Upcoming Events
September 15
(Joint ADRP/APRA Webinar)
1:00 pm EST
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Looking for funding opportunities? We've identified a few funds that might be useful to you. Visit the links below to learn more about the requirements and deadlines for these opportunities.
Chesapeake Bay Trust
(Accepting Applications for Maryland Outreach and Restoration Projects)
Deadline:
September 28, 2016
Deadline varies by region
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Letter from the Director
Dear Colleagues,
With summer winding down, we are getting ready for a busy fall semester. This year, we are in the middle of a presidential election campaign cycle. In this message, I want to give you some helpful tips to use political donation data to increase fundraising at your institution.
Blackbaud recently released a report, "Giving in an Election Year," based on data from the 2012 election cycle. The study reveals that political donors continued to support their charitable causes and are more likely to increase their donations to charities during the election year. This means that you might want to adjust your giving targets if your prospect is also a political donor. To see which prospects are political donors, check some of the available free websites such as
Federal Election Commission (FEC) or
Follow The Money.
According to
Donorsearch.net, "donors that have given over $2,500 in FEC and charitable giving, which account for 3.8% of records analyzed, make up 54.6% of total monetary donations and are 14 times more likely to give a philanthropic donation than the average person." Also, "donors that have given over $500 in FEC and charitable giving, which account for 14.4% of records analyzed, make up 74.3% of total monetary donations and are five times more likely to give a philanthropic donation than the average person."
Given these trends, it would be wise to take advantage of the current election cycle to identify political donors and leverage that information to raise more money.
As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or need assistance with prospect research. We wish you continued success in your fundraising efforts.
Best Regards,
Sapna and USM Advancement Research Team
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With impact investing, there is a limitation of data available among foundations on dollar amounts devoted to social change. This makes it challenging to determine which foundations engage in the most impact investing. The Gates Foundation, however, is the undisputed leader in the game. Information - the foundation's dollar amounts along with a list of investments - was made readily available by their staff and website. This article emphasizes the need for data to be made accessible to compare impact of investments at institutions.
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As compared to the first half of last year, charitable contributions declined during the first half of 2016. The good news is the decrease in 2016 was short-lived due to a sharp increase in contributions in February but the article encourages non-profits to be cautious about the second half of the year. The general consensus is that donors are pessimistic about the economy.
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When nonprofits reach out to constituents using email, the case they make about their cause is key to whether a donor will support or walk away from a cause. What a fundraising email must do is maximize a constituent's donor user experience. This article provides tips on how to construct a fundraising email, what the donor should read when first opening the email, and what to do after your call to action. The donor user experience ("DUX") must be positive when your email is sent seeking support to your cause.
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College presidents raise money every year from donors outside their institutions. However, sometimes it is worthwhile to solicit gifts from within the institution. Indeed, gifts from presidents themselves can motivate faculty and other staff to be donors. This article provides examples of big donations from a president. Philanthropy from the top-down can play a huge role in "big ask".
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When it comes to big data, some nonprofits have struggled, where others have had great success. A new book,
Data Driven Nonprofits, presents five critical characteristics of successful data-driven nonprofits. These characteristics illustrate that utilizing data will help a nonprofit make better informed decisions when it comes to strategy.
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