Charities rely more heavily every year on the supporters who give the most, so it pays to keep an eye on how other nonprofits are finding big gifts — and what major donors want from your organization.
The Chronicle has stayed on top of important trends in the quest for big gifts. The roundup below summarizes our recent coverage of the issue:
Face time is more important than ever — and harder to arrange.
Major-gift and planned-giving fundraisers visit only about half of the prospective donors in their portfolio once a year, according to a June study by the fundraising consulting company Ruffalo Noel Levitz. The average donor portfolio includes 142 names.
More selectivity in deciding which prospective donors to pursue can help make fundraisers more efficient, according to a recent study.
Planned giving now relies on innovation.
Campaigns to get residents of places with declining populations to leave 5 percent of their estates or inherited wealth to charity is catching hold in Rust Belt cities and rural towns. “It’s one of the things that even the poorest communities in America can do to position themselves for a better future,” says Don Macke, co-founder of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, a driving force behind the trend.
More organizations are forming planned-giving councils, in which groups of financial professionals advise charities on how to seek and structure bequests and other planned gifts.
The Minneapolis Foundation has hatched a combined endowment and planned-giving effort to capture unrestricted money for the future. The Pay It Forward Forever Fund aims to recruit 100 donors to give $25,000 each — money that will be invested and not tapped for 50 years.
Capital-campaign momentum rubs off.
When organizations are in a high-profile capital or other special campaign, a study by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative showed, their overall fundraising results also improve. But this trend could exacerbate the inequities between small organizations and the larger charities that are better equipped to run campaigns, experts say.
Competition for top fundraisers is getting tougher.
Looking for a major-gifts specialist? Join the club. “It is the hardest position to fill,” says Marian Alexander DeBerry, director of executive search at Campbell & Company. With boomers ripe for securing their philanthropic legacy, demand for fundraisers who can make those requests for money far outstrips the supply of qualified candidates.
To find someone who can handle wealthy donors, charities need to get creative in recruiting efforts, especially those organizations located away from major cities. Or consider grooming other employees for the role.
Generation X is (almost) ready to talk.
While boomers will remain the major source of big gifts and bequests for the next 20 years, the underappreciated group right behind them, Generation X (born 1965 to 1980), are entering their 50s. As their kids move out, their parents die, and their earnings peak, they will begin to get serious about their philanthropy. Fundraisers should get those conversations started and be prepared to offer solutions to their needs.