Aetna and the Aetna Foundation together awarded more than $25.5 million across the nation during 2008, to nonprofits that share the company's focus on fostering strong communities and promoting racial and ethnic health equality, health literacy, disease prevention and management, and overall wellness.
In 1997, online donations in the United States totaled a mere $300,000. In 2007, online donations were pinpointed at $10.44 billion reflecting exponential growth in overall giving and technology, according to a Harvard University study on innovation in Social Enterprise.
Sure, e-philanthropy is hot, but most nonprofit organizations still rely on direct mail as their fundraising workhorses. And the outer envelope is the wrapper for your all-important ask. It’s the first thing recipients see, feel and interact with.
As such, it requires a well-reasoned strategy that depends a lot on an organization’s mission, target audience and competition in the mail. Something that works for an advocacy group might not be right for a health organization. One thing that worked 10 years ago might still fly, while another favorite tactic could flop. It’s a testing game for each organization.
Feb. 21, 2006 By Abny Santicola If you're not soliciting the Hispanic population for gifts, you're ignoring 10 percent of the market. So said Joan H. Smyth Dengler, vice president of direct marketing for childcare agency Covenant House, in a session on donor acquisition last Friday at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2006 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference. But if you are trying to fundraise from Spanish-speaking people, Dengler shared some advice on strategies that work best with this population. First and foremost, she said, is to come at donors with emotion, the top motivator for charitable gifts. In order to trigger emotions in
Women need peace of mind, comprehensive thinking and minimal stress in the process of estate planning, write Lynne Marie Kohm, J.D., professor of family law at Regent University’s School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va., and Mark L. James, J.D., in their new book, “Estate Planning Success for Women: How to Plan Your Estate With Foresight, Clarity and Thoughtfulness for the Benefit of Those You Love.”
African Americans currently make up 13 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1990, the bureau charted the African-American community to grow by 68 percent before 2030. But despite this growing demographic — currently 38.3 million individuals representing a buying power of $631 billion — many majority nonprofit organizations have only recently begun focusing efforts on soliciting support from the black community.
