2011 AFP NC Philanthropy Conference
Aug 8, 2011 Weblog
It’s my pleasure to have been invited to present at the 7th Annual AFP NC Philanthropy Conference in Durham, NC on August 11, 2011.
My session, International Perspectives to Inform Our Best Practices, explores the context for philanthropy and charity for international cultures such as those in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
By understanding these unique cultural perspectives, fundraisers are able to incorporate a diverse approach to their fund development efforts stateside. This should result in improved donor interaction, regardless of target donor demographics.
For your reference I am happy to provide a copy of the presentation handouts (PDF) referenced during my session at 3:15 p.m. on August 11, 2011. The session is located in the Crown Room of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham, NC.
Tags: #afpmeet, AFP, best practice, case study, conference, cross-cultural, culture, fundraising, international, linkage, mission, NC, philanthropy, relationship-based fundraising, stewardship, sustainable
Fundraising Ethics and Corporate Scholarships
Jun 7, 2011 Weblog
I entered my current professional fundraising position after it had been vacant for nine months. Knowing the importance of building relationships with those that had invested their philanthropy in the organization, I spent my first several months meeting all donors who were active at a leadership level. Included in this group were all of our scholarship donors. I noted that over fifteen new corporate scholarship funds were established just prior to my predecessor’s departure and nearly all included a specific sentence in the gift agreement terms and conditions.
Each scholarship recipient selected by the University may be given an opportunity to intern at XYZ Corp, depending on mutual need and consent.
Having worked in higher education my entire career I appreciated the way in which this statement was worded. It indicated to students that the company would like to consider scholarship recipients for an internship, but the company understood that the scholarship award was not contingent on the students’ acceptance of an internship and the University was ultimately responsible for selecting the recipient.
In theory this arrangement would be ideal. However, as I began to make my visits, I soon discovered that they had a understanding of how the scholarship selection process would function which was contrary to the gift agreement. As I made my visits I discovered that these donor companies expected an opportunity to review scholarship applications and resumes prior to the University selection process and the company would be given an opportunity to directly select the recipient. Fortunately, since my position sat vacant for so long I was able intervene before this scheme could be enacted.
I spent considerable time those first several months reestablishing the proper boundaries between benefactor and beneficiary by educating the new corporate scholarship donors on the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards (Standards 13 and 15). The majority of these donors were receptive to this news. However, there was one company in particular that, despite countless personal visits and phone calls, refused to accept the ethical standards I proposed so I would be in compliance with Standards 1, 2, 4, and 5.
The only resolution was for me release this donor from their gift commitment. Provided below are letters sent to the donor in question. Details have been changed or removed to protect donor confidentiality.
Follow-up letter sent after initial face-to-face visit
I am writing to follow-up to our discussion earlier today regarding the XYZ Corp Scholarship at the University.
Please accept my apologies for any miscommunication that might have taken place during the transition of our development office. I do not want this miscommunication to overshadow how much we appreciate the scholarship support and student encouragement created as a result of the investment of XYZ Corp at the University.
Several years ago we did have a scholarship selection committee that helped narrow the pool of potential scholarship recipients. It is on this committee that a select group including representatives from industry were invited to serve and have an opportunity to provide feedback on scholarship candidates. Your interest in establishing a presence on a future scholarship selection committee here at the University has been expressed with our scholarship office. If we resume this method I will notify you of the opportunity.
Moving forward I would like to conduct this scholarship in strict compliance with the summary of gift terms as agreed upon when the gift was created. To clarify any miscommunication, we do not currently have a scholarship selection committee with external representatives and are unable to offer this opportunity for specific scholarships. The point at which a donor gives specific direction on the selection of a student candidate is the point at which the charitable intent of a gift is lost.
Your investment is greatly appreciated, both in the lives of our students and in the life of the University. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Final letter sent to release donor from remaining pledge and to terminate the scholarship
Thank you for your recent call regarding the outstanding scholarship gift pledge of $$$ that the XYZ Corp made to the University. I understand your interest in using the XYZ Corp Scholarship, established in 2007 as a tool in recruiting future graduates to work for XYZ Corp.
Since its inception, the XYZ Corp Scholarship has been administered in accordance with the terms outlined and agreed upon at the outset of the fund. Unfortunately, XYZ Corp has pressed the University to administer this scholarship with terms that fall well outside the original terms. Namely XYZ Corp feels entitled to select student recipients of the XYZ Corp Scholarship.
I am sure you can appreciate our disappointment in not being able to administer this scholarship award in strict compliance with the original summary of gift terms as agreed upon when the gift was created. The University is unable to accept future gifts earmarked for specific students as requested. The point at which a donor gives specific direction on the selection of a student candidate is the point at which the charitable intent of the gift is lost. Because of this, I have instructed the University to write off the remaining pledge balance outstanding for the XYZ Corp Scholarship.
Please accept my apologies for any miscommunication that might have occurred in the establishment of the scholarship. I do not want this miscommunication to overshadow how much we appreciate the scholarship investments XYZ Corp made in 2007 and 2008. The student support provided during these two years was an encouragement in the lives of our students.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Tags: best practice, charitable intent, Code of Ethical Principles and Standards, corporate, ethics, fundraising, internship, pitfalls, pledge, scholarship
Millennial Fundraising Epic FAIL
Jun 1, 2011 Weblog
Typically, this time of year I see fundraising appeals from educational organizations, faith-based groups preparing for summer mission trips, and health-related (education/advocacy/research) groups that sponsor an athletic event (e.g. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team In Training). Over the past four months I’ve received about eight fundraising appeals representing five different organizations. Of these, five have been through social media or in electronic format and stand out in my mind, but not as best practice examples.
Social media and the viral fundraising campaign is highly lauded among large national organizations with high name recognition and stellar reputations. However, a major shortcoming of peer-based appeals is that the responsibility for relationship building is transferred from professional fundraisers to an inexperienced volunteer. A trend I’m seeing among the disappointing appeals is a lack of volunteer fundraising training by these well-respected organizations (or perhaps volunteers are ignoring their training).
The downside of this is that even if a person I know sends me an e-mail or Facebook message asking for my support for their upcoming mission trip or walk-a-thon, I’m unlikely to be receptive to the request if it’s the first time I’ve heard from that person in five years.
As Millennials seek to make a difference, it should be the responsibility of non-profits to engage their volunteers in training to make clear the importance of genuine cultivation and stewardship as a preface to effective asking and engagement. Volunteer training should not focus just on building endurance for the upcoming marathon, but should also spend some time educating on the strengths and weaknesses of permission marketing and their responsibilities as volunteer fundraisers.
Where should these volunteer training programs to start? I recommend the Donor Bill of Rights and the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards.
Tags: best practice, Code of Ethical Principles and Standards, Donor Bill of Rights, e-mail, Facebook, FAIL, fundraising, Millennial, permission marketing, pitfalls, social media, viral fundraising
Perspective on a Fundraiser’s Perspective
May 31, 2011 Weblog
I’m thankful to have Lilya Wagner as a mentor, colleague, and generous friend. She’s been an encouragement these past several weeks but has also been challenging me (in a good way) as we work together on a project. Recently Lilya forwarded me a link to an article relating to our project.
The article, Who are we to talk?, is written by Emily Cavan Lynch, a public health consultant and freelance writer. She poses the question, “would development aid be more effective if it was delivered by people whose life experiences are more similar to those of the supposed beneficiaries?” I find this question quite intriguing.
It has been several years since I took the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam but I vaguely recall one of the questions asking about the demographic profile of a board of trustees. This particular question related to the fact that one of the potential members under consideration to join the board represented, not wealth but, the perspectives of the non-profit’s beneficiaries (if memory serves me correctly, the potential board member represented a racial profile).
In my research of the culture of philanthropy in Ghana and my Ethiopian travels to work with an NGO located there I’ve learned that the best practices of the West don’t translate well to the circumstances of the cultures represented in these countries. I agree on the importance of making a priority to use cultural perspectives to inform the programmatic/strategic aspect of the NGO. The fundraising strategy is no exception to this and should also mirror the cultural characteristics of the native demographics… but how is this done?
Research can get you quite far, but it is no substitute for active listening and deep engagement with benefactors and beneficiaries that represent a different perspective. Let their experience and judgement help guide your work.
Tags: best practice, CFRE, culture
How to Build a Philanthropic Plan
May 2, 2010 Weblog
Over the past several months I have been participating in the mentoring program with my local chapter of AFP. The majority of the meetings with my mentee have focused on helping her articulate a case for support and building a philanthropic plan for the organization’s integrated strategic plan.
To extend the value of the work done with my mentee to others looking to improve their strategic planning skills, we will spend the next several weeks breaking down the parts of a philanthropic plan. The philanthropic plan typically consists of five basic parts. These parts build on one another as your plan progresses to give your strategy clarity. The early sections give detail so that the latter sections can concentrate on providing a concise road-map of actionable items to achieve your development goals.
As with grammar, these parts are listed below to simply to provide structure and a general guideline, but rules are made to be broken (provided you understand the rules and the reason for them). These parts include:
- Organizational Context – mission, vision, history, values
- Philanthropic Environment – fundraising resource audit, SWOT analysis
- Philanthropic Goals – strategic, financial, timetable
- Philanthropic Strategy – cases for support (audience, case, and implementation)
- Benchmarks – staff performance metrics, strategic, financial
Next: Organizational Context
Tags: best practice, case for support, defining terms, fundraising, history, integrated development plan, interest, linkage, management, mission, philanthropic plan, philanthropy, resource audit, strategic planning, SWOT, values, vision