Search Results

The 1990s marked a turning point in how nonprofit organizations regard women donors — as a financially high-powered cadre poised to give unprecedented amounts of time and money to charity.

In the formative years of online fundraising, nonprofit organizations assumed that if they built a Web site with bells and whistles, rich content and a device to accept donations, donors would come. But to the chagrin of many fundraising pros who defined effective online fundraising as the ability to take credit card transactions through a Web interface, donors came in fits and starts. Charities soon learned that they needed to be just as creative, diligent and engaging in their approach to the Internet as to any offline fundraising medium.

We’re going to Seattle. Exciting news — and not just because I’ve always wanted to go to Seattle. The Association of Fundraising Professionals’ International Conference on Fundraising is the first big industry trade show for FundRaising Success — our coming-out, you might say.

This is a great opportunity for folks who might not have seen FS before to get to know it and the people who produce it. The plan for the show is for the FS staff to put ourselves out there and meet our readers.

“Is it the end of the line for fundraising by phone?” was what many nonprofit organizations were pondering last year when more than 48 million Americans signed up for the National Do-Not-Call Registry. While the law clearly stipulates that charitable and political calls are exempt, many members of the public still are unaware of the distinction.

A Harris Interactive poll of 1,011 people in August 2003 found that 37 percent thought that the federal do-not-call list also applied to charity calls.

Many organizations that have poorly performing files are not adequately investing in new lists, resulting in meager prospect-response rates and low new-donor retention rates, writes Margaret Guellich, CFRE, senior director of development for the American Life League, in her new booklet, “Reviving Your Donor File: Prescription for a Healthy Direct Marketing Plan.” The booklet recently was released as the fourth in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Ready Reference Series.

That dream. We’ve all had it: You’re back in school, sitting down to take the final exam, and you haven’t attended a class all semester. And the exam is on advanced Russian or trigonometry … or nuclear physics.

That’s how it can feel to walk into a major-gift meeting without being properly prepared. It’s that make-it-or-break-it moment, the final exam that will decide your grade.

As donors prepare their federal income tax returns this and every year, one question looms: Can their tax-deductible gifts be substantiated?

The Internal Revenue Code has specific provisions under IRC 170 (f)(8) that govern when and how donations must be substantiated. Failure to comply with these rules could prohibit a donor from making a deduction.

Want to spice up your golf tournament with a hole-in-one contest for a brand-new Hummer or a swanky four-bedroom house without worrying about the cost? How about splitting a million-dollar prize with a lucky donor at your next special event — knowing someone else will be picking up the tab?

If you’ve ever wondered how some organizations — and their sponsors — can risk the expense of giving away huge prizes, then welcome to the world of content and promotions insurance -- a powerful tool for building awareness, developing sponsorship packages and raising additional funds.

An often overlooked market segme By PAUL BARBARGALLO At 38.8 million, the U.S. Hispanic population continues to be the fastest growing ethnic market and accounts for roughly half of the nation's population increase of 6.9 million between April 2000 and July 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. More than one in eight people in the United States are of Hispanic descent and, by 2010, Hispanic Americans will become the second largest ethnic group — following behind non-Hispanic whites. Strangely enough, despite an estimated spending power of $580 billion, Hispanics represent an under-served and often neglected market. "Hispanics

A change to the United States Postal Service’s Cooperative Mail Rule went into effect late last year, permitting nonprofit mailers to partner with third-party, commercial fundraising firms while still retaining the ability to mail at nonprofit postal rates. Previously, if a nonprofit group entered a joint venture with a for-profit company, any resulting mail would be ineligible for the nonprofit rate.

It’s a development office’s dream: You’re a nice-sized nonprofit and you score some big corporate and foundation partners who start throwing money at you.

Sweet. Lots more cash in your coffers. Lots more people getting help.

But what about when those project grants time out? If you’ve put too many of your fundraising eggs into that big-ticket basket, you might find yourself a yolk or two short of an omelet somewhere down the line.

While the goal of any good fundraiser is to raise funds, it’s important to know that not all gifts are created equal. For instance: An alum gives his cattle ranch to his college or a patron gives the controlling interest of her business to the local art museum. These gifts might be of great value, but they also might have unexpected income-tax consequences for the receiving organizations.

The past few years have proven to be challenging for direct marketing fundraising. When you consider the 2001 terror attacks and the ensuing questions about dispersement of funds contributed as a result, Anthrax scares, the war on terrorism, corporate distrust, the recent Catholic Church opprobrium and the troubled economy, it’s no surprise that fundraisers have felt left out in the cold.

So this is Christmas. With all due props to John Lennon, that was the thought that wormed its way through my mind as I did some holiday shopping around Thanksgiving. Weary disenchantment dogged me early because, by mid-November, shoppers already were showing signs of the impatience, impoliteness and downright nastiness that inexplicably is characteristic of what should be the warmest of seasons.

Alas, Christmas was looking bleak, a sad testament to out-of-control consumerism — consumerism bedecked with tinsel and twinkling lights, but consumerism nonetheless.

Dolores McDonagh, vice president of membership for the National Trust for Historic Preservation

In the last issue, we examined the masterful “thank-you” mailing from Disabled American Veterans that featured patriotism and guilt as the copy drivers. This time, let us look at a long-running control from the World Wildlife Fund that sticks five sharp knives in the reader’s gut — fear, guilt, anger, greed and salvation.

What’s more, this renewal effort (that also is used in acquisitions) is a model of simplicity. For all the razzle-dazzle, high-tech printing and production techniques available, it often is the simple printed letter that packs the biggest wallop and costs the least in the mail.

African Americans currently make up 13 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1990, the bureau charted the African-American community to grow by 68 percent before 2030. But despite this growing demographic — currently 38.3 million individuals representing a buying power of $631 billion — many majority nonprofit organizations have only recently begun focusing efforts on soliciting support from the black community.

There’s a reason many charities are reluctant to engage in techniques to upgrade their donors — or fail to do so altogether. Call it the “fear factor.”

They’re afraid donors will get irritated and stop sending gifts. They’re afraid a donor will give the upgrade letter to a board member and complain about the “pressure.”

Be not afraid. I bring you tidings of great joy. Fact: It has never been proven by any reliable statistical measurement that reasonable upgrading techniques will result in a substantial attrition of the donor file.

Fundraisers who think that donors to a capital campaign wouldn’t be interested in supporting their organization otherwise often are missing out on a valuable funding source. Development personnel are finding that, like the old adage says, all ships do, indeed, rise with the tide.

The American Lung Association currently is in the throes of redesigning, revamping and relaunching its Web site, www.lungusa.com. While the current site provides rich content on a whopping 60,000 pages, the infrastructure is very “last generation,” says Rusty Burwell, assistant vice president of the development division at the ALA.