Archive for the ‘Donor Cultivation’ Category
New Year’s Resolution: Create A Plan to Execute Your Resolutions
Posted by tmurray in Capacity Building, Donor Cultivation, Organizational & Personal Development, Stewardship on December 28th, 2009
As 2009 ends, many people contemplate resolutions for the New Year. Often the list includes; Exercise more, spend more time with family and friends, stop smoking, or lose that pesky 15 pounds. Good intentions usher in the year. But, sadly, much of the resolute is forgotten by the time the Super Bowl rolls around. Part of the problem is that thinking about a change is one thing; creating a plan and allocating the time to execute the chanage is something entirely different.
At Jeffrey Byrne & Associates we firmly believe that development activities need to become integrated into the daily operations of an organization. As nonprofits plan for the upcoming year—budget, staffing and facility needs—we urge them to also layout their yearly development calendar. This plan needs to be a component of the organization’s overall strategy for success.
Development is about creating meaningful relationships. It is about telling your story and demonstrating your organization’s deep commitment to its mission. It is an opportunity to both brag about successes and communicate your vision for the future.
Start planning now. Take a calendar and mark off when your newsletters or email communications will go out to your key stakeholders—clients, friends, current contributors and potential donors. Additionally, take note of all of your fundraising and/or donor cultivation events. Now on a blank sheet of paper write down all of the other opportunities that might be helpful in developing new relationships. Decide Who, What, Where, When, Why and How these opportunities will be actualized and schedule them Now. The time is now. Before you know it will be the 4th of July.
Rolling Over an IRA: A Terrific Year-end Opportunity
Posted by John Marshall in Donor Cultivation, Legal, Legislative & Tax, Stewardship on December 17th, 2009
I recently returned from a visit with a client in New Hampshire where I was informed that a donor had recently made a second gift to the capital campaign for $50,000 and did so through an IRA Rollover. You may still have time to share this terrific opportunity with a select group of your prospects and generate a lovely gift for your organization.
As you may have heard, The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 included a provision that extended the availability of the IRA Rollover through December 31, 2009. This inclusion, included in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, had previously expired at the end of 2007 but was extended by then President Bush.
Here are the details
The IRA Rollover allows individuals who are at least 70-1/2 to make tax-free distributions of up to $100,000 from an IRA to their favorite charity, subject to the following qualifications:
- The donor must be 70-1/2 or older at the time of distribution.
- Limited to $100,000 per taxpayer, per year. A married couple can donate up to $200,000 provided each spouse owns at least one IRA and can make a qualified charitable distribution of $100,000 from their plans.
- Gifts must be outright. The contributions cannot be used to fund gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts
- Applies only to IRA’s, not other forms of retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), etc.
- Gifts cannot be made to donor advised funds and supporting organizations, including most private foundations.
- Gifts must be made directly from the IRA to the charity.
Religious Fundraising
Posted by Judy Keller in Donor Cultivation, Faith-Based Giving, Technology on October 12th, 2009
Here’s an excellent article for anyone involved in fundraising for a faith-based organization:
www.nptimes.com/instantfund/09Oct/IF-091008-1.html
How Full Is Your Glass?
Posted by JBA in Campaign Planning & Management, Donor Cultivation, Fundraising in a Recession on September 15th, 2009
In today’s challenging fundraising environment, I am continually reminded of the old saying “is your glass half full or half empty?” Viewing your challenges as opportunities for positive change classifies you as a “glass half full” person. We should all be striving for a “full glass of opportunities” if we are to be successful at our jobs in today’s world.
I don’t know about you, but I have very little room in my life these days for the glass half empty person. They steal my energy and passion for my work. They create a sense of negativity in meetings and planning sessions when they say we cannot raise money now and maybe should not even be trying! I cannot imagine encouraging our clients to stop fundraising because times are tough – we just need to think of new opportunities that will boost our efforts right now and into the future.
So, given that I am definitely that “glass full to the top” person, what are some of the opportunities where we can focus our energies with the ultimate goals of stabilizing our resources and raising more money?
Here is what fills my glass these days: (Click to Read)
A Remarkable Act of Generosity
Posted by JBA in Boards & Leadership, Donor Cultivation on August 18th, 2009
“[W]hatever you do … don’t ever forget that people always come first. If you pay attention to them and show that you care every bit as much about them as you do their philanthropy, well, truly wonderful things can happen.”
We have all heard about donors making million-dollar-plus gifts and the impact such generosity had on the recipient charity. In America, this generosity is evidenced regularly with hundreds, even thousands of million-dollar gifts occurring annually.
Like most fundraisers, I think about what truly motivates a person to give that much away and what I can do to see about getting such a gift for my clients. There is no doubt that a worthy organization with a particularly compelling need can be successful in attracting seven-figure gifts. But, I have found over the years that almost as important is taking the time to get to know your donors and paying particular attention to “the little things.”