Big Ideas
Social ROI
Mr. Zuckerberg’s latest foray into philanthropy should not be surprising. There are already tens of billions of dollars held by the nation’s donor-advised funds, “invested” by the nation’s wealthy. In fact, an analysis of the top charities by size demonstrates the incredible growth in these entities’ assets since 2006. This trend for the sector is a challenge and an opportunity. The donor investing community is attracted to what the funds offer: current charitable contribution tax treatment coupled with the ability to “invest” the charitable distribution over time. However, the ultimate end-user—the mission-based organization creating the desired impact—may not receive the funding for an extended period of time.
The challenge and the opportunity, as I see it, is to bridge the divide between the donor-investor and the mission he or she wants to fund. And in 2016 charitable organizations will have to sharpen their focus on the social return on investment their organizations deliver, so they can provide donor-investors with meaningful impact statements that will accelerate charitable investments in their missions.
—Timothy Phillips, general counsel, American Cancer Society
Addressing the Digital Divide
With roughly 60 million Americans not using the Internet at home (or, for most of those Americans, not using it at all), we can’t assume as nonprofits that our tweets and blog posts and new websites will reach all those we want to serve. 2016 is the year when we need to consider all of our missions connected to addressing the digital divide. Regardless of your mission or your location, we all can play a critical part in helping everyone in our community understand how they may be able to use the Internet in their lives and helping them get online. With more of your supporters and community members online with you, your voice in activating change will be stronger.
—Amy Sample Ward, CEO, NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network
Consumerization
The notion of consumerization—that technology and business models are originating in the consumer space versus the enterprise—is a driving force in the nonprofit sector, and will accelerate 2016. Just as they do in the commercial arena, today’s constituents expect you to “know” them. Therefore nonprofits must continue to segment their engagement strategies and provide a more personalized and rewarding experience—powered by technology—in order to attract and retain donors and volunteers. The capability to truly
understand your constituent from a “360” view, build lasting relationships and effectively communicate mission impact that is important to them will set many nonprofits apart.
—Jay Ferro, chief information officer, American Cancer Society
Cultivation and Stewardship of Social Investors
We’re watching philanthropists, such as Jeff Skoll, Sean Parker and T. Denny Sanford, hold fundraising professionals to new, rigorous standards for creativity, cultivation and stewardship. More philanthropists, particularly those with very high net worth,
increasingly approach causes and giving like true venture capitalists. They are less inclined to make multiple gifts to several causes over time, or establish legacy vehicles to fund causes into perpetuity. Their motivations are deeply personal and they are increasingly ready and willing to leverage the bulk of their wealth to social innovation to generate transformative results that they can experience in their lifetimes. The onus is on fundraisers to think like these entrepreneurs and pay attention to the big issues.
Going forward, fundraisers will propose funding opportunities that show big vision and arouse donors’ specific philanthropic passions. Fundraisers will spend less time investigating potential to give, and focus instead on relating to donors’ propensity to fund initiatives that will cure disease, reform educational systems, eradicate poverty, etc. From our perspective, there’s never been a time where professional development, critical thinking and innovation in problem-solving have been more necessary in the fundraising profession. There is tremendous wealth and potential to resolve perennial social issues if we are prepared to be better, more enterprising partners to social visionaries.
—Andrew Watt, FInstF, president and CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals
More Social-Change Engagement and Less “Slacktivism”
With the maturing of social media and Millennials, we are seeing renewed energy for social change and protests. This moves beyond the “slacktivism” of recent years where people took part in spreading the word about a cause, but there was little movement toward actual change and progress. The “Black Lives Matter” movement is the most prominent example of the forces in society demanding social change and action.
—Wayne Elsey, CEO, Elsey Enterprises
Measuring and Reporting Impact: Finding a Better Way
Nonprofits are realizing that it’s no longer enough to say, “We do a good job; trust us.” We’ll see a growing need for fundraisers to learn to tell stories that excite donors, regularly take (or have taken) photos that show impact, use social media more effectively to continually demonstrate impact and make interviews with beneficiaries a priority. Social media will become more about showing impact than simply providing content, and donor reporting will balance “head” and “heart” to engage funders. Fundraisers will need to use almost everything they get to tell the story and show impact, realizing impact isn’t something you demonstrate once in a while—instead it must be continual.
—Pamela Barden, consultant and founder, PJ Barden Inc.
Changing Priorities for Global Donors
Moving into 2016, the development/donor world has (at least) two game-changers on the horizon that nonprofits and NGOs need to be aware of in order to adapt and succeed as priorities for donor money shifts. As hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing their homelands, bilateral and multilateral donors in the European Union have begun to re-evaluate funds previously allocated for development, in order to prioritize a response to the influx of refugees. Additionally, the COP21 agreement signed in Paris in early December 2015 committed many of these same bilateral and multilateral donors to shift their priorities towards tangible and effective responses to the effects of climate change, in ways the development world has yet to see.
Nonprofits and NGOs that have in previous years relied on these funds being available will now need to adjust their own priorities in order to identify new opportunities related to the integration of the growing and diversifying communities in the EU, as well as the resiliency and mitigation of climate change. Or, alternatively, NGOs will need to diversify their funding sources in order to absorb the decrease in EU funding available for their causes.
—Brandy Wood, senior manager of business development, International Potato Center (CIP)
Blurred Lines Between Nonprofit and For-Profit
As more private sector businesses engage in charitable activities (Amazon Smile and similar programs; the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative; donor advised funds offered by financial services firms; etc.) and nonprofits look for ways to monetize their activities—hospitals and universities engaging in technology transfer and other entrepreneurship activities, nonprofits forming alliances with for-profit entities—it may become more difficult to differentiate between what is charitable and what isn’t. This may have
implications on regulation and the sector’s reputation with the public. Those in the nonprofit sector need to continue to maintain the highest ethical standards and transparent practices so the public is not confused.
—Mark Hefter, president, Association of Fundraising Professionals, New York City Chapter
“Brandraising”
Somewhat counter-intuitive to many of the data-driven, individual-based modeling used in some channels is the growing trend toward building awareness of an organization to lift its fundraising performance. “Brandraising” works to break through the clutter of millions of charitable organizations to make yours top-of-mind when donors are prepared to give. In days gone by, this was not as necessary, since there were fewer organizations asking for donations, and one direct contact might be enough to convince someone to give a gift. Now, donors and potential donors must be reminded of not only what your organization stands for (brand), but must also see you more visibly/constantly (awareness), and understand how those messages link to giving (fundraising).
This is not new for some organizations, and is definitely not a short-term play, but a longer-term investment that can frequently be difficult to quantify and validate. Still, both local and national organizations that have made the investment have experienced higher second gift and retention rates, better acquisition and cultivation/renewal efforts, and seen more web revenue. Brandraising also paves the way for more corporate partnerships, more major-donor gifts and long-term sustainability of an organization.
—Kevin White, senior vice president of media insights and integration, Russ Reid
Collaboration
I think 2016 will be the year that the nonprofit world enters the sharing/collaboration economy. Organizations will begin to tap into existing, underutilized resources. This can include the sharing of interns, employees and office/event space, and the formation of umbrella organizations guiding and funding groups of charities in related fields. I believe (and hope!) we will see some significant creativity in this regard.
—Dave Linn, chief operating officer, The Generosity Series
