Nonprofits Must 'Raise the Bar' in Fundraising, Commonfund Whitepaper Finds

Press release (Sept. 4, 2012) — Nonprofits have to “raise the bar” in fundraising, according to a new Commonfund whitepaper, “Essential not Optional: A strategic approach to fund-raising for endowments,” by John S. Griswold, executive director, and William F. Jarvis, managing director, Commonfund Institute. In an era when many believe that returns from financial markets will be lower than in the recent past, endowed nonprofits no longer have the option of treating fundraising as a tactical resource. Fundraising has become an essential strategic capability that endowed institutions will have to build or acquire in order to thrive — or, perhaps, to survive.