by Andy Canada 

Would you say you’re knowledgeable about basic financial principles and concepts? 

If you answered yes, you are not alone. 

In a recent financial literacy survey conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and sponsored by Moody’s Financial, 76 percent of nonprofit managers considered themselves financially “knowledgeable” and another 7 percent claimed to be “experts” in that regard.

Unfortunately, if you are like the average nonprofit manager, there is a decent chance you overestimate your level of financial understanding. 

In reality, only a third of respondents were able to correctly answer a series of three questions on basic financial concepts like inflation, investment risks, and diversification.  

While nonprofit managers are not expected to be Warren Buffett, when donors make a gift, they expect it to be competently managed, especially when that gift is meant to be held in an endowment. 

We don’t have to look too far back to see significant examples of financial naivety costing nonprofits and foundations dearly.  Whether falling victim to criminal schemes like the one perpetrated by Bernie Madoff, or leaving themselves overly exposed to volatile market fluctuations, a number of nonprofits have paid a high price for not arming themselves with the appropriate expertise and assistance in financial dealings.

The silver lining to this news is that nonprofit managers were more knowledgeable than the public at large.  But nonprofits don’t have to compete with the general public for donations. They compete with each other. 

In an environment where nonprofits are increasingly coming under scrutiny from donors and regulators, it is important for nonprofit managers and their boards to honestly assess their own knowledge and practices to avoid missteps that could have a long-term impact on donor confidence.

So, take some time to crack open that Finance 101 book and brush up on your financial knowledge.  It will pay dividends.

by Melanie Norton

This is the time of year when we stop – if even for a moment – and reflect on those things for which we are most thankful.  At JGA, that reflection leads to our clients and the dozens of charitable organizations we partner with each year.  For those charitable partners, thoughts of thankfulness likely lead to donors and those who selflessly give of their time and talent to help advance the mission.

A recent online article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy gives us yet another reason to be thankful.   In a poll conducted by the American Red Cross, nearly seven out of 10 Americans believe it is important to make giving to charity a holiday priority.  And, 72 percent of those who plan to give also plan to make a contribution that equals or exceeds their gift from last year.

At a time when the economy can still be categorized as challenging, this is encouraging news for charities.  In fact, the same poll indicates that givers plan to cut other expenses before scaling back on their charitable contributions.

Other key findings of the survey are as follows:

• 79% would rather have a charitable donation in their honor than a gift they won’t use
• Four in five Americans agree that helping someone less fortunate is an important part of their holiday tradition
• 68% of Americans believe that it’s important to give to charity because of the economy
• 45% of Americans will cut back their expenditures on travel, and the same percentage on decorations, but only 26% plan to spend less on charitable donations

Amidst the flurry of year-end mailings and appeals, it is especially important for donors and volunteers to feel like their contributions are appreciated.  The good news above lets us know that charitable giving is still a strong priority for Americans and we need to let donors know we don’t take that goodwill for granted. 

Take some time this holiday season to make certain your stakeholders know how thankful you are for their support.  Send a card, write a note, or pick up the phone and share your appreciation.  Despite the fast-paced nature of our society, changes in the economy and also personal priorities, Americans enjoy the opportunity to give to causes they care about.  And we appreciate the opportunity to say “thank you” to those who make a difference.

by Ted Grossnickle

The Millennial Donor Summit (MDS11) has just concluded and what a fantastic day it has been.

Hundreds of participants, wonderful partners and sponsors and stimulating speakers combined to create an energy and dynamism around the topic of engaging Millennials which I modestly would suggest has never occurred nationally – until now.

The twittersphere was alive with tweets about #millennialdonors and #MDS11. It is estimated in excess of 400,000 twitter message impressions were shared today about this event.

More importantly, there was sharing of ideas and expertise between people who are both knowledgeable and passionate about making good things happen for people around the world— and harnessing the volunteerism and philanthropy of people between the ages of 20 and 35.

To quote Henry Ford: “we have seen the future and it works.”

Today’s event was also notable for another reason. The teams at JGA and Achieve started the day at “a run” and didn’t slow down until the virtual summit hall closed at 6pm EST. And despite- or perhaps because of this- a sense of fun and inspiration pervaded the team and made the day fly by.

We know there are good lessons here for us if we turn out to be smart enough to pay attention to them…

To each of you who participated, we thank you!

For those of you who missed the day, you can still see the speakers and other aspects of the day at a bargain price by visiting www.mdsummit11.com and following the instructions to access all of the archived presentations, chat and exhibitor materials.

We extend special thanks to the Case Foundation who were terrific sponsors and partners!  And, also a heartfelt thanks to those that helped us spread the word about this thought-provoking day – AFP, NTEN, The Chronicle on Philanthropy. 

To learn more about what was covered, scan the coverage of  our official blogger correspondents Katya Andresen, Amy Sample Ward, Kivi Leroux Miller, Beth Kanter and Nathan Hand.

Have a great summer!!

by Andy Canada

Spend the day at your desk (or your favorite wireless hotspot) learning LIVE and interacting with leaders who are helping nonprofits engage the next generation. 

Can’t spend the whole day with us, don’t worry, your registration gives you access to the archived presentations for a full year.

This virtual conference will explore how to engage Millennials beyond the donation with real examples of activation, engagement and innovation; see fresh new uses of technology - from social media to mobile; and hear honest cross-generational dialogue about what works and doesn’t in organizations big and small.

Speakers include:

• Angela White, JGA
• Heidi Adams, LIVESTRONG
• Geoff Livingston, Zoetica
• Jacob Colker, Sparked.com
• Wendy Harman, American Red Cross
• George Weiner, DoSomething.org
• Erica Smith, Society By Design

And many more!

Our closing speaker Barbara Pierce Bush shares how she and her team at the Global Health Corps are leveraging the unique characteristics of Millennials across all sectors to address the global health crisis.

Click here to view the full agenda and read speaker bios.

Register Today! For only $75 per individual or $300 for an organization (up to 5 individual logins) your pass allows you to attend the summit, view the conference speakers online live, participate in conversations, and download the presentations anytime for the next 12 months.

by Dan Schipp

Having spent 25 years working in fund development for a religious organization, I have had a long standing interest in the connection between religion and giving. 

How does faith drive and shape giving?  How do religious values influence giving to both secular and religious causes?  What is the relationship between giving and one’s relationship with God? 

If you are looking for a thought-provoking book on the subject, I have found one for you. 

The book, Religious Giving (Indiana University Press, 2010), is a collection of essays edited by David H. Smith, Director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics.

It focuses on philosophical and theological dimensions of giving within the Abrahamic traditions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The opening essay, written by Patrick M. Rooney, Executive Director of The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, addresses many misperceptions about the connection between religion and giving. 

Dr. Rooney addresses eight commonly held beliefs about religious giving by analyzing data from two studies:  The Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) of giving by households in the lower 97% of income and wealth in the United States and the Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, which focuses on households in the top 3% of income and wealth.  

What does the data tell us?  It does not support the common belief that religious giving is declining.  Dr. Rooney reports “while religious giving as a share of total giving is declining, religious giving has grown substantially over time – even after adjusting for inflation. 

Among the other conclusions that Dr. Rooney draws from the datasets are the following:

• Americans do not give the biblical tithe.  Only 2.6% of Americans give 10% or more of their income to religious charities.
• The wealthy do not give less to religion.  Religious giving grows substantially with both income and wealth.
• Religious giving is not inversely related to educational attainment.  Education seems to positively affect giving, both in terms of being a donor at all and the amount donated.

Religious Giving is organized in four parts. The second section addresses religious rationales for giving.  Those chapters are followed by others that tackle several problems of religious giving, including giving in a culture of debt and consumption and giving to meet people’s changing needs.  The book concludes with a chapter written by Dr. Smith in which he pulls together the major themes of the book.

Religious Giving stimulates critical reflection and poses topics for further exploration and conversation.  It is recommended reading in my book. 

by Ted Grossnickle

I am excited to report that JGA is once again partnering with Achieve to conduct a research study that will help improve or understanding of how non profits can best work with Millennials. 

The 2011 Millennial Donors Study is already well underway.  We have selected several research partners including higher education institutions, private schools, and arts and community organizations with national and regional constituents to assess the perceptions, attitudes and preferences of young donors age 20 – 35.

The study, scheduled for release in April 2011, will shed light on how to engage young donors including the effective use of text campaigns, email communication and peer fundraising and how and why Millennials decide to give or not to give.

This year in addition to distributing the survey through our research partners, we are seeking additional participation from the general public in completing the survey.  We are reaching out through nonprofit media and blogs to help spread the news with posts like the one appearing this week on the Social Citizens blog of the CASE Foundation.

If you are a Millennial, age 20 – 35, we encourage you to complete the survey and help us increase our understanding of this emerging generation of donors.

I’m proud of the work JGA and Achieve have done so far to increase the philanthropic industry’s understanding of Millennial Donors.  In 2011, we will not only add to the body of knowledge on Millennial Donors, but also introduce new avenues for additional exploration, thought leadership and discussion of the topic.  Stay tuned to more information on how you can participate in the discussion this spring.

By Angela White

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University just released the second part of its Women Give 2010 research.  You can also review my October blog post if you’d like to find out more about the first part of the report.

This second research release is entitled Causes Women Support and asks the question, “Are there differences between male and female single-headed households across all subsectors of charitable giving?”  

To answer this question, this study used the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study of 2,500 households to examine the likelihood and amount of giving across 11 areas of charity. This is the only national study that examines all areas of giving across single-headed households.

So, what did the study find out? Among key points, the results show that female single-headed households are more likely than any of the male single-headed households to give to

1. religion,
2. combined purposes eg: United Way, community foundations, etc.,
3. helping people in need,
4. health care,
5. education,
6. youth or family,
7. community, and
8. international.

Female single-headed households are as likely as their male counterparts to give to arts & culture, environment, and other.

The study also found that the top five areas in which female-headed households are significantly more likely than their male counterparts to give are the international, community, religion, health care, and youth & family areas.

Why?  The study’s summary report gives this insight:

While more research is needed to assess why the top five areas resonate more deeply with women (international, community, religious institutions, health care, and youth and family), a common thread may be connectivity. From previous research, we know that women are drawn to causes and organizations with which they or family members are connected or to which they can closely relate. Perhaps the connection with these types of charitable organizations is deeper and thus reflected in women’s likelihood to make philanthropic investments.

I believe that this research illustrates the opportunity we have to engage both women and men in connecting their charitable giving to their passions. What do you think?

As a national speaker and faculty member of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute Speakers Bureau, I applaud these important initiatives to increase the understanding of why women give in our industry.

By Ted Grossnickle

A wealth of free information is available for download this week from the Center on Philanthropy at IU and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 

The release of their 2010 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy provides details of the giving habits of high net worth households in the US including why they give, why they stop giving and how you can get them to give more.

The 75-page report is chock full of valuable information, but the more skimmable 10 page key findings also provides some great insights into the giving of high net worth households, including:

• Average charitable giving dropped 34.9 percent in 2009, after adjusting for inflation.
• Some charitable sectors saw increases in giving, including arts, environment/animal care, and international causes.
• Others saw significant declines, including 63.7 percent for health organizations, education and combined purpose organizations (such as United Way, United Jewish Appeal, or Catholic Charities)
• High Net worth households were more prone to give to general operation funds or a particular program than they were to support capital gifts (such as construction projects or equipment purchase) or endowment giving.

We have heard from donors, and this research study also certainly supports our experience, that high net worth donors are concerned about the uncertainty in the current tax situation. 

The study reports that 67 percent of respondents indicated they would somewhat or dramatically decrease giving if income tax deductions were taken away.  Repeal of the estate tax would induce 43 percent of respondents to somewhat or dramatically increase their charitable bequests.

Wanting to lure more wealthy donors to support your charity? 

When determining where to give, high net worth households look for sound business and operational practices, acknowledgement of contributions, appropriate overhead expenditures, protection of personal information, and full financial disclosure.

Wondering why you may have lost some high net worth supporters last year? 

The most frequent reason donors cited they stopped charitable support for an organization was after being too frequently solicited or asked for an inappropriate gift amount. This begs the question of how strategic you are being in your donor solicitation and if you are doing the appropriate level of research on donation requests.

I encourage you to download the report and put this information to use in your own planning arsenal.

Thank you to the Center on Philanthropy and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for this great addition to the philanthropic industry’s body of knowledge.

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.