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Participation, always a sensitive issue with trustees, is in decline at many institutions — not for lack of trying but for difficulties in simply making contact. Erosion in landlines is picking up speed, and direct mail is super-saturated. But the golden age of philanthropy has not past. These new times will require a new creativity, [...]
Education Seminar: “Wealth: What’s Changing? And What Difference Does it Make?” This presentation by Jim Daniel will focus on: Shifting wealth patterns in the US and the implications of those patterns for shifts in philanthropy and fundraising. The more subtle implications driven by these shifts and the needed changes in strategies and skill sets required [...]
Statistics tell us wealth is concentrating at the top of the socioeconomic landscape in America. That’s something philanthropy pros need to consider. Bentz Whaley Flessner’s Jim Daniel talks about the new wealth landscape and what it means …
Today’s guest blogger is Jim Daniel. Jim has really spent a lot of time looking at wealth and what that means for the fundraising professional. This type of analysis should really be shaping how organizations deploy resources in their development shops. Professor Edward Wolff, a sociologist at NYU, has been studying wealth distribution in America for [...]
Fundraisers and their Presidents and Boards have been very nervous for the last twenty-one months over the implications of the Great Recession of philanthropy. And for good reason. The Dow tumbled about 58 percent before it leveled off in March 2009 and began a precedent-setting rally back into 5 digits. The rally lasted fourteen months but, though it got back to 11,000, it has sputtered over the last three months on a stagnant jobs market, a tumultuous political climate, the BP disaster, a flat housing market and a host of other technical and substantive issues. Donors–and institutions that must be sensitive to them–continue to be anxious. Confidence is wounded and many continue to wonder whether the wound is lethal.
Tips and techniques for effective cold calling of donors and prospects.
Boards drive fund raising. They are one of the most critical elements in any successful program. Unfortunately, our expertise at managing this critical factor is not always as well developed as our expertise in managing other inputs and processes.
Bentz Whaley Flessner has worked with boards and board management for years. We surveyed the nation’s leading private colleges to document how the various approaches to board management impact fund raising. Among the management practices tested: new member recruitment, new member orientation, member participation in setting formal expectations, fund-raising assignments, board solicitation, moves management with and of members, and board focus on fund raising.
This paper presents the summary of these findings and some recommended courses of action that follow from the findings.
