Fundraising Talks News and updates from the USM Office of Advancement Research

Upcoming Events AGN Webinar: Segmenting Your Audience When: June 21, 2022   Advancing DEI through Data When: June 30, 2022 Prospect Development 2022 When: July 26-29, 2022 Tell Me More... 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.  Abell Foundation (Deadline: July 15, 2022) Burroughs Wellcome Fund (Deadline: June 29, 2022) William T. Grant Foundation (Deadline: September 14, 2022) Mazda Foundation (July 1, 2022) Useful Links Research Resources  Office of Advancement  University System of Maryland   Contact Us Sapna Varghese Director of Advancement Research 301.445.2709 Bethany Jones Office Clerk 301.445.1950 Letter from the Director For advancement professionals, June is when we wrap up fiscal-year fundraising efforts and strategize for the upcoming months. As we move ahead, we may be faced with new challenges such as increasing inflation and the high likelihood of a recession in the near future. While charitable behaviors of donors are primarily influenced by personal values and motivations, economic factors may also play a role in determining their behaviors. Last month, we shared insights from a report by BNY Mellon Wealth Management on how family offices are responding to rapid economic and social change. This month, we would like to share information from a charitable giving study by BNY Mellon on high-net-worth investors’ experience and attitudes toward charitable giving. This report studied individuals with wealth ranging from $5 million to more than $25 million. The study provides information on areas related to high-net-worth individuals’ charitable giving strategy, motivations for giving, types of assets donated to charities, and more. It's not surprising to learn that the greatest motivating factors for these high-net-worth investors are personal satisfaction and connections and not tax benefits. The key findings from this report can help us understand the behaviors of high-net-worth donors and prospective donors and help us create strategies to secure major gifts. Some of the key findings from the report are: Fifty-six percent of high-net-worth investors have a charitable giving strategy, while twenty-two percent would consider adopting one. The majority of high-net-worth investors have incorporated a charitable giving strategy into their overall wealth strategy. Sixty-three percent have worked with a wealth advisor, while 44 percent with family members for advice regarding a charitable giving strategy. The top motivators for charitable giving are personal satisfaction and personal connections. Many report changes in their giving strategy due to the pandemic. Many will consider increasing their giving and support more organizations over the next two years. Donor-Advised Funds are likely to be used by lower AUM investors, while investors with higher AUM may use a variety of charitable giving vehicles. Sustainable investing is primarily prevalent among higher AUM and younger investors. Cash is the asset most likely to be gifted; other assets such as stocks, bonds, crypto, etc., are more likely to be gifted by those with higher AUM. Charitable giving strategy will be impacted by how well wealth advisors understand the values of investors. As inflation rises and a recession looms, I hope fundraising can stabilize by implementing creative strategies that allow donors to respond to the needs of nonprofits even when economic factors are not favorable. One such strategy would be to cultivate younger generations, as they express strong interest in impactful philanthropy that aligns with their values. Another idea is to provide ways for individuals to engage that will elevate their personal satisfaction. We wish you a safe and healthy summer, and continued success with your fundraising efforts. As always, please feel free to reach out to us with questions, comments or any assistance with fundraising research! Best Regards, Sapna and USM Advancement Research Team Did you know? The University System of Maryland Foundation has access to a library of recorded webinars from the Annual Giving Network (AGN) that you may watch at any time from your computer. While we cannot currently gather in person for professional development events, this work from home period provides a great opportunity for you to learn on your own time! Please click here to see what webinars are available from AGN.   If you are interested, please email Linda Bowman (lbowman@usmd.edu) and she will help you access these webinars for free. Please do not try to access these webinars on your own, as you will be charged a fee. Please also note that the Foundation only has access to free AGN webinars, not workshops. Workshops are available at a marginally discounted rate.

Where the Money Is? — and Why That Matters for Nonprofits

NonProfitPRO shares five tips for how nonprofits can fundraise "where the money is."  Demonstrating financial savvy is important when conversing with high-level donors. Make all things financial part of your news intake. Understand that the Federal Reserve Bank is responsible for inflation and many other economic issues. When the Federal Reserve Bank appears in the news, markets have already digested its pronouncements and actions. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have seen major growth, and your organization may be a step behind if it does not have ways to process these gifts. Nonprofit development teams should be equipped to facilitate and talk about bequests and other financially engineered opportunities, taking advantage of trust mechanisms and life insurance strategies. Keep an eye on MacKenzie Scott and others like her - understanding and knowing the basic financial drivers in today's unique economic and political environment will make it easier for your organization to unlock future opportunities.

New Report from Classy Uncovers Donor Insights From Platform Data Across 12 Million Donations

The giving platform, Classy recently released The State of Modern Philanthropy 2022, which breaks down donation trends and insights across the three stages of the supporter funnel. Some key findings and tips include: Consider events for your next driver of revenue Donors give more with more choices End-of-year giving remains critical but organizations must continue to nurture donors Prioritize social media based on your goals Click here for a more in-depth look at these findings.

New Report Finds At Least $1 Billion Given by Wealthy Donors, Corporations, and Foundations for COVID-19 in 2021

Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy released the Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining two years of giving report that looks at Covid-related philanthropic funding in 2021. The report found a concerning decline in giving by large U.S. foundations, despite many communities in need of aid to help them recover from the pandemic. The report also provides actionable steps that funders can take to invigorate a Covid giving strategy. Additional findings from the report include: 18 percent of COVID-19 funding was explicitly designated as flexible funding or general support 17percent of funding was coded for policy, advocacy, and systems change U.S. donors allocated 22 percent of funding dollars to recipients based outside the United States Read more here.

Why Nonprofits Should Consider A Legacy Giving Program And How To Get Started

Legacy giving programs can result in transformative gifts for your organization that bring happiness to your supporters and help secure your organization's future. A major challenge to starting a legacy program is support from your organization's leadership. Overcome this hurdle by researching and sharing data on other successful legacy giving programs. Your organization can work with a philanthropic advisor who can help work donors through the decision process of starting a legacy gift. How do you work legacy giving into a conversation with a donor? Forbes suggests asking open ended questions such as "what do you value," and "how would you like to be remembered?" as well as the book A Spectrum of Legacies by Mark A. Weber. Click here to read the rest of Forbes' tips.

Are Giving Days Over? Not if You’re Doing Them Right

Yearly giving days require a lot of time and thought from staff members in order to execute them well. Oftentimes, nonprofits wonder if giving days are worth all of the effort. Grenzebach and Glier argue that it is not time to give up on giving days just yet. They state, "Giving days offer the most value to institutions by rallying the entire community together around a common goal and creating a sense of urgency for both existing and new donors to take action." With that being said, how can your organization host a successful giving day that is not a major stress on your office? Click here to find out.