Fundraising Forum: State of the Sector, Part 2

Editor’s Note: Part 1 of this virtual roundtable on changes in the fundraising landscape over the past year and what’s ahead for fundraisers in 2008 appeared in the December 2007 issue of FundRaising Success. Or you can find it by logging on to www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/r?s=82939.

Margaret: Let’s turn this conversation around just a bit. Look back at this time last year. What has happened in that time that surprised you, caught you off guard?

Roger: What has been a pleasant surprise for me is that in this past year technology really began to show its power and potential. Especially Web 2.0 and the user-generated activity.

Polly: How much the new postal regulations would affect some of our clients’ campaigns.

Polly: Our creative and production teams have really had to meet the challenges of the new regulations and costs for premium packages; we’ve come up with some great solutions, but with a lot of extra effort.

Kurt: Now that I am seriously in the client-relation business, [the surprise has been] how backwards and ignorant seemingly successful nonprofits really are.

Margaret: In what ways, Kurt?

Kurt: Big ones, well-respected ones with strong brands are 10 years behind in so many areas.

Kurt: The Web is the easiest category for this, but look at the state of board development. How many truly strong, effective boards can we name? Is it 10 percent of the total?

Jo: Board development is definitely a challenge. Always has been. I agree it’s a sad state that some organizations have to succeed DESPITE them.

Kurt: I actually work with some nonprofits who think they are a necessary evil! “We gotta have ’em, but we don’t love ’em.”

Roger: Without good, flexible boards, they’re gonna fail.

Jo: Here’s the biggest problem: Most boards don’t see themselves as the problem.