1. What’s Happening and
What’s Working in Today’s
Fundraising Environment
Nancy Racette
Chief Operating Officer
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2. Overview
• Current Giving Environment
• Giving USA
• AFP survey
• Trends
• What are donors looking for?
• Success is possible
• How do we achieve
success?
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3. Current Giving Environment
In 2009: Total estimated
charitable giving dropped
3.6%
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4. Number of 501(c)3s 2000-2009
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5. Total Giving 1969-2009
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6. Current Giving Environment
By Source of Contribution
Total Giving for 2009
was $303.75 billion
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7. Current Giving Environment
By Type of
Recipient
Organization
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8. Giving to International Affairs
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9. Giving to Human Services
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10. Big Picture
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11. Current Giving Environment
Crisis, what crisis?
- Possibly the worst period
for fundraising in the
past 40 years
- AFP’s recent surveys indicate poor
fundraising performance in nearly every type
of organization
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12. Current Giving Environment
2007 survey: 65% 2008 survey: 46%
2009 survey: 43 % of organizations raised
more funds in 2009 compared to 2008
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13. What strategies are working?
1. Secure organizational commitment
2. Secure volunteer leadership
3. Develop a multi-tiered strategy
4. Develop an investment plan with a clear ROI
5. Develop a vision that inspires
6. Develop a feeder system
7. Develop an engagement strategy
8. Prove impact
9. Steward dollars
10. Stick with it
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14. What are Donors Looking For?
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15. World Giving Index
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16. Trends: Individual Major Gifts
• Mega Gifts
• Small gifts to many orgs becoming one gift to one org
• International markets
• Board driven fundraising
Opportunities
• Multi-year commitments for health innovation
programs/restricted giving
• Global Philanthropists
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17. Trends: Direct Marketing
• Direct response is increasingly expensive
• Organizations with a monthly giving program have
higher renewal rates and longer term donors
Opportunities
• Develop monthly giving programs and other structural
programs that renew automatically
• Promote bequests as legacy
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18. Trends: Internet
• International relief and development orgs are
becoming increasingly proficient with the use of the
Internet
• Successful campaigns rely on urgency
• Inexpensive access to mass markets
Opportunities
Build a proactive program that targets the right audience
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19. Trends: Corporations
• Branded corporate philanthropy
programs are common
• Seen as business investments
• Increase in public/private
initiatives
• Board driven fundraising
Opportunities
• Multi-year global partnerships
• Use emerging markets as entry
• Leverage Board relationships
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20. Trends: Foundations
• Seek new and innovative programming with
• Demonstrable impact
• Integration of activity between NGOs
• Largest Foundation Gifts often the result of
relationships at the board level
Opportunities
• Seek multi-year grants through programming that
impacts sustainability
• Develop ability to measure impact
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21. Trends: Endowment
• Many organizations are building moderately-sized
endowments
• Augmenting the annual giving program
Opportunity
• Manage finances in such a way as to build
endowment
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22. Trends: US Government Awards
• Collaborate across departmental lines
• Holistic
• Democracy
• Capacity building
• Increasing grant budget
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23. How Do We Achieve Success?
1. Yes, we can!
2. Be candid
3. Remember your mission
4. Act!
5. Don’t stop asking
6. Remember and report your data
7. Understand the challenge
8. Focus on the long term
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24. Conclusion
The End!
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