Mega gifts are clearly back! Our most wealthy and generous donors are making major investments to their favorite nonprofit causes.
The top 10 biggest charitable gifts in 2014 came to a combined total of an amazing $3.3 billion. Imagine that much money coming from just ten people!
The Chronicle of Philanthropy says that most mega-gifts happen close to home
So keep your eyes open locally! Be creative with your local networking. You may have more ways to access your friendly local billionaire (or multimillionaire) than you think.
Major donors are highly engaged with their favorite nonprofits
How about this: 89 percent of high net worth individuals volunteered their time and talent to nonprofits. I’ll never forget about the time a mega-wealthy donor said to me, “We give our money where we give our time.” I never, ever forgot that! Clearly, the wealthy only make big gifts to the causes that are near and dear to their hearts.
What are you going to do to get your mega donors more involved? How about a committee or your board? How about a focus group? It’s one thing to take them on-site in the middle of your action — that’s terrific and a must-do! But the next step is to get them involved in decision-making or policy roles. That’s when the bigger money may start to flow in.
The growing role of financial advisors
Donor-advised funds are growing at a staggering rate. Contributions to donor-advised funds increased almost 20 percent in 2013, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.
All this money is under the management of financial wealth advisors. They often have an opportunity to assist with charitable-giving decisions and can discreetly help your cause.
So do what you can to befriend the financial planners, estate attorneys, CPAs and wealth advisors in your community. Why not put a financial advisor on your board or on a special fundraising committee?
