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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So you’re hiring a fundraising consultant.
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?