

It’s already January 13th. Are you still committed to your New Year’s resolutions? (Or are you part of the 70% of American’s who do not make New Year’s Resolutions?) Whether you call it a resolution or not, one commitment that bears keeping is to build and diversify your funding streams. If you’re not taking steps in that direction, give a call (502.708.1020) and I’ll help you get started.

As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you feel may also be helped by this information. Thanks for reading!

FUNDRAISING

Building Donor Loyalty (Mal Warwick’s Newsletter) We continue to lose our donors at an alarming rate. In the U.S. initial attrition rates of 70% are considered acceptable by many organizations. Given that most nonprofits lose money on their donor acquisition activity, this increasingly leaky bucket is costing the sector dearly. A 10% improvement in loyalty can yield up to a 200% increase in the projected value of a donorbase, as significantly more donors upgrade their giving, give in multiple ways, recommend others, and ultimately, perhaps, pledge a legacy/bequest. http://malwarwicknews.com/2010/01/building-donor-loyalty/

Trends: In 2010, Expect Charitable Donors to Keep Giving Through Long-Term Pledges (AFP) Businesses and individuals hit hardest by the economy’s slide have shifted charitable giving patterns to longer-term pledges and gift commitments rather than ceasing to give altogether. This benchmarking study revealed that the most successful philanthropic programs have a sustained emphasis on building relationships and cultivating major gift donors. http://www.afpnet.org/Audiences/ReportsResearchDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=4289

Healthcare Donors Switching to Long-Term Giving Strategies (Philanthropy News Digest) Businesses and individuals hit hard by the economic downturn shifted their charitable giving strategies to longer-term pledges and gift commitments rather than forgo giving altogether, a new report from the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy finds. http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=279500021

A New Twist on Seeking Bequests (The Chronicle of Philanthropy) Many charities have stepped up their efforts to seek bequests. In a recent mailing, an environmental group told donors that a trustee will match any new bequest, dollar for dollar, up to $1-million. The trustee will pay the matching portion immediately, even though the organization may not get any money from the bequest for years. http://philanthropy.com/news/prospecting/10545/a-new-twist-on-seeking-bequests

Where Donors Live Does Not Equal Where They Give (IU Center on Philanthropy) Despite long-standing perceptions that people in different regions are motivated to give based on underlying values that might be specific to those regions, this report shows that regional differences in motivations for giving can be attributed to factors other than fundamental regional values. http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/philanthropymatters/story4.aspx

TECHNOLOGY

Digital Storytelling: A Tutorial in 10 Easy Steps (TechSoup) Done properly, storytelling can be a powerful, evocative, and emotional way of communicating themes and ideas. Learn how to use digital technology to tell stories of your organization’s mission and work. http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/techplan/page5897.cfm?cg=nyr_1

Use Social Media To Build Your Tribe (Milwaukee Small Business Times) The United Way of Greater Milwaukee recently finished its annual campaign, raising more than $45.5 million for the organizations it supports. A portion of that money was raised during the last 10 days of the campaign and was done mostly by the means of social media and the power of connection. “The basis of the campaign was to reach out to those donors using social media avenues … and encourage them to donate $10 to the United Way and then pass the information on to 10 other people however they wanted.” http://www.biztimes.com/news/2010/1/8/use-social-media-to-build-your-tribe

An Interview with Robert Chatwani on Giving Works Trends 2009 (Beth’s Blog) Right before the holidays, eBay released 2009 figures for Giving Works, its fundraising program and marked a historic record for total funds raised for non-profits through ebay.com. According to the report, the eBay community gave $50 million to nonprofits, a 17% jump over 2008 despite the ongoing recession. The program allows individuals to donate while using eBay. This writer did a quick email interview with Robert Chatwani, eBay’s head of Global Citizenship, to learn more behind the numbers. http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/01/an-interview-with-robert-chatwani-on-giving-works-trends-2009.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bethblog+%28Beth%27s+Blog%29

OTHER ARTICLES

3 Critical Mistakes Made by Executive Directors (Get Fully Funded Blog) Having a strong leader at the helm of a nonprofit organization is critical for its long-term success. Every Executive Director juggles many things including staff, Board, fundraising, and program oversight. He or she must be focused and totally committed to the organization to successfully manage these multiple priorities. http://getfullyfundedblog.com/3-critical-mistakes-made-by-executive-directors

Strategic Alliances: 8 Questions To Ask (The NonProfit Times) In this current economic environment, you must be asking how you can do more with less. Chances are your financial base is not growing, as you desire, yet the needs of the people you serve don’t decline in a recession. If anything, these needs may increase. One option you should consider is forming strategic alliances. To begin this journey, you’ll need to do your upfront work before jumping in. Here are two critical first steps, plus 8 questions to ask. http://www.nptimes.com/10Jan/news-100104-1.html

What Works in Social Change? (Social Edge) How do people really make a difference? What really works when people are striving for social change? For this writer’s doctoral research, he investigated nearly 120 factors that might be linked to failure and success. The best practices seemed to have three principles in common: Exposing injustice, “Social aikido” (went beyond the politics of “us versus them” and worked together with large companies and governments to institute change), and a constructive program. http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/philanthropy/what-works-doesnt-work-in-social-change

5 Steps to Building Social Experiences (Boxes and Arrows) Nowadays everyone wants social in their sites and applications. It’s become a basic requirement in consumer web software and is slowly infiltrating the enterprise as well. So what’s a designer to do when confronted with the requirements to “add social”? Designing social interfaces is more than just slapping on Twitter-like or Facebook-like features onto your site. Not all features are created equal and sometimes a little bit can go a long way. It’s important to consider your audience, your product—what your users will be rallying around and why they would want to become engaged with it and each other, and that you can approach this in a systematic way, a little bit at a time. http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/5-steps-to-building