By Angela E. White

Today, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University released a key set of research findings about the gender role in philanthropy.  Women Give 2010 was received with strong praise and interest from the news media, including stories by the Associated Press and a front page story in USA Today. 

What’s all the fuss about? The study examined giving by single men and women across five income groups, ranging roughly from $23,000 to $100,000+ a year, controlling for factors that affect philanthropic behavior such as income, wealth, education, race, number of children, religion, and health of household. The results show that women, when compared to men,  across nearly every income level are MORE LIKELY TO GIVE and GIVE MORE than their male counterparts – in many cases, nearly twice as much.

As a frequent speaker for Women’s Philanthropy  Institute (WPI), I have discussed  women’s giving patterns with a broad range of professionals and donors in the philanthropic community.  And, as counsel to Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, I have seen the transformational power of women’s philanthropy at work.  My colleagues at Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates (JGA) and I are committed to the importance of changing the way we think about women and philanthropy.  Women Give 2010 provides just the kind of research that will continue to strengthen the dialog on this important topic.

I anticipate more insights to come on women’s roles in philanthropy over the next several months.  More discussion and insights will emerge next week in Chicago as I attend the “Upholding Our Half: Making the Case for Women’s Philanthropy,” a conference in Chicago October 28 – 29, jointly sponsored by WPI and CASE.  And, to continue the conversation, JGA is proud to be a sponsor of the 2011 Women’s Philanthropy Institute’s Symposium “Women World Wide: Leading through Philanthropy” being convened in Chicago next March.

I will do my best to share with you the learnings and trends that emerge as we come together to focus on women’s issues in philanthropy, but I also hope you will join me in attending these wonderful events and discussing the issues in forums like this blog.

By Ted Grossnickle

Back in April of this year (wow, it’s been six months now) JGA and Achieve, LLC announced results of the Millennial Donor Study — and the response to that donor research since then has been unlike anything either firm has seen.

Perhaps we should not be surprised given the topic and interest in philanthropy around the nation in this millennium! Since April there have been more than twenty blog postings about the study results — and those are only the ones we’ve managed to catch.

What surprises me is the continuing circulation of the research even now. There are recent comments regarding the applicability of it to fundraising by national political parties in this midterm election season and a posting this past week on the Social Edge blog forum from the Skoll Foundation – affiliated with the founder of eBay- about the importance of young donor engagement for social entrepreneurs.

At this rate, I expect the results of our research to show up in Christmas cards!!

We believe it is time to seriously rethink our perceptions about younger people in philanthropy and volunteerism.

For too many years, there has been the assumption that “they’re too busy,” or “they don’t have resources yet,” or “they’re just not interested,” or – perhaps worst- “we can’t expect them to engage with causes the way everyone else does.”

All of these are pretty much incorrect — at least according to our research (http://www.millennialdonors.com/) and to the many people who have followed our Study.

I can tell you this — there is more to come. JGA and Achieve are partnering to conduct a second round of nonprofit research in this area and you can expect more results during the spring of 2011. 

Want to be a part of the next Millenial Donors study?  We are in search of 10 institutions to participate in the study of young donor attitudes and engagement trends.  If you are interested in participating, please contact Joanna Nixon at Achieve or download the Request for Interest application.

by Meg Gammage – Tucker

Nonprofit professionals are regularly asked to justify the efficiency and effectiveness of their missions, programs, staff, and all other elements of their existence.   The reason—we live in an era of substantial competition for limited financial and human resources; under the light of growing public attention and scrutiny; and greater demands from donors for evidence of organizational impact and importance.

How can nonprofits deal with the growing demands of volunteers, audiences, clients, and donors who need more justification to invest in us and our missions and programs?  For the majority of the 1.6 million+ nonprofit institutions, the response has historically been to produce reports that generally outline the need for their “vital” services.  The organization then lists the number and amount of gifts received. 

It becomes somewhat circular as a justification process. 

Our clients and those who attend my classes often indicate that those reports are the extent of what they can generate given the substantial limitations on their time and staff resources.  Planning, modeling, evaluation, reports, impacts, outcomes—take too much time and they limit the energy available for running their organizations and developing and deepening donor relationships. 

It is not enough, however.   More justification and reports are necessary.  Why?  For the very reasons that you shy away from the concept:

• you have limited resources,
• your competition is growing, and
• you  have to justify our existence, let alone any possibility of growth or greater impact or influence. 

In other words, you simply need to work smarter, be better, and share the results of your successes (and, sometimes, your challenges).

How can we do this?  Employ simple and effective models and metrics to:

• illustrate your effectiveness;
• gain the support and greater engagement of your volunteers and investors; and—certainly not last or least—
• justify your existence. 

They do not need to be elaborate, but they do need to be meaningful, reflective, informative, and useful.  Start simple and seek board input.  Once you engage that audience and answer their questions, you can offer larger audiences more insights into your nonprofit’s efficiency and effectiveness.