Donor Interaction: Don't Miss the Market Research Opportunities!

Recent fundraising results suggest that development professionals may be missing important prospecting information as they approach major gift donors. This is due to the fact that most fundraising research and literature have focused primarily on quantitative giving-capacity analysis (Panus, 2011). The quantitative research emphasis accelerated with the growth of the internet era and its plentiful access to hard financial information about potential donors (Hanberg, 2008). What appears missing is philanthropic research into values, insights, viewpoints, and firsthand testimony provided from the viewpoint of actual major gift donors. What would lead to this over-emphasis on quantitative analysis? The answer is easy. In a word, access. The internet makes it remarkably easy to search public courthouse records that were previously cumbersome to locate. Taking this information to a sophisticated level the market place is now full of vendors that have created a number of quantitative forecasting tools. These tools are readily available to the nonprofit industry (Guidestar, 2009). These profiles also provide philanthropic giving-capacity results for individuals, foundations, and companies (Mutz, 2010). All public record databases are scanned for the latest wealth information and then compiled into quantitative giving-capacity forecasts. Online search tools made this information available to almost the entire philanthropic community. Without question this has forever changed the philanthropic industry. One practical example of this quantitative donor research, that just about any nonprofit organization can perform, is the purchase of a prospective donor’s private residence. The value of the real estate and the amount of the mortgage are among the public records available to any interested party (Bray, 2009). Researchers also can access the most current data on valuable assets such as pension holdings and annual income levels, as well as philanthropic and biographical data (Guidestar, 2009). These quantitative capacity sources, while powerful and extremely helpful tools for major gift officers, are, however, limited to the potential financial giving capacity. A purely quantitative analysis does not inform the prospecting organization about the high-net-worth philanthropist’s personal convictions, giving intentions, passions, or pet issues (Schervish, 2009). Research further suggests that these values are constantly changing and the philanthropic industry might not fully understand these changes. Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner (2012) explains that the wealthy class in the United States are different than most ordinary people. And this difference is not always in a good way. Keltner's research suggests that their life experiences make them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish. Keltner states that the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market, and were major themes in the 2012 Presidential election, are partly rooted in an upper class ideology of self-interest (2012). In an academic version of a Depression-era Frank Capra movie, Keltner and the other authors of an article titled Social Class as Culture: The Convergence of Resources and Rank in the Social Realm, published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, argue that rich people are more likely to think about themselves. They believe that economic success have more to do with individual behavior and a good work ethic (Keltner, 2012). If Kelner is correct, and similar research findings suggest that he is (Vesterlund, 2006), then it is important that you hear directly from your wealthy donors about their views on your organization. This kind of “baked in” research has great potential for helping major gift officers gain insights about the attitudes and beliefs of their major gift prospects.

Professional Fundraisers: Be Wary of Gimmicks

Struggling to attract new donors in what one marketing consultant calls a “world of competing sorrows,” more charities are turning to parody, provocation, and stunts in advertising and awareness campaigns. Charities and creative firms are using various methods to shock audiences to attention, such as disposable-cup dispensers placed next to sources of polluted water in New York to dramatize water crises in developing countries and billboards featuring “WTF,” which normally stands for a vulgar expression but in this case stands for “Where’s the funding.” Experts differ as to whether such efforts help or hinder building connections with consumers. You need to be very careful when considering this type of approach- especially with major givers. http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/nonprofits-look-to-make-mark-with-provocative-campaigns/77581?cid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en

Le Moyne College's Hero of the Week: Clete Gualtieri

Congratulations to Clete and our gratitude for all that he does for our students!! http://lemoyne.edu/LeMoyne101/MeetSomeDolphins/DolphinStories/tabid/1997/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/190/categoryId/68/This-Weeks-Education-Hero-Clete-Gualtieri-Jamesville-DeWitt-High-School.aspx

Focus on Major Gifts: The 21st Century Approach to Fundraising

Catholic nonprofit organizations find themselves at a pivotal time in their history. With a weakened and forever-changed national economy, changing demographics, fluctuating endowments, and reduced government support, the entire nonprofit industry is challenged like few other times in our country's history. This is especially true for Catholic ministries. This is the view of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, a leading source of ground-breaking research and knowledge about the nonprofit sector, social investing, and the tools of government (JohnsHopkins, 2013). Even what was once considered sacrosanct, the IRS philanthropic tax benefit for wealthy donors, is now up for discussion as part of the federal budget debate (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2013). All of this means that the philanthropic landscape in the 21st century is dramatically different than the previous century. More specifically, higher education, an important subset of the nonprofit industry, is a good example of this challenge (Barone, 2010). Everyone agrees that almost all of the more than 3,500 colleges and universities in the United States must become more financially resourceful and entrepreneurial. Why? Traditional state and federal government funding resources are drying up, even as the cost to remain a technologically sophisticated educational organization is rapidly increasing (Altbach, Berdahl, Gumport, 2005). Thus, the reliance on fundraising to produce necessary resources for institutions of higher education is greater than ever (2005). Analysis by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University confirms that this scenario is true not only for higher education, but also applicable for the majority of nonprofit organizations (Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University). For charitable organizations this means committing financial resources, research and, of course, professional staff constantly prospecting for financial gifts to support seemingly endless capital campaigns (DiMento, 2011). Finding these philanthropic dollars is essential if the organization is to meet the financial challenges inherent in sustaining the many honorable missions carried out by our country's nonprofit organizations. As a result of this need for increased philanthropic support, the field of fundraising and development has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. Caroline Preston, a respected philanthropy blogger, reports these findings from her research on the hiring of fundraising staff and investment into development offices made by educational institutions. Preston reports that almost all of the United States’ 3,500 colleges and universities now have active fundraising or advancement efforts on their campuses. Ten years ago, it was less than half of that number (Preston, 2010). But, specifically, why do nonprofit organizations and educational institutions concentrate so much on major gifts as an integral within a comprehensive fundraising program? Why not government or foundations? Or even corporations? The answer is clear. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Until then, check your organization’s fundraising efforts. Are you focused enough on major gifts?

YouTube as a Stewardship Activity

Le Moyne College allows it's students to create a "thank you" youtube piece that goes out to their donors. The College has experienced outstanding philanthropic support over the last 5 years- over $65mil- and efforts like this will only keep their success going! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UAemvt2IYk

Catholic Donors: What Motivates Major Gifts?

The Catholic Philanthropic Donor: Qualitative Attributes of Those That Give Major Gifts. Many Catholic fundraising professionals, facing budget pressures in these difficult economic times, are often puzzled why tried and true systems of donor identification no longer work. Why does one wealthy Catholic donor give, when another wealthy Catholic does not? Why are some Catholic non-profits successful in obtaining million dollar type gifts, when other organizations are not? Through a series of one on one interviews with some of Church’s most affluent citizens I will provide insights on the qualitative variables that will help the philanthropic community better understand major donor behavior during tough economic times. Keep track of this blog site over the next couple of months and read these stories!

It's not everyday that a video about wealth inequality goes viral on the internet. But this myth-shattering video is spreading across the social web, using powerful infographics to make the case that not only is wealth distributed unevenly, but that it is much, much worse than we think. You can find the video on this website. http://neweconomy.net/ My philanthropic research is focused on the motivations of high net worth (the wealthy) to share their wealth with those in the bottom 20%. What motivates wealthy donors to give major gifts? We need to keep asking this question as wealthy will hold the key to funding the non-profit world. Not government; not middle class families; but the top 1% that hold nearly 50% of the country's wealth.