As Financial Crisis Strikes Big Donors, It May Further Delay Capital Campaign

Harvard fundraisers are closely monitoring the impact of the financial crisis on donations as they prepare for a capital campaign with a tentative launch of 2011. The long-delayed campaign—once slated for a 2006 or 2007 launch—could be pushed back further if the ongoing crisis causes University fundraising to falter.

Full-text article by Clifford M. Marks is available via the Harvard Crimson, 9.28.08.

UNC Plans for Mega-Campaign

Having just completed the largest fundraising campaign in its history, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is gearing up for what reportedly would be an even bigger campaign with a goal of $3.5 billion to $4 billion.

Full-text blog posting via Philanthropy News Journal, 9.30.08.

$35-Million Helps Cornell U. Recruit Faculty and Ward Off Poachers

At Cornell University, a $35-million gift will give the institution an edge in an increasingly competitive market for faculty members. It will be used for endowed professorships to be awarded universitywide.

Full-text article by Audrey Williams June is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 9.26.08. [Subsrciption required.]

Economy Expected to Take a Toll on Charitable Giving

Big foundations have been damaged by the turmoil on Wall Street, receiving fewer gifts or seeing some of their stock holdings lose value.

Full-text article by Geraldine Fabrikant is available via the New York Times, 9.29.08.

Atlanta Business Leaders Discuss Philanthropy

Walter Driver, chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s Southeast division, organized a panel on philanthropy. The event provided an opportunity for some of the wealthiest Atlantans and several key nonprofit leaders to hear three diverse views on philanthropy.

Full-text article by Maria Saporta is available via the Atlanta Business Chronicle, 9.25.08.

Philanthrocapitalism

The term "philanthrocapitalism" is used to describe the newly wealthy's businesslike approach to giving, and is the focus of a recent book by Matthew Bishop, Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.

Through interviews with Bill Gates, George Soros, and other major philanthropists, as well as discussions with celebrities and nonprofit leaders, the book explores efforts to solve critical global problems. It points out that so-called philanthrocapitalists may be radically different from donors of the past because they emphasize results and business efficiencies.

Full-text article by Ian Wilhelm is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 10.2.08. [Subscription required.]

Bailout Plan Is Only One Step on a Long Road

The government’s planned financial bailout is a significant if costly step intended to avert economic calamity, but it may not be the last one, according to economists and finance experts.

Full-text article by Steve Lohr is available via the New York Times, 9.28.08.

Financial Crisis Worries Nonprofits

As the tumult surrounding Wall Street’s implosion continues unresolved, Twin Cities philanthropic leaders are hoping for the best – but preparing for delayed gifts and lower investment returns.

Bruce Flessner, a fundraising consultant with Minneapolis-based Bentz, Whaley, Flessner & Associates Inc. had a major philanthropic client decide recently to postpone the launch of a new capital campaign. He declined to name the client.

“The bottom line is that you’ll see a slowing of giving,” he said. “It’s going to take longer for some of the gifts to get started. . . but it’s not going to collapse.”

Full-text article by Kendall Anderson is available via Finance and Commerce, 9.26.08.

WaMu Sale Will Affect Philanthropy

WaMu’s sale raises questions about the company’s philanthropic efforts in the Puget Sound area and nationally.

Full-text article by Kirsten Grind et al. is available via Wichita Business Journal, 9.26.08.

Women and Philanthropy: 4 Ways to Get Started

Analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by Grant Thornton shows that for the first time, women gave more money than men in 2005, according to the latest publicly available tax return data. Women gave $21.7 billion, compared with male donors' $16.8billion. Earlier this year, JPMorgan reported that two thirds of its philanthropic services clients are now women, a reversal of the situation several years ago.

Full-text article by Kimberly Palmer is available via the U.S. News & World Report, 9.23.08.

On Eve of Philanthropy Forum, Clinton Worries About Economy

Preparing to open his annual philanthropy gathering here against the backdrop of historic upheaval on Wall Street, former president Bill Clinton expressed concern Monday that the economic downturn could undermine major charitable investments around the world just when help is particularly needed.

Full-text article by Philip Rucker is available via the Washington Post, 9.23.08.

UC Berkeley - $3 Billion Campaign

The University of California, Berkeley, today (Friday, Sept. 19) announced a landmark fundraising campaign to raise $3 billion to secure for future generations its status as the nation's preeminent public teaching and research university.

Nearly $1.3 billion of the $3 billion already has been raised in gifts and pledges since the "quiet phase" of The Campaign for Berkeley began on July 1, 2005. The campaign will end on June 30, 2013.

Full-text press release by Jose Rodriguez is available via UC Berkeley, 9.19.08.

Surviving Wall Street's Woes: Tips From a Fund-Raising Expert

Bruce Flessner, a Minneapolis fund-raising consultant, offers several tips to help institutions in the midst of big fund-raising campaigns weather this latest Wall Street crisis.

Full-text blog posting by Holly Hall is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 9.17.08.

Life After Lehman: Nonprofits Brace Amid Bankruptcy

The Lehman Foundation provides gifts to more than 200 nonprofits each year. Through corporate contributions and grants from its U.S. and European foundations, it distributed $39 million in the 12 months ended in November 2007, according to Lehman's Web site.

Melissa Berman, chief executive of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which advises individuals and corporations about giving away money, said the foundation must close -- eventually -- because it no longer has a corporation sustaining it. Yet its assets are protected from creditors, she said.

Full-text article by Philip Boroff is available via Bloomberg News, 9.16.08.

USA: Women Moving Millions

Women of high net worth are funding other women in record numbers and at unprecedented levels, according to the Women's Funding Network, a California-based umbrella organisation for 126 women's funds on six continents.

Full-text article by Elayne Clift is available via News Blaze, 9.16.08.

33 Philanthropists Share Charitable-Giving Approaches in Study by Penn Philanthropy Center

A sizable percentage of high-net-worth givers do not see themselves as philanthropists even though each gives away about a million dollars or more annually.

That is among the findings of a study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy.

The CHIP study involved structured interviews with 33 anonymous high-net-worth individuals, each capable of giving $1 million annually.

“I’m Not Rockefeller: 33 High Net Worth Philanthropists Discuss Their Approach to Giving” examines how these people approach their charitable giving.

Press release available via Media-Newswire, 9.16.08.

The study’s findings, key themes and implications for the field are available from the Center’s Web site: www.impact.upenn.edu.

Athletics Raises a College From the Ground Up

In less than three years Adrian College has undergone a transformation. Newly developed acreage — boasting an ice arena, football and baseball stadiums, a track, and a dozen tennis courts — is the cornerstone of a plan to raise enrollment through intense athletics recruiting.

Full-text article by Libby Sander is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 9.19.08. [Subscription required.]

Wall Street Woes Endanger Funding for the Arts

The turmoil on Wall Street will affect a wide swath of New York City's cultural institutions, hurting corporate and individual donations at a time when these organizations are facing what one philanthropist called a "perfect storm" of economic pressures.

Full-text article by Kate Taylor is available via the New York Sun, 9.16.08.

Wall Street's Perfect Storm

Investors deal with a Lehman bankruptcy, the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, and a possible AIG restructuring.

Full-text article by David Henry is available via BusinessWeek, 9.15.08.

Philanthropy Google’s Way: Not the Usual

The founders of Google have set up a philanthropy, giving it seed money of about $1 billion and a mandate to tackle poverty, disease and global warming.

But unlike most charities, this one will be for-profit, allowing it to fund start-up companies, form partnerships with venture capitalists and even lobby Congress. It will also pay taxes.

Full-text article by Katie Hafner is available via the New York Times, 9.14.08.

Up and Down: Economy Hurting Healthcare Giving

Donations to not-for-profit hospitals may be slowing down, yet industry sources claim their fundraising programs continue to stay afloat through loyal donors and
healthy community support.

Full-text article by Jennifer Lubell is available via NonProfit Healthcare, 8.2008.

Web Sites Compare How Hospitals Measure Up

A new Web site called “Hospital Compare” evaluates hospital death rates around the country and shows how individual hospitals stack up against the national average. Guests discuss the reliability of the data on the site and describe the measures hospitals are taking to improve performance.

The Hospital Compare Web site was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), along with the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA). The HQA is a public-private collaboration established to promote reporting on hospital quality of care. The HQA consists of organizations that represent consumers, hospitals, doctors and nurses, employers, accrediting organizations, and Federal agencies.

Economy Causing Older Donors to Cut Back Gifts, Study Finds

The troubled economy is causing more older donors to cut back their giving this fall, while younger people plan to step up their giving, finds a new study by the Grizzard Communications Group, a direct-marketing firm that works with nonprofit organizations. Study results are available on Business Wire.

Survey results indicate that only 13 percent of respondents expect to increase their giving for the remainder of 2008, while nearly a third (29%) admit to decrease their giving. Surprisingly, donors aged 25-34 were more likely to increase their giving in the fall, while those over the age of 65 were more likely to say they are giving less.

Full-text press release and survey results available via Business Wire, 9.2008.

If Kent State Beats Goals, Professors Will Profit

Kent State University is trying a new and unusual tactic to improve its status, retention rate, and fund raising—paying cash bonuses to faculty members if the university exceeds its goals in those areas.

Full-text article by Kathryn Masterson is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 9.5.08. [Subscription required.]

TC50: Causecast, One Stop Philanthropy Shop

Causecast.com is a philanthropic site that brings a number of major figures in politics and entertainment together to pitch and bring attention to 10 non-profit companies a month.

Full-text article by John Biggs is available via the Wall Street Journal, 9.10.08.

Children's Memorial Campaign

A campaign to tap Chicago's philanthropic community for at least $600 million, about 60 percent of what's needed to build a replacement for Children's Memorial Hospital, was unveiled recently.

Full-text article by Bruce Japsen is available via the Chicago Tribune, 9.11.08.

Wealthy Donors Say They Will Support Operating Costs

In deciding which charities to support, many wealthy donors do not judge nonprofit organizations by how much they spend on overhead costs — despite the popularity of that measure among watchdog groups and others according to a recent survey by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy.

Full-text article by Holly Hall is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 9.11.08.

In Tough Times, Even the Billionaires Worry

As the economy has soured, Lee Hausner, a psychologist at IFF Advisors Inc., in Irvine, Calif., who works primarily with wealthy families, has noticed rising anxieties about spending.

Full-text article by Christine Haughney is available via the New York Times, 9.10.08.