Don't Tell the Donor.org

A fundraiser awakes from hibernation

2009-03-03T08:15:00.001-05:00

The weirdest thing happened to me this morning... I woke up and got out of bed and my back felt kinda stiff... like I'd slept on my shoulder funny or something... and then I noticed that my breath smelled like my teeth hadn't been brushed in five months...

I checked my cell phone only to see 128 voicemails and over 2,700 emails. Weird, I didn't remember being that popular when I fell asleep...

Is it possible I've been sleeping for 5 months? I tried to figure out why my stupid alarm clock hadn't awoken me from my slumber, I noticed that I must have set it on "hibernation" mode before I fell asleep.

Can somebody fill me in if I missed anything in the world during the last 5 months that I was sleeping?

The Great Gorilla Run

2008-09-30T14:27:00.005-04:00

We ask our donors to do (and put up with) a lot... but have you ever asked them to dress up as a gorilla and run 4.3 miles?

According to The Sunday Telegraph, this past Saturday's sixth annual 7K Great Gorilla Run in London featured 750 runners raising money for the Gorilla Organization. Some say the race had over 1,000.

Participants in London had to pay 75 pounds and promise to raise another 400 pounds in sponsorships.

Race spokeswoman Jillian Miller, estimated the race would raise nearly $400,000 in London... but the event has quickly spread to a worldwide phenomenon. In San Francisco last year, the event drew an equally crazy crowd.

Here is a cute video from the San Francisco event in 2006.

Not your father's economic crisis

2008-09-23T13:10:00.003-04:00

Even grizzled fundraising veterans who have been through many recessions in the past are beginning to realize this is not your father's economic crisis... someonew who has been doing this job for three decades sent me this quote from the DMA Digest:

NONPROFITS BRACE FOR SLOWDOWN IN CHARITABLE GIVING.
The turmoil on Wall Street could further curb a giving environment that was already slowing down. The failure of Lehman Brothers and pain at other big firms threaten to cut into the corporate and individual donations that more than a million nonprofit organizations rely on for basic operations and charitable programs. Worse for charities, the height of the financial crisis is hitting just before the end of the year, when nonprofits typically bring in the largest amount of revenue as Americans open their wallets around the holidays. Officials at charities are trying to devise creative ways to stand out. They are making urgent appeals through direct-mail and email campaigns and taking to the airwaves. Charities also are gearing up to tap their wealthy board members and other well-off supporters for extra cash. If they fail, charities may have to cut staff or seek loans. The collapse of corporate balance sheets, along with strained household budgets, could start cutting into the more-than-$300 billion national charitable-giving pie. US charitable donations only grew by 1% adjusted for inflation in 2007, according to the Giving USA Foundation. That was before the worst of the housing correction and the current Wall Street crisis. In a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of 77 businesses, 50 said they expected giving to remain flat in 2008. US companies donated an average of 0.8% of their pretax profits in 2007, down from 1.4% in 2004, according to Mark Shamley, president of the Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals. "Companies are looking to cut expenditures across" the board "and corporate giving is going to be part of that," he said.

I still think the biggest threat is that more banks are going to fail and I think too many nonprofits don't understand how FDIC rules apply to charities.

Told you so?

2008-09-18T13:09:00.004-04:00

I'm too busy this week to remind readers that I told you so... instead, I'll simply point out a link to an oldie, but goodie from early July of 2008. Enjoy.

And in case you aren't panicked enough... here is a link to an article about what happens to charities when the bank they use goes bust. Don't think this isn't happening already.

If you haven't reviewed FDIC rules on your nonprofit's (and affiliate's) bank account you are gmabling with your donor's money. Next week might be too late.

This is a good Q&A from a treasurer for a local Habitat for Humanity group on FDIC rules regarding their affiliate accounts.

Sprinkle my ashes or else Planned Parenthood gets $50k

2008-09-15T11:20:00.004-04:00

It's been six weeks since Bruce E. Ivins, the alledged anthrax suspect, killed himself. However, his cremated remains are still stored at a funeral home in Maryland awaiting bizarre probate proceedings.

According to The New York Times:

In a will he wrote last year, a few months before the Federal Bureau of Investigation focused the anthrax letters investigation on him, Dr. Ivins wrote of his wish to be cremated and have his ashes scattered. But fearing that his wife, Diane, and their two children might not honor the request, he came up with a novel way to enforce his demand: threatening to make a bequest to an organization he knew his wife opposed, Planned Parenthood.

“If my remains are not cremated and my ashes are not scattered or spread on the ground, I give to Planned Parenthood of Maryland” $50,000, Dr. Ivins wrote in the will. Court records value the estate at $143,000.

Ms. Ivins is a former president of Frederick County Right to Life, according to F.B.I. records. Bruce Ivins played keyboards at a Catholic church in Frederick and described himself in e-mail messages as “pro-life,” but he was not an anti-abortion activist, said his lawyer, Paul F. Kemp. Ms. Ivins declined to comment, Mr. Kemp said.
I'm not sure if I've ever heard of a donor who uses his/her will to encourage action by threatening to make a donation to a group that the surviving heirs hated.

I think I'm going to add an addendum to my Last Will and Testament today that my heirs need to continue this blog once I die or else...

Story of Cindy McCain's disgraced charity gains attention

2008-09-12T11:20:00.005-04:00

I'm not so arrogant to think that my story from last week finally prompted the mainstream media to pay attention to a huge story they have been ignoring... but I am just righteous enough to remind politicians that if they are going to brag about their philanthropic efforts starting a charity... they should be compelled to tell the rest of the story if it involves you getting your drugs from a charity that you put at risk:
A doctor with McCain's medical charity who supplied her with prescriptions for the drugs lost his license and never practiced again. The charity, the American Voluntary Medical Team, eventually had to be closed in the wake of the controversy. Her husband was forced to admit publicly that he was absent much of the time she was having problems and was not aware of them.

"So many lives were damaged by this," said Jeanette Johnson, whose husband, John Max Johnson, surrendered his medical license. "A lot of good people. Doctors who volunteered their time. My husband. I cannot begin to tell you how painful it was. We moved far away to start over."

McCain's addiction also embroiled her with one of her charity's former employees, Tom Gosinski, who reported her drug use to the DEA and provided prosecutors with a contemporaneous journal that detailed the effects of her drug problems.
But if you still think my outrage is over the line.. please... keep emailing me.

Podcast on new IRS Form 990s

2008-09-11T10:00:00.004-04:00

If you don't know how the new Schedule G from the newly revised IRS Form 990 will effect your organization's fundraising reporting, you can now listen to a podcast with Geoffrey Peters, president of Creative Direct Response, who recently provided very useful information on how to get your organization ready to fill out the schedule.

Geoffrey Peters, a fundraiser and lawyer, is a noted legal expert on the regulation of nonprofits and their fundraisers. Download his complete bio.

Go to the Foundation Center to listen to the podcast.

Why the collapse of Freddie and Fannie scares fundraisers

2008-09-09T21:46:00.007-04:00

A lot of people are being hurt by the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. As a fundraiser, I can't help but focus on the philanthropic implications. During a press conference describing the takeover, the government said it "will review the charitable activities."

That doesn't sound like good news...

Cuts in giving to the groups Freddie and Fannie supported will have major ripple effects. Let's consider this description from the Washington Post:

By its account, Freddie Mac, along with its foundation, has invested more than $348 million in the community to date. Last year its annual Hoops for the Homeless campaign, a celebrity-studded basketball tournament to fight family homelessness, raised $900,000 for six local nonprofits that included Hannah House and So Others Might Eat.

Last year Fannie Mae dissolved its foundation -- an organization that has put more than $1 billion into education, affordable housing, education and economic development programs since 1979. The company said its philanthropic activities would be handled in-house, and it continued to give to local organization and initiatives. Among its 2007 programs, the company pledged $10 million to improve infrastructure in D.C. schools and $1 million in grants to help revitalize D.C. neighborhoods. Its annual Help the Homeless walkathon raised more than $7 million last year to support 175 local homeless service providers, such as Reston Interfaith, last year."

Some of you may remember that the embattled mortgage giants came under fire this past summer for making sizeable contributions to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Annual Conference.

According to the conference program, obtained by an NLPC staff member who attended the event, Freddie Mac, as a “Platinum Sponsor,” paid $150,000. Fannie Mae paid $100,000 to be listed as a “Diamond Sponsor.”
Combined these guys also gave almost $2 million in contributions to politicians during the 2006 election cycle.

I mean... Freddie Mac was recognized by the Washington Business Journal and Greater D.C. Cares as the top corporate philanthropist in the Washington region.

Do you understand how big this is?

A fellow fundraiser once told me that the only news worse than hearing that a major donor has been indicted is that a major donor has declared bankruptcy. Trust me. I have experience with this one... it's not always easy making a bankrupt corporate donor make good on a charitable pledge.

30 fundraisers in 60 days

2008-09-05T10:53:00.004-04:00

According to the Wall Street Journal:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear at around 30 fund-raising events in the next two months leading up to Election Day – about one every two days on average, officials with Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign said today.

Yet, no announcements on whether or not she ever plans to answers questions during a press conference.

Did she really steal drugs from her own charity?

2008-09-04T22:02:00.003-04:00

Cindy McCain looked so nice in her speech at the GOP convention tonight.

It's hard to believe they featured the story of how she started her own nonprofit called the American Voluntary Medical Team, but they left out the part of the story where she was investigated by the DEA for stealing drugs to feed her addiction to prescription painkillers.
I believe she wore red that day. She granted semi-exclusive interviews to one TV station and three daily newspaper reporters in Arizona, tearfully recalling her addiction, which came about after painful back and knee problems and was exacerbated by the stress of the Keating Five banking scandal that had ensnared her husband. To make matters worse, McCain admitted, she had stolen the drugs from the American Voluntary Medical Team, her own charity, and had been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The local press cooed over her hard-luck story. One of the four journalists spoon-fed the story -- Doug McEachern, then a reporter for Tribune Newspapers, now a columnist with the Arizona Republic (and, it must be added, normally much more acerbic) -- wrote this rather typical lead:
"She was blonde and beautiful. A rich man's daughter who became a politically powerful man's wife. She had it all, including an insidious addiction to drugs that sapped the beauty from her life like a spider on a butterfly."
Hmmm. But that's old news, right?

Jerry Lewis telethon tops $65 million for MDA

2008-09-02T16:23:00.004-04:00

You gotta hand it to Jerry Lewis.

The "freewheeling 82-year-old showman" co-hosted the 22-hour telethon yesterday that raised a record $65 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual Labor Day event.

Despite the sluggish economy, the 43rd annual fundraising blitz was $1.2 million more than last year's total. Even more impressive... the host also urged viewers to contribute to the Salvation Army's emergency disaster services because of the threats from Hurricane Gustav.

McCain's major donor tips off VP pick early

2008-08-29T10:03:00.006-04:00

As the political world waits to hear who McCain will pick for his VP... it appeared that much discussed front-runners like Pawlenty and Romney were out. After initial reports showed that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was still in Alaska, some reporters thought she wouldn't be at the big high noon rally in Dayton, Ohio.

But then... reports surfaced of a second plane from Alaska to Dayton... and who owns that second plane? None other than Clay Lacy.

Major donors always ruin everything...

UPDATE: Political junkies may enjoy this article I found from earlier this year "Sparks Fly Over Palin Fundraising Role,"

What happens to charities deposits when their banks fail?

2008-08-28T16:52:00.004-04:00

When a bank fails and the FDIC seizes possession, most people know that individuals are insured by the government up to $100,000. There are exceptions for joint accounts and retirement accounts... but the people who usually get screwed by businesses that have large sums of money on deposit.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in the UK is worried that charities would that have their funds in a bank that fails would be ruined.

The Charities Aid Foundation has written to Chancellor Alistair Darling and the Financial Services Authority requesting full compensation for charities if they lose money in bank failures.
CAF has asked for the proposal of full compensation for charities to be included in an FSA consultation on compensation limits, which will take place in the autumn.

Yikes. That's scary. I have to admit, I don't know what the rules are in the United States... nor do I know who would be lobbying the FDIC to look out for charities?

Cow pie bingo and the poop pool

2008-08-27T10:43:00.004-04:00

When I was growing up, a local group used to raise money during my town's annual summer fair with an event called the "Daisy Drop."

It's known by different names in different parts of the country... some people call it "cow pie bingo" and others call it "cow chip fundraisers" or even a "poop pool."

The rules were pretty simple... donors could buy a square of land in a big field... then a poor cow (named Daisy) would be released and everyone would wait to see where she dropped her first pile of crap... and if it landed in your sqaure - you won a 50/50 raffle of cash.

It's gross and it's somewhat cruel to the animal involved to have hundreds of locals yelling at it with begging pleas to dump on their square... but I credit this as one of the turning points in my life that made me want to learn more about fundraising.

For some reason, when I read this morning that "five out of the seven winners of the Dar es Salaam Goat races held in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, donated their cash prizes to a charity fund pool," it brough back childhood memories of Daisy.

Foundations and endowments hit by market slide

2008-08-26T08:31:00.001-04:00

It seems like only yesterday when foundations and non-profit endowment managers were talking with lustful jealousy about their desire to get involved with hedge funds that could return double digit gains.

Well, it's hard to believe we won't be hearing from some of the bigger losers who chased out sized market performance and lost bundles. According to Investment News:
Endowments have posted double-digit returns since 2004, according to a survey of 785 institutions by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a Washington-based professional organization. It found a one-year average return of 17.2% for fiscal-year 2007, 10.7% for 2006, 9.3% for 2005 and 15.1% for 2004.

But that reign is over.

A recent report from Chicago-based Northern Trust Corp. found that year-to-date returns through June 30 were negative for the third consecutive quarter for its database of 291 funds, which include 90 foundations and endowments with $91 billion in assets.
While I'm sure that there will be some big blow-ups... much are expecting flat to moderately negative returns:
On an anecdotal basis, foundations and endowments are experiencing flat to negative returns, said John Griswold, executive director of the Commonfund Institute of Wilton, Conn., which researches nearly 800 endowments of colleges and private independent schools, and about 300 foundations.
And finally, some people believe that the big dogs like Harvard and Yale will escape without serious injury this year:
Some larger endowments may have positive returns, such as Harvard University of Cambridge, Mass., which is expected to have returns that range from 7% to 9%, according to published reports not confirmed by the university. The university reported this year that 33% of its endowment's holdings were in real assets.

"I think you can expect Yale [University of New Haven, Conn.] to be positive again and many of the large universities, which have a heavy allocation to private-capital investments and commodities," Mr. Griswold said. "But for those who came into commodities only recently, they may have found it disappointing."
You can read more here.

Critic sneers at public television's bland fundraising

2008-08-26T01:02:00.005-04:00

Apparently Richard Levey at Direct Magazine wasn't impressed with WNYC's recent fundraising appeal. His new column offered this scathing review:

When a fundraising appeal goes into its 11th consecutive minute, and each minute seems like an hour, this is a problem.

The most interesting part of Lehrer’s appeal came when a WNYC associate flumfurred his way through an explanation of the 2-for-1 donation match deal offered by station trustee Lex Kaplan. Lehrer and his cohort puzzled through the math of the offer: Was it a 200% match or a 300% match, they wondered. Not the most riveting content, at least it was an attempt to liven up the proceedings with something unscripted.

Unscripted is apparently a no-no. When the appeal was rebroadcast during the wee hours of the night, this particular portion was cut out. Which was a shame, as it was easily the most human part of the pitch. Ah, well, everyone’s allowed a mulligan now and then, especially when it’s part of a good cause.

His parting shot contained this back-handed compliment:

When WNYC is at its best, it’s smart and engaging. Why its fundraising drives have the pizzazz and verve of last week’s pot roast is a mystery not even A Prairie Home Companion’s Guy Noir could untangle.
I think it's an important (although ignored) detail whether or not Mr. Levey is (or ever has been) a donor to WNYC...

Fundraising goal finally met for Democrats convention

2008-08-22T15:08:00.004-04:00

The Denver committee responsible for raising $40.6 million in funding for the upcoming Democratic National Convention received a lot of negative press earlier this summer when it feared they would miss the goal.

Well... it looks like they really turned on the juice this past month. This week it was announced that the group met its goal.

Political consultant Eric Sondermann said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper should be credited with helping the committee garner the funds deemed necessary to adequately support next week's convention in the Colorado city, The Denver Post said Wednesday.

"I think you have to give credit where credit is due," Sondermann said. "(Denver Mayor John) Hickenlooper has been tenacious about this and never gave up, even when a lot of people figured we would have to make this a success even if it has to be scaled down."

The group's successful efforts come more than a month after it reported it was $11 million short of meeting its June deadline for DNC funding, the Post reported.

The mayor said that the rate of fundraising increased 2 to 3 times in the last four weeks.

Salesforce.com offers disappointing outlook

2008-08-21T12:43:00.005-04:00

Shareholders reacted negatively today to news from Salesforce.com, Inc.'s disappointing outlook. Shares were down more than $10 at $55.15 (about 16%) in early trading on worries about the software-as-a-service company's future sales growth amid macro economic concerns.

A lot of nonprofits use Salesforce.com - so, here's the part that should serve as a warning to fundraisers:
Analyst Charles Di Bona of Bernstein Research said the shaky economic environment may be hurting Salesforce.com's business as some of its key customers, small and medium-sized companies, reel from the slowdown.

"We are concerned that SMBs, which make up 2/3 of Salesforce's customer base, may suffer more markedly than their larger counterparts amid any ongoing economic weakness, and that this may in turn impact Salesforce's bookings, new and renewal, and ultimately Salesforce's top line," Di Bona wrote. "Indeed, Salesforce appears to have had some softness in its deferred revenues and bookings in the quarter, perhaps giving fuel to this concern."
This is what I would call a leading economic indicator. That's right folks... we've been saying it at Don't Tell the Donor since late 2007. Smaller and medium sized nonprofits are going to feel this pain a lot sooner than the big dogs.

Oh yeah, and by the way... Goldman Sachs said today that half of the world's economies are in or will be in a recession within the next year. So much for our "second half recovery," huh?

These are the two most dangerous people

2008-08-20T08:17:00.000-04:00

From Fundraising Success Magazine:

"[The] 57-year-old direct-marketing manager who works for a health charity [who] has been doing direct-mail fundraising for most of her career … and right now, she’s sitting in her chair asking herself, ‘Do I really have to figure out all of this Internet stuff before I retire?’ [The] 26-year-old account executive at a New York-based online agency [who] created his first Web site at 17 … and he’s sitting there saying, ‘Oh my God, this guy is going to talk about direct mail and I couldn’t care less.’ Together, these are the two most dangerous people in direct marketing today."

— OMP President Frank O’Brien in his keynote speech, "The Six Dynamics Shaping the Future of Fundraising," at last week’s 2008 New York Nonprofit Conference.

Arriving in mailboxes on the same day

2008-08-19T07:33:00.003-04:00

I tell you what... if I worked at a large national environmental group and saw that my annual calendar fundraising mailing arrived in mailboxes within days of my two biggest competitors mailing their calendars... I'd be pissed.

These things aren't just bad luck. They are evidence of some poor planning.

Who would you be most angry with? Your list broker who cleared the mail plan (especially if they represented one of the other groups)? Or the creative agencies for not getting better competitive intelligence? Or do you just blame the direct mail gods for your terrible misfortune.

Either way, it makes all three groups look bad. Not to mention... why do I even need my 2009 calendar before September even gets here?

Operation Smile wins 2008 Nonprofit Organization of the Year

2008-08-18T04:44:00.002-04:00

I got this press release last Friday:

The Direct Marketing Association's Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) today announced that Operation Smile is the winner of its 2008 Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award, which annually recognizes an outstanding achievement by a nonprofit organization using direct-response marketing to advance its mission. The award will be presented on Friday, August 15 at a luncheon that will conclude the DMANF's New York Nonprofit Conference, which will be held August 14-15 at the world-famous Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.

Commenting on this year's award, Brian Cowart, chair of DMANF's Awards Committee and senior director of mail acquisition and donor retention at ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, said, "Operation Smile exemplifies excellence both in its mission and fundraising programs. While its direct marketing innovations and strategies are forging new paths in fundraising, more importantly, they're garnering an increasing level of support and awareness for their wonderful work. As this year's award recipient, we recognize and honor Operation Smile's contributions as an industry leader and for the fundraising success that is helping to positively impact the lives of thousands of children all over the world."

Operation Smile is a worldwide children's medical charity that provides free surgery to children in developing countries who were born with facial deformities. Founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen S. Magee, a nurse and clinical social worker, the organization is dedicated to providing free surgery to children suffering from facial deformities, while fostering sustainability and capacity building in each developing country where they work.

"We believe that every child deserves to live their life with dignity, and for those suffering with cleft or other facial deformities, dignity begins with a smile," said CEO and Co-founder Dr. Magee. "Operation Smile has been able to mobilize a world of compassion to change children's lives."

For an unpopular guy, Bush sure is one heckuva fundraiser

2008-08-17T22:24:00.004-04:00

From the Los Angeles Times:

"His approval rating is hovering about the 30% mark in most polls, about as low as Harry Truman's back in the day.

But President Bush is still a muscular draw on the campaign trail, raking in roughly $70 million so far this year, according to a story on the president's fundraising prowess by the Associated Press. Among the hard-core, said California Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, "He's a bigger fundraising draw than [Republican John] McCain."

Tucked from view, often in private homes at events closed to the media, Bush has raised money for the Republican National Committee as well as House candidates in safely Republican districts. At one event, in Napa's exclusive St. Helena territory, Bush managed to raise $850,000 in 90 minutes -- almost $10,000 a minute (notcounting drive time)."

Some estimate that he has raised almost a billion dollars for the GOP during his two terms in the White House. That's unbelievable.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

2008-08-11T09:06:00.004-04:00

For the seventh month in a row, the good folks at The NonProfit Times have published one of my columns on their web-exclusive editorial section. This month I focused on the struggle faced by fundraisers who are trying to raise money in the most environmentally responsible way possible.
Despite the fact that I send out millions of pieces of direct mail every year – I don’t consider myself part of the junk mail industry. However, it doesn’t take “a fundraiser” to understand that sloppy attempts at sweeping reforms to “green-up” direct mail could very well be devastating for nonprofits that rely on it for lifesaving funds.

It’s hard for anyone to defend the staggering environmental damage from direct mail. I recently saw one Web site estimate that the average American receives 41 pounds of solicitation mail every year. That’s a lot of trees…and water… and oil… and toxic environmental by-products.

And for the kids who think direct mail is bad now… 20 years ago mail production was horrid.
You can read the rest of my post on the NPT website.

10,000 donors warned not to attempt "swift boat" attacks

2008-08-08T14:04:00.009-04:00

There is no question that scurrilous attacks by the infamous 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth helped sink Senator John Kerry’s presidential bid in 2004. However, this year a new group is warning conservative donors that any attempt to use the same "Swift Boat" tactics will be meet with an aggressive response.

Led by Tom Matzzie (pictured here), the group Accountable America is planning to send 10,000 top conservative donors a warning letter next week. According to the New York Times:

“We want to stop the Swift Boating before it gets off the ground,” said Mr. Matzzie, who described his effort as “going for the jugular.”

The warning letter is intended as a first step, alerting donors who might be considering giving to right-wing groups to a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.

The group is also hoping to be able to respond if an outside conservative group broadcasts a television advertisement attacking Senator Barack Obama, or another Democratic candidate, by running commercials exposing the donors behind the advertisements.
Of particular interest are major GOP donors "including Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino mogul, and Mel Sembler, a former ambassador and real estate magnate, both major donors to Freedom’s Watch, a conservative group.

It remains to be seen how successful Accountable America will be since outside political groups organized as 501(c)4 entities do not have to disclose the names of their donors.

In fact, Ed Patru, a spokesman for Freedom’s Watch told the New York Times that if donors feel too scared to fund deceptive or slanderous attack ads - his group is more than willing to continue shielding them from public scrutiny.

Convio decides not to take company public

2008-08-05T09:45:00.005-04:00

I've been told that Gene Austin at Convio sent out an email to clients this morning explaining that they "have chosen not to remain on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission to become a public company. Simply put, good companies don't go public in bad markets."

He also points out that Convio "processed $377 million in online donations on behalf of clients during the first half of 2008."

That's a lot of money.

For those of you that remember, I issued a friendly challenge to Austin earlier this year that if Convio "can process over $820 million for their clients in 2008, I will reveal my secret blogger identity."

Group challenges ethics of police telemarketing campaign

2008-08-04T21:52:00.007-04:00

A new organization called 2 CENTS is publicly challenging the fundraising practices of the Sarasota-based International Union of Police Associations (’IUPA’) and their for-profit telemarketing contractor.

The group claims that "IUPA raised $4.8 million in public donations last year, but spent $4.3 million of those donations in the fundraising process, including $1.9 million in fees to a for-profit telemarketing company called LAS, LLC."

According a press release on Marketwatch, 2 CENTS recently "voiced support for a resolution that will be introduced at the national convention of the IUPA on August 6-9 in Orlando, Florida. The Resolution on Ethical Fundraising will request that IUPA comply with the standards set forth by the Association of Professional Fundraisers."

Last month, 2 CENTS sent out another press release where they complained about telemarketers at IUPA having criminal records. At the time, the group said they were "highlighting poor telemarketing practices that deceive the public" and that they believed that the telemarketing industry requires greater scrutiny, especially since telemarketers handle sensitive consumer information such as credit card numbers.

They went on to say "2 CENTS believes law enforcement organizations should have higher standards for fundraising. Allowing people who engage in such behavior to solicit donations is irresponsible."

I'm interested to see how IUPA responds next week to the increasingly loud drum of protest 2 CENTS is banging.

Bombshell internal report leaked on Shriners Hospital fundraising

2008-07-25T10:48:00.009-04:00

An internal investigative committee established by the joint boards of the Shriners of North America fraternal organization and the Shriners Hospitals for Children has released some disturbing accusations about fundraising.

The New York Times published this copy of the 23-page report which is stamped CONFIDENTIAL and "Attorney-Client Priviledged." Stephanie Strom's article says:

"The committee found that the chairman of the Shriners Hospitals Board of Trustees, Ralph Semb, sought to dismiss a fund-raising executive who had refused to hire a direct-mail company Mr. Semb and another board member tried to steer him to."
Semb (who is pictured here) denies any wrongdoing, the documents go on to report:

"Most of the committee’s report relates to the dismissal and rehiring of Mr. McGonigal, who said he did not hire the direct-mail company favored by Mr. Semb and Mr. Bracewell because the company appeared to have ties with Vantage Financial Services, which had performed poorly for the Shriners in the past.

The Shriners employed Vantage to handle fund-raising for the hospitals from 1999 through 2003. Out of $46.2 million raised by Vantage, the Shrine received only $2.5 million, according to the report."

Seems like there might be a lot more funny business going on than just those tiny hats and the mini-cars they drive at parades.

UPDATE: I was referred to this website which has more juicy information on Vantage:
“The Vantage Group and its subsidiaries Vantage Financial Services Inc. and Vantage Direct Marketing Services Inc. have agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle civil postal fraud charges,” said directmag.com, also in 2003.

It continued, “The government’s complaint, which named Henry R. Lewis (then Vantage’s CEO) and Harry S. Melikian (then Vantage’s CFO), alleged that while conducting fundraising programs for nonprofits, the company improperly mailed 78 million pieces of mail at the reduced nonprofit rate, knowing they were not entitled to use the rate for their cooperative mailings.”

Apparently, the story goes like this:

"The complaint, filed in 1998, noted that in 1990 the Postal Inspection Service investigated Vantage for sending illegal cooperative mailings.

At that time, a U.S. Postal Inspector informed Vantage, Lewis and Melikian that mailings sent pursuant to Vantage’s standard contract were ineligible for the reduced non-profit rate because Vantage had a financial stake in the mailings. As a result of the 1990 investigation, Vantage and one of its non-profit clients paid a postage deficiency to the government.

In response to that investigation, the complaint said Vantage revised its standard contract to make clear that, in the future, Vantage would not have a financial stake in the programs it conducted on behalf of non-profit clients.
Based on the revised contracts, the Postal Service permitted Vantage to mail at the non-profit rate on behalf of its nonprofit clients.

The complaint alleges, however, that Vantage then entered into secret
“side letters” with many of its non-profit clients, agreeing to take a financial
state in the mailings."

I should would be curious who leaked the internal Shriners report...

Why the Bridge Conference really impresses me

2008-07-23T23:35:00.005-04:00

You have to be impressed with the 2008 Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference.
The award-wining event (which is being held this week in Washington, DC) has attracted more than 1,600 participants. The program guide boasts 14 separate tracks covering everything from direct response, major giving, marketing, creative, current issues, and many more. There are an unbelievable 75 sessions. They have more than 90 vendors in the exhibit hall.

...but wait, there's more.

They scheduled keynote speakers Jim Stovall and Lynn Price. They timed the DMAW MAXI Awards to be given out the night before. They've even set up their own LinkedIn Group, a Facebook Group, and a page on Twitter.

Don't forget... this was the conference that Beth Kanter's turned on it's head last year with her web 2.o coverage. Thanks to her trail blazing... the expected standard of online coverage for fundraising conferences will never be the same.

What if it doesn't get better in 2009?

2008-07-21T07:25:00.003-04:00

Paulson might be about six months too late, but at least he is warning people that these tough times are going to last months. As long as only 10% of economists are predicting that the economy will contract in the second half of this year... it's obvious that people still don't understand the extent of this problem.

Personally, I think fundraisers need to prepare for the fact that there will be no recovery in 2009. This is not a typical six month recession... and all those "expert" fundraising jokers who are out there saying that they have 30 years of experience fundraising and have survived many recessions in the past should be reminded that we need to be prepared for an extended period of fear and economic stress.

How would your fundraising plans change if you knew for a fact that there would be no recovery until 2010?

Hillraisers with huge egos

2008-07-18T15:34:00.005-04:00

Proving once again that major donors usually don't give a damn about the mission or the cause... they are more addicted to the power and recognition that goes with a major donor's ego.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and senior adviser to Sen. John McCain, met with a group of 25 prominent supporters and fundraisers for Sen. Hillary Clinton at a private home in Westchester County, NY. The group included several so-called "Hillraisers," each of whom have raised in excess of $100,000 for Clinton's failed primary campaign. The meeting was repeatedly sought by the Hillary supporters and is at least the second such meeting between backers of Clinton and the McCain campaign.

An organizer of the meeting, Amy Siskind, said that the pro-Hillary groups represented pledged to help deliver, "hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of votes," to McCain if the groups find areas of agreement between themselves and his campaign.
...oh yeah... no way they can get, "maybe millions of votes."

Kate Barr is not happy with ACORN

2008-07-18T11:19:00.002-04:00

I agree with Kate... it's hard to think of how anyone can justify ACORN's reaction to this story. I know it's painful to say. Trust me, I love ACORN and the important work they do.

I'm not saying I agree with the wackos like Michelle Malkin or the Consumer Rights League, but this is a really big fuck-up.

Thank god for whistle blowers. This one was a true hero.

Four CRM case studies

2008-07-18T00:05:00.003-04:00

Reed over at the AFP blog pointed out a great article yesterday by Anthony Pisapia and Brett Bonfield from Idealware:

"Managing Constituent Relationships: Four Case Studies" tries to explain how four organizations have implemented CRM and what their experiences can offer others. The authors take a complete look at the product, the cost, the implementation, the challenges, and the words of advice.

The examples they cite are the NY-NJ Trail Conference, which used a database software called ebase; Hispanics in Philanthropy selected Microsoft CRM 3.0; Washington Toxics Coalition recently migrated from ebase to Salesforce and finally, Easter Seals uses a combination of Convio and Team Approach.

The rest of the article is on the TechSoup website.

Where do mail recipients go for info on charity?

2008-07-16T22:24:00.005-04:00

Mark Hrywna reported yesterday that The NonProfit Times engaged the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) in Princeton, N.J., to repeat a study it performed three years ago for The NPT. ORC asked 1,000 people: "When you receive a mail solicitation from a charity, which of the following places on the Internet do you look at before deciding whether to give money?"

Here are the results:

Yup. I guess you can call that a dramatic shift. It seems just as soon as everyone was just beginning to understand that their website is their authoritative online voice...

Those rules have changed.

More than four out of ten people look up their information on an independant rating agency, an online discussion group, or a blog. That's quite a change from just 36 months ago.

Not so blind item

2008-07-15T08:09:00.001-04:00

Which disgraced former executive for a well-known disaster relief organization was rumored to be applying for the vacant position of Gautier City Manager down in Mississippi so that the alleged baby daddy can be closer to his Southern Belle's new baby?

Vastly different approaches

2008-07-14T13:23:00.004-04:00

Stephanie Strom at the New York Times compares the vastly different approaches taken by Acorn and the Points of Light Institute when each learned off potential financial embezzlement.

Acorn chose to treat the embezzlement of nearly $1 million eight years ago as an internal matter and did not even notify its board. After Points of Light noticed financial irregularities in early June, it took less than a month for management to alert federal prosecutors, although group officials say they have no clear idea yet what the financial impact may be.

A whistle-blower forced Acorn to disclose the embezzlement, which involved the brother of the organization’s founder, Wade Rathke.

The brother, Dale Rathke, embezzled nearly $1 million from Acorn and affiliated charitable organizations in 1999 and 2000, Acorn officials said, but a small group of executives decided to keep the information from almost all of the group’s board members and not to alert law enforcement."
Yuck. But wait it gets worse:
"Wade Rathke said the organization had signed a restitution agreement with his brother in which his family agreed to repay the amount embezzled in exchange for confidentiality.

Wade Rathke stepped down as Acorn’s chief organizer on June 2, the same day his brother left, but he remains chief organizer for Acorn International L.L.C.

He said the decision to keep the matter secret was not made to protect his brother but because word of the embezzlement would have put a “weapon” into the hands of enemies of Acorn, a liberal group that is a frequent target of conservatives who object to its often strident advocacy on behalf of low- and moderate-income families and workers."

Don't you see... they kept it a secret so as not to give their enemies a weapon.

Travel voucher horror story hits Points of Light Foundation

2008-07-10T23:07:00.002-04:00

The NonProfit Times broke a story this week about an unfolding scandal at the Points of Light Institute.

"An estimated 1,100 customers who purchased travel vouchers for airline flights from the Points of Light Institute’s store on eBay have been left with nothing. The Points of Light Institute has closed that area of the eBay store and is working with law enforcement to investigate what it is calling “significant financial and operational irregularities.”

Each reservation is for one to four people, so as many as 4,400 travelers could be impacted. Sources told The NonProfit Times that travel had been booked through May 2009 that could total more than $1 million."

Michelle Nunn, president and CEO, was interview by The NonProfit Times on Tuesday and tried to explain how the organization uncovered the scandal.

"Two senior managers learned of the irregularities through customer complaints, which they explored and ultimately verified through an independent contractor, and reported to Nunn on the evening of June 26, she said. Customers were notified of the situation late Friday, July 4, at which time the refund application process began.

Because of the ongoing investigation, Nunn could not elaborate on the type of “irregularities.” She said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., was contacted within 24 hours, as was the organization’s counsel -- McKenna, Long & Aldridge -- which is doing its own investigation."

It's amazing what kinds of problems managers can actually uncover when they explore customer complaints. Sounds like whoever was pulling off the scam set-up a complex way of hiding what they were doing. Apparently, the organization is still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
"The independent contractor was terminated “as soon as we learned of these issues,” Nunn said. The contract was created and begun in 2003 as a program of the Points of Light Foundation, which merged with the Hands On Network last year. The independent contractor, Maria Herrmann, was a former employee in business development at the Points of Light Foundation, but Nunn did not know the duration of her employ prior to that.

Herrmann is no longer listed on the organization’s Web site and calls to her cell phone and home phone were not returned. A woman answering the door at Herrmann’s Washington, D.C. residence told a reporter she could not help her and declined to say if she was in fact Maria Herrmann."
Call me a cynic, but the whole idea of people raising money for charities by selling discounted travel vouchers sounds shady. Call me a purist, but I get really queasy when the donor's motivation is driven by the idea of "getting something for free" instead of for the donor intent being on helping support the mission.

In hindsight, I wonder if the Board of Directors sees this observation by The NonProfit Times as a damning indictment of the senior management and their own culpability is allowing this to happen:
Despite thousands of tickets being sold, Nunn described the eStore as a “very small enterprise,” grossing about $100,000 and netting $15,000 in the fiscal year ending 2007. She explained that the numbers "are the totals that were reported on our books and in our audited statements of Points of Light Foundation (pre-merger). The recent discoveries obviously do not align to these numbers and that is what is under investigation.”
The NPT story can be from here and to read about a traveler's horror story, go here.

UPDATE: Some people at the eBay Forums website think that incentive travel company Mitch-Stuart, Inc. is to blame. I wonder if there is going to be a blame game coming next? Hermann was quoted in the NPT in May of 2007 talking about Mitch-Stuart.

What’s Eating The List Industry?

2008-07-06T22:22:00.004-04:00

For the sixth month in a row, they published one of my columns on The NonProfit Times web editorial page. You should go read the entire post on their site... along with an articles by Eleanor Clift and Rick Cohen.

Here's a teaser:
"During the past year, the [list] industry has endured a combination of: shrinking list universes, a weakening economy, lots of bad publicity, increasingly organized backlash against “junk mail,” and the aggressive expansion of cooperative databases. More importantly, nonprofits with established mail programs are beginning to ask questions about the saturation of the shared donor universes and whether there are better ways to reach new donors."
I tried to explore each of those factors in the piece... although, admittedly I'm not really what you could call "knee-deep" in the list industry... so I'm observing many of these patterns from afar. If you disagree, I'd love to hear about it.

Do you wanna know where I've been?

2008-07-02T19:43:00.004-04:00

In addition to the thousands of people who visit this website every month or read my stories via RSS, more than 700 people are signed up to receive Don't Tell the Donor by email. In the two weeks since I last posted to this blog, many of you have emailed to ask where I've been or why I stopped writing. So... I'm going to tell you:

I bought a time machine.

That's right, a small metal chair rigged to flux capacitor which only requires 1.21 gigawatts of electrical power to send me flying forward or backward in time. Despite my lifelong promise to myself that if I should go back in time and steal someone else's invention or stop myself from making all those mistakes I made in high school... alas... I decided to use the time machine to travel into the future to share with you what fundraising will look like next year at this time.

It's worse than just not good... it's downright scary.

The housing market isn't going to get better. As a result, I guess it was inevitable that banks like Wachovia, Washington Mutual, PNC Bank, and Fifth Third were going to go belly-up... but, even I was surprised to see General Motors and American Airlines file for bankruptcy.

Unemployment soars above 6% and many of you lose your jobs as smaller nonprofits begin to disintegrate in larger numbers. I hate to say I warned you this was going to happen... but I even ran around with my hair on fire trying to get your attention.

This isn't a normal recession. Unfortunately, this is an unraveling of a massive credit bubble... and it will not end through the normal cyclical economic patterns.

The truth of the matter is that you don't need a time machine. The writing is already on the wall. Target Analytics reported yesterday that revenue declined in the 1st quarter of 2008 for 60% of the 72 large organizations in their benchmarking study. Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reported individual and corporate giving actually declined in 2007 when adjusted for inflation.

So... go back to living in denial if you want to... or you can adjust yourself and your fundraising programs for the new economy... either way, it's not going to get better for at least another year.

Convio uses Akido to redirect attacks

2008-06-18T08:54:00.001-04:00

Rather than me posting yet another entry about Convio, I decided to lift this message that Robert L. Weiner from the Strategic Technology Advisors to Nonprofit and Educational Institutions posted to a fundraising listserve yesterday:

Convio just announced that they will be releasing a donor database, code-named Akido, on the SalesForce.com platform. This will be a separate product from their online Constituent Relationship Management suite -- you don't have to be a Convio CRM client to use the database. They also say it's not simply a new template for SalesForce, but a product built from the ground up. Info is at: http://www.convio.com/signup/crm-system.html

As of now, the database is only available through what they're calling their Charter Program (which I read as beta testers). The program announcement includes a FAQ (at the bottom of the page) about the database and the program, plus some promotional videos: http://www.convio.com/convio/news/charter-media-room.html

And if you want more, Gene Austin, their CEO, is blogging about the new database here: http://tinyurl.com/5uldng

They plan to release the product in the 2nd half of this year. They haven't announced pricing.

For those of you that are curious, Akido is a form of martial arts that combines sport, philosophy, and religious beliefs. The irony for me is that Akido is known for "blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on." It can also be categorized under the general umbrella of "grappling arts."

Too funny.

From the stories I've heard of people who have tried to integrate online and offline data from their eCRM provider... it sounds like they picked the perfect name to redirect one of their biggest criticism into a new business opportunity.

Have you seen Victoria Tanner?

2008-06-17T13:12:00.008-04:00

Police in Ohio are looking for a 12-year-old girl who goes by the name Victoria Tanner. The girl is accused of scamming "hundreds of people out of hundreds of dollars" by claiming to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

NewsNet 5 showed this video to viewers today. Scam victims say they believe the girl is being coached to enter a restaurant, ask permission to solicit funds, and promise season passes to an area amusement park. Some police even think the girl's parents are coaching her.

"She tells you that her dad manages Cedar Point and will give you a free season pass for $40," Heather Lobello of All Paws Pet Grooming in Parma said. "I've been waiting for over a week to hear from her or get the tickets. When I called the number she gave me -- a bogus number -- the person on the other end said 'you've probably been scammed.'"
The charity is not receiving the money and the donors are not receiving the amusement park passes (big shocker!). The scam has covered a 360 square mile area over the past week.

In related news... I bought some magic beans from a guy near my office yesterday. He told me that it was worth paying $40 for the handful of beans because they would grow some huge stalk to take me to magical places... as of yet - no stalk.

Red Cross says domestic disaster dollars depleted

2008-06-16T21:56:00.006-04:00

It's been less than three months since the Red Cross announced that Jeff Towers would be the new chief development officer for the Red Cross. Technically, he's only been on the job since May 5th.

Even though he might have missed the executive shake-up from this past winter, a major RFP process for new fundraising consultants, a contenious funding relationship between local chapters and the national office, and ongoing attention from pesky bloggers... today he is dealing with a serious fundraising problem.

The Associated Press is reporting that during a conference call today, Towers said that its Disaster Relief Fund is wiped out and it's being forced to borrow money to help flood victims throughout the Midwest.

The shortage in the organization's only domestic disaster relief fund comes as it continues flood relief efforts in soaked Iowa and ramps up its work downstream in Illinois and Missouri as more flooding is expected there. Officials said the Red Cross has 2,500 workers on the ground, 89 percent of them volunteers.

Joe Becker, senior vice president of disaster services, said the fund has been depleted over the past few years in the absence of large-scale disasters that bring attention to the relevance of the Red Cross.

"We have had a large number of mid-size disasters or silent disasters that have cost us a considerable amount of money where we've not been able to raise what it's cost us to provide that service," he said.

So far the flood relief work in the Midwest has cost $15 million. Towers estimated that the cost could rise to $40 million and that funds are desperately needed. If you would like to donate now, you can do so by clicking here.

If your birthday is June 11th...

2008-06-11T23:38:00.002-04:00

A very close friend of Don't Tell the Donor is celebrating their birthday today. Unfortunately, "a fundraiser" was too busy trying to raise money to share any cake and pass along best wishes in person... here's to hoping a special blog post will do the trick!

Happy Birthday.

Bloggers challenge Gene Austin from Convio to announce his over/under goal for the year

2008-06-10T00:03:00.002-04:00

On June 5th of last week, Tom over at The Agitator posted this article:

Courtesy of Don’t Tell the Donor blog, I just saw Convio’s reaction to Blackbaud’s purchase of rival Kintera. In it, Convio CEO Gene Austin comments that in April alone, Convio processed over $41 million in online contributions for its clients.

So here’s my question for you, Gene…

Are you ready to predict a $500,000,000 (that’s a half-billion for you creatives) online fundraising year for Convio clients? That’s getting to be big money!

Even though it was this site that originally posted the number, Austin must have decided not to post to Don't Tell the Donor directly. Instead, Austin posted this challenge to a bet on the comment thread at the Agitator:

Gene Austin on June 5th, 2008 10:53 am
As we all know there is a fair amount of seasonality in fundraising (Spring, October and the end of year), but I actually think $550M is achievable this year. Remember that this is only actual online giving and many of our clients will testify that their offline results are significantly impacted by their online communications and strategy.

If you are a “betting man” Tom we could put a little wager together on $550M. If we don’t hit it, I will fly you to our Summit and pay for your registration….now what do I get if we beat it?

When I read the bet Austin was making, I couldn't wait to offer my own Vegas-style lines on what Convio's expected donation processing total will be for 2008. At first I thought the SEC might be supisicous if I was to publicly comment on how many donations I thought would be a reasonable over/under... but my urge to gamble made me get involved.

I assume the first stated over/under number of $500 million was determined because Tom multiplied $41 million from April by 12 months (that would be $492 million for you math geeks). So, part of me thinks if Gene's bravado is ready to drop a number like $550 million as an even higher over/under... that means he's holding back his real estimate.

But how much higher should the real over/under be?

First, we need to set some realistic benchmarks:

I know a couple organizations that raise 5% of their total online revenue during the month of April. That means their total annual revenue is 20 times the amount raised in the month of April. If we apply those metrics to this bet, the over/under should be $820 million. That would be an impressive accomplishment.

So, I'll tell you what. If Convio can process over $820 million for their clients in 2008, I will reveal my secret blogger identity on the Agitator's blog. Live. What do you think about that challenge Gene?

You can protect a lot of liberties for $335 million

2008-06-09T23:05:00.006-04:00

Tonight in New York City, the caped crusaders over at the ACLU announced the public phase of the largest fundraising campaign on behalf of civil rights and liberties in American history. According to the group's press release:

"The $335 million "Leading Freedom Forward: The ACLU Campaign for the Future" is an unprecedented effort to build the organization's infrastructure by increasing funding to key state affiliates nationwide, dramatically enhancing advocacy capabilities and securing the ACLU's financial future for generations to come."

The group already has raised more than 2/3 of the money:

"The campaign has already raised more than $258 million - over $102 million in cash and pledges and $156 million in planned gifts - highlighted by 21 contributions of $1 million or more from the ACLU's staunchest supporters and several of the world's most noted philanthropists. These include two gifts of$12 million, one from George Soros, through his Open Society Institute, and one from the Sandler Foundation. Other leadership contributors include the Leon Levy Foundation, which donated $5 million, and Delaney and her husband,Wayne Jordan, who donated $4 million."

Personally, I've always thought capital campaigns got to cheat by waiting until they've almost raised all the money before announcing the actual number of the goal. How many annual fund directors are allowed to get 2/3 of the way through their fundraising drive before acknowledging the actual number goal.

What impresses me (and I'm sure other donors) about this press release is the bold commitment outlined in regards to how the money will be spent to achieve growth goals.

"A major goal of the campaign is to substantially increase the ACLU's presence and effectiveness from coast to coast by significantly increasing the programmatic and institutional capacity of its affiliates, particularly instates where civil liberties violations are most egregious and opportunities for change most promising. These states include Florida, Texas, New Mexico,Montana, Mississippi, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Moreover, smaller affiliates located mainly in the South and in the country's heartland will be bolstered by increased resources that will enable them to hire full-time attorneys, launch new advocacy programs, and expand communications and public education initiatives."

While the ACLU was making this fundraising promise to donors in New York City, the organization was also hosting a huge membership conference for donors in Washington, DC.

Pretty impressive.

The most interesting quirk of Clinton's fundraising dilemma

2008-06-05T18:17:00.005-04:00

Remember last year when Hillary Clinton was the presumptive nominee and everyone was talking about how she was getting donors to max out for both the primary and the general election at the same time?

What amazes me is that while she has sooooo much debt - she is also awash in cash that is restricted to use only on the general election. According to Greg Gordon at McClatchy Newspapers:

"Clinton's latest report to the Federal Election Commission showed an April 30 cash balance of nearly $29.7 million, but that was deceiving. FEC spokesman George Smaragdis said the figure included $6 million in primary-season cash and $23.7 million in donations designated for the fall general election campaign. None of the general election donations can be used to retire debts accrued during the primary season.

Clinton's biggest problem, of course, is the $21 million in IOUs, which include $11,425,000 she is known to have lent her campaign through the first week of May and possibly millions of dollars more in yet-to-be-disclosed loans during her last-ditch primary campaign efforts."

I guess political nuts will be debating for the next couple weeks what she plans to do with that money. Will she give it to help Obama? Will she keep it and use it for another run in 2012?

For me, the lesson is that donors who give restricted gifts are short sighted and almost never really get what they think they are paying for. I've written before that I think it is selfish for donors who demand their gifts be used for restricted purposes are selfish and their help is counter-productive.

In this case, I guess the donors didn't have a choice if they wanted to give a maximum contribution it needed to be split between primary and general. But it certainly is ironic. I wonder if these donors can ask for a refund?

Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants

2008-06-05T00:24:00.002-04:00

The newest Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants for this week is up over at Fundraising Breakthroughs... and even though they rejected my post again this week... I think it is always a great roundup of great posts you might have missed.

Even though "carnivals" are popular for any theme of blog subject category... it always makes me snicker thinking of that word because as most of us fundraisers know... working with nonprofit consultants IS sometimes like BEING at a carnival.

What booth would your consultants work at if they really were on a carnival midway? Would they be selling cotton candy and junk food? Would they be heckling you into the guess your weight game? Or maybe they would be the creepy guy trying to get you to play some game that is rigged against you?

Bloggers react to the first year of fundraising numbers from Facebook Causes App

2008-06-03T08:34:00.007-04:00

I've been reading several blog postings about the fact that May 30th marked the first anniversary for Facebook's toolkit that enables the development of 3rd party Applications (Apps) that integrate directly with Facebook user data.

The Giving in a Digital World blog provides some interesting statistics on the biggest non-profit Facebook App, ‘Causes’ from Project Agape (now also available on MySpace). The allure to nonprofits is strong since they now have a total of 12 million registered users supporting over 80,000 US and Canadian non-profit organisations.
Over the last 12 months, $2.5 million has been raised through Causes for 19,445 organisations - equating to an average of just $126 per organisation. No donations at all have been made to 75% of the 80,000 organisations being ’supported’.
This leaves blogger Bryan Miller wonders if there is a greater potential. Caroline Preston at the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Give and Take blog also wrote about the underwhelming response to the news from people over at TechCrunch.

Adam Hyman points out on TechCrunch that the $2.5-million total works out to being only $0.21 per user. “How can anyone call this a success?” he asks.

The TechCrunch reaction is likely to shape the industry's reaction to the fundraising news because Michael Arrington published this article at the Washington Post. However, Allan Benamer at the Non-Profit Tech Blog took issue with the idea that the fundraising revenue was low. Benamer reminds readers:
"...the amount is actually greater than the first year revenue for Kiva, GlobalGiving and DonorsChoose COMBINED."
My own personal reaction is that the success of the Causes App should not be judged based on the dollar amount raised. Rather a more important metric should be the number of users who agree to share their name and contact information with their favorite nonprofits through this feature. That's why this is a revolutionary development.

For too many years, nonprofits have settled for the "cash bucket" mentality of fundraising where they failed to see the future value of collecting the names (and contact information) from people who threw donations into a bucket.

I'm happy to see social networking sites recognize that it's not enough just to raise money as a one time donation... the question for me will be whether nonprofit fundraisers figure out how to develop appropriate follow-up strategies to continue engaging this new breed of donor.

Is Your Staff Running To Their Next Gig?

2008-06-02T20:21:00.003-04:00

The NonProfit Times posted my monthly column in their exclusive web editorial section
Recruiting, training, and retaining top notch fundraising staff is perhaps the single biggest challenge facing nonprofits today.

You can’t control postal rate increases or the impact of bad economic times on your donor’s ability to give. As a fundraiser, you might even be hopeless to control the quality of programming content or the effectiveness of your organization at serving its mission.The good news is that you probably have more control over staffing challenges than most other variables and there are some incredible new resources available to nonprofit leaders to help recruit, train, and retain. The bad news is that far too few people seem to be using the available resources.

Most successful leaders know that the hiring process is critically important for preventing “bad apples” from even getting hired in the first place. Unfortunately, you can be the most selective interviewer on the planet, but if you don’t have quality prospective employees to choose from you aren’t going to build a quality team.
Go here to read the rest of my article.

Convio responds to Blackbaud acquisition of Kintera

2008-06-02T12:10:00.004-04:00

Gene Austin, the CEO of Convio, sent out his response this morning to last Thursday's announcement that Blackbaud would be acquiring Kintera.

No doubt you have now heard the news about Blackbaud's proposed acquisition of Kintera. This is certainly an interesting, but not entirely unexpected, development in our rapidly evolving market.

The Software as a Service approach we have led in the industry has driven tremendous success for organizations like yours, and we believe this approach causes challenges for legacy software providers. Blackbaud now faces the task of addressing the well-publicized operational challenges at Kintera, while rationalizing a roadmap that includes multiple eCRM and donor management products from four companies (Blackbaud, Target Analytics, eTapestry and Kintera). It will be interesting to watch this integration play out over the coming quarters and years.

My hope is that this acquisition will convince Blackbaud to listen and respond to the growing demand from nonprofits for interoperability and an open approach to integration. We would like to see Blackbaud make their APIs freely available, following Convio and other leading vendors who have worked with clients and the market to drive improved results. Better data integration benefits the nonprofit market.

We are increasingly excited about the success our clients are achieving and the growth in our business. We processed over $41M in online gifts for our clients in April alone — making this our largest month ever. Our business remains strong, with over 30% revenue growth in Q1 2008 compared to the same quarter in 2007 (on a proforma basis including our acquisition of GetActive). You will also see announcements from us in the coming months that highlight our continued investment in providing solutions that help you get more value from every constituent relationship.

We remain committed to your success — keep up the great work!

Regards,
Gene Austin
A lot of that stuff sounds like spin to me... but you have to admit, it takes a certain of amount of chutzpah from Austin to give Blackbaud pointers on the need for them to "rationalize a roadmap" to integrate multiple eCRM and donor management platforms.

Make no mistakes, this is high stakes poker. Austin's use of this communique response to call on Blackbaud to "make their APIs freely available" seems designed to position Convio as an advocate on behalf of nonprofits against the newly created Blackbaud monster.

Blackbaud announces acquisition of Kintera

2008-05-29T17:23:00.010-04:00

...and then there were two.

In news just hitting the wires... Blackbaud announced today they are buying Kintera as an all-cash tender offer for all of the shares at a price of $1.12 per share.

Tim Williams, Blackbaud's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, "In addition to the strategic reasons supporting the acquisition of Kintera, we believe the acquisition is attractive from a financial perspective as well. Subscription revenue was already the fastest growing source of revenue at Blackbaud and it was expected to become larger than license revenue at some point in the second half of 2008. With the acquisition of Kintera, this will become a certainty as we will add another significant source of subscription-based revenue from an on-demand service offering. The evolution of Blackbaud’s business model toward new revenue sources with ratable revenue recognition has been a significant and positive development over the past several years, and it complements the very strong cash flow profile of the Company.”

While the press release seems almost giddy, I'm not so sure nonprofits will be thrilled that their viable options for major providers continues to shrink. If I was a shareholder in BLKB, I would be concerned that $46 million is too much to pay for a provider that seemed destined to go out of business anyway.

Although, the only people who will suffer more than nonprofits looking for competition in the marketplace will be the folks at Convio who must be shitting themselves.

Kintera will continue to be led by its current President and CEO, Richard LaBarbera. The company is expected to formally launch the tender sometime next week and close on or around July 2.

UPDATE: 1232AM = Steve MacLaughlin at Blackbaud's Connections blog points out that:

Because both Blackbaud and Kintera are publicly traded companies there are very specific Federal Trade Commission rules about what can be said and done until the deal officially closes. This may take as many as 30 days and until then both companies will perform as separate units, competing with each other as they did prior to this announcement.

He goes on to say:

* Blackbaud becomes the leading provider of online solutions and services to the nonprofit industry with over 4,500 clients

* Both Kintera Sphere and Blackbaud NetCommunity are strong Internet solutions that largely serve very different segments, including The Raiser’s Edge, Team Approach, eTapestry, and non-Raiser’s Edge customers.

* Blackbaud plans to continue to support and invest in both products.

* Kintera’s other offerings, FundWare, P!N and certain capabilities within Sphere (e.g., Friends Asking Friends) are well-recognized and respected in the marketplace.

Hmmmmmm. Interesting.

University's fundraising ethics go up in smoke

2008-05-23T07:59:00.001-04:00

Holy smokes!

The New York Times reported yesterday that Virginia Commonwealth University, a public institution, signed a secret grant agreement in 2006 to do research for Philip Morris USA.

"The contract bars professors from publishing the results of their studies, or even talking about them, without Philip Morris’s permission. If “a third party,” including news organizations, asks about the agreement, university officials have to decline to comment and tell the company. Nearly all patent and other intellectual property rights go to the company, not the university or its professors.

“There is restrictive language in here,” said Francis L. Macrina, Virginia Commonwealth’s vice president for research, who acknowledged that many of the provisions violated the university’s guidelines for industry-sponsored research. “In the end, it was language we thought we could agree to. It’s a balancing act.”

But the contract, a copy of which The New York Times obtained under the Virginia Freedom of Information law, is highly unusual and raises questions about how far universities will go in search of scarce research dollars to enhance their standing. It also brings a new dimension to the already divisive debate on many campuses over whether it is appropriate for universities to accept tobacco money for research."

Apparently the nation's largest tobacco company also has similar agreements with other universities - although a spokesman declines to say how many or which ones.

Obama announces Sánchez as chair of Latino fundraising

2008-05-22T23:59:00.002-04:00

The Barack Obama for America Campaign has announced the appointment of Francisco Sánchez, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation, as the National Chair of Latino/Hispanic Fundraising. Sánchez is also an advisor on Latin American policy for the campaign.

In this capacity, Sanchez will co-chair the Obama Hispanic Leadership Council with Illinois Attorney Manny Sánchez. The newly formed Council will work with the national finance team to increase the enthusiasm and fundraising efforts for the Obama campaign in the Latino community.

When corporate "brand cops" sue nonprofits

2008-05-21T07:27:00.004-04:00

Jeff Brooks has a nice post today on the bad decisions made by the "brand cops" at Louis Vuitton.

Seems an artist named Nadia Plesner created this image to make an obscure point about Darfur. Then, stupidly, Louis Vuitton sued her for misusing their brand.

Brooks thinks the fashion company made a bad decision by sueing, "because now it looks like International Fashion Designer vs. Starving Babies."

Meanwhile, I forgot to register my reaction to a federal judge who rejected an effort by Johnson & Johnson to prevent the American Red Cross from using the charity’s logo on retail products. More on that later (time permitting).

American Charities Raise $33-Million for Asian Disasters

2008-05-20T20:51:00.004-04:00

The Chronicle of Philanthropy released the first real fundraising numbers I've seen to date on the pair of recent natural disasters in China and Burma.
"American relief groups have raised at least $32-million for victims of the China earthquake and the Myanmar cyclone. The groups say about $16-million has been donated to each cause."
Hat tip to Caroline Preston for pulling together the great research in pulling together a long list of foundations who have made big grants and the charities that have been in a position to put the good will to work where it's needed.

Let's face it - most of your donors have credit card debt

2008-05-20T08:23:00.004-04:00

I wrote last week about the ethical dilemma facing fundraisers who see their donors making gifts on credit cards. As usually happens when I'm too far out in front of the accepted debate - many have been skeptical.

My favorite response was from a reader who told me, "I doubt that my donors who are making donations are the type of people who have big credit card debts." Seriously? I'm think that's pretty naive.

Your donors are not millionaires. Let's face it - most Americans carry credit card debt they can't afford to pay off all once. In fact, just today TransUnion released a survey conducted by Zogby that found 61% of Americans said they will spend less or not go on vacation this summer. When asked why, "Thirty-five percent cite concern about credit card debt, and nearly half (47 percent) cite concern about other debt or financial obligations."

Let me do one better:

A 2007 survey by CardTrak.com found that American households with credit card debt owed a median of $6,600, and that less than one-third of households pay of their balances monthly. The survey also found that 13 percent of those who carry credit card debt have balances in excess of $25,000.

I think it is foolish to assume your donors don't have credit card debt. For many people, making a donation is an emotional reaction to a well reasoned understanding of the problems facing our world... donors don't check their debt balances first before responding to a nonprofit's call for help.

I'm sure that Liz Pulliam Weston disagrees with me, but let me ask these two questions to get the debate started. Do you personally have credit card debt? Have you made a donation in the past 12 months?

Talk to Seth Godin on Tuesday

2008-05-19T12:26:00.000-04:00

Long time readers of this blog will remember that I credit Seth Godin with giving me my first real traffic spike. And even though his Squidoo project seems to be taking longer than most thought to grow, many nonprofit fundraisers seem to think of him as a marketing guru.

The folks over at philanthropy.com are hosting an online discussion with Seth tomorrow (Tuesday, May 20th) starting at noon. You can find out more here.

Maybe I should ask him whether the ideas for his most recent blog post on conferences were "borrowed" from my article back in April in the NonProfit Times...

Top McCain fundraiser resigns

2008-05-19T07:40:00.002-04:00

One of the McCain campaign's most important fundraisers resigned as national finance co-chair. Former Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, a Texan who is among the McCain campaign’s most important advisers, resigned over lobbying entanglements, a Republican source told Politico on Sunday.
Loeffler was part of the rescue mission for the campaign last year after its spending badly outstripped its fundraising, leading to a contraction of the campaign that left McCain running a bare-bones operation in the lead-up to his breakout New Hampshire primary victory.

Loeffler’s departure followed a report this weekend by Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff that Loeffler’s “lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace firm seeking Pentagon contracts.”
Apparently the "maverick" presidential candidate didn't want to look bad in the media... but he has no problems appearing with President Bush at a fundraiser in Phoenix on May 27th.

Fundraising body releases code of practice for "chuggers"

2008-05-18T19:29:00.008-04:00

The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) is the professional body that represents 4500 individual fundraisers and 250 organizational members in the UK.

The IoF just released a new draft code of practice on face-to-face fundraising, a practice known to some as "chugging" because it can be perceived as charity mugging on the street.

For the first time, the code includes rules on the practice of prospecting - where fundraisers take down potential donors' details but not initially their money.

"Previously, only those who took money or were active in getting people to sign up for direct debits were required to follow the IoF code. During the initial F2F conversation, fundraisers are now required to "acknowledge the possibility of a subsequent financial commitment request".

Mick Aldridge, Chief Executive of the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, said that the body had seen a desire from local authorities who claimed that prospecting "looks like fundraising" and therefore needed to be included under regulatory guidelines."

Now that the draft is released, the IoF will begin a 12 week public consultation period until August 8th. If you want to give your input, go here.

MPower announces "database connector" with Convio

2008-05-15T17:01:00.004-04:00

I got an email press release today about how Convio and a company called MPower announced the availability of a "Database Connector" to integrate Convio's online constituent relationship management (eCRM) suite and content management system (CMS) with MPower's offline donor management solution.

This isn't the first time the two companies have worked together. Back in 2005 they announced a partnership to do basically the same thing... although back then it wasn't called "database connector" it was called "Optimizing Online and Offline Data Integration for Joint Customers."

Back then MPower bragged that they had "more than 225 leading Christian organizations, including Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll, Walk Thru the Bible, and Habitat for Humanity Orange County." MPower also listed Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Mothers of Preschoolers, East-West Ministries and Voice of the Martyrs as clients at that time and the press release from 2005 said that Turning Point Ministries was a joint customer of Convio & MPower as well.

MPower's website says that they have "hundreds of nonprofits of all sizes with diverse missions and constituencies, including some of the world's largest and most sophisticated direct marketers." Although they don't carry offer a client list on their website. If any readers know of any nonprofits that use their system, let us know in the comment section.

I saw that MPower's CEO, Randy McCabe, runs his own blog called "Freedom to Fundraise." It looks like a decent site... although he doesn't post that often. I recommend this post about how the stock prices of vendors to charities are getting battered.

Will the ticking credit card time bomb impact donations?

2008-05-14T07:59:00.001-04:00

For the past few years fundraisers have been aggressively pushing donors to give by credit card instead of by check... especially when it comes to the increase in online fundraising and/or monthly giving programs.

But there is a growing sense of dread that a pending tsunami of credit card defaults is creating a ticking time bomb in this country... and I am going to go out on a limb (just like I did early last December when I warned about the looming recession) and predict that fundraisers will need to grapple with serious concerns about donors who are charging their donations.

Do we have any ethical concerns about donors putting a $100 donation that they can't afford on a credit card where it will eventually cost them $130 in interest? Do fundraisers benefit by getting donors to give more when they use a credit card than they would if they had to use cash?
I read some alarming statistics last week:

"According to Equifax, a credit card analysis firm, people have been buying more with their credit cards but paying down less. As a result average balances jumped nearly 9% in 2007 and delinquency rates recently hit a 4-year high of 4.5%.

Also, the reliance on credit cards is preventing some of the markets salutary forces from working. With credit always an option, domestic demand remains strong despite rising prices. Absent the option of putting more costly gasoline on their credit cards, Americans might have actually been forced to cut back on their consumption, taking some of the upward pressure off gas prices.

It should be painfully obvious that expanded consumer credit is not evidence of improvement, but simply, deterioration. Unfortunately, when it comes to understanding the economy, there is little common sense on display. By going even deeper into debt just to make ends meet, American consumers are digging themselves, and our entire economy, into an even greater economic hole and laying the foundation for the next major credit debacle."
I'm sure people have been warning about credit card debt since the first person used their Diner's Club card to buy a dinner for friends that he/she couldn't afford... but with the reality of the housing implosion hitting home now - many people think a credit card default crisis is closer than we think.

So, what should we do? Continue to ask donors to put their gift on credit cards... but only if they promise to be responsible and pay off the card balance every month?

I'm going to talk about this more in the next couple weeks... but in the meantime, I think nonprofit fundraisers should start to truly understand the real cost of processing donations on credit cards. Start by reading this article about how the organizations that handle Internet contributions and related services for the presidential campaigns have already collected more than $11 million in fees!

Fundraisers encounter challenges in cyclone fundraising

2008-05-12T07:42:00.001-04:00

The tragedy of what Cyclone Nargis did to Burma's delta region is almost beyond comprehension.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and Oxfam have estimated that the death toll of 100,000 could be made significantly worse if disease sets in. More than one and a half million people in desperate need of food and water.

So, is it just me or have donors been slow to respond?

Save the Children, Christian Aid, World Vision International and the British Red Cross all began fundraising last Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the military junta in Burma has displayed "sluggishness or suspicion when it comes to taking up offers of overseas and even non-governmental aid." The lack of media access has prevented the worldwide distribution of videos and still images. Are donors getting a free pass as a result?

I mean... after Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami, a lot was written by Convio, NTEN, and others about the lessons learned by nonprofit fundraisers. Rapid response on the internet was supposed to have revolutionized fundraisers ability to raise needed money quickly.

Unfortunately, not only do fundraisers need to react quickly in order to raise the needed funds, but relief organizations have any equally difficult task of trying to figure out how to spend the money that is raised. From last Thursday's Times Online:

A national British appeal was launched today to raise money for the aid effort in Burma. The major overseas aid charities say they will join forces and co-ordinate their fundraising and emergency relief efforts due to the extent of the disaster and the dire need of the Burmese people.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the umbrella group which represents the 13 biggest aid charities and co-ordinates major disaster appeals, will run the campaign. The DEC took almost two days to make up its mind on whether or not to launch a national appeal, similar to that after the Asian Tsunami.

There have been fears that the charities would struggle to spend a large sum of money effectively due to restrictions placed on their workers by the military dictatorship in the country. The cash raised will go towards not just emergency shelter and food, but reconstruction and rehabilitation afterwards.

To learn more about where you can donate, go here.

Perez Hilton takes Sting to task on fundraising

2008-05-08T17:05:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week, the popular celebrity blogger Perez Hilton reported the following news about the announced final concert ever in August by rock band the Police.
"This final concert will be a fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the production of arts programming for New York's public television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York. Tickets will be available nationally online via the Thirteen/WNET and WLIW Web sites. The band also announced that they will contribute $1 million to NYC Mayor Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC initiative — a gift the city will match — to plant trees all over New York City."
It was interesting to hear Perez report such positive news for Sting, because the day before he did a hit job on Sting's Rainforest Foundation. The self-appointed "celebrity gangster" picked up on a NY Post article that criticized the distribution of funds after a previous fundraising concert:

"The 2006 concert - which drew Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and Will Ferrell to the landmark stage - raised $2,156,989, according to the latest available IRS tax filing.

Yet only $887,374 of the money raised, 41 percent, was divided among the charity's eight programs that support native-land claims and forest preservation in Latin America and Africa - a paltry percentage, according to agencies that monitor nonprofits."

You can read the original NY Post article here.

Report: Kintera to annouce layoffs

2008-05-07T12:38:00.004-04:00

Breaking news over at The Nonprofit Times:
"One month after Kintera received notice about potential de-listing from NASDAQ, widespread layoffs have begun at the San Diego-based software provider to nonprofits. The cuts are ahead of the firm’s quarterly earnings call slated for this afternoon.

Company insiders said more than 40 people were cut starting Tuesday, although Kintera officials declined to comment in advance of today’s 4:45 p.m. Eastern conference call to discuss first quarter financial results. The department losing the most people was finance, followed by marketing and product development, according to insiders.

Roth Capital, one of the few analysts still tracking Kintera, downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold” on Monday, 15 months after making it a “buy.” Kintera, which trades on the symbol KNTA, ended 2007 with almost $16 million in losses, down from $33 million in 2006 and almost $42 million in 2005. For the first quarter of 2007, losses were $8.2 million.

An insider told The NonProfit Times the earnings report “is not expected to be good” but that the layoffs were more “matching expenses to resources.” Another insider was less optimistic, saying, “This doesn’t surprise you, does it? You had to see this coming.” Neither source would disclose the number of people losing their jobs.
You can read the entire story here.

Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala

2008-05-06T17:59:00.005-04:00

My least favorite type of fundraiser is the gala. I hate them. But, I also know some people really like them... and I know blog posts about celebrities really drive visitors to this site, so here goes:

"The most stylish stars flock to Manhattan each year for the Metropolitan Musueum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, which is thrown by Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. This year, the A-list guests embraced their inner superheroes for the "Superheros: Fashion and Fantasy" themed bash May 5, 2008. The superhero mania that is invading American cinemas this summer took hold at one of the country's most distinguished art museums with an exhibit on how the colorful costumes have influenced fashion."

If you listen closely, you can hear me gagging. If you want to see photos of celebrities, go here.

The Davos of Philanthropy

2008-05-05T12:15:00.006-04:00

Peter Deitz, Founder of Social Actions, is covering the Council on Foundations Conference for Tactical Philanthropy.

"I find myself on the edges of what could easily be called the “Davos of Philanthropy.” Roughly three thousand attendees have flown in from across the globe to discuss the current and future states of global philanthropy."

You can read his first impressions here.

Will the Mint Jubilee Gala outshine the Kentucky Derby?

2008-05-02T07:24:00.003-04:00

Over the years the Mint Jubilee Gala has grown from 250 attendees to more than 1,500 and has become a signature Kentucky Derby event. Last year, they raised $350,000 after expenses. It isn't hard to imagine that soon the fundraiser will attract more attention than the Kentucky Derby itself.

According to a press release from the gala, the "celebrity" guests for tonight's event include:

Conrad Bachmann (The West Wing)
Nigel Barker (America’s Next Top Model)
Cristen Barker (Model, celebrity stylist)
Robert Bogue (Guiding Light)
Mandy Bruno (Guiding Light)
Greg Grunberg (Heroes, Alias, Lost, Band From TV)
Bob Guiney (Reality TV, The Bachelor, Band From TV)
Rebecca Budig Guiney (Actress, All My Children)
Phil Hellmuth (World Series of Poker)
John & Brad Hennegan (Producers, First Saturday in May)
Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives, The West Wing)
Bonnie-Jill Laflin (LA Lakers Scout Manager, Maxim Hot 100, Model)
Billy Lopa (Artist)
Warren Moon (NFL Hall of Famer)
Joe Piscopo (Saturday Night Live, Comedian)
Nora Roberts (Author) Honorary Chair, Mint Jubilee 2007
Peter Searcy (Singer, Oprah’s Big Give)
Bonnie Somerville (Cashmere Mafia, Band From TV)
Fred Willard (Best in Show, Back to You)
Montel Williams (Talk show host)
Robert Williamson (Poker champion)

The 2008 auction items will include:

* Tickets to the 2008 Masters in Augusta
* VIP passes to the 2008 Emmy Awards and Governor’s Ball
* A trip to the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl in John Schnatter’s private jet
* Tickets to the upcoming MTV Movie Awards

If you don't have tickets already, forget about it... they've been sold out for quite some time.

Benchmarking With A Warped Stick

2008-05-01T17:44:00.003-04:00

For the fourth month in a row, The NonProfit Times once again published a column by yours truly. This month the topic is an analysis of recent fundraising benchmark studies. Here's an excerpt:

"Anytime your fundraising program experiences large increases or decreases, it’s helpful to understand if the change is being driven by broader external factors or by specific issues to your audience and mission. Benchmarking studies can help identify trends in key indicators and give fundraisers the context we need in order to understand our own performance better and plan for the future.

Unfortunately, not all benchmarking studies are created equal. Some studies are nothing more than lazy half-assed analysis from vendors hawking thinly veiled sales pitches. Other well-meaning benchmarks often use questionable methodology. A flawed approach can produce misleading conclusions.

It’s therefore critical for fundraisers to share their feedback and reactions to what the benchmark studies are showing. This article compares the methodology of three of the most cited (and debated) benchmarking studies making their way around the blogosphere today."

Go here to read the full article.

Where will you donate your $600 tax rebate check?

2008-04-30T17:01:00.002-04:00

Okay folks, it's time for an interactive post that requires feedback from loyal readers of Don't Tell the Donor. A good friend forwarded me an article by Stephanie Strom at the New York Times who wrote about the opportunities for charities who plan to ask supporters to donate their $600 rebate check.

I'm asking readers to post a comment with the best fundraising pitch they've seen from nonprofits. If you can include a link, that's great... if it's an email you received, please include the charity's name and copy and paste some of the text.

The Times article spends too much time quoting the fundraising consultant Robert Sharpe and only three weak examples are cited from:

* The VFW National Home for Children
* Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches
* Peace Action

...but I know this audience can compile a good list of which organizations are on the creative cutting edge by offering donors an easy way to donate their rebate.

Hunting lobby forces stores to pull support of pet shelters

2008-04-30T00:31:00.006-04:00

There are 181 Meijer stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The stores are called hypermarkets because they carry a combination of groceries and department store goods.

Unfortunately, this week they made a very bad decision to stop supporting a pet shelter because of complaints from a lobby group that claims to represent 35,000 hunters. The store is now getting the butt end of a reputation as not caring for the pets of families being foreclosed on.

Meijer had originally started a program to donate $1, up to $5,000, for every entry in an online pet photo contest. However, the plug was pulled last Friday after the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance charged the group organizing the Foreclosure Pets Fund is anti-hunting.

Shandra Martinez in Tuesday's Grand Rapids Press cites an Alliance press release from that was circulated on the internet with the contact information for Meijer chairman Hank Meijer:

"The money donated to the HSUS through this promotion, while not going directly to its anti-hunting campaign, will free up money from the organization's general fund that can be used to attack the right of sportsmen."
The pressure seemed to have worked because Meijer announced they were stopping their support. You can learn more about the cowardly response by the "heartless inhumane hypermarket" by reading the rest of the story.

If you want to make your opinions heard, you can contact Meijer CEO and Chairman Hank Meijer at 2929 Walker Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49544-9428; phone – (616) 453-6711; fax – (616) 791-2572.

This story was tipped off to me by someone who emailed me a link to this story on "Fundraising and the Fungibility Problem" over at the Acton Institute Power Blog.

Paper sees jealousy driving criticism of opera marketer

2008-04-29T00:35:00.003-04:00

The Wall Street Journal had a great article recently on Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

"...Mr. Gelb has managed to enchant both the masses and the elites. Using film and theater directors, he has invigorated the Met's offerings without introducing sadomasochism and other freakish "updates" common in Europe. When the current season ends in mid-May, the Met expects to have sold 87.5% of available tickets, up from 76.8% two years ago, and box office revenues will likely reach $93 million, up from $82.7 million."

But it hasn't come without controversy:

"All of the things he has done have also been quite costly. The Met's budget has grown more than 21% in two years, to a projected $268.3 million in the fiscal year ending July 31 from $221.7 million in fiscal 2006. Its deficit -- despite energetic fund raising -- is likely to widen to somewhere between $6 million and $10 million this fiscal year, compared with a deficit of $4.5 million two years ago.

Which is why there are doubts about Mr. Gelb's strategy, even among his supporters. Some fear that his Falstaffian model is unsustainable, that he is creating a bubble of interest that will inevitably deflate, leaving the Met overextended and mired in the red. Others, says Brian Dickie, general director of the Chicago Opera Theater, admire Mr. Gelb but regard him as "a marketing man who loves opera" -- overly reliant on gimmicks and buzz whose power will fade.

Certainly, jealousy is motivating some of the gossip. But whether Mr. Gelb -- who says he's a producer, not a marketer -- succeeds or fails is important because, as he brags, "we're being copied by other companies, and we're the inspiration for other arts organizations as well." He volunteers that he was invited recently to speak about his strategy at Harvard's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations -- stopping a beat before adding that his cousin, Christopher Stone, runs the Hauser Center. If Mr. Gelb is leading others astray, there will be blood elsewhere in the cultural world.

Gossip? Blood? At the opera? No...

Big Brother winner Adam Jasinski pledges to donate $!00,000

2008-04-28T12:18:00.001-04:00

From E! Online:

Former public relations manager Adam Jasinski is the latest winner of CBS’ Big Brother, besting college student Ryan Quicksall.

Jasinsky, who began the competition employed with the United Autism Foundation, was fired during his stay in the Big Brother house for comments he made about autistic children.

The now-unemployed, newly crowned winner takes home a half-million dollar-prize, has pledged to donate one-fifth of his winnings to his former employer.

Since Jasinski won $500,000, his pledge works out to $100,000.

Jeff Brooks reacts to my critique of fundraising conferences

2008-04-27T13:47:00.006-04:00

Last week, Jeff Brooks over at Donor Power Blog picked up my last column in the NonProfit Times about the current state of fundraising conferences.

Jeff offers his own critique of some nonprofit fundraising conferences:

"There's one main difference between the nightmarish climactic scene of a zombie movie and some of the conferences we fundraisers attend: The conferences use Powerpoint."

Thanks for expanding the discussion Jeff. I actually think there have been some positive developments in the past several weeks that shows progress toward making these important professional learning opportunities into the 21st century.

British Prime Minister looks to US for fundraising tips

2008-04-24T17:41:00.003-04:00

When Gordon Brown visited the United States last week he met with all three presidential candidates. Why, you might ask?

It appears he is looking for help "in wiping out the lead that the Tories have established over Labour in the dash for political cash."

The Prime Minister has told The Times his party is examining the fundraising success of the two Democratic presidential candidates, both of whom regularly generate more than $1 million (£500,000) a day through small donations on the internet.

“We are watching closely how they’ve managed to extend their reach to new groups of supporters and donors,” he said during a trip to Washington last week. “The political systems are not the same and there are legal constraints about asking for money in unsolicited e-mails. But we’re certainly interested in what we can learn.” Mr Brown, a keen student of American politics, met both of the Democrat contenders and John McCain, the Republican nominee. According to latest figures, Mr Obama raised more than $40 million last month – the bulk of it online, via a donor base of more than one million individuals.

Oiy. One more bad habit we can export to the rest of the world.

Fundraising priest disappears after floating away on 1000 helium balloons

2008-04-23T10:47:00.006-04:00

A Brazilian priest named Rev. Adelir Antonio di Carli took off Sunday from the coastal city of Paranagua in southern Brazil, buoyed by 1,000 helium-filled balloons. Unfortunately, less than eight hours after taking flight, Fr De Carli lost contact with authorities and was reported missing.

He was seeking to break a 19-hour record for the longest time in-flight with balloons and to raise money for a 'spiritual rest stop' for truckers in Paranagua.

The cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was seen last night, floating intact in the sea off Santa Catarina state near Fr di Carli's last contact point.

The priest embarked on a similar adventure in January this year when he used only 600 balloons to carry him on a four-hour, 5,300m-high voyage from the town of Ampere to neighbouring Argentina.

According to the CBC in Canada, some people are criticizing the fundraising stunt:

Meanwhile, a flight instructor who expelled di Carli from flight school three years ago has publicly criticized the priest for his stunt, Gancia said.

"He called him undisciplined and an exhibitionist, and he was always bragging about his faith and how his faith was going to carry him and take him safely through his journey. And that's not what happened."

He was reported to have been strapped into an inflatable chair, wearing a thermal outfit and helmet. He also had a parachute, however rescuers admit that hope is fading.

Another fundraiser reacts to Oprah's Big Give

2008-04-21T17:26:00.002-04:00

Joshua Horwitz, the executive director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, in Washington, wrote an angry criticism of Oprah's Big Give reality television show... it's a well written piece that I agree with.

While Mr. Paletta did perform admirably given the parameters of the show, Big Give was a loser for the professionals who run nonprofit organizations and foundations.

Television offers a great opportunity to educate and to make people passionate about causes — especially when a philanthropist and television personality as popular as Oprah Winfrey is sponsoring the lessons.

But the show ended up featuring amateur and embarrassing efforts at giving. It passed off as entertainment people wasting thousands of dollars of donated money and did little to help the American public learn what it really takes to change the lives of other people. Oprah’s last words on the show Sunday night were to encourage the television audience to “give big,” which is a worthy goal, but the television program failed to show average Americans how they can become effective and strategic philanthropists.

Go here to read the entire article.

Random observation on nonprofit fundraising skill demands

2008-04-18T17:46:00.001-04:00

This was from a reader who emailed me earlier today:

"I have always bemoaned the skill demands put on non-profit staff. This is especially true of fundraisers who are called upon to produce programs from creation to evaluation and everything in-between. It's unheard of in any field that I am familiar with where the same person does concept, creative, design, copy, budget, production, fulfillment, analysis and evaluation."

Very true indeed...

Fundraising plan to use erotic calendars backfires

2008-04-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

I read a funny story today about these seven middle-aged Spanish moms who posed for a tongue-in-cheek erotic calendar as fundraiser for their children's tiny, rural school. Unfortunately, the plan backfired and now they are saddled with debt and 5,000 unwanted copies.

One of the photos shows the mothers with discreetly placed Christmas tinsel as their only garb. Other goofy poses include a shotgun-toting mom wearing only a fox pelt, and another covering her body with a red umbrella.

Goofy? That's one way to put it.

I've got no problem with middle-aged moms poising for goofy calendars. I actually think it's kinda funny. But I do have a problem with half ass "fundraising" ideas that focus too much on the goofy stuff and not enough on the necessary planning and budgeting stuff. The AP article goes on to say:

The calendars came out in November and at first were a big hit. But the plan fizzled. The women acknowledge being amateurs in publishing and advertising, and they missed the Christmas shopping rush. Now, sales of the $8 calendar have dried up and they owe a printer nearly $16,000.

Unfortunately, these moms are now up against an insurmountable enemy... a ticking clock. A lot of amateur fundraising plans fail to account for "time" in their hastily arraigned plans. And for every day that passes their problem gets bigger.

Do you have a "jilted donor" program?

2008-04-17T00:28:00.000-04:00

DonorsChoose continues to receive lots of positive attention for creating a philanthropic marketplace where public school teachers are connected with individuals making direct contributions. The donors can fund a specific school project for varying amounts and they are supposed to receive thank you letters from the students that received the money.

...but that doesn't always happen.

Who knows why, but no matter how much oversight the staff performs, there are bound to be a few deadbeats who never send thank-you letters to their donors. Unfortunately, donors who are left with a yucky taste in their mouth may direct their ill-will toward DonorsChoose for the bad experience.

They seem to know this and have created a "jilted donor" program to deal with those contributors who never hear from the recipient of their donation. I've heard that if you complain about the bad experience, they will give you a "gift certificate" which can be designated to another project.

That's so cool.

This fundraiser thinks it is absolutely critical for nonprofit fundraising staff to be honest with their donors and say: "Hey, sometimes mistakes happen despite our best efforts to prevent them. We're embarrassed by the experience you received as a donor and we want to make it up to you."

If I was to ever give a donation using DonorsChoose, I would designate that my money be used specifically to fund the "jilted donor" program.

It sure has been quiet around here

2008-04-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

My blogging vacation is over. I'm posting a new story later tonight about the "jilted donor" program being run by a national nonprofit I met recently.

U.N. official discusses international philanthropy

2008-04-12T14:46:00.002-04:00

Tom Watson posted some video on the News onPhilanthropy website.

Keynote speaker Dr. Robert C. Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Planning and Policy Coordination of the United Nations touched on international action around climate change and global health. at onPhilanthropy's fifth annual Summit onPhilanthropy in New York. More than 300 philanthropists, nonprofit executives, and foundation managers filled the Yale Club on March 11th, joining in a spirited day-long discussion on trends in giving and social ventures. The Summit is a yearly event for philanthropy leaders produced by onPhilanhropy.com, the media arm of international philanthropic services company Changing Our World, Inc.

September 11 Memorial hits fundraising goal

2008-04-11T17:58:00.005-04:00

From the New York Sun:

A fund for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center has reached a $350 million construction fundraising goal after a recent donation by the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Mayor Bloomberg, who took over as chairman of the September 11 Memorial & Museum in October 2006 and has donated at least $15 million to the project, announced yesterday at the quarterly board of directors meeting that more than $217 million toward the first phase of fund-raising had been raised in the past year and a half, including $10 million from Cantor Fitzgerald. More than 60,000 individuals contributed from 50 states and 31 countries.

I'm not sure what the bigger takeaway is... Mayor Bloomberg knows how to get things done OR the fact that they did it with the classic donor pyramid approach by getting the top 15 donors to give more than half of the $350 million raised for the first phase of fundraising?

Blackbaud blogs live from their own conference

2008-04-08T19:33:00.007-04:00

Steve MacLaughlin, the Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud, offers some live blogging from the 2008 Team Approach User Forum on his blog, Connections.

I think live blogging from conferences is great. It offers fundraisers like myself a free opportunity to learn what's going on even when they aren't able to attend. I've previously posted that I was happy to see Team Approach uploading all the session PowerPoints online for anyone to review the information on their own... plus, as an added benefit, you don't need to endure any painful networking events where you need to meet a bunch of sales folks.

Looking at his blog, it seems like Mr. MacLaughlin's travel schedule is pretty hectic. In the past three weeks he has traveled in NTEN in New Orleans, AFP in San Diego, and this conference in Boston. Yikes!

Although, it must be difficult for an employee of Blackbaud's like Steve to write his honest opinions about session where Lee Gartley (President, Target Analytics and Target Software), Marc Chardon (CEO, Blackbaud), and Chuck Longfield (Target Founder and Blackbaud Chief Scientist) present.

His reviews of all the sessions are very positive. Hopefully, this blog will be a good reference in the future.

UPDATE 4/9/08: I guess I should have kept that more of a secret, it looks like access to the Target site is now restricted.

How Bear Stearns collapse is good for some nonprofits

2008-04-07T18:25:00.004-04:00

JP Morgan Chase announced today that they would be cutting approximately 7,000 of the 14,000 employees who worked for Bear Stearns.

Sucks for them.

I have to admit, I don't usually feel much empathy for financial services folks who lose their jobs because the over-leveraged firm went bust and needed a Federal bail-out. Part of that above average pay they've been enjoying is all part of the risk-reward that comes from working for the crazy gamblers on Wall Street.

However, Will Schneider at Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP) posted a great an interested story today on the "dozens" of internships that had been offered to college and MBA students.

Brian J. Marchiony, a spokesman for JP Morgan, told the Harvard Crimson that students who lost their full-time job offers will not be left empty-handed.

“[They] will be able to retain their sign-on and relocation bonuses and have the opportunity to use our career placement services,” Marchiony said. J.P. Morgan is also providing an alternative summer plan for students who had their internships withdrawn. If they work at one of the many non-profit organizations selected by J.P. Morgan, those students will receive their full internship salary, according to Marchiony.

Does anyone have a copy of the approved nonprofits? Be careful if you hire one of these wiz-kids for your fundraising staff. They are liable to suggest illiquid mortgage backed securities and/or risky real-estate investment trusts in order to offer above average returns on your money.

Did your board choose the wrong executive?

2008-04-06T16:18:00.004-04:00

The Nonprofit Quarterly devoted its Spring issue to the theme of leadership transition. In her description of the most recent issue, Ruth McCambridge acknowledges that "it is torturous to watch a good organization wither away or go awry because the wrong executive was hired."

The issue includes a great article by Deborah Linnell (who authored the seminal, "Founders and other Gods") as well as other articles on executive transition. Be sure to check it out.

Nonprofit legal humor

2008-04-04T08:50:00.003-04:00

I found a cool website recently that shares dozens of humorous anecdotes about nonprofit legal issues. Don Kramer publishes a legal newsletter that has "Nonprofit Law You Need to Know."

I thought this real thank you note sent to a donor was priceless:

The charity sent out its thank you letter to supporters a little more than two weeks after the fundraising event. It read in its entirety as follows:

“On behalf of the [Special] Awards Committee, thank you for your support of the [Special] Awards Breakfast and the important work of the [charity]. Your gift will make a difference in the lives of so many.

“This special fundraising event took place on Friday, [date] with a networking and VIP reception that started at 7:15 a.m. and the Breakfast & Award Ceremony commencing at 8:00 a.m. The breakfast was held at the [name] Hotel, [address], in the Millennium Ballroom.

“It is because of donors like you that we are able to keep our promise [to better the world].”
One can only wonder whether the second paragraph was included because it was such a memorable event that the donors would have forgotten where they had been.

Wow. Talk about a mail merge malfunction!

The Search For Sneezers

2008-04-04T07:51:00.001-04:00

A reader emailed me this morning to say that I had forgotten to mention another interesting session for the AFP conference that dealt with social networking. An excerpt of her email is below:

Philip King, from Artez Interactive, gave a great presentation called “The Search For Sneezers,” about how organizations using social fundraising need to identify, motivate and care for their “sneezers” – the folks who are acting as fundraising hubs, bringing in first-time donors in huge numbers. Philip’s presentation pairs some excellent insights about technology with some of the theories about idea epidemics made famous in The Tipping Point. Very interesting stuff.

In case you missed the session, he’ll be reprising this presentation in a live webcast next Wednesday. Registration is free and it will be recorded: http://www.marketingpower.com/webcast457.php

Thanks for the tip.

Team Approach uploads conference PowerPoints

2008-04-03T17:51:00.004-04:00

Maybe they listened to me...

Apparently, the nonprofit fundraising database, Team Approach is holding a conference in Massachusetts next week. One of DTTD's loyal readers is going and she sent me an email this afternoon claiming that the organizers have posted most of the presentations to their website in advance of the conference. Go here to check it out, it doesn't appear like you need to be registered for Team Approach User Forum 2008 to download PowerPoints.

For those of you that might not know, earlier this week I called on fundraising conference organizers to start taking advantage of the power of the web for these events:

Finally, I challenge organizers to use the untapped potential of technology in more conference planning and follow-up. I know I’m a little biased, but why aren’t more bloggers given media credentials to cover events in real time? Why aren’t all those PowerPoint slideshows archived electronically for attendees to read prior to (and after) each conference? Why don’t we encourage the Direct Marketing Association, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Council For Advancement and Support of Education and the Nonprofit Technology Network to use upload video and audio from presentations?

I probably can't take full credit... because if I would have known people listened to what I write, I might have asked for something more dramatic...

UPDATE 4/9/08: I guess I should have kept that more of a secret, it looks like access to the Target site is now restricted.

They are coming to eat your lunch

2008-04-03T15:28:00.003-04:00

For years I have heard Americans who work as fundraisers for national advocacy groups discuss whether it would work if they decided to raise money internationally. Usually, such conversations hit a snag when people start asking about postage for international mailings or some other such concern.

The usual conclusion is that "we'll think about it later when we have more time." (Ironically, that's also the same conclusion reached when big groups try to consider whether they should reach out in Spanish to potential immigrant populations within the United States.)

I don't think this procrastination is simplybecause people are lazy... often the concerns and cost/benefit questions are valid... however, I mention all of this because I've had more than one person comment to me about the high number of foreigners at this year's AFP Conference.

So, while fundraisers rarely admit publicly that they view themselves as competitors to each other, I thought I would warn you... those foreign nonprofits are coming to eat your lunch (and steal your donors)... so be prepared.

Chapel & York announced recently that they are holding a series of seminars entitled, "Fundraising from America." The seminars will be held in London to coincide with their publication, "Directory of American Grantmakers 2008-09."

Globization can be a bitch if you are caught unprepared.

The Agitator's take on the AFP conference

2008-04-03T07:30:00.002-04:00

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone is offering on my most recent column for the NonProfit Times. I really didn't think it was a Jerry Maguire moment when I wrote it. I just get sick and tired of fundraisers who go to conferences unprepared - wasting time and money - without getting anything out of the experience. I think it can (and should) be better... so I said so.

Roger Craver had a great way of describing the AFP on his Agitator blog. Because I know that blog takes a long time to load, I wanted to clip a portion of his well written post below:

The annual migration in our trade is underway. The Association of Fundraising Professionals opened its annual conference yesterday in San Diego. Consultants wooing clients, printers, envelope salespeople, new media application service providers ... all there wooing everyone in sight, along with 1/3 of the attendees looking for new jobs and wearing their best smiles.

Unfortunately, I can't be there observing us all in our natural habitat. But I do want to send this note to loyal Agitator readers who are opening this morning's edition over coffee in their rooms, ploughing through The Conference Program wondering what sessions they should attend today or whether they should just go to Sea World. (By the way, Sea World has a terrific website and is a good place to visit!)

There's a wide offering in the AFP Conference Program. From the conventional to the important to the inane. What strikes me by its absence is there's very, very little about what will matter most in effective fundraising in the years to come: social networking advances thanks to technology.

Excellent. Roger goes on to name some of the names that DID speak - Mark Rovner, Nick Allen, and Nicci Noble - all three excellent speakers for nonprofit fundraisers to learn from.

AFP live blogging & my new NPT column

2008-04-02T07:19:00.002-04:00

I would be amiss if I didn't mention that Reed over at the Association of Fundraising Professionals set up a neat blog for this year's AFP Conference in San Diego.

I should also point out that the Chronicle of Philanthropy also has a new blog, named Prospecting, which has been cranking out some decent coverage of sessions from the AFP events.

But, perhaps most important... my new column has been published over the NonProfit Times web exclusive section. The title this month is, "An Honest Critique Of The Fundraising Conference Circuit." I think many of you who are in San Diego now can relate.

Go here to read the entire article now... especially my money quote:

To put it bluntly, conferences suffer when organizers allow uninspired speakers to present stale content to disengaged attendees.

...oh yeah, and you should also take note of the fact that the NPT placed my article above Eleanor Cliff's new column.

Donor envelope stuffed with feces

2008-03-31T14:14:00.004-04:00

How bad has fundraising gotten the for National Republican Congressional Committee?

The New York Times details the steps being taken by Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole. The 58-year-old is a year into his term as chairman of the N.R.C.C.

Apparently, when he got there, things were pretty bad.

Many conservative activists have become so dissatisfied with the party’s heresies, particularly on immigration and government spending, that as Cole’s staff took over, the committee’s fund-raising pleas were being ignored and, on at least one occasion, returned in an envelope stuffed with feces.

Ewwwww. That's nasty. I've seen angry donors send back lots of "crap" in those business reply envelopes... but never actual crap!

Worse still, the National Republican Congressional Committee recently discovered, during an internal audit, accounting fraud so extensive that it had to call in the F.B.I., which is now investigating embezzlement by the committee’s former treasurer.

Congressman's daughter paid $270,000 fundraising commission

2008-03-28T07:46:00.001-04:00

Conservative bloggers, like the two numbskulls who run Majority Accountability Project, have been all over the story of how a Democratic Congressman's daughter was paid seemingly large sums of money to fundraise on his behalf.

From Newsday.com:

Molly Bishop has made nearly $270,000 since 2002 fundraising for her father, Rep. Timothy Bishop, and has broadened her clientele since 2006 and earned $164,000 working for other local Democrats, according to state and federal records.

Bishop, 29, who started working as a part-time fundraiser in her father's first campaign in 2002, billed Brookhaven Supervisor Brian Foley's campaign $118,000 and the Brookhaven Democratic Party $35,000 and has worked for a half dozen other local candidates, according to reports filed with the State Board of Elections and the Federal Election Commission.

Other bloggers have long chronicled the potential ethical problems of hiring family members as lobbyists, but the subject of whether family members should be paid to fundraise for candidates is only now gaining traction.

Last year, Mitt Romney's campaign got attention from this blog (and others) when they paid students who raised at least $1,000 for the former presidential candidate a 10% commission on all money raised.

I think it's great that people want to look more closely at politicians who pay relatives a commission to fundraise on their behalf.

Major donor fundraising metrics

2008-03-27T07:24:00.003-04:00

Holly Hall's article on how major donor fundraising metrics has been racing around listserves and development offices for the past three weeks.

The article describes performance metrics being used by Development Directors to evaluate whether staff are doing their jobs... and raising serious money as effectively as possible..

When Paul Keenan first took a job soliciting big gifts for charity, his supervisor asked him and his colleagues to prepare monthly reports, listing all their contacts with potential donors, and whether they were calls, letters, or visits.

"It was controversial - people resented it because they were professionals and felt they could be trusted," says Mr. Keenan, now an associate dean of development at Harvard University. "They also felt it was overly bureaucratic."

Now, more than a decade later, such attitudes seem quaint. More and more charities are adopting sophisticated systems to monitor and assess the performance of staff members who solicit big gifts from wealthy people. The evaluation systems hold fund raisers to exacting requirements for the number of donors they visit, how such visits are reported, the amount of dollars raised, and the percentage of solicitations that result in a donation.

Such efforts can help fund raisers bring in more money, according to researchers. A 2006 study of nearly 600 college and university fund raisers who solicit big gifts found that those who raise the most work for institutions that are more systematic in tracking and applying performance measures.

Of all the different fundraising roles I've played, I've never had an opportunity to look a donor in the eye and ask for a gift over $100,000. I think that would be fun.

It's an excellent article about how the experts at the Mayo Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of America, Nature Conservancy, Alzheimer's Association and others do it. Go here to read more.

Congressman to attend nonprofit conference

2008-03-26T07:20:00.000-04:00

A reader just forwarded me an email that Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC) co-chair of the House Philanthropy Caucus will be attending an event organized by the Nonprofit Federation of the DMA on April 9th.

The organization is hosting the 2008 Critical Issues Impacting Nonprofits & Fundraising conference in Washington, DC. They also advertise "nonprofit legal luminaries" including:

* Errol Copilevitz of Copilevitz & Canter, LLC
* Jack B. Siegel of Charity Governance Consulting LLC (and blogger)
* Chip Watkins of Chamberlain & Bean

Also in the line-up: Jerry Lease from the US Postal Service, Evelyn Brody of Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology and our co-chairs Geoff Peters and Charlie Nave. The full day conference plans to cover everything from how to complete the new Form 990 to what is lurking in state legislatures.

If you live want to see the agenda, go here.

Paper claims Bill Gates 'reneges' on $2 million pledge

2008-03-25T00:27:00.001-04:00

In recent weeks, Microsoft had given up to $500,000 of its software to Prince Charles' charity named, the Technology Leadership Group, a subsidiary of the Prince's Trust.

Sources claim that Microsoft agreed verbally to commit an additional £1million was apparently secured for the charity's efforts to train young entrepreneurs.

The Daily Mail cites an "insider" that admitted on closer inspection the specific project the Prince's Trust wanted to use the new money for was not "tightly focused enough around technology" to benefit its recipients.

But negotiations between Microsoft and the Prince's Trust broke down and the offer was abruptly withdrawn. Insiders suggest Gates, given an honorary knighthood by the Queen in 2005 for his charity donations, intervened personally to block the donation after a trip to Britain in January.

It should be noted that the discussions and plan were never legally binding and no public announcements were made.

Tale of two special events

2008-03-22T10:35:00.005-04:00

Joanne Fritz at About.com shares an interesting comparison of two special events she recently attended.

One of them had a well known actress to talk to the crowd, but no one seemed to tell her to link her lurid life story to the charity's mission. It was so bad, she writes, "I excused myself and hung out in the restroom until I thought the guest speaker was probably done with her awful speech."

The other special event did a magnificent job of weaving together the event with the audience and the mission of the organization. Go here to read her comparison of the vastly different events.

NTEN Conference kicks off in New Orleans

2008-03-20T00:16:00.003-04:00

More than 1,000 of the cool cats in the country are descending on New Orleans for the 2008 Nonprofit Techology Conference hosted by NTEN over the next couple days.

David Pogue, the personal technology columnist for the New York Times will be speaking at the plenary session at 8:30am... although given some of the festivities on Wednesday night, I doubt that all of the attendees are going to drag their butts to that event on time.

Beth Kanter was one of a couple dozen honored colleagues to be recognized by NTEN at the member's luncheon. Her award was "Most likely to have an account on every social networking site."

Nancy Schwartz has already posted to her Getting Attention blog that she is thrilled with the focus on how attendees can make connections with other nonprofit fundraisers and marketers.

They even have an official widget to track updates from the conference and they have a cool syndication feature for blogs that post to their own sites with the tag 08NTC.

"The B in Bush stands for big bucks"

2008-03-19T18:30:00.005-04:00

Despite an approval rating that hovers around 30%, President Bush has spoken at 11 Republican fundraising events in the last 11 weeks, bringing in over $27 million... that's a pace of $346,000 per day according to the Los Angeles Times.

On Tuesday, President Bush was in Jacksonville, where he talked about free trade with dockworkers. That was the official reason for the day trip.

But the event was sandwiched between two unofficial reasons: a luncheon in Jacksonville, where 51 people contributed $685,500 to the Republican National Committee, and a reception in Palm Beach, where 49 guests were expected to donate $762,000 to the party's main bank account.

Despite media reports that John McCain trails in fundraising, the RNC and DNC are important campaign tools because there are no limits on contributions to the party itself. Many people might be surprised to read that the parties are in much different shape:

At the end of February, the party had $21.7 million in cash on hand, compared with the Democratic National Committee's balance of $3 million, said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

No wonder the DNC doesn't want to pay for Florida to hold another primary!

How did a "relative unknown" win $50k on Facebook?

2008-03-18T20:24:00.004-04:00

This is an excellent article about how Love Without Boundaries won the top prize in an online contest sponsored by Facebook and Parade Magazine.

LWB provides medical treatment, nutrition programs, foster care and education for orphans and impoverished children in China... but they also do a damn fine job of recruiting volunteers like the Green Family.

Like many others, I am occasionally guilty of thinking of the web 2.0 social networking trend in fundraising as being geared toward younger supporters. I was blown away to read about how a 56 and 63-year-old couple runs LWB's eBay operation and recruited all those Facebook volunteers.

"Our biggest challenge came from the Students for a Free Tibet group," Green said. "Students are very computer-savvy and they're on them all the time. We're a 40-plus age-group organization and it was more work for us to get people on computers."

Thanks to Marge Neal at the Fredrick News-Post Online for bringing us this story.

National Slavery Museum stalled by "sluggish fundraising"

2008-03-17T19:30:00.005-04:00

Nearly five years after a ceremonial groundbreaking, the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredricksburg, Virginia appears stalled by "sluggish fundraising" according to the Associated Press.

The museum was supposed to cost $200, however it's unclear how much the organizers still need.

Despite millions of dollars in private and public dollars committed to the museum, organizers have given an unclear accounting of their finances: While the museum cites $50 million available, a 2006 tax return obtained by The Associated Press details $17.6 million in assets, much of that believed to be the value of a 38-acre proposed site.

L. Douglas Wilder, the nation's first black elected governor, had originally tapped powerful friends like Bill Cosby and Ben Vereen. Unfortunately, Museum director Vonita Foster told a reporter that she is unsure of current finances.

"The money was just flowing in at one point," Foster said. "But then it just stopped after Katrina" as people focused on hurricane relief efforts. At the same time, Foster said museum officials had to pay an army of consultants and exhibit designers.

"We have blueprints, we have drawings, we have exhibit designs," she said. "... We are at a point where we can actually begin building because of all the money we have spent," she said. "And it's not cheap."

When contacted by the AP, neither developer Silver Companies nor architect C.C. Pei could say when the museum would open. Oh dear. That doesn't sound good. They better hurry. A $500 million National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian, is planned to open in 2015 about an hour north, in Washington.