NEW YORK, November 11, 2009 — Today, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy released the 2009 edition of Giving in Numbers, an annual report on corporate giving trends available for free download. Giving in Numbers offers a comprehensive analysis of 2008 corporate contributions drawn from 137 prominent companies, including 55 of the Fortune 100.
November 5, 2009 — As American consumers go online to purchase their holiday gifts, research indicates that a growing number of internet shoppers will also be going online to give to charity. Last year more than 50 percent of online consumers1 said they planned to give online to charity in the last quarter of the year. With that number expected to grow in 2009, it’s time for nonprofits to make the most of online giving this holiday season.
There are myriad ways to raise funds for your cause. One of the most popular is through a live or silent auction. However, fundraising auctions run the gamut from wildly successful to terribly ineffective.
Civil War Preservation Trust resulted from a merger between two battlefield preservation organizations — the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites and the Civil War Trust — in late 1999, so at just 10 years old, it is fairly young as a national nonprofit. In the decade since the merger, CWPT has raised about $75 million from private donors, which has gone toward protecting a total of 28,000 acres of hallowed ground.
Fundraising, at its best, is relationship building. The goal isn't just to get one-time gifts from faceless names. Though every dollar does help, the real goal is to establish long-lasting relationships with donors to cultivate an environment of giving that lasts a lifetime.
"Iridescent's mission is to foster curiosity, confidence and a love for science and engineering in underprivileged students," Vice President Lindsey Jenkins-Stark explains. "Our approach is to use a three-pronged strategy of teaching about cutting-edge science, using powerful mentors and enlisting strong parental involvement. Thus we provide rich, immersive, self-directed, inquiry-based experiences for families.
Despite our use of the Internet for everything from doing research to ordering pizza, direct mail is still the most effective way for nonprofits to raise funds. In their new book, "7 Essential Steps to Raising Money by Mail," Sandra Sims, founder and president of nonprofit resource firm Step by Step Fundraising, and Sandy Rees, a nonprofit fundraising coach, author, speaker and trainer, map out seven steps to effective direct-mail strategies.
Judging for the FS Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence has always been grueling. This year, however, was particularly tough (read: intense but fun) because our judges decided to up the ante all on their own.
Columbia, Md., August 3, 2009 — Merkle, one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing database marketing agencies, announced the appointment of Angie C. Moore to the position of senior vice president and general manager for its fundraising services group. Moore brings to Merkle extensive industry knowledge gained from more than 20 years of marketing and fundraising experience with private companies and national health charities that include the American Cancer Society and the Arthritis Foundation.
The more you know about your lapsed donors — their characteristics, interests and relationships to your organization — the better prepared you are to recapture these donors or, more importantly, prevent them from lapsing in the first place. Prevention is perhaps the strongest strategy in addressing lapsed-donor issues. Consider the following when developing your donor-retention strategy:
