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Dig deeper into Giving USA 2012 at webinars, presentations
Reading Giving USA 2012’s annual report on how much Americans gave to charity in 2011 – an estimated $298.42 billion – is good; hearing interpretation from Giving Institute experts on what the research means for fundraisers working in today’s philanthropic climate is even better.
Toward that end, many Giving Institute member firms are hosting special events across the country to mark publication of our Foundation’s 57th annual report, which is researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
See the list below for how to participate in upcoming events and become more informed about our nation’s giving trends and patterns. The press release and related documents announcing 2011 estimates by source and use may be viewed here; visit Giving USA Reports to order your own copy of Giving USA 2012 or to download the complimentary executive summary, made possible by the generous support of donors and friends.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Campbell & Company of Chicago presents Giving USA 2012 in Independence, Ohio, at the Crowne Plaza, 5300 Rockside Road. If you are in the Cleveland area, visit the firm’s events page to sign up.
Cramer & Associates, of Dublin, Ohio, is a sponsor partner of the Dayton NonProfit Forum, along with Huntington Bank, The Dayton Foundation, United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, and Montgomery County, Ohio, being held at the Presidential Banquet Center in Dayton. Guest speaker will be Melanie McKitrick, managing editor of Giving USA 2012.
The Curtis Group, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., joins with AFP’s Western Maryland Chapter for a Giving USA 2012 presentation in Frederick, Md., at Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant, 231 Himes Ave. Registration is available here.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Campbell & Company continues its presentations on Giving USA 2012 for those in the Washington D.C., area, with an event 8-11 a.m. at AFP Headquarters in the IHQ Conference Room, 4300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 3000, Arlington, Va.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Jeffrey Byrne & Associates, Kansas City, Mo., presents on “Giving in the U.S. and High Net Worth Philanthropy” 8-10:30 a.m. at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City. Register here.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Campbell & Company travels to Boston for this presentation on Giving USA 2012, to be held at the Revere Boston Hotel, 200 Stuart St. Registration is available on the firm’s events page.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Curtis Group will once again be on the panel at a Hudson Institute/Center on Philanthropy presentation in Washington, D.C., to discuss Giving USA 2012. To attend the event in-person, register here; it will also be streamed live on the Web at this site.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Arnoult & Associates, Memphis, will be presenting Giving USA 2012 at the AFP Memphis Chapter meeting, 11:30 a.m., Christian Brothers University. Check the Chapter’s events calendar to find out when registration opens for this event.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Curtis Group will present on Giving USA 2012 and end-of-year fundraising strategies at an AFP Maryland meeting in Annapolis, Anne Arundel Medical Center. Register here for the three-hour event, which begins at 9 a.m.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Curtis Group will present on Giving USA: What the 2012 Data Means For Your Fundraising at an AFP Central Virginia Chapter meeting in Richmond. Check the Chapter’s on-line calendar to find out when registration opens for this event.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Curtis Group will address local nonprofits on Giving USA 2012 at an event hosted by the Elizabeth City Chamber of Commerce, Elizabeth City, Va. Check the Chamber’s website to find out when registration opens for this event.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Jeffrey Byrne & Associates will present perspective on Giving USA 2012 at the AFP Topeka Chapter meeting. Event opens at 11:30 a.m. with networking; program begins at noon. The Chapter meets at the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th Ave., Topeka. Visit the Chapter’s Facebook page for more information.
Earlier events
Other Giving Institute member firms have already held events related to Giving USA 2012; please visit their respective websites to see if archived material is available for viewing:
DonorPerfect and EHL Consulting Group
It will never let go
By Rick Dunham
Dunham & Company
In leading an organization, there is a gravitational force at play that is always pulling against you. It’s the gravitational force of mediocrity. And it’s why success is such hard work.
Left to its own, any organization will be drawn toward mediocrity. It’s as sure as the law of gravity itself. Even if you have a moment of success, the gravitational pull of mediocrity continues to work against you, seeking to make any success you may experience temporary.
Just like it takes continuous exertion of force for a jet to take flight against the laws of gravity, so organizations must exert tremendous and continuous effort to fight against the gravitational pull of mediocrity. And just like that jet, if you stop exerting that force, you will fall victim to the gravitational pull… and become defined by the mediocrity that describes so many organizations.
The landscape of business is littered with those companies that have succumbed to this constant pull of mediocrity. It is powerful and it is relentless.
We have a saying in our company: “If you want to be the best, you have to constantly work to be better.” That’s the only way to fight against the pull of mediocrity.
What about you… your organization… or department? Are you being pulled into mediocrity? The only way to overcome that pull is through a deliberate and continuous expenditure of focused energy on those areas and disciplines that will ensure your movement toward excellence.
This is why achieving and maintaining success is just so hard. You have to overcome the strong and continuous pull of mediocrity… and understand it will never let go.
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Technology in Fundraising
by Robert K. Lewis, Jr. of member firm Global Advancement
Those of us working in development are, for the most part, in the people business. Donations to good causes come forth only after the careful nurturing of potential donors. That is the counsel we give our clients who are trying to raise funds in various capital campaigns.
But that doesn’t mean we as professionals can’t or shouldn’t use technology to assist in maximizing the work we perform for our clients. Some believe technology is greatly altering the way funds are raised in the 21st Century. In fact, many are saying the Internet is reshaping philanthropy as a whole.
Technology can help fundraisers better communicate with their prospects, strengthen their relationships with their best donors, stay organized and on track so as to increase the number of and size of the gifts. Fundraising and donor management software can make it easier to collect and archive important donor biographical information to ensure that each touch they have with their donors helps enhance the cultivation process.
These sophisticated software programs also allow clients to retrieve up-to-date information on their constituents, identify high-value prospects, track response rates and make it easier for donors to pledge, donate or contact a campaign representative about possibly making a gift.
Should you urge your clients to create a dedicated website for their capital campaign? There are numerous reasons why it should be considered. A website can be an outstanding contact point for potential donors who may want to give online. Or, the website doesn’t have to be state-of-the-art with all the bells and whistles to be effective. It could be informational and include a half dozen or so pages that clearly explain the campaign, the case for support, fundraising efforts to date, upcoming special events, testimonials and so on.
People today are connecting to each other more often through social networking. The most popular social network site, of course, is Facebook. The social networking giant has a site called “Causes.” Facebook calls it the world’s largest platform for activism and philanthropy. The site empowers individuals to create grassroots communities called “causes” that take action on behalf of specific issues or nonprofit organizations.
Another online fundraising tool is FirstGiving, which helps non-profits raise money for the causes they care about. FirstGiving partners with nonprofit organizations to allow them to plan, execute, and measure successful online fundraising campaigns and charity fundraising events with special fundraising software.
Whether to register on these sites is something an organization must carefully consider, but they are just two of many ways that technology is becoming important in philanthropy.
You just may find that technology is the key to moving your campaign from where it is today to where you want it to be tomorrow. Microsoft founder Bill Gates once wrote that even though PCs and mind-boggling technology can often be part of a solution, in this case successful fundraising, everyone must remember to always use technology in the service of humanity.
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Payments in Lieu of Taxes: Necessary Evil or Unfair Imposition?
By: Robert I. Evans & Avrum D. Lapin
May 22, 2012
Today’s continued economic uncertainty has prompted bold actions by local governments as they struggle to secure necessary income while faced with substantial budget shortfalls, unpredictable tax revenues and critical services in dire need of funding. In this era of municipal belt-tightening, a rapidly growing number of local officials now look at previously untapped sources of revenue: nonprofit institutions.
Since Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino first broached the issue several years ago, other communities – small, medium, and large – have followed suit and have turned to some of the country’s most significant nonprofits to augment the current tax base. This has become an unprecedented source of revenue as well as debate, especially as questions arise around the endowments and land holdings of some of the country’s largest nonprofits, with universities, museums, hospitals and other community resources being cajoled, negotiated with and sometimes even publicly assailed in the media.
This country’s 1.5 million nonprofit organizations represent and cater to a myriad of important causes and missions, and in return, they have traditionally received immunity from real estate taxes and other taxes through their federally-designated 501(c)(3) statuses. However, the notion that charitable institutions are off-limits to the tax collector has recently been cast off.
As a result, municipalities now see an opportunity to extract some much-needed revenue from nonprofit organizations. This phenomenon has been working its way across the U.S. under creatively phrased monikers such as “voluntary contributions” and “payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT).”
We first noticed the momentum towards acceptance of this new model about 15 months ago when we developed a then-controversial op-ed piece for the Giving Institute’s blog about PILOT. Since then we have witnessed additional municipalities placing public pressures on their largest local nonprofit institutions. Most organizations are obliging, and only a few weeks ago a precedent-setting court decision undoubtedly propelled these controversial PILOT issues into the public arena.
The Mesivta Eitz Chaim of Bobov Inc. summer camp, located on 61 picturesque acres in Pike County, Pennsylvania, is operated by the Bobov Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. Between June and August, the camp provides classes and lectures on Orthodox Judaism as well as some recreational activities, though the camp is primarily designed as an educational institution.
Although the camp’s dining and recreational facilities are open to the public, camp representatives were unaware of neither Pike County residents using the facilities nor Pike County or Pennsylvania residents attending the camp. As a nonprofit organization, the camp sought an exemption from real estate taxes, but Pike County and the local school district denied the camp’s request for an exemption based on the nature of the camp and its charitable status.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld two lower court rulings against the camp’s tax exemption. In order to receive an exemption, the Court held that a claimant must meet the definition of a “purely public charity” as measured in a 1985 Pennsylvania case (Hospital Utilization Project v. Commonwealth). In Pennsylvania, an “institution of purely public charity” advances a charitable purpose, donates or renders gratuitously a substantial portion of its services, benefits a substantial and indefinite class of persons who are legitimate subjects of charity, relieves the government of some of its burden, and operates entirely free from private profit motive.
At issue in the case was whether the camp relieved the government of some burden, since the dining and recreation facilities were open to the public and the camp’s soccer fields, located outside of the camp’s gates, were used on occasion by the public. The Court affirmed that the occasional use of recreational facilities was insufficient to relieve Pike County’s government of some of its burden and made the camp’s property taxable.
This decision has the potential to be very important, especially in this challenging economic environment when many municipalities are cash-strapped. The implications from the point of view of the nonprofit are that local governments may look to charitable organizations as revenue sources. Furthermore, nonprofits that balk at payments in lieu of taxes may face a likely possibility that the municipality could challenge its nonprofit status, and possibly revoke it.
Here’s an overview of where PILOT programs are especially active:
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston has become the clear leader in implementing PILOT programs, collecting almost $17 million annually from a variety of cultural, educational and medical institutions, with annual payments ranging from a few hundred dollars from a VFW Post to millions from hospitals and universities. In 2010, 36 nonprofits provided “voluntary tax” payments to the city.
New guidelines promulgated by Mayor Menino’s PILOT Task Force increased the number of nonprofits asked to contribute and pushed nonprofit payments up by 24%. Boston University and other large landholders have “volunteered” payments for municipal services approximating 25% of what they would pay if they were a for-profit entity.
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago has slashed critical city services amounting to $417 million. Colleges, universities and hospitals are being approached, although organizations of all sizes are affected.
One prominent example is the 20-member nonprofit Austin Green Team. Since 1989, the Austin Green Team has maintained over one dozen gardens and two greenhouses in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s west side, providing beauty and a sense of serenity to more than 100,000 residents. Under the Mayor’s 2012 budget, the Austin Green Team’s water service fee waiver is proposed for revocation, threatening the viability and survival of the gardens. The proposed budget plan includes eliminating fee waivers for virtually every nonprofit organization in Chicago.
Worcester, Massachusetts
In 2011, Worcester Polytechnic Institute entered into a 25-year agreement with the city to annually fund $50,000 to maintain and improve a neighboring park. WPI had already been making annual PILOT contributions of $180,000, including a 2.5% increase built in annually over the next 25 years. WPI president Dennis Berkey described the payments as strengthening the quality of the relationship between the college and the city. WPI also received assurances from the city that for the next 25 years, no additional taxes would be levied on the institution. However, a more important aspect of the relationship was the positive publicity lauded on the school for its support of the city.
Syracuse, New York
In 2011, Syracuse University began making $500,000 annual payments on a 5-year, $2.5 million pledge to the city of Syracuse. Responding to the pleas from the financially strapped city, University officials agreed to be the first nonprofit in Syracuse to make a voluntary payment after the City Council began exploring taxing some aspects of the University’s newly expanded properties. According to City Council, even as the University further shifts the burden of municipal services away from taxpayers, “It’s time for the University to kick in a little more to support these services.”
Providence, Rhode Island
Due to unprecedented financial problems, the Mayor of Providence initiated a program designed to pursue tax exempt institutions for a “failure to sacrifice.” The natural target was the city’s largest landowner, Brown University, who since 1764, was “freed and exempted from all taxes.”
Recent negotiations have yielded voluntary payments from Brown in the amount of $31.5 million over 11 years. Brown owns 200 buildings in Providence valued at over $1 billion in total, and if taxed, would pay the city $38 million annually. As Providence Mayor Angel Taveras summed it up, “every organization, including tax-exempt institutions, must share part of the burden of saving our city.”
Even with a slowly advancing economic outlook, the landscape has changed and nonprofits are unlikely to continue to benefit from their open-ended special tax exemption. With this in mind, land-owning nonprofit organizations should consider the following:
- Be prepared. Charitable organizations should not assume that their nonprofit status creates blanket immunity from all taxation. Houses of worship, community centers of all types, camps and other agencies owning larger parcels of land may be targeted for voluntary payments.
- Budget now for PILOT. Nonprofits should plan on including PILOT payments that might represent “reasonable” contributions to the municipality and tailor their budgets and programming accordingly.
- Get out in front of the issue and use it to your advantage. Appearing as a “good citizen” is important to nonprofits, especially those that are large landowners. Tailoring the PILOT to garner positive PR can strengthen an organization’s community image as well as possibly enable special consideration from the municipality later on. Nonprofits of all sizes should expect governments to ask them to step forward and contribute voluntary payments or pay usage fees to cover municipal services, including fire and police protection and other services.
Robert I. Evans, Managing Director, and Avrum D. Lapin, Director, are principals of The EHL Consulting Group located in suburban Philadelphia. A Giving Institute member, EHL Consulting Group works with dozens of non-profits on fundraising, strategic planning, and non-profit business practices. Visit EHL Consulting Group at:
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ehlconsulting
- Twitter @EHLConsultGrp: https://twitter.com/#!/EHLConsultGrp
- EHL Consulting Group Blog: https://biggiver.wordpress.com/
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Reporting Success
By: Russ Hodge, CFRE – Managing Partner
The Hodge Group
Amongst the organizations we serve there has been an increasing drive toward standardizing and qualitatively analyzing the Development process. This is taking the form of several different types of dashboards, flash reports, other bench-marking and tracking documents. These documents are given to volunteer boards to demonstrate the progress or lack of progress of the fundraising function. But I wonder, if these reports in all of there complexity are not only a management tool for Trustees but also a way to distance themselves from the real work of Development which is intimate, personal and in fact “in your face”. Looking at pie charts, bar charts and ROI’s is very different from having a meaningful discussion about a close relationship with an individual and how that can transform the organization. All though not statistically valid I found often the Boards with the least amount of data are the highest performing because they are focused on the task at hand – raising money, and the inverse is true as well. It’s not to say that we do not need accurate real time reporting systems but the purpose is the real question.
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Seven Tips for Good Governance
Peter Fissinger, President & Chief Executive Officer, of member firm Campbell & Company
Increasingly, non-profit organizations are asking Campbell & Company to assess their governance structures. This often happens with a campaign on the horizon, but not always. Depending on the nature of an organization, governance requirements can vary. But I will list seven tips that we usually recommend to our clients:
- Get your house in order before a major campaign. It is difficult to reorient board members’ role in fundraising after a campaign has begun. People recruited to a board who have not been told they will be expected to make a major gift, that the board should account for 20-50% of the campaign goal and that they will be expected to help solicit others may resent being told this later on. Building a strong board is like tending a garden; seeds must be carefully planted and nurtured prior to harvest.
- The board development committee is the most important committee of the board. It is responsible for identifying, qualifying, recruiting and orienting new board members. No other committee has such an important role, and membership of this committee should be carefully constructed.
- Develop clear role descriptions for board members, and communicate expectations to prospective board members very clearly. Board members have a few critical roles: to serve the public trust and protect the mission of the organization, hire and fire the CEO, set major policy and steward financial resources (this last role is where fundraising comes in). The board development committee should share the board role description with the entire board annually for approval, and the role description should be shared with prospective board members before they are invited to join the board.
- Create a profile for prospective board members and work to develop a deep list of candidates. Far too often, individuals are invited to join a board based on the well-intended but offhand recommendation of a current board member during a board meeting. This is not good discipline, and it will create dysfunction. Good boards have multiple discussions with prospective members, and strong candidates will appreciate thorough vetting. A deep list of candidates and strong protocol for qualifying candidates will help prevent rash decisions made under the pressure of deadlines. Note: most development officers are capable and willing when it comes to developing a list of board candidates.
- Work hard to orient and support new board members. If you want a strong board, help new board members to become contributors to the board’s work right away. Good orientation is critical to supporting new board members. Also consider assigning new members with a mentor who can help guide the process and answer questions.
- Consider implementing term limits. Increasingly, Campbell & Company is favoring term limits in our governance practice. While term limits may not be appropriate in all cases, there are two distinct advantages to having them: Boards are forced to seek new members regularly, and it is easier to shed mediocre performers. Remember, we can always invite outstanding board members back on the board after one year, and we can extend term limits in the case of officers.
- The board has one employee (the CEO), and the CEO reports to the board as a group (not any one member). These are important ground rules which will enable the CEO to be effective and the board to refrain from meddling.
While governance can be a complex topic, Campbell & Company has found these principles – when followed – will help nurture an effective board. Strong boards are critical to non-profit organizations, especially when implementing major campaigns.
For questions regarding Seven Tips for Good Governance, please email Peter Fissinger at peter.fissinger@campbellcompany.com.
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“It’s Time to Dream Again”
By: Woodburn, Kyle & Company
It doesn’t cost anything to dream or have a dream, but it might cost you if you don’t. Dreams flow through nonprofits in the form of a vision. These statements about the future can become the forces for change and motivation or they can become the forgotten efforts of a board retreat. The economy is improving, so will your nonprofit be ready to realize its vision or be left behind thinking that the economy isn’t quite right for us to move forward just yet?
Is the vision just a sentence of carefully crafted words, or is it something more? We believe a vision should be absorbed into the culture of any nonprofit. Today, that might begin with changing the conversation at board meetings to emphasize more talk about the future instead of watching the bottom line, micromanaging or being manipulated by the findings of one more economic report. The future is scheduled to arrive, so will you be on time?
Your vision statement helps tell the true story of your organization. It conveys ambition and focus, while establishing an overarching goal for measuring success. In terms of fundraising, it provides the source of compelling reasons for donors to support your plans and fund your organization’s future. The vision statement can permeate the theme of your case for support and provide the hook to create excitement, passion and motivation.
One of the best ways to begin the process of change is to determine if your vision statement supports the direction your organization needs to take – now. If you find your vision of tomorrow has been changed by the experience of the past few years, then update it. A way to support change is to gather the board together for stimulating discussion about the future of your organization. A visioning session is an ideal opportunity to identify the thought leaders and those who might have undiscovered skills for leadership.
Another key is to make sure your organizational structure aligns with your vision. When you have the vision statement you want, test to see if it is compatible with your purpose and mission statements. These two statements describe what your organization does to achieve the vision. The goals of your vision should also be present in your strategic plan and its influence contained within the charges of your committees and their objectives.
Once the vision is embedded into the operations of your organization, you can use its theme to support promotion, marketing, branding and fundraising. Your vision can be present in your organization’s slogan, weaved throughout your case for fundraising support, become part of your “ask” and even be used to develop strategically supportive special events. Most importantly, it can help to describe the future. When you are talking with a planned gifts prospect, you will be able to use your thoughts to paint a picture of the future instead of fumbling to find the brush.
One of the most important boosts to fundraising success is the perceived value of a nonprofit. While a strong development program can be established, fundraising success still depends upon the relevance and the success of a nonprofit’s activities, the credibility of its board, the effectiveness of its administration and the ability to mount an effective marketing effort supporting its brand. Your strategic plan is the glue that connects the vision for your organization to the activities that enable it to attain its future effectively.
So, if you think that fundraising techniques alone can help you raise significant amounts of money without a dream – your success will be limited. Presenting the best possible case depends upon demonstrating that philanthropic support will not only fund a new building, better equipment, improved services, or insure financial sustainability, but that the funds can be effectively utilized by the entire organization while it advances towards its vision.
We believe that dreams are worth dreaming, visions are worth creating, and nonprofits can capture the imaginations of donors – if they look to the future. The future is scheduled to arrive, will you be on time? It’s time to dream again!
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Before the Campaign Planning Study There’s the Business Plan
By: Keith Curtis, President, The Curtis Group (member firm)
As part of our annual webinar series, The Curtis Group hosted a discussion on “What Makes an Effective Campaign.” During the forum, a question was posed by a participant asking us to further explain the need for a business plan. A business plan is something our firm always recommends a client develops before moving into any type of campaign and we found this to be the perfect opportunity to elaborate on its importance during our webinar.
The simple answer is this: a campaign should be considered a new line of business for an organization; therefore a strategic plan for the particular project should be developed. Just as a company wouldn’t launch a new product without a financial plan and marketing strategy, a capital project should be treated in a similar way.
While the feasibility or planning study is the first formal phase of a campaign and is certainly imperative to its success, before this, it is important to develop a business plan for the project itself. This entails a thorough analysis of all aspects of your project, including: the community need, the total cost, how it will be managed, how it will be sustained (operated and expenses covered), how it fits into the organization’s mission and if your organization has the ability to execute the project simultaneously with existing programs. It is crucial that your board thinks through these questions and outlines the answers before entering into a planning study, much less a campaign. Going through this exercise will not only help refine your plans, but it will address any deficiencies.
Establishing a business plan helps an organization ensure that their project is credible and well founded. This is particularly important when talking to potential donors about their gift to a campaign because it presents the project as a sound investment. Now more than ever, donors view charitable gifts as investments. They want to not only feel confident about the feasibility of a campaign, but they want to see the metrics that ensures the campaign has been well planned and is destined to succeed, ensuring a philanthropic return on their charitable gift.
Before you consider proceeding with a campaign, no matter what the goal amount, ensure that you’ve done the proper planning and developed a road map not only for how the campaign will be orchestrated, but how the project will be self-sustaining. Doing this will increase the confidence your campaign leadership has in the project, it will lay a solid foundation for executing the campaign, and your donors will be more responsive to your requests for support knowing there is a plan in place once the money has been raised.
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Alumni Participation Percentage
By Devin Mathias of member firm Marts & Lundy
Three simple words, so many problems.
When you first hear these words many things may come to mind – US News & World Report, Annual Giving, Impossible Metric, etc.
Alumni participation is a misguided metric for development’s broad-based fundraising. Annual giving leaders and experts across the globe have known and discussed this for years. While alumni participation can provide your institution a bit of context for some of your fundraising efforts, such as reunions, student fundraising and event-based fundraising, it is detrimental to let alumni participation serve as your primary annual giving metric.
Why is alumni participation so bad that I consider it the “bane of annual giving metrics?” Focusing on alumni participation pushes an annual giving program in the wrong direction. For the purpose of this post, I will assume you want the following from your annual giving program:
- A pipeline of donors for leadership annual giving and, in turn, major giving
- A broad-based approach to fundraising
- Increased revenue from the appeals
If you focus on alumni participation, none of these goals are truly met, with the possible exception of the second bullet point. In fact, alumni participation provides motivation to stall the pipeline and focus on gifts of any size, rather than increasing gift revenue, so as to increase the number of donors.
This focus also provides motivation to “lose” or, maybe more accurately, “not find” alumni who you’ve lost track of over the years. This helps lower the denominator in the “alumni donors” divided by “total alumni” equation. It also, sadly, provides incentive to fudge the numbers, as many of us have seen and the Wall Street Journal has highlighted.
So what should you be focused on when measuring annual giving? Two primary metrics can help you meet the goals above and focus your resources more effectively:
1) Total donors
2) Donor counts by gift bands ($1-$100, $101-250, $251-$500, etc.)
Focusing on total donors broadens the base of your donor pyramid, provides incentive to find lost alumni and ensures that you give appropriate attention to acquiring new donors. It also lets you focus on constituencies beyond alumni. Community members, faculty & staff, and student families (not just parents) are just some examples of other revenue streams.
Emphasizing these donor counts in the various gift bands – which, like the definition of a “major gift” will vary for institutions – provides a reliable metric to illustrate whether or not your program is successfully moving donors through the gift pipeline towards greater support, while simultaneously tracking that you are replacing those you move to a new level.
What does this mean relative to a president who views the relatively low-weighted (5%) alumni participation as a way to boost an institution’s US News & World Report ranking? Maybe nothing. Very few of the US News factors seem “easy” to move, so many often hone in on alumni participation.
It should, however, be a reality check for your development program and how it measures annual giving.
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Giving Institute 