Archive for the ‘Stewardship’ 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.
Does absence make the heart grow fonder?
Posted by JBA in Stewardship on July 8th, 2009
After nearly 20 years of absence, my alma mater has decided to reconnect with me for the purposes of fundraising. I’ve had messages from the Director of Development, personal letters and lots of other informational direct mail.
I’m not sure how I feel about their recent efforts to reach out. At times I am disturbed because there was no communication for such a long time. But knowing what I now know about fundraising, I guess it’s better-late-than-never.
Should I now feel engaged with my alma mater and consider a donation, or is it right to harbor some level of ill-will after all these years?
Regardless of how I react, it goes to show that good stewardship has a rather lengthy life-span.