According to GG+A, women donors are ready and willing to do more to create positive social change, but existing systems used to identify and engage donors were not made with women in mind. Women often have different philanthropic priorities and respond to different messaging than men. As such, it's important that your institution knows where women give, why they give, and how fundraisers can most effectively engage them. In this article, GG+A takes a close look into engaging women donors, rethinking donor evaluation systems that often favor men, understanding women's motivation to give, and creating an effective communication strategy. 

Understanding the multitude of reasons why someone may give to your institution is vital to transforming your institution's fundraising process. The Millennial Impact Project studied why donors across different generations gave. They found that donors first give because they want to belong - whether it means belonging a cause or among their peers - and often before they even fully understand the mission of the nonprofit. How can you replicate the work of the Millennial Impact Project at your own institution? Nonprofit Tech for Good suggests scheduling regular check-ins with board members and donors and conducting online surveys and asking why your supporters give. 

As noted in the Letter from the Director, several sources indicate that colleges and universities reported a strong fundraising year in FY22. According to Inside Higher Ed, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Oklahoma and Virginia Tech are just a few of the many universities that reported fundraising years that surpassed prior years' records. "Penn State reported commitments of more than $437 million, up from the previous high of $381.2 million; the University of Oklahoma counted $317 million in gifts and pledges, surpassing last year’s record high of $237 million; and Virginia Tech hauled in $268.5 million, up from last year’s record of $200.3 million." The article from Inside Higher Ed also delves into why this may have happened in 2022 and what to expect in the future. 

Another article from Forbes corroborates the information found in the Inside Higher Ed article, and breaks down their findings by public research universities, comprehensive universities, HBCUs, and private colleges. 

As we know, inflation is threatening American finances as well as American's generosity. Fortune asked Americans why, how, and to whom they donated their time and money over the past year and found a number of trends from their research. First, they found that the support a nonprofit receives depends on the age of their donors. 49 percent of those 44 and younger volunteered last year, while only 31 percent of those older than 44 volunteered. Those 45 and older instead made financial contributions. Next, men were more likely to community development, disaster relief, and the military. Women were more likely to support animal welfare groups and religious causes. Human services-focused charities did better with those over 45 and younger Americans gave more to educational charities. 

NonProfitPRO outlines four steps to build a legacy society, which was originally presented by Gregory M. Wilson, CAP, CFRE and director of client services, and Colleen Bowman, marketing director, Planned Giving Marketing, at the Bridge Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The steps are as follows:

• Build a planned giving strategy
• Create a legacy society
• Develop a marketing plan for your giving society
• Commence outreach about your legacy society

Read more here.