Acquisition, But First … | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits

Acquisition, But First … | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits: But we are compelled — yes, compelled — to start the ball rolling with yet another warning about donor retention!

Compelled because this recent ‘Must Read’ report — the 2012 Fundraising Effectiveness Report — from the Association of Fundraising Professionals drives home once again the utter futility of pouring newly acquired donors into leaky buckets.

Here are the grim facts (looking at 2011-12 fundraising by 3,184 organizations, who raised over $2 billion in 2011):

Giving in recession? - Web Exclusive Article - Significance Magazine

Giving in recession? - Web Exclusive Article - Significance Magazine: How generous are we now, as times get harder? The British Social Attitudes Survey, published last month, suggests that our attitudes towards the unemployed and the retired are becoming less generous; those out of work are generally viewed as not deserving of welfare. In 2011 almost two thirds of Britons thought that unemployment benefits discourage work, and just over half the population thinks that if benefits were less generous people would become more self-reliant. The latest survey also shows a continuing decline for public spending on all types of benefits; only 28% of the population thinks the government should spend more on welfare benefits.

Young donors: donation deficit or an engagement deficit? - Institute of Fundraising

Young donors: donation deficit or an engagement deficit? - Institute of Fundraising: The recent University of Bristol/CAF report ‘Mind the Gap’ suggests 18-30 year olds are giving significantly less likely to give to charity than previous generations. But are we are actually facing a ‘donation deficit’? Catherine Miles is not convinced…

Typical Twitter user is a young woman with an iPhone & 208 followers — Tech News and Analysis

Typical Twitter user is a young woman with an iPhone & 208 followers — Tech News and Analysis: witter’s endless funnel of data is producing an equally endless series of studies — including on Twitter itself. The latest study offers fun tidbits about who is using Twitter and why.

In “An Exhaustive Study of Twitter Users Around the World,” analytics firm Beevolve claims to have crunched data from 36 million Twitter profiles. What they found probably corresponds to what you suspected: most Twitter users are young iPhone users from English speaking countries.

Charities’ Fundraising Improves Slightly, But Still Not Retaining Donors - The Paramus Post - Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Webzine

Charities’ Fundraising Improves Slightly, But Still Not Retaining Donors - The Paramus Post - Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Webzine: While we’ve seen some positive movement in the FEP survey numbers compared to previous years, the sector cannot become complacent when it comes to donor retention,” said Andrew Watt, president and CEO of AFP. “We’re still losing more donors than we gain, and that puts such a financial strain on our organizations because of inflation and the fact that it’s more expensive to find new donors than keep existing ones.”

Senior Fundraisers and CEO's Don't See Eye to Eye - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Senior Fundraisers and CEO's Don't See Eye to Eye - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Senior Fundraisers and CEO’s Don’t See Eye to Eye

October 11, 2012, 10:58 am

By Holly Hall

As turnover among fundraisers becomes a growing problem for nonprofits, a new study suggests that the revolving door in development offices may be due to a big gap in how chief executives and development officers see the process of attracting donations.

The study, conducted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, questioned 70 community-college leaders and 137 chief fundraisers at such institutions.

Welsh voluntary sector is pleased with itself

Welsh voluntary sector is pleased with itself: Ninety per cent of Welsh trustees judged themselves ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ good at managing their charities in a Charity Commission survey.

The Commission regulates charities in England and Wales, and this is the first survey conducted amongst Welsh charities looking at how well trustees think they are running their organisation.

The survey was completed by trustees of over 500 charities with an income over �100,000 in Wales. There are more than 8,000 charities registered in the country in total, with a joint income of �1.9bn.

Philanthropy Management: China Strives to Adopt Another U.S. Practice: Strategic Philanthropy - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

Philanthropy Management: China Strives to Adopt Another U.S. Practice: Strategic Philanthropy - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com: According to a UBS-Insead study, the earliest Chinese foundations were established barely 30 years ago but Chinese philanthropic initiatives are growing rapidly, with more than 70% formed since 2000. "While family giving is an established practice in much of Asia, China lacks a longstanding culture of structured philanthropy, though there is increasing social pressure on China's newly wealthy to give more generously," said Schwartz. In 2011, Chinese entrepreneur Cao Dewang gave $700 million in donations. Although this is dwarfed by Margaret A. Cargill's $6 billion bequest last year, it would have placed Dewang at number two in the US.

How charities can make the most of their reserves | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

How charities can make the most of their reserves | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: How charities can make the most of their reserves

Many charities do not keep a close enough eye on whether they have too much or too little in reserves, says Andy Rich

Stamps $33 Million, Alpert $6 Million Mark Rise in Giving - Businessweek

Stamps $33 Million, Alpert $6 Million Mark Rise in Giving - Businessweek: Nonprofits can expect to see more giving from wealthy donors, according to the 2012 Bank of America “Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy,” published last week.

About 24 percent of the 700 donors surveyed will increase their giving in the next three to five years. About 52.4 percent said their giving will remain at current levels, and 9.4 percent say they’ll give less.

Lasa report showcases top digital tips from sector leaders

Lasa report showcases top digital tips from sector leaders: Lasa has launched an online report exploring the potential of technologies for the sector and urged others to share their thoughts.

Titled Digital: What Every Charity Leader Should Know, the report asked 31 relevant parties to summarise their top five digital insights using one digital presentation slide. The report includes contributions from Martha Lane Fox (chair, Go On UK and the UK's digital champion), Nigel Lewis (CEO, AbilityNet), and Karl Wilding (head of foresight, NCVO).

Wealthy to increase or continue charitable donations - chicagotribune.com

Wealthy to increase or continue charitable donations - chicagotribune.com: Wealthy U.S. investors plan to donate more to charity in the next three to five years or continue giving at current levels, and about half contributed to political campaigns last year, according to survey results released on Wednesday.

The findings appear to indicate that wealthy investors are optimistic about the stock market and their financial well-being, said Una Osili, director of research for the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which conducts the biennial study.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 28, 2012: Report Details Use of Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 28, 2012: Report Details Use of Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online: The great majority of PILOT revenue comes from universities and hospitals, most PILOT activity occurs in the Northeast, and a small number of multi-million dollar PILOTs account for the majority of all revenue received nationwide, according to Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits: Which Nonprofits Make PILOTs and Which Localities Receive Them, authored by Daphne A. Kenyon, Adam H. Langley and Patricia C. Bailin.

Charity Dynamics and NTEN Conduct Nonprofit Donor Engagement Research, Gather Benchmark Data on Individual Engagement Trends - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee

Charity Dynamics and NTEN Conduct Nonprofit Donor Engagement Research, Gather Benchmark Data on Individual Engagement Trends - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee: AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 27, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Nonprofit organizations that engage their supporters stand to benefit the most when it comes to receiving their cut of an individual's overall charitable donations, according to results from a recent benchmark survey conducted by Charity Dynamics and the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN).

Philly Arts Worth $3.3 Billion - TheNonProfitTimes

Philly Arts Worth $3.3 Billion - TheNonProfitTimes: he arts and cultural sector in Philadelphia, Pa., has a $3.3-billion impact on the region’s economy, employing 44,000 jobs and is outperforming the nation as a whole, according to research published by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

The Arts, Culture and Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia report details how spending by cultural organizations and their audiences ripples through the economy, generating revenues for businesses, families and local governments.

To Raise More Money, Talk About Impact, New Guide Advises - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

To Raise More Money, Talk About Impact, New Guide Advises - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The manual is based on a study that found donors would be willing to shift $15-billion in giving to high-performing nonprofits if they had easy access to good information about the organizations’ work. The study, conducted by GuideStar, the nonprofit online publisher of data on charities, and Hope Consulting, was based on surveys of more than 5,000 donors, 875 donor advisers, and 725 foundation officials.

The venture philanthropy ecosystem in India - AVPN

The venture philanthropy ecosystem in India - AVPN: There are several gaps in India’s venture philanthropy (VP) ecosystem, which is currently still at a nascent stage, according to a study jointly published by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network and Ernst & Young. “Exploring the Venture Philanthropy Ecosystem in India” explores all the elements operating in the VP domain in the country.

Utah lost 38 percent of nonprofits, charities since 2009 | Deseret News

Utah lost 38 percent of nonprofits, charities since 2009 | Deseret News: Nonprofits in Utah dropped by 38 percent to 3,568 since 2009 as many are struggling to find finances for already struggling budgets, according to a study by the Community Foundation of Utah.

Four out of every five nonprofit organizations in Utah work with budgets of less than $100,000 while employing more than 5 percent of the state’s work force.

Generation gap in giving needs urgent attention, warns CAF

Generation gap in giving needs urgent attention, warns CAF: Charities Aid Foundation has produced new research indicating that younger people today are much less likely to give to charity than those of the same age a generation ago – and that people in their sixties are now six times more generous than those under 30.

Nonprofits Need a Strong, Unified Voice to Lobby Government, Report Says - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Nonprofits Need a Strong, Unified Voice to Lobby Government, Report Says - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A two-year study involving more than 100 interviews with experts and studies of 500 advocacy efforts was released Wednesday by Independent Sector, a coalition of charities and foundations. The report estimated that it would cost $20-million over four years to establish a national organization to push a nonprofit agenda.