Blackbaud

Keeping Privacy Top of Mind Nov. 8, 2005 By Abny Santicola, FundRaising Success Beth Givens, founder and director of San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer information and advocacy organization, says nonprofits should be very privacy conscious. Some things nonprofits should have in place to ensure donor privacy include: Background checks. Any individuals in the organization who have access to personal and financial data should have background checks done on them. Training. "I think staff members should receive training in privacy and security protection, and they should also sign a confidentiality clause," Givens says. "Something in which they promise that they will safeguard

So the race is run, and the party’s over. Your walkathon, golf tournament, masquerade ball or dance-off raised thousands of dollars and introduced hundreds of people to your organization.

Now what? Sure, it’s time to start planning next year’s event. But even more importantly, many fundraising pros agree, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to get the people who gave at the event to keep on giving.

When you assess the sophistication, innovation and e-commerce prowess of Web sites in the nonprofit sector, it’s hard to accept the fact that e-giving accounts for only 1 percent to 2 percent of all funds raised by U.S. charities.

Not so long ago, online fundraising simply meant being able to accept credit card donations through a Web interface.

As nonprofits of every stripe delve into bigger and better campaigns, they rely more heavily on major gifts to meet their fundraising goals. Even in down economic times, organizations must keep their major-gifts campaigns healthy. The key, no matter what the economy, is a simple return to basics. Some points to remember: 1. KEEP UP YOUR ANNUAL FUND. Studies show that a vast majority of nonprofits with successful major-gifts programs also have strong annual-giving efforts. After all, major-gifts donors usually have a long history of annual giving before they move up. 2. DON’T OVERLOOK MID-LEVEL MAJOR GIFTS. Donors start to think of