by Andy Canada

What have you done today to show donors that your organization appreciates them?

I hope that’s an easy question for you to answer.

Are struggling to come up with what you have done today to make sure your donors know how much the organization appreciates their support? 

Then maybe its time to take a step back and reprioritize your to-do list for the day.

There are countless activities and projects that development professionals get pulled into on a daily basis, but everything you do should be focused on donors and making sure they feel a part of your organization.  It is our job to show them that their support is a wise investment.

How do you prove to your donors that your organization views them as more than just a number in the database?

Treat each one as an individual.  Remember, everyone has personal preferences on how they want to interact with your organization.

It is your responsibility to uncover what those preferences are and create a strategy for engaging your donors on a new and personal level.

Put yourself in your donor’s shoes and make a list of how you like to be treated and how you would like interact with the organization.

• Is monthly communication enough or too much?
• How do you want to be thanked for your gift?
• How do you like to be asked for gifts?
• What motivates you to contribute?

There are many other questions that you could ask yourself, but I also encourage you to have similar conversations with your donors.

Engage donors in an open dialogue and ask what they feel you do well and what you can improve upon. Incorporate this information into your strategy.

So, before the day gets away from you – take a look at your task list and make sure you are putting your donors first.

by Meg Gammage- Tucker

Fundraising is now recognized by many as a “noble profession.” 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu recognized it in his plenary session at last year’s AFP International Conference, we were reminded by Paulette Maehara, retiring President and CEO of AFP International (of 13 years).  And, Queen Latifah renewed the topic at Monday’s plenary presentation in Chicago: fundraising is a “noble” profession. 

I have to admit, when I hear these accolades for the fundraising profession, I am pleasantly reminded of how far we have come. 

When I was growing up—people who asked for money were considered odd or—at times—offensive.   Even when I became a member of AFP (when it was NSFRE in 1991), we were often called “professional beggars” or “nonprofit salesmen.”

Not so in 2011.  Fundraising as the promotion of philanthropy (or voluntary support for the public good) is now considered a noble calling…

Queen Latifah put philanthropy and her commitment to giving so well in today’s session:  “in the giving, there is no ego….doing good becomes infectious”. 

And then she complimented those in the room and the thousands of others who do this good work for a living:  “you are changing lives….and you do what needs to be done—just do it with honor…”you are part of a noble profession—but with it comes the responsibility to build trust and great moral and ethical responsibility…”

People who raise funds and support for nonprofits are not compensated at a high level financially.  Rather, they are compensated by helping the organizations and causes that they are passionate about.  And, while a good living is always appreciated—in this writer’s opinion, it is better compensation than ultimately is achieved financially.

It is a joy to listen to someone like Queen Latifah who honors those in her life—family and friends—by giving back….by “being blessed and wanting to bless others.” 

It reminds us all of why we are here and what impact we can have through the wonderful work that is philanthropy.  We are truly doing good work.

We must remember—and honor those who help us to be successful like Queen Latifah and Archbishop Tutu—we must do it to the best of our ability.  Millions of lives, people, and causes are depending on us—let’s keep doing it well and maintain the highest ethical and moral standards possible…

by Angela E. White

Chief Shoe Giver is the title of Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes. Blake was the opening speaker at the AFP International Conference in Chicago on March 20, 2011.

Blake’s interesting title reflects his entrepreneurial spirit – creating a for profit company that makes giving back the core concept of the company.

His story of creating TOMS Shoes is fascinating, including the role of women in test marketing the concept of marrying consumer purchasing and philanthropy and the powerful impact of storytelling.

Get online and read about Blake and the story of TOMS Shoes. TOMS gave away their one millionth shoe this year – amazing!

Blake’s title got me thinking of how we might re-title ourselves in the work that we do in philanthropy.

Perhaps instead of our common titles of Director of Development or Major Gift Officer, we might adopt the titles of Director of Making a Difference or Chief Life Changer.

Thinking about what our titles might be causes us to peel back our work to the core of what we do – the foundation of why we are engaged in this work of philanthropy.

Ponder your real title and the impact that you make in the world and how you can implement TOMS Shoes’ “one for one” concept in your work.

By “one-to-one”, I encourage you to think about how you can make certain that you incorporate giving into your for-profit partnerships.  While you ponder, I am on my way out to buy some TOMS Shoes!

P.S.     April 5th is TOMS One Day Without Shoes  – a day for you to go barefoot to experience what is like to go barefoot and for the hundreds of thousands of people who have to go barefoot everyday because they have no choice. April 5th also happens to be my birthday, and I ask you to join me in raising awareness for the health and safety needs of those children around the world who have no shoes. Who knows, maybe all of JGA will be barefoot that day!

by Angela E. White

Having just returned from the Center on Philanthropy’s Symposium entitled “Women World Wide – Leading through Philanthropy”, I was struck by this proverb shared at the conference by Elaine Lyerly, National Co-Chair of the American Red Cross’ Tiffany Circle, a society of women leaders.

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together.

– African proverb

In just 5 years, the Tiffany Circle has engaged more than 700 women making annual contributions of at least $10,000 per year, raising over $30 million for the mission of the Red Cross. The Tiffany Circle is now expanding the concept internationally.

At the Symposium, the transformational women philanthropists focused on changing the global philanthropic landscape. And, if there ever was a group of women who could change the global landscape, this was it!

We learned from an amazing group of speakers, including Maya Ajmera who founded the Global Fund for Children 16 years ago, at age 24. Maya spoke eloquently about her experience on the train platform in India 16 years ago when she encountered one woman teaching a circle of 50 children who were orphans living and begging at the train station platform. From this experience, Maya created an international organization that has supported innovative change for women and children across the globe.

This is just one example of many. Check the Symposium website in the coming weeks for recorded sessions of the speakers’ presentations to be posted. I encourage you to listen to these presentations and to reflect upon how you can go farther by engaging women in causes in which you are involved.

One more thought – there were more than 200 participants at the Symposium representing 13 different countries. Among this diverse group, there were only about 25 men in the audience.

If we are going to make global change through women’s philanthropy, we need a greater gender balance at these conversations. I challenge you to strive for balance in these conversations around your tables.

by Ted Grossnickle

A recent NY Times article articulates something we have seen growing the last several years in the world of philanthropy . . . more donors desiring a louder ‘voice’ in how their money is spent.

In “Donors Demand a Bigger Voice in Catholic Schools,” Paul Vitello captures issues we hear frequently in our discussions with major donors. Impassioned donors today are less willing to sit by the sidelines, write a check and hope for the best.

More people today approach philanthropic decisions as they do major business decisions.  They want to see ROI.  They want to know their funds are being used efficiently and effectively to have a material impact on the issues they support. And to some extent, that is really a good thing.

The question for non-profits is how to facilitate and engage with this desire for input.  How do we provide meaningful involvement for major funders that facilitates input and discussion rather than a dynamic of dictatorship? Or one way conversations?

Part of the solution, as noted in the article and implemented by the New York archdiocese school system, is appropriately matching those donors who wish to be more involved with those areas where they can implement more change. In New York, this involved matching donors with schools in an “adopt-a –school” type program where donors are given greater input into the nuts and bolts operation of the schools.

Managing the solution, however, demands that you have enough of a relationship to have authentic dialogue with your major donors. And it also means as a donor you had better be prepared to learn. What works in your business does not automatically work in a non-profit!

It is the dynamic between a non-profit CEO and a major donor that is really at issue.  Are you willing to spend the time it likely will take to be able to speak honestly to one another about how gifts can have their best and largest impacts? It means the CEO must let the donor know about how the organization really does its work. And the donor has to keep an open set of eyes and try to understand the context in which the organization must perform its mission. 

This stuff takes time.

It can make a huge difference.

 by Angela White

Did you hear the news?  Articles like the recent story in Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick are helping to spread the word about the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University’s 22^nd Annual Symposium, Women World Wide Leading Through Philanthropy, led by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. 

JGA is a proud sponsor and participant because we recognize that understanding women’s philanthropy is simply smart philanthropy. 

Too often women are an untapped resource in philanthropy.  Women Give 2010 identified that female heads of household are more likely to give and give more – sometimes twice as much – as their male counterparts.  As I’ve said in previous blog posts, nonprofits simply can’t afford to ignore this influential audience. 

Join us and other women leaders from around the globe who are changing lives and communities internationally as we gather to share ideas and experiences and discuss the power of women’s philanthropy March 10 – 11, 2011, in Chicago. 

Speakers and participants will discuss:

• what motivates women to make a difference
• international similarities and differences in women’s philanthropy
• how women’s philanthropy differs from men’s, and
• how cultural barriers impede women’s exercise of their full power in philanthropy. 

And as if that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate women, the symposium coincides with the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

Ted Grossnickle and I will be there and encourage you to join us.  We are looking forward to engaging and enlightening conversations!

P.S.  Hurry and register online before January 28^th and receive a $100 discount off your registration.

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 Ted Grossnickle

I was recently asked during a television interview for Inside Indiana Business what I thought major donors were thinking about now compared to a year ago.

My first response was that the majority of major and lead gift donors for our JGA’s clients have conveyed two key messages during the past six months:

First – we want to continue to be generous but we may take more time making up our minds, and

Second – we will shorten the list of causes we support.

My colleagues at JGA and I have heard these or variations on these themes for a good part of 2010, and we suspect that these will continue to motivate many donors in 2011.

The impulse to give and to help people is universal and deeply felt. And while we all noted the declines in gifting this past year we also can choose to help our donors and friends continue to give what they can. In fact, it may be that the act of giving becomes even more important for the donor during a time like this.

Traditionally, it’s been my orientation to think about the impact of gifting on the organizations we serve – and that is perhaps as it should be.

But I also wonder if the decision of so many around our State and nation to continue gifting – even when they perhaps are doing so from a reduced base of assets – signals something very important.

It may mean that giving is itself an important way of reminding ourselves that we can have a positive impact, that we can make things better for others and that we can do with a bit less ourselves.

If that is one of the legacies of this very tricky and difficult economic time, then perhaps we will all end up a bit stronger in the years ahead.

By Meg Gammage-Tucker

I recently had the privilege of being asked to review and update Hank Rosso’s chapter on “The Annual Fund” for Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (published by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy) and “The Annual Sustainability” course for The Fundraising School at Indiana University.  This process reminded me of the true value of the annual fund as the foundation of quality fundraising programs for all types of nonprofit organizations. 

The Annual Fund is not about the “funds” at all.  It is about the beginning of your relationship with supporters who are the lifeblood of your nonprofit.  And, it is about creating the foundation for your organization’s future—both in terms of financial stability and human capital. 

The benefits and objectives of an annual fund are:

• To inform, involve, and bond constituents to the organization
• To establish habits and patterns of giving through regular and effective cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
• To provide annual (preferably unrestricted) support for operations and programs
• To expand the donor base by soliciting gifts from new prospects and constituencies
• To build a base of donors that can be cultivated to support all types of fundraising activities (including capital, endowment, and special projects)
• To assist with identification and cultivation of lead and major donors and volunteer leaders
• To offer accountability and transparency through regular communications
• To provide an annual review of organizational priorities, the case for support, and communications
• To assure improvement of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices

A solid annual giving program is essential to health of all nonprofits.  Other fund development programs will not be as successful or effective without the base of the annual fund to build on.