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.
November means National Philanthropy Day, which is observed annually on November 15. National Philanthropy Day was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 1985, and we hope that you're considering celebrating donors that support your institutions this month. To acknowledge National Philanthropy Day, we're sharing some insights from Rockerfeller Philanthropy Advisors' report, “Philanthropy in Higher Education: Priorities and Approaches of Private Foundations,” which will help us better understand some top priorities and issues that concern private foundations that support higher education.
The report was published by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and TIAA Institute and was created to observe trends in charitable giving by private foundations in support of postsecondary education. This is an extension of a study published in 2017. I would like to point out the three key areas that are supported by foundations.
Student access and success: Private foundations are primarily focused on supporting low-income students and minorities to begin and complete their postsecondary degree. This trend was identified in the 2017 report and continues to be a top priority for foundations. Foundations support access and success for low income first-generation students, especially in areas such as transitioning from high school to college, career readiness and employability, student support services, affordability and financial aid, and social and emotional learning.
Policy, advocacy and system reform: The report indicates that larger foundations are more likely than smaller foundations to support policy, advocacy, and system change. Foundations interested in system-level change are more likely to fund policy and advocacy that can have an impact across the post-secondary landscape.
Educational activities: Foundations are providing grants to support areas such as faculty professional development, research and equipment, and curriculum development. These foundations provide grants to improve academic and classroom experience for students.
Foundations looked for three general characteristics when deciding to give grants to educational institutions: strong leadership, student demographics, and student success. Ultimately, it is interesting to note that “strength of relationship” emerged as the top decision factor for a private foundation to choose a higher education institution. This proves that it is important for leaders of higher education institutions to develop long-term relationships with local and national funders.
We hope you think of this report when aligning your grant proposals to major issues identified by top funders in higher education.
As always, please feel free to reach out to us with questions, comments or any assistance with prospect research!
U.S. News and World Report says that corporate giving and social investment has climbed more than ten percent in recent years. According to the report, companies gave most to health and social services initiatives, followed by community and economic development programs, and higher education and K-12 education. Read more here.
Pursuant Insights released their first Donor Loyalty Benchmarking study in order to help organizations improve retention and increase the lifetime value of their donors, regardless of how they engage with an organization. The study analyzed over ten years of individual giving data from 21 nonprofit organizations in multiple sectors, including the Washington National Cathedral and Pepperdine University. While this is a small sample size, the findings reinforce larger studies' findings. The study found that 62 percent of donors have only given the participating organizations one gift in their lifetime and that organizations were able to offset poor donor retention rates with large volumes of new donors. Read more here.
As we mentioned in the Letter from the Director, tailoring grant proposals to align with top funders' strategic interests is a great way to stand out. It's never a bad idea to brush up on your basics, which is where this article from sgENGAGEcomes in. sgENGAGE offers five tips on how to find, apply for, and manage a grant at your organization.
sgEngage offers five ways to keep your organization's fundraising strategy fresh to engage new and old donors alike. They believe using technology, prospect research, peer-to-peer fundraising, web design, and social media are the keys to keeping a fundraising strategy up to par. Read their suggestions in full here.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven personalization has become expected thanks to social media feeds and tailored email campaigns. As unsettling as it can be, online window shoppers have come to expect to see a jacket they viewed on a shop's site in a targeted ad later in the day. Stores aren't the only ones that can use artificial intelligence to their advantage. Universities can and should use AI to curate a personalized stream of information to their graduates--after all, shouldn't one's alma mater know them better than Netflix or Amazon? Institutions can use tools such as AI chat bots that can start conversations with donors that produce quality leads. Read more about using AI at your university here.
