More and more nonprofits are embracing the opportunity to evaluate and share the effects their work has on their communities through a process called impact reporting. This process makes it much easier for you to stay accountable to your stakeholders and provide evidence that your organization is truly making a positive difference in the lives of your beneficiaries.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) is home to some of the most incredible dancers and is a place where inclusion is the engine that drives the company. With a first-rate artistic product and a new strategic plan, Mission, Vision and Values, HSDC is experiencing rapid growth and is looking for a charismatic and results-driven Director of Development to lead its fundraising efforts.
Today’s nonprofit donors have come to expect total transparency when it comes to their gifts. They want to know how their donations are being used and ensure they are being used properly. Donors also presume that their data will remain safe and confidential when they contribute to your nonprofit. Balancing these two elements is crucial in maintaining donor confidence and trust.
Major donors are critical to your higher education institution’s success. Whether they provide funding for capital campaigns, research projects, scholarships, fellowships, or academic programs, their financial support and commitment allow your university to achieve its goals and advance its mission.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington (Y), a passionate and vital organization, offers a wide array of programs designed to promote overall health and well-being and empowers individuals of all ages to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. From fitness classes and wellness workshops to nutrition education and chronic disease prevention, the Y offers a comprehensive approach to nurturing the mind, body, and spirit. Additionally, the Y is one of the largest preschool, afterschool, and camp providers serving families in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and northern Virginia.
Started in 1954 by a group of multi-denominational Hispanic pastors to meet the needs of newly arrived immigrants, Casa Central has grown into one of the largest Latino social service agencies in the Midwest. The organization’s programming centers on inspiring lifelong learning among children and youth, providing safety and self-reliance for individuals and families and promoting active, healthy lifestyles for older adults.
The College of Lake County (CLC) is a comprehensive community college committed to equitable high-quality education, cultural enrichment, and partnerships. The College endeavors to meet the ever-changing needs of the diverse communities of Lake County, Illinois.
Today’s donors are very discerning when it comes to their relationships with nonprofit organizations.
Above all, they seek personal alignment with the mission, values, and goals of the organizations they support. They want evidence that their support results in outcomes and lasting impact. While they expect to see facts and metrics that substantiate impact, they especially appreciate well-crafted stories that illustrate how real people and communities are benefiting.
Studies show that candidates spend under a minute from the time they open a job posting to decide whether the opportunity is a good fit for them. With such little room to make an impression, it’s critical that your nonprofit optimizes your job descriptions, so you can engage the top candidates and compete with for-profit businesses for talent.
If you’ve ever been involved in hiring new employees, you know that recruitment and onboarding are often time-consuming and expensive. This is especially true for nonprofits, which have limited resources to begin with but also run many initiatives that benefit from additional professional expertise.
Data should be at the root of all major nonprofit decisions. When you take a data-driven approach to marketing and fundraising, you’ll be more in tune with supporter interests and preferences, allowing you to connect with them and earn more for your cause.
We are pleased to welcome Nancy Herman, who has recently joined the TWB team as Senior Counsel. We asked Nancy a few questions to learn more about her expertise, serving as an introduction for anyone seeking a seasoned development professional to partner with.
With heavy hearts TWB announces the passing of Larry Ter Molen, a founding partner of Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt, now known as TWB Fundraising. Larry was a pioneer in the fundraising world and a philanthropic inspiration to many of us.
“Larry was a respected leader, but it was his demeanor and thoughtfulness that helped set the tone for our firm. He took everyone’s challenges seriously, while responding with warmth and humor,” said Clyde Watkins, one of the firm’s founding partners.
Before moving into consulting, Mr. Ter Molen served as Executive Vice President of the Art Institute of Chicago for many years. During his leadership tenure, contributions to the Art Institute exceeded $435 million and membership reached 159,000, among the largest of any art museum in the United States.
Our team at TWB Fundraising is thrilled to announce the launch of our new name, brand, and website. Developed through a collaborative process that involved examination of our values and goals, this rebrand goes well beyond a change in logo and colors. It represents a strategic evolution that showcases our unique leadership, adaptability, and innovative spirit. It marks a significant milestone expressing our unwavering dedication to making a positive impact in the nonprofit sector.
Continue reading to learn more about why we’re so excited about our brand transformation.
Austin Seminary seeks a Vice President for Institutional Advancement to oversee its comprehensive and integrated alumni engagement program and provide strategic direction for cultivating philanthropic giving. Located in Austin, Texas, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary prepares pastors, educators, missionaries, and chaplains for the work of Christ’s church, offering graduate degrees and lifelong learning programs for those seeking leadership development and spiritual renewal.
The ideal candidate for this position is a seasoned leader with a demonstrated track record of advancing meaningful relationships to achieve fundraising goals. Knowledge of the Presbyterian Church tradition and its constituents or willingness to acquire such knowledge is considered extremely helpful.
As an innovator in mental health education, The Chicago School seeks a Director of Major Gifts to help their university expand into integrated health through the College of Osteopathic Medicine (IllinoisCOM), the first new Chicago medical school in 100 years.
Fundraising for nonprofit healthcare organizations comes with additional regulations, and nuances like HIPAA privacy considerations may affect how an organization is able to convey its impact. However, like every other nonprofit organization, to acquire support, healthcare organizations must build a case for support.
In this guide, you’ll discover how to write a compelling case for support and what data to include to make your case more compelling. First, let’s explore exactly what a case for support is and why healthcare organizations should focus on writing one.
Back in the “before times,” glittery galas were unquestionably a fundraising staple in the nonprofit world. But of course, the pandemic turned everything topsy-turvy, and virtual events became the name of the game.
With donor-advised funds (or DAFs), donors can make a contribution to a fund and receive an immediate charitable tax deduction. The fund can grow tax-free, while the donors can distribute gifts (or grants) to nonprofits from the fund over time.
Donor-advised funds are managed through a sponsoring organization, which commonly are commercial investment management companies or community foundations.
A recognized leader in animal conservation and welfare, Born Free USA is a national advocacy nonprofit that also manages one of the largest primate sanctuaries in the United States. The organization is global in reach and has partnerships with Born Free UK, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Born Free USA is seeking a dynamic and passionate Director of Development to strategically drive national fundraising efforts and build a comprehensive fundraising program. The Director of Development will serve as a thought leader and partner to the CEO, the Board of Directors, and the Senior Leadership Team, as well as lead and manage a team of three development professionals.
Spearhead Strategic Growth
• Build a sustainable and diverse fundraising program that encompasses individual, corporate, legacy, and institutional giving strategies
• Inspire, motivate and support the philanthropy team
• Engage in data-driven analysis and decision-making
Track Performance
• Establish metrics to measure progress toward fundraising goals
• Regularly report on the progress of the comprehensive development strategy
• Work closely with leadership to establish and monitor budgets, set budgetary expectations and ensure employee understanding of departmental and organizational finances
Strengthen Brand Awareness and Innovation
• Create synergies and opportunities between Born Free USA and Born Free Foundation (headquartered in the UK) to maximize the potential of the Born Free brand and what it represents
• Stay abreast of emerging philanthropic trends, and analyze and recommend innovative new fundraising activities
Born Free USA’s international connections combined with its commitment to Compassionate Conservation sets it apart from other wildlife charities. Click the button below to learn more.
The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) designs, restores, and creates wetlands by innovating, collaborating, and employing sound science to improve water quality, habitat for plants and wildlife, and our climate. TWI is tackling exciting new projects across the Calumet region in Southeast Chicago and Northwest Indiana, including turning a vast floodwater detention corridor into a natural and scenic asset for communities.
Aspire is a nonprofit organization that makes boundless inclusivity possible for people with disabilities. Since 1960, Aspire has been recognized as a leader in providing bold, pioneering services to individuals with disabilities and their families in the Chicagoland community. Their programs include:
“Acting is not about being different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.”
– Meryl Streep
As we saw from employment data published earlier this month, job openings continue to surge, fueling a strong demand for workers.
Aspire is a nonprofit organization that makes boundless inclusivity possible for people with disabilities. Since 1960, Aspire has been recognized as a leader in providing bold, pioneering services to individuals with disabilities and their families in the Chicagoland community. Their programs include:
IFF partners with nonprofits across the Midwest and enables them to achieve their missions, support their communities, and increase their financial stability. The Vice President of Resource Development position is an exciting opportunity for an experienced fundraiser or nonprofit manager to play a pivotal role in the organization’s cultivation and stewardship of funder relationships, shaping strategy and leading and supporting outreach efforts to raise grant funds from a diverse funder base that includes foundations, banks, corporations, government, and others interested in partnering with IFF.
We are pleased to welcome Jewanna Apawu, our newest adjunct staff member, to the firm. We asked her a few questions to share with our readers looking to learn more about Jewanna’s remarkable expertise, and for those who may be seeking a seasoned development professional to partner with.
There’s a lot in the news about student loan forgiveness of $10,000 or $20,000, and if you’ve looked into student loan forgiveness programs, you might have come across potential scamming sites. Below, we’re sharing an application for public service loan forgiveness, and tips to avoid potential student loan forgiveness scams. If you do not have student loans, be sure to share this with your colleagues!
This September, I hopped on a plane to Reno to embark on my first Burning Man event. While I expected to enjoy the weekend, I quickly discovered that it far surpassed anything I’d imagined. I also came to the surprising (to me, at least!) realization that Burning Man is essentially one big philanthropic adventure.
The Development Leadership Consortium Announces the Class of the 2022-23 Annual Fellows Program
It is well known in fundraising circles that a written case for support is a “must have” tool to be used in a comprehensive or capital campaign. The case does what its name suggests: it makes the case for why donors should give to support your campaign priorities.
Marklund is a nonprofit organization that serves individuals of all ages with severe and profound developmental disabilities and special healthcare needs. Its three residential locations are home to 178 residents with the support of 500 staff members and hundreds of volunteers. Marklund Day School is a State Board of Education Licensed Therapeutic Day School partnering with 30+ districts.
Marklund is presently seeking to fill two key fundraising positions, that will further grow its robust portfolio and support the Marklund promise to make everyday living possible for individuals with profound disabilities. The ideal candidates will have demonstrated passion for Marklund’s mission and values: positive attitude, accountability, compassion, creativity, and teamwork.
Are you a seasoned fundraiser, grant maker or philanthropist who is passionate about helping Generation Z become leaders in philanthropy?
Does the opportunity to bring your community a powerful program that prepares high school students for a lifetime appreciation of, and involvement in, philanthropy excite you? The Three Pillars Initiative (TPI) is looking for volunteers to help expand its powerful program of teaching the art, science, and business of philanthropy to the next generation.
Continue reading to hear what former TPI Board Member Risa Davis, TPI graduate/current Board Member Sydney Rayburn, and current TPI Senior Sam Zimberoff have to say about their stunning experiences being a part of TPI.
Food For Free is seeking a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to dramatically grow an already established fundraising program at this dynamic, team-oriented organization. This position offers an exciting opportunity for a natural collaborator to lead dramatic growth while partnering strategically with the leadership team and CEO in the shared priority to expand access to fresh, healthy, delicious food for individuals experiencing food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts.
Heartland Animal Shelter is a respected and recognized no-kill shelter located in Wheeling, IL, 30 miles north of Chicago. Known for its community focus and support, Heartland is seeking a new Executive Director who will apply their personal vision to complete the transition to its new facility, while positioning the organization as a leader in progressive shelters across the Chicagoland area.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced animal welfare or non-profit professional to lead a midsize facility with the resources necessary to provide each animal with the highest level of care possible.
Since 2007, Heartland has saved at least 98% of the animals in its care each year, even with their increased focus on saving the most vulnerable populations of cats and dogs. Heartland has saved well over 14,000 lives.
For many nonprofit organizations, “Give, Get or Get Off” has been the prevailing philosophy regarding board member fundraising responsibilities. Based on my decades of experience as a development professional, fundraising consultant and nonprofit board member, I would argue it’s smart to adopt a more multifaceted mindset.
There’s no question that fundraising is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a nonprofit board. But too often there’s confusion or lack of clarity surrounding these responsibilities. Investing time and energy in defining them – and the expectations that go hand-in-hand – can yield major dividends in increased engagement, effectiveness and fundraising success.
Here are four practical strategies you can use to help ensure your organization and board have a shared vision and clear understanding regarding fundraising responsibilities:
Are you a seasoned fundraiser, grant maker or philanthropist who is passionate about helping Generation Z become leaders in philanthropy? Do you care deeply about bringing a program to your community designed to prepare high school students for a lifetime understanding of and appreciation for philanthropy? The Three Pillars Initiative (TPI) is looking to recruit a cohort of volunteer Program Champions who will help them expand this vital program.
Below, TPI Founder Rick King talks about why he founded this youth leadership development program. Rick is also the Chairman of Kittleman & Associates, a nonprofit executive search firm based in Chicago.
I’ve always been bothered by the characterization of philanthropists as those who are rich, powerful individuals who give millions to their favorite charities. I strongly prefer to take a much broader perspective, defining philanthropists as people focused on improving our world by contributing any number of resources in lieu of personal wealth.
Reframing the term philanthropist as based on values rather than simply money offers an equal opportunity for everyone to embrace and practice it. As someone who has devoted my professional career to making a difference, I wholeheartedly believe that the sooner we start cultivating a philanthropic mindset in the next generation, the better. That’s why I launched the Three Pillars of Philanthropy model in 2010, starting with 12 high school students in Oak Park, Illinois.
Remember back when pretty much everybody came into the office, every day, to do their job, whether they were a vice president of development or a grant writer or a program manager?
GiGi’s Playhouse, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, searched for an Executive Director with the passion to change the way the world views Down syndrome. This presents an exciting opportunity for an externally-minded professional with strong fundraising, operations, staff, and volunteer management experience.
We are pleased to welcome Caroline Older, our new Vice President, to TW&B. To help you learn more about her fundraising and executive leadership expertise, we asked Caroline a few questions.
Milwaukee Film, located in Milwaukee, WI, is seeking a Chief Development Officer to help achieve our shared vision of making our community more compassionate and equitable by enriching, entertaining, educating, and engaging people through film. The ideal candidate will pursue opportunities to design and strengthen our annual/membership, foundation/grant, and major gift fundraising programs.
Imagine conducting a nationwide search to fill a key position at your nonprofit organization but attracting few candidates of the caliber you expect. Or extending an offer which your preferred candidate initially accepts, only to change his or her mind before the deal is signed and sealed.
We are pleased to welcome Mireya Dominguez, our new Associate Vice President, to the firm. To highlight her remarkable expertise, we asked her a few questions to share with our readers who are looking to learn more about Mireya’s experience, and for those who may be seeking a seasoned development professional to partner with.
No two snowflakes, or people, are exactly alike, so why do we spend a lot of our time looking at donors as lines of data or dollar signs?
We lump them into boxes, like major giver, planned giving donor, and capital campaign prospect. These terms mean nothing to the donor; are self-serving for us (nonprofits); have us short-changing the donor’s capacity; and often don’t get us where we’re trying to go.
Particularly in this challenging fundraising environment – donor retention rates falling, donor confidence waning, cost to acquire new donors rising, and non-profit lay-offs, turn-over and program cuts – we must think outside the box to view donors comprehensively; not in categories, but as our partners and believers – real people we can build relationships that both the donor and our organizations value.
GiGi’s Playhouse, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is searching for a Vice President of Development and Partnerships with the passion to change the way the world views Down syndrome. The ideal candidate has an entrepreneurial mindset and is an experienced development leader with a strong record of demonstrated success in closing six and seven figure gifts and in managing a successful development team. The ideal candidate also demonstrates success in working effectively with boards of directors and in navigating complex, matrixed organizations at a national scale.
GiGi’s Playhouse, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is searching for a Foundation and Corporate Relationships Director with the passion to change the way the world views Down syndrome. This new high level position presents an exciting opportunity for an experienced nonprofit leader to bring their energy and passion for GiGi’s mission to a rapidly growing, fast paced organization ready to take the next steps in growing its fundraising program.
GiGi’s Playhouse, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is searching for a Grants Manager with the passion to change the way the world views Down syndrome. This presents an exciting opportunity for an experienced grants writer to bring their project management skills and passion for GiGi’s mission to a rapidly growing, fast paced organization ready to take the next steps in growing its fundraising program.
One World Surgery, based in Deerfield, Illinois, is seeking a Director of Development. The successful candidate will bring a working knowledge of how development, marketing, and communications work together to engage constituents, raise funds and advance the organization’s mission: to transform lives by providing global access to high quality surgical and primary care.
So, you and your development team are planning for the transition to a new President or Executive Director and you may be wondering, “How should we proceed?” or, “How can we be proactive and take initiative?”
Proactivity can greatly reduce the stress of a transition in leadership. When your team takes the initiative to introduce your new leader to their role in development programming, you are setting up your organization for long-term success.
This year has been rocked by events that highlight America’s racism and income inequality. For many of us who are white, it has also been a year of soul searching, and of making sure that our fundraising work doesn’t contribute to the very system of bias we’re working to eradicate.
Often, our habits are not only perpetuating classism/racism, but also cause us to overlook individuals who would make wonderful board members, donors, and stakeholders.
Of course, there are many actions needed to take to become an active ally. Here are six important steps to get your organization started:
The underlying principles of fundraising have remained unchanged for decades. Even as the nonprofit landscape changes, core concepts like the importance of donor relationships and outreach are not going anywhere. However, the application of these principles has changed dramatically over time, especially with the rise in digital technology and online fundraising in recent years.
You and your team spent countless hours planning out your fundraising strategy initiatives: discussing the specifics of scheduling, divvying up roles and responsibilities between team members, and deciding how to successfully track goals. After several meetings and brainstorm sessions later, your annual fundraising plan is finally ready to go!
Now comes the daunting step: putting your fundraising plan into action. Has your organization put their plan to action yet?
Things may not always go as anticipated, and that’s OK. A plan on paper is only as good as its implementation strategy — that’s where we can help.
In mid-December, MacKenzie Scott’s record-breaking gift of $4.2 billion benefitted 384 charities, two of which are TW&B clients. We spoke to these organizations about their reactions, plans, and how this gift will change their futures.
During the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing multiple unknowns, we pondered whether life would return to normal. Now, as vaccines promise to bring the pandemic under control, we can begin to speculate about the year ahead.
2020 has been a year of curveballs and adaptations, many of which will no doubt carry into 2021. After serving more than 50 nonprofits through this year’s challenges, here are our predictions for fundraising in 2021.
As the final weeks of the year fly by, many of us are ready to close the book and start back up again in January. But don’t wish the time away—there’s still plenty your development team can accomplish in this crucial fundraising window!
Your strategic plan presents a bold vision and calls for a campaign to make it happen. A feasibility study is the logical next step. But what happens if leadership gets cold feet?
Treehouse Humane Society, based in Chicago, Illinois, seeks a data-driven Director of Development to expand their major gift fundraising program. This is an exciting opportunity for a development professional with at least seven years of fundraising experience.
CHICAGO, Ill. – The first meeting of the Development Leadership Consortium’s 2020-21 class of Annual Fellows was held on September 24th, 2020 with The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The Annual Fellows is an intermediate professional development program that prepares development officers in the early and intermediate stages of their career in advancement for success in ongoing service to the non-profit community.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is pleased to welcome Al DeSimone to the firm as the newest adjunct consultant to our growing national team.
Online fundraising campaigns present a valuable opportunity for nonprofits to connect with a larger audience and engage them in a new and exciting way. One of the best ways to get started is through a peer-to-peer fundraising program, where you enlist loyal supporters to garner donations on your organization’s behalf.
The recent Blackbaud data breach affected a yet unknown number of its 25,000 nonprofit customers, requiring fundraisers around the world to notify their donors that their personal information may have been compromised. Even if your nonprofit was spared this time, no one is immune to hacking incidents like this one.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is proud to announce the three new additions to our consulting team: Anne Summers, Vice President; Ray Crosland, Adjunct Counsel; and Leonard A. Bertolini, Adjunct Counsel.
This is the second in a series of articles Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is publishing in response to questions we’re getting from our clients and other nonprofits in our community. This week, we’ll be answering the question:
This is the first in a series of articles Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is publishing in response to questions we’re getting from our clients and other nonprofits in our community. This week, we’ll be answering the question:
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the media was abuzz with talk about a “new normal.” As charitable giving rebounded and dollar totals exceeded pre-recession levels, we were tempted to believe things really had returned to normal. But then we began to see the subtle differences of that new normal: growth in overall giving was increasingly being driven by large donors, popularity of donor advised funds diverted dollars away from front-line nonprofits to intermediaries, and giving from mid-level and small donors continued to erode.
As we pass what many believe to be the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, nonprofits must begin to look ahead at what comes next. Undoubtedly, all industries will be entering a period of extensive recovery as the global economy returns to its new normal, and the nonprofit sector is no exception.
Given the turbulent state of our world, there’s no shortage of overwhelm amongst the nonprofit community. Development teams, especially, are faced with the challenge of maintaining some level of stasis in a time of social, political, and economic uncertainty.
Spring event season is upon us, but so is social distancing.
As the number of novel coronavirus cases in the U.S. continues to climb and markets react, many nonprofits are wondering what the impact will be on their fundraising programs. TW&B’s consultants – many of whom ran campaigns and large-scale fundraising programs during the last financial crisis – offer their advice.
Your organization is preparing to launch a campaign – that’s exciting! But are you wondering how you can possibly coordinate and sustain a complex, multi-year, large-scale fundraising effort to achieve a successful result? That’s where your campaign plan comes in.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is pleased to welcome Amy Blumenthal to the firm as the newest consultant on our growing Milwaukee-based team.
In the third part of our series, TW&B client Skills for Chicagoland’s Future shares how they use data to drive their day to day decisions. This is a guest post written by Kirsten Powers; Vice President, Development; of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future.
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future’s mission is to create demand-driven solutions for employers to get the unemployed and underemployed to work. We work to close the workforce skills gap and move the unemployed into open positions by directly responding to the hiring needs of employers. To best advance this mission, a culture of data has been essential to our organization from the beginning. An early iteration of our organization, Chicago Career Tech, operated as more of a traditional train-to-hire program, but data showed that placements from accounts that were more demand (employer) driven had 20-25% higher placements than traditional, classroom-based workforce. This data drove the organization to reorganize, recruit a new board and staff, and emerge as Skills for Chicagoland’s Future in 2012. Since then, data has continued to hold an essential role in the growth and impact of Skills. Over time, the data Skills has collected has helped us focus on:
Tracking retention numbers, placement numbers, and outcome metrics has also led to positive program changes that better further our mission.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt was pleased to serve as one of the sponsors for this year’s American Alliance of Museums Development and Membership (DAM) luncheon at the annual AAM meeting, held in Baltimore. “Museums play such an important role in our society, and we are delighted to serve some of the very best ones in the country as their counsel” said Gene Brandt, TWB President. “Our firm has such a solid background in museum fundraising, starting with our retired colleague, Larry Ter Molen and his amazing career at the Art Institute of Chicago. For years, Larry and I were cross-town colleagues, with him at the Art Institute and me at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The Museum world faces amazing challenges, and we are working with our clients to help them face those challenges successfully.”
Excerpt from “The price of board membership: the give/get” Crains Chicago March 25, 2013:
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt’s recent leadership changes were featured in the “People on the Move” section of the July 28 print edition of Crain’s Chicago Business.
At the end of 2013, Chicago-based Access Living was named #12 in a national list of 16 top nonprofits for people with disabilities. Philanthropedia, a division of GuideStar, surveys foundation professionals, researchers, and nonprofit senior staff to compile the list. While the 15 other honorees work on a national scale, Access Living was the only local nonprofit to make the cut.
The new exhibition “Outside In: Paint for Piece” from our client COCA (Center of Creative Arts) shows the resilience of a community reeling from violence and protest. This collaborative community exhibition displays murals of hope, unity, and renewal in a time when the Ferguson and St. Louis community needed them the most.
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Mary Surridge, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at North Park, with TW&B’s Clyde Watkins and Nora Kyger at Johnson Center dedication
Making the most of donor management software can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of a fundraising program. Outdated methods, like using old software or tracking donations manually through spreadsheets, lack powerful tools like automation and in-depth reporting that can improve an institution’s efficiency and strategy.
CHICAGO, Ill. – The first meeting of the Development Leadership Consortium’s 2019 class of Annual Fellows was held on September 27th, 2018 at The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The class of 20 Annual Fellows was selected from a highly competitive candidate pool of early career nonprofit development professionals.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is pleased to welcome to Meagan Downey, CFRE, as the latest addition to our expanding team.
CHICAGO, Ill. – The first meeting of the Development Leadership Consortium’s 2020 class of Annual Fellows was held on September 24th, 2019 at The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The class of 18 Annual Fellows was selected from a highly competitive candidate pool of early career nonprofit development professionals.
At the time this is being written, the final tax reform bill has not yet been finalized with different versions in the House and Senate; however, several aspects of the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill seem likely to end up in whatever final version can be fashioned and approved. These proposals ought to raise alarm bells for charities of all kinds. The following current proposed tax changes will likely impact the decisions of prospective donors in the future.
In an effort to encourage older Americans to give charitably out of their Individual Retirement Accounts, the charitable IRA rollover was enacted in 2006. This means that IRA owners age 70-1/2 or older can donate up to $100,000 per year directly from their IRA without paying taxes as income. Other charitable provisions that will be extended include conservation donations of land, and incentives encouraging farmers to donate to food banks.
These provisions, which had expired on December 31, 2013, would be retroactively extended until December 31, 2014. The House had voted to extend them this summer, and the Senate has passed it December 16. President Obama is expected to sign it into law.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is pleased to announce the opening of our new office in California, expanding our services to better support west coast clients. Senior Partner, Gene Brandt is heading our west coast operations where he will work alongside June Poust, senior counsel. June brings over 30 years of experience to TW&B, most recently serving for five years as the executive director for development at UCLA.
Networking with a Purpose
The Development Leadership Consortium
Continuing Fellows Reception – January 31, 2013
In no small part, the DLC was created in 1994 to help young professionals in the field of development – or more accurately, advancement – begin to develop utilize a professional network. Succeeding generations of our alumni may or may not have learned to continue this enterprise, but there is not a lot of evidence that they have optimally used our own organization as a device for doing so, hence this evening’s reception.
As part of the continued growth of Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt, we are proud to introduce a number of new additions to our firm.
At TW&B, we’re excited to announce the newest member of our firm.
We are proud to introduce the latest additions to the TW&B team, Amy Funk and Theresa Lipo.
Amy Funk joins us as Vice President of Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt. She has a strong background in cultural institutions and human services. Amy has extensive experience with board development, recruitment, capital campaigns, and annual funds.
Theresa Lipo is a new member of our adjunct team, joining us as Adjunct Counsel for Government and Foundation Relations. Theresa has served human service and educational institutions in Chicago for over 25 years. She’s helped nonprofits secure funds from many levels of government, including the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and federal agencies.
We wanted to learn a little bit more about their backgrounds, their approach to raising money, and what drew them to this work. We asked them a few questions to get started. Read their answers below!
Kevin gave a terrific talk on the importance of social media at the inaugural Development Leadership Consortium’s (DLC) Continuing Education event. See a copy of Kevin’s PowerPoint presentation on networking in the social media era: http://chicagodlc.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/dlc-networking-deck.pdf To learn more and see new events, check out the DLC & SocialRaise.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt, LLC announces the appointment of Jonathan R. Heintzelman as Chairman and Partner of the firm, and Dean A. Rein as President and Partner. They succeed Clyde P. Watkins and Gene S. Brandt, respectively, both of whom assume the title of Senior Partner.
Nora D. Kyger has also become a partner in the firm in addition to her appointment to the role of Executive Vice President.
According to their annual report released today, the Giving USA Foundation estimates that total giving reached $358.38 billion in 2014. This surpasses the peak in 2007 before the Great Recession. This is the highest total since the report began in 1974, in both actual dollars and after adjusting for inflation.
Total giving in 2014 saw a 5.4 percent increase from 2013 after adjusting for inflation. In addition, 2014 was the fifth year in a row that giving has risen. These numbers suggest that philanthropic giving has recovered from the decline experienced by many nonprofit organizations brought on by the Great Recession.
“This year’s report details what we’re seeing among our clients. There is a renewed sense of optimism in the field of development, and these numbers confirm that,” says Dean Rein, president and partner of Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt.
Giving in the United States has reached its highest level ever, surpassing the previous high in 2014 and the levels seen prior to the recession. According to their annual report released today, the Giving USA Foundation estimates that total giving reached $373.25 billion in 2015. This is the highest total since the report began in 1974, in both actual dollars and after adjusting for inflation.
In 2015, giving increased by 4 percent from 2014 after adjusting for inflation. Increases were seen across every giving source for the second year in a row, including individuals, estates, foundations, and corporations. Individual giving, the largest source of giving at 71 percent of the total, contributed an estimated $264.58 billion, which is a 3.7 percent increase from the inflation-adjusted total in 2014. Giving by foundations, which totaled at $58.46 billion, increased by the largest amount of any source, at 6.3 percent after adjusting for inflation.
CHICAGO, Ill. – The first meeting of the Development Leadership Consortium’s 2018 class of Annual Fellows was held on September 28th, 2017 at The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The class of 18 Annual Fellows – the largest class in the consortium’s 20-year history—was selected from a highly competitive candidate pool of early career nonprofit development professionals.
On January 2, 1914 The Cleveland Foundation was born. Its founder, Fredrick H. Goff envisioned this community foundation as an endowment that would pool philanthropic gifts for the betterment of Cleveland. Shortly thereafter, community foundations were created in Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Buffalo. Today there are more than 700 community foundations in the U. S.
Looking to connect with other development professionals, network, share experiences, and learn more about the field of advancement? Applications are now open to participate in one of the Development Leadership Consortium’s 2017-2018 professional development programs.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is entering a new era with a change in leadership. Don Souhrada, formerly senior vice president, will become president and co-partner of the firm with Founding Partner Clyde Watkins, chairman of the firm. Souhrada succeeds Founding Partner Gene Brandt, who retired from the firm at the end of 2017. Souhrada joined TW&B in 2011 following a 20-year career serving several of the most respected universities and medical centers in the country. TW&B’s third founding partner, Larry Ter Molen, retired in 2007.
Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt is proud to announce Amy Funk’s promotion to the role of Senior Vice President.
Over the last two decades, the Development Leadership Consortium has graduated more than 500 nonprofit professionals into the Chicago philanthropic community. The mission of the Development Leadership Consortium (DLC) is to mentor new fundraising professionals and to engage them throughout their careers, encouraging their growth into committed, connected leaders. Since its establishment, the DLC has grown from a small series with a focus on Chicago-based foundations, to a volunteer-run 501c3 organization that, in addition to hosting professional development events throughout the year, offers two unique and highly competitive fellowship programs.
DonorSearch, the wealth screening partner for TW&B, has launched an exciting update with several new features that will benefit our clients.
Chicago, IL – The 2017 Philanthropy Forecast, hosted by the Development Leadership Consortium, was held at Steppenwolf Theatre Company on Wednesday, October 18th, 2017. This annual event, widely attended by development professionals, features a panel of distinguished leaders discussing the current philanthropic climate and the trends shaping the nonprofit industry.
I was very interested to receive information recently about this year’s recipients of the Chicago AFP’s Philanthropy Awards. Congratulations to all of those who are being recognized by our professional chapter. These are indeed singular honors.
It seems that I am continually reminded of the vital importance of volunteers in fundraising. Frankly, I can’t think of a single campaign in which I have been involved over the years that did not boast at least a few very active, engaged volunteers. Obviously, campaign leadership is critical to success, and volunteers who play such an active role are essential to the enterprise. But, the importance of volunteers goes well beyond leadership roles.
When I first became involved with fundraising some 25 years ago, it was more of a career that one fell into by chance. Personally, I was introduced to the world of development through an internship and quickly discovered that there were a lot of things I liked about the work, and it was a good match for my personality.
Is your organization on track to reach its annual fund goal this year?
If your organization is not meeting its annual fund goals, TW&B can help determine how to get your program on track by broadening your base of support and maximizing the total yield from current constituents.
The TW&B Annual Fund Assessment is a chance for your organization to take a step back from the day-to-day scramble to determine what limits your program from reaching it’s true potential. Chances are, the key to unlocking your program’s potential is hidden in your data and we’ll start by evaluating the qualitative data on your existing effort.
I’ve worked with several organizations in the past year to help them find chief development officers. When I review candidates for fundraising positions, I look to see how the characteristics they exhibit during a job search will transfer to their work in fundraising. In every search, there are always a handful of candidates that stand out from the pack.
So what do these great candidates do?
We don’t always agree! I’m not talking about my wife and I, or my 16 year old (we almost never agree!). I’m talking about my colleagues at Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt. I’m talking about when we consult together.
We usually work in teams during our consulting engagements. This enables the client to always have a “go-to” consultant at the ready, even if one of us is traveling or booked. Many times, however,we work together with our client, participating in client meetings together, helping develop strategies together. During these activities, we find that we sometimes agree, but sometimes not. I think the client really benefits when we don’t necessarily agree.
Historically, planned giving and fundraising campaigns have had a somewhat rocky relationship. There is sometimes a dismissive attitude towards planned giving (and, by extension, those making planned gifts) from the principal and major gifts departments of development. This attitude usually stems from the rather erroneous assumption that those prospects opting for planned gifts really are “getting off easy,” and that development shops that promote planned giving enable major gift prospects to take the easy way out.
We have been working with a number of organizations recently that are in the midst of a strategic planning process. I believe strongly in the importance of this type of planning. Without it, it seems to me that institutions have a very limited time horizon for decision-making.
Furthermore, planning gives the organization an opportunity to review and reconsider its mission, vision and values. Perhaps most importantly, particularly from a fundraising perspective, strategic planning affords the opportunity to engage key volunteers and board members in an absolutely vital institutional activity, to weigh-in on the organization’s future direction, and to “own” the final planning decisions right along with the in-house management team.
My son, Christopher, a sophomore at Oak Park River Forest High School, is in his second year on the school’s water polo team. Chris has been a competitive swimmer since he was six years old, when Elizabeth and I enrolled him in the famous Dynamo Swim Program in Atlanta, where we were living at the time. He continued to swim during elementary and middle school on the local YMCA team, as did his sister, Cameron, who was captain of the girls swim team at Oak Park High School this past season. We think that swimming is a great sport for kids, as it teaches them discipline and self-motivation. What you don’t learn in swimming, however, is team work.
As an old fashioned fundraiser who grew up before the advent of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter I recognize that at times I may be behind the curve when it comes to utilizing the latest technology in our industry. I barely understand this blogging stuff, and have to rely on younger and wiser individuals within our firm to help me post these missives. Just this morning, I received an email on my phone, promoting a new giving technique to be used as an application on one’s iPhone. Imagine installing such an app, and then using it whenever the mood would strike you. Amazing stuff!
Hopefully some of you took the time to read a recent story in the New York Times about the upcoming shut-down of the Minitel System in France. The article related that this system, which was a pre-curser of the Internet, provided French families with connections to restaurants, doctors, movie timetables, and all sorts of information for which we now rely on the computer. Apparently, one of the last bastions of Minitel use has been the dairy farmers of Brittany, who have avoided moving to the computer, but now find themselves with little choice, since the Minitel system is about to be shut down for good. Some worry that the farmers are likely to go back to using hand-written registries to maintain records of their herds and to keep track of their business.
I’ll admit it. I’ve been slacking! It’s been a few weeks since I last sat down to write this blog. In the interim, I have traveled a bit, met with clients, played a few rounds of golf and hung out with my family. So yes, I have been remiss in not keeping up with my writing assignment. But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been thinking about it. In fact, just like when I put things off in college, I have been thinking about it a lot!
One of the things about which I have been thinking came to light just the other day. I drove a friend of my daughter, Cameron, up to Lake Forest College on the north shore of Chicago. This friend wanted to look at the College, and I just happened to be going in that direction. It was fun to be back on the Lake Forest campus, where I served as vice president for development in the early eighties. Much of the campus is exactly the same (right down to the carpet in the administration building, which needed replacing when I was there and still does!). The College, however, has made a number of important physical improvements, including a beautiful addition to the Donnelley Library and a major addition to the student union. All in all, the campus looks great.
Regardless of your institution’s reliance on strategic planning as a regular part of institutional governance and management, your case for support will be far stronger if it is based on a recent and thorough review of direction and priorities.
Additionally, many institutions have a difficult time getting their board members to focus on the need for a campaign, and their respective roles in making it a success. Often, this is because the board is put in a reactive position to the institutional objectives presented rather than having a sense of ownership, as their fundamental role requires.
Like any relationship, donor relationships are built over time – you don’t usually begin a relationship with an ask up front—rather, you build slowly, cultivating the relationship, gaining the trust of the prospect and building confidence in your cause.
Budgeting for fundraising should include estimating both contributed revenue and fundraising costs in order to arrive at projected net contributed revenue. Follow the steps below to build a successful fundraising budget for your organization.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In the forty years I have been working in development, the past two decades as a consultant, I have witnessed a significant shift in the degree of reliance on – and even the use of – volunteers in fundraising.
It may be difficult to imagine this, but when I began my service in this profession, it was generally considered unbecomingly aggressive for a staff representative to make an independent solicitation of a prospect. At the very least you took a volunteer along with you.
One of our roles as consultants is to help our clients maintain focus on long-term strategy. The pressures of the day-to-day tend to force most institutional leaders to resort to short-term solutions.
Part of our responsibility is to always be thinking months ahead, preparing our client to face the challenges that lie just around the corner. We also bring a broad base of experience in the larger marketplace to institutional leaders, which can help them to recognize—with time to make adjustments—some of the inevitable challenges they will face.
We’re betting that most of the following will be questions you’ll have to face in one way or another over the next few years, if you’re not facing them already.
Aside from their responsibilities for self-perpetuation, and the selection and oversight of administrative leadership, the two fundamental responsibilities of a not-for-profit governing board are to assure that their institution makes continued progress in the furtherance of its mission, and to guarantee the availability of the financial resources necessary to do so. Both of these latter charges come into sharp focus in relation to capital campaigns.
Why is it that development professionals change jobs every few years? In our profession, we’ve come to expect high turnover, with new hires staying only an average of 16 months at a time.
If you have ever had a conversation with a real estate agent, you are undoubtedly aware of the three rules of purchasing real estate—location, location, location. Well, what is a truism in real estate investment could be modified slightly to identify the three rules of major gift fundraising — relationships, relationships, relationships. Let me explain.
When the Great Recession hit in 2007, many financial advisors were telling investors to stay in the market in order to, eventually, benefit from an anticipated rebound. But that’s the world of investing. In the nonprofit world, this advice would prove to be nearly impossible to follow.
With a decline in the economy, giving also declined. Reduced funding meant that we had to take a hard look at our budgets and make some tough decisions. Many nonprofits were forced to reduce staffing and resources for development operations.
According to the Giving USA report released last week, giving has finally surpassed the high from before the recession. When we’re working with clients, we’re seeing a renewed sense of optimism, and that’s exciting. But how can we make the most of this upward trend to strengthen our development programs and, ultimately, our organizations?
Our firm recently hosted a group of recently minted chief development officers for a one-day conference designed to assist them in their adjustment to the corner fundraising office. The day was spent hearing from experts in the field, individuals who ran non-profits, who had served in top fundraising positions, even a search professional who recruited chief development officers. Feedback on the session was extremely positive and we intend to offer this conference again in the near future.
Who did you include in your last planned giving mailing? If you just mailed to the usual list of donors, chances are you’re missing out.
Our clients North Park University recently completed the most successful campaign in its history. While performing our post-campaign assessment, we examined all of the bequests they’d received during the campaign. We wanted to see to what degree past giving is an indicator of future likelihood of receiving a planned gift, and if there was a relationship between the amount of historical giving and the size of the planned gift.
With Tax Day upon us, it’s important to be up to date on the new tax law and its impact. Here are some of the salient provisions to be aware of:
Do you and your organizations CELEBRATE your donors?
I’m not referring to acknowledgment, recognition or stewardship, but actually celebrating their role in advancing the mission of your organization. Oftentimes nonprofit organizations get mired in the processes and procedures related to gift acknowledgement and recognition systems. Those are important elements of a successful development operation and should not be taken lightly. But by celebrating the gifts bestowed upon our organizations from our varied donor constituencies, we develop stronger, sometimes lifelong, relationships.
By now, most nonprofits are aware that measuring their organization’s impact is a critical step in securing funds from donors. Still, nonprofits struggle to determine what they should be measuring – and how? In order to effectively communicate your organization’s impact to potential donors, you’ll need to properly measure and define your impact in a quantifiable way. One effective way to achieve this is through tracking your indicators and outcomes.
Getting your wealth screening data back can be exciting – look at all those high-level prospects! Yet after the initial enthusiasm wears off, we often see clients with wealth screening data that languishes in an Excel spreadsheet, forgotten in the day to day business of fundraising. Since wealth screening data ages quickly, it’s important to maximize this investment as soon as possible.
I have been spending the last few days in Southern California, accompanying my daughter, Cameron, on a new student weekend at Occidental College, where she intends to enroll in the fall. OXY is a beautiful place, a lovely campus and just the kind of college I was hoping Cameron would choose. And needless to say, for a competitive swimmer, the thought of swimming (and sunning) outdoors year-round must be extremely attractive. If I was heading off to college these days, I’m not sure Galesburg, Illinois would be on my list of top locations to spend four years!
When I was a young development officer, I worked for 5 years at the University of Nevada in Reno. Now, this is the REAL University in the system, not the basketball factory down in Las Vegas! The University of Nevada has a medical school and preeminent schools of mining and agriculture. This place was and continues to be the real deal.
Fundraising was pretty new at the University, and we all wore a number of hats. One of mine was to oversee a major fundraising gala for the academic programs at the University, kind of a counter-point to the huge events held in support of the University’s athletic department. One year, a local hotel (in Reno, they are hotel-casinos) offered us the opening night performance of a revival of a big Broadway show that was coming to town–“Hello Dolly,” starring Carol Channing. Of course, we jumped at the chance to raise academic funds from what we knew would be a very popular event.
I’ll admit it. I tend to be a difficult donor. It’s not that I am an unusually bad person. I don’t constantly ask for favors, request premiums, or bug development officers at institutions to which my wife and I contribute. I do, however, tend to be critical when I see fundraising operations fail miserably in their treatment of donors.
Yesterday, March 1, we received an acknowledgment for a $500 gift that my wife and I made to a Chicago-area animal-care organization. It was a nice note, although admittedly it was pre-printed, and I really doubt if the CEO signed it, since she knows us, but referred to us as Mr. Brandt and Dr. Holland. But hey—this was only a $500 gift—probably not worthy of much more personal attention, right?
Is your fundraising team using analytics to enhance its strategy? It’s an increasingly popular buzzword these days, but it might not always be clear what goes into it or how it can improve your program.
In the world of fundraising, analytics encompasses a variety techniques that use data to analyze donor engagement, research prospects, predict donor behavior, evaluate your development program, and project future fundraising performance.
In the past ten years, social entrepreneurship has grown from a theoretical model to an outright trend. We’re seeing more and more techniques from the business world applied to resolving cultural, social, and environmental issues. This hybrid model is, in concept, a win-win – creating a profitable business that changes the world for the better. The emergence of high-profile Social Impact Bonds in recent years is part of this trend. While they’ve created a lot of buzz, a lot of us in the nonprofit world have wondered how – and how well – do Social Impact Bonds work?
Today’s donors are more independent, more engaged with how their gifts will be used, and more demanding about how nonprofits treat them and their contributions.
For all of us who work at TW&B, spending time on a client’s turf is essential. On site visits, personal meetings, and any other form of direct interaction with the real-life places in which our clients operate is critical for us. This interaction is key for us to shape a case for support, discover fundraising challenges and opportunities, and to develop a plan to advance each organization’s mission. In the case of TW&B client, Cofan Survival Fund (CSF), the “turf” is 1 million acres of the Amazon tropical rainforest in Ecuador, for which the indigenous Cofan Tribe has legal management authority and in some cases, legal title.
This blog is a companion piece to an earlier post, Giving USA: Dissecting the Headlines. Read it here.
When it comes to giving, ultra-high net worth philanthropists and their mega-gifts grab the spotlight. Not long ago million-dollar gifts made the headlines. No longer. Now it’s multi-million- and billion-dollar gifts. In fact, two gifts larger than one billion dollars stole the Giving USA headlines a year ago, credited with pushing total charitable giving past the $400 billion mark for the first time.
I am regularly reminded of a brief talk that our former pastor gave when someone new joined our church in Atlanta. This talk, directed ostensibly to the new member, was really a not-so-subtle reminder to the entire congregation about the importance of supporting the church–the importance of giving.
After he spoke of all of the activities that one could participate in, and all of the important missions that the church undertook, he would talk about the role of congregational giving in making all of these things possible. He would use this great phrase…”it’s not about having to give, it’s about getting to give.” In other words, giving was an opportunity, and members, new and old, were being afforded this opportunity on a regular basis.
As June winds down and summer kicks into high gear, many nonprofits are also closing in on the end of their fiscal year. Whether your year ends June 30, December 31, or on a more creative date, many fundraisers put most of their focus on getting to that finish line.
Chances are you’ll have a lot to be proud of, but while it’s important to celebrate your accomplishments, it’s equally important not to let the celebration last too long into the new year.
Momentum is your friend. It’s understandable to want to catch your breath after sprinting to the finish line. But your new year will be much less stressful if you follow these four tips to help you get a good start at the beginning of the year.
The #MeToo movement is a global phenomenon, raising awareness about the pervasiveness of unacceptable behavior in a multitude of settings. And the nonprofit world is not exempt.
This is a guest post written by Adam Weigner, President of Double the Donation.
If you look for them, you will find numerous reasons why your campaign cannot possibly work. There may be valid reasons to delay the start of your campaign, but the following are not among them!
This is a guest post written by Kim Becker Cooper of DonorSearch. DonorSearch is a strategic partner of Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt.
The National Basketball Association has long griped over how to decide the league’s best player. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is supposed to go to the league’s top player, but there’s argument over what the word ‘valuable’ means.
Is the MVP the best player on the best team? Is he the most irreplaceable player on a team that would be much worse without him? Is he the player who has the most memorable games and moments, despite lagging behind others in certain metrics?
As with crowning the NBA’s MVP, discovering your best fundraising prospects does not boil down to a single piece of criteria.
There are several qualities that can help identify the potential donors who can give the major gifts that will lead to your organization’s success.
Despite the last minute December scramble, the yearend squabbling in Congress brought good news to the philanthropic world. The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) went into effect at the beginning of the New Year. The bill positively affects the taxing of charitable giving. Congress and the Obama administration debated for months about changes to and/or the possible elimination of charitable deductions. It is now up to not-for-profits to reassure their donors that the new bill does not restrict, or place caps on charitable deductions. While lawmakers argued that the Bush-era tax cuts only benefited the extremely wealthy, nonprofits maintained it was these donors that often keep small charities afloat. Middle-income families make significant contributions, of course, but not enough to fuel capital campaigns. Not-for-profits will need to spend this year promoting incentives, and encouraging wealthy donors to stay engaged and active.
I love doing feasibility study interviews. That may surprise you. As a senior member of our firm, I guess I could have bowed out of the interview process a long time ago, assigning them to junior members of our firm. Interviews take time and preparation, and they often require travel. So why be so enthusiastic about doing them? Because, for me, a feasibility study interview is the closest thing in our business to the part of the fundraising process that I have always liked best…major giving. Let me explain.
North Hall at Lake Forest College is an old residence hall. My guess is that it was all men or all women–these were the days before co-ed living facilities on college campuses. The building was renovated in the fifties or sixties to house the College administration. Business office on the first floor, President’s Office on the second, and the alumni and development office on the third. On the fourth floor, which was never really renovated, the old dorm rooms house file cabinets–one after the other, full of alumni records. Every bit of information is in those files, from the student’s original application to the College to any note or letter that was ever sent to him/her as an alum of the College. The files fill a number of the rooms on the fourth floor of North Hall, and I can tell you that it is a bit disconcerting to be sitting in an office on the third floor, thinking of all that weight one floor up. Hey, it’s an old building! I often sat there wondering when that file cabinet with Richard Widmark’s file (he was a graduate of the College and a former acting teacher) would end up in my lap! Trust me, it is hard to concentrate with thoughts like that running through your mind.
All nonprofits should make donor stewardship a top priority because it boosts your organization’s donor retention rate. Beyond simply being more cost-effective, maintaining a highly engaged donor population goes a long way to fuel your nonprofit’s growth. Donor stewardship practices reduce the need for new and costly outreach efforts, increase donor satisfaction, and build a dedicated base of support invested in the success of your nonprofit.
I recently attended a memorial service for a woman with whom I worked a number of years ago. She was a key volunteer at one of the institutions that I served when I was younger.
These events are never easy. This one was certainly sad, but it also celebrated a life well-lived. This woman not only supported our institution, she also clearly made a life out of supporting those non-profit organizations and institutions that were important to her and her family. Many of the attendees at the memorial service had worked with her on one or another of her charitable activities. It was a recognition that she had made a difference in her life—that she had “done good”.
By now, most of us have heard of Marie Kondo’s theory of tidying up – if an object doesn’t “Spark Joy” it should be discarded. But it might also be time to apply those same principals to your fundraising strategy. How many times have you added something to the fundraising calendar because of an article you saw, or a request from a board member, or because another nonprofit was doing it? Over time, those activities add up – filling your schedule with action items that might not even be meaningful to your donors. How many of these activities are actually “Sparking Joy?”
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our new weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our new weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
Nonprofits that typically rely on revenue from special event fundraisers, grants, and direct mail programs may be unsure of how and when to develop an individual major gifts effort.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
Effective boards are a result of the alchemy of many factors: advocacy, engagement, securing resources and giving gifts, strategic thinking and planning, asking hard questions, supporting the leadership, not getting in the weeks or meddling with staff decisions, and camaraderie and respect amongst the board members themselves, just to name a few.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
So you’re hiring a fundraising consultant.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
This term “donor centered fundraising” is used a lot in the fundraising world. The term was brought into popularity by Penelope Burk in her book of the same title, in which she defines donor centered fundraising as “an approach to raising money that inspires donors to remain loyal longer and give more generously.”
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
It’s a question we hear a lot from nonprofit fundraisers, especially as we approach the end of the fiscal year: Should I ask donors who have already given for second gifts?
Amazon Smile and other “donation from purchase” are often popular with boards and staff who might be uncomfortable asking for gifts. It seems so easy – people are already doing their holiday shopping online, and this way your organization benefits, too.
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
As I gently descend into my golden years, some things keep coming to mind that I repeatedly test myself on, and I want to share them with you. The following five recommendations absolutely do not constitute any sort of fundamental commandments; they are simply items that, if you give them some priority in your life, can help make you more successful and, ultimately, happier.
This year it is impossible to ignore – Giving Tuesday has become a real organizing and motivating force for non-profits and their donors to focus on the joys and impacts of giving. In Illinois, as in so many other states, organizations like the Donors Forum are putting their messaging muscle and fundraising tools to the service of their local non-profits.
When preparing for a campaign, nonprofits have two main options to consider — capital campaign (also called a focused campaign) or comprehensive campaign?
You’ve just overcome the competition and were offered the leadership position at your nonprofit organization of choice. But, if you believe that you’ll walk in to find a smooth running development operation, a culture of stewardship, a pristine database and technology system, absolute financial transparency and a Board that is fully engaged in the philanthropic process — you should re-think that assessment.
Donors want their giving to make a difference. They want “their money” to have as much impact as possible, which is why they care about nonprofit overhead. Caring too much about overhead, however, has led donors to conclude that less spent on nonprofit operations means more spent on those being served.
We recently had the pleasure of working with Molly Philosophos and Liz Condon at Hephzibah Children’s Association. Hepzhibah Children’s Association provides group homes and foster care for children from abusive or neglectful homes. Hepzhibah also offers family services and award-winning daycare.
No matter the goal, if you’re looking to dive into a campaign to help you expand, we applaud you! But do you have everything in place to begin? Ensuring campaign readiness will help you to prevent any setbacks during your campaign.
As you prepare for a capital campaign, there are a few criteria you want to be sure you meet before you dive in. Use the checklist below to help you determine if you’re ready for a campaign, or download the printable version here.
Congratulations to your organization for having the forethought to employ an intern to assist in your development program. Too often we see the intern being viewed as a burden rather than a mutually beneficial opportunity. Keep in mind that an intern can learn a great deal about development and your organization while undertaking some short-term projects that you just haven’t had the time to complete. This “on the job” training can help to groom a potential new employee, or at least help the intern determine if development is the right career path for him or her. In many cases it can be a Win-Win experience.
I was interested to read the story in Crain’s Chicago Business this week about the $30 million contribution given to DePaul University by Chicago businessman and philanthropist, Richard Driehaus. One sentence in the article particularly caught my attention. “DePaul’s president broached the possibility of the large gift with Mr. Driehaus in June.” If that sentence is accurate, it suggests that this very significant contribution followed a path similar to many other transformational gifts over the years. It reinforces something that those of us in the major gift business have known for awhile…that large gifts and commitments often take considerable time.
A lot of organizations make some pretty big assumptions about their development programs. These assumptions might sound like: “We need to increase our corporate gifts,” or “Planned giving just doesn’t work for us.”
Nonprofits frequently look at their own previous fundraising results to plan and strategize. But the truth is, it can be a challenge to see what’s working, or what you’re not doing so well, until you have an understanding of how you stack up against your peers.
Think about it. Pretend you are a college student, registered at any given institution, taking most of your courses online with the blessing of the school. Soon, you begin to hear that there are some really interesting classes offered by other institutions that will give credit toward your degree. Then you learn that there are a lot of these courses that you can take for much less money than the tuition your home campus is charging. Then you realize that you can take all of your courses online, from a variety of schools, for a lot less than signing up to attend a traditional campus based institution, even if it offers online courses and accepts others. Granted, the ultimate degree won’t be as recognizable, or as prestigious as the traditional system we have known in this country, but then again, perhaps that’s not what counts anymore.
As all of us are aware, we live in an age of rapidly changing communications systems, and this is causing an unending series of changes to our society – not merely our practices, but how we relate to one another. Written letters have given way to e-mails, and e-mails are yielding to texting. Shared land lines are disappearing in favor of cell phones, and smart phones now mean that many people no longer even answer a mobile call unless its necessity has first been justified in a text message. The social consequences of this include such things as a reduction in the depth and thoughtfulness of interpersonal communications in exchange for vastly increased frequency and breadth of contact. The trend is most obvious among the Millennials, but it is not uncommon to see people of any age busily thumbing away throughout dinner in very nice restaurants, oblivious to their table partners.
“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
– Leroy “Satchel” Paige
I have been struck lately by a fact so distressing that I am reluctant to share it here. I guess I should consider myself lucky that so few seem to be reading my blog!
The fact is that I am getting old. Oh, I can hear you now. “Of course you are getting old. We all do.” Or, “what was your first clue?” Well, it isn’t only that I have lost distance on my driver. It’s not just because I go to bed at 9 pm and wake up numerous times during the night. No, what has hit me hard on this aging issue is noting that just about every development officer with whom our firm works is now considerably younger than me! Ouch!
After our chairman Clyde Watkins offered up his best wisdom for early-career development professionals, we decided to compile the best advice our senior level consultants had to offer. Here are their answers to the question: what do you wish you had known earlier in your development career?
You will never achieve a 100% success rate in recruiting successful volunteers, despite everyone’s best intentions. However, you can increase the likelihood of your success by carefully considering and assessing your candidates before you ask them to serve.
When seeking volunteers to help you solicit gifts to your campaign, look for individuals who have as many of the following characteristics as possible:
In our weekly column, consultants with decades of nonprofit experience answer your questions about fundraising, boards, strategy and more. To ask a question and be featured (anonymously!) in the column, email your questions to info@twbfundraising.com.
