"Restitution is what we're after"

Rodney Rodis, a retired Roman Catholic priest, who plead guilty to mail fraud and money laundering in the theft of more than $600,000 in donations from St. Jude Church and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Louisa County, Virgina between 2002 and 2006 was sentenced to 63 months in prison.

According to Zinie Chen Sampson's article for the Associated Press:

Authorities said Rodis set up bank accounts and a post office box where he directed parishioners to send contributions. Rodis then transferred the money to his personal account, using it to support his family — a wife and three children, whom he concealed from parishioners. He also wired money overseas to relatives who used it to buy real estate.

Lawyers for the 51 thief argued for leniacy because of health issues. Meanwhile, the parishes feel betrayed. The man who succeeded Rodis said after the hearing he wasn't convinced of the sincerity of his predecessor's apologies.

"He did this for five years, systematically, and in a very organized way," the Rev. Michael Duffy said. "Restitution is what we're after."

A judge gave Rodis credit for time served, but ordered him to repay the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond more than $591,000 and required the Filipino native to meet with federal immigration officials for possible deportation after his prison term ends.

Part II of the donation jar "expose"

Okay. My apologies to Eric Rucker at KTVZ. Yesterday, I said that I wasn't sure if he was an idiot or just a lazy reporter after he did a cupcake piece on donation jars.

If he wants to start a debate on whether or not nonprofits are being inefficient by only asking for loose change without collecting names and addresses in order to cultivate a relationship... that's great. I'd love to see us discuss the pros/cons of cash donation jars from that perspective.

But television reporters who bang the same drum like Eric did on February 19th are no different than my local television anchor who keeps trying to convince me that their investigative reports team has uncovered some meaningless scandal.

However, after I saw Eric's "part II" of his expose on donation jars, I felt that I owed the guy an apology if I openly questioned his intelligence. Go here to view the rivoting follow-up "Donation jars help those in need."

Special report: Donation jars - charity or scam?

Eric Rucker is a reporter for KTVZ in Oregon.

After reading his "special report" on donation jars, I'm not sure if he is an idiot or just a really lazy writer. Check out for yourself how this brainiac decided to bring hard hitting journalism to the world of philanthropy:

In a day and age when a credit or debit card swipe is more popular than a dollar bill, extra change may not always weigh down your pant pockets.

But if you do pay in cash, you're bound to get some change.

You could, say, create your own change jar.

Or donate it to the charitable jar right in front of you - and many do.

"People are pretty generous here in Bend," said Bend's Galveston Avenue 7-Eleven owner, Brian Longerbeam.

But if you do add some of your money to the collection jar, are you helping a charity, or supporting a scam?

NewsChannel 21 wanted to find out.

Thursday round-up!

Feel free to procrastinate your daily fundraising by reading any of these recent links:

Annaliese over at NTEN asks whether Facebook's contribution to fundraising will be a bust OR whether social networking sites will find a way to cultivate repeat donors. She contrasts the recent Case Foundation contest with Senator Obama's online fundraising strategy.

The Asian Pacific Post reports on a fundraising gala organized by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation which raises money in Vancouver to support multi-cultural programs for new immigrants. "Since its inception, it has attracted over 120,000 people and raised more than $5,000,000 for community services in Metro Vancouver."

A thief broke into the New Gate School and stole nearly $5,000 worth of items. Although, from the sounds of this article, the 300 parents usually raise $130,000 anyway at New Gate School's largest annual fundraising event.

Sean over at Tactical Philanthropy has an opening at Ensemble Capital for a research analyst/junior portfolio manager.

But my favorite comment of the week goes to "Phil S" who responded to Holden's latest post at the GiveWell Blog by saying:

“It seems to me that the devaluing of high level decision making in favor of near-random one-time choices followed by intense specialized effort and solipsistic loyalty to the community joined through the initially random choice is one of the increasingly severe cultural problems of contemporary America.”

Damn Phil. I think that's either complete nonsense or really deep.

Local governments prepare to cut nonprofits from budget

The Chronicle of Philanthropy followed up on their in-depth coverage of what a recession might mean for fundraising with a live chat yesterday.

Unfortunately, Michael Seltzer and Robert Sharpe, the guests for the chat addressed the impending diaster awaiting nonprofit groups that rely on local government funding. Not only has the collapsed of the real estate bubble reduced the size of tax revenue for many jurisdictions... but in case you missed it, we are about to face a major crisis with municipal bonds.

As a result, I expect to hear more about municipalities declaring bankruptcy. When that happens, expect to see more headlines like this from El Dorado County in California:

Museum and bookmobile services might be curtailed and a surcharge added to cell phone bills as part of El Dorado County's efforts to close a projected $15.6 million budget gap in the coming fiscal year.

Don't be surprised if other cash-strapped municipalities begin to do more than close the county Historical Museum or eliminate the library's bookmobile service.

Rotary President offers fundraising advice

Wilf Wilkinson, the first Canadian president of Rotary International, will speak in Halifax on Tuesday evening.

His fundraising efforts are legendary in Rotary circles. For example, in 1986, he was treasurer of the Canada PolioPlus program, with a goal of raising $10 million across the country. He raised $12 million.

Not only has Wilkinson helped raise many millions more since that campaign; Rotary has almost eradicated polio, through its massive financial contributions.

His advice on fundraising is simple and honest:

His theory is simple. "The secret of fundraising is being convinced of the need, having the courage to ask and not being discouraged when someone says no. You’ll get a donation about every fourth person, so just keep asking. And you’ll get something eventually from the person who turned you down the last time — if you ask again next time."

The 77 year-old leader overseas an organization that has grown to 1.2 million Rotarians in 32,000 clubs in 200 countries and regions.

Quiet an impressive fundraising resume for a guy named "Wilf."

Keep up the good work.

Oprah's Big Give

I gotta admit, I really am looking forward to see what Oprah's Big Give looks like. I usually hate reality TV, but maybe this will spark a national conversation:

Oprah's Big Give will begin with the 10 contestants -- who hail from across the country and have diverse backgrounds -- as they converge on Los Angeles for their first challenge, where Winfrey will hand them sealed envelopes with only a picture and the name of a complete stranger. Then, in only five days, each contestant must "give big" to "change this person's life" by using their creativity and resources to "make a real difference."

Do you remember when she gave everyone in her audience $1,000, but asked them to go out and and pay it forward?

The "gives" get even bigger throughout Oprah's Big Give's eight-episode run, and at its conclusion, the contestant left standing will receive the title of "The Biggest Giver" and -- unbeknownst to them -- a $1 million prize.

Go here to read about the identity of the contestants.

Happy Valentines Day Fundraisers!

I'm a big fan of The Nonprofiteer.

Today she tipped me off to a post by Robert Tolmach at WellGood LLC who writes:

Facebook members spend a reported $200k a day on virtual gifts. On Valentine’s Day, they will likely spend millions of dollars sending little pictures of teddy bears, flowers, hearts, or whatever.

Imagine the impact we could make by capturing some of those dollars for breast cancer research!

The ChangingThePresent app on facebook offers a new kind of virtual gift, which are really donations to the nonprofit you choose, and the picture your friend receives shows what you contributed toward. It’s a nice way to show you care and make a difference.What better $1 gift for Valentine’s Day than a donation
toward breast cancer research?

The Nonprofiteer goes on to add:

...that heart disease, which kills more women by a huge fraction than breast cancer, would be equally appropriate (and, while we're at it, thinks that breast cancer's high profile [you should pardon the expression] reflects society's fetishization of the breast as the be-all and end-all of womanhood rather than its concern for women's health)--but she agrees that any gift to charity is better than a virtual gift, whatever that might be.

Go to this Facebook group to participate: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22346235455

Three political fundraising headlines

Here are three political fundraising stories I saw on Tuesday that caught my attention:

The Conservative Pulse made it sound as if Ron Paul's fundraising numbers are starting to dry up after the maverick candidate failed to make a significant showing in any primary so far.

The week of January 21st, the Paul campaign added over $2.2 million to their bank account. Last week the campaign raised $1.6 million. This week, all signs suggest that the Paul campaign will take in only about $250k in donations.

Meanwhile, it was interesting to see how far John McCain's luck has changed. Last summer when McCain was at a low point in the polls and his fundraising had bottomed out, he asked to participate in the public campaign finance system.

However, on Tuesday McCain sent letters to the Federal Election Commission and the Treasury Department notifying them of his decision to withdraw from the presidential election financing system.

Though the FEC declared him eligible to receive $5.8 million in December, the money would not have become available until next month. By accepting the money, moreover, McCain would have been required to limit his spending for the primary to about $54 million — an amount the campaign was close to reaching now.

I thought the captain of the "Straight Talk Express" was a a passionate advocate of limits on campaign finances.

Finally, CQ Politics published an article that examines the fundraising powerhouses behind 10 of the best funded incumbent House members. The article shows why it is so hard to beat an incumbent:

In fact, 65 U.S. House incumbents each reported more than $1 million in total receipts last year, including six who topped the $2 million mark, according to a CQ Politics analysis of updated campaign finance reports filed by candidates to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) at the end of January.

Politics shouldn't really count as nonprofit fundraising.

Charity scam figure set for release from federal custody

The NonProfit Times posted a detailed story today on John G. Bennett Jr.'s pending release from federal custody:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, he will be set free from a halfway house in Philadelphia on March 5. He was sent there this past Sept. 11 after serving nearly 10 years at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institute in New Jersey.

Go here to read more details about Bennett's role in what I think was one of the biggest charity scams of all-time.

My own takeaway from the Slate 60 list

The annual Slate 60 list of the largest charitable contributions of the year is out today.

Their "takeaway" from is list is that:

Two hoteliers known for providing comfort to the well-to-do are leaving a different legacy: aid to the less fortunate... The late Leona Helmsley bequeathed $4 billion to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and Barron Hilton donated $1.2 billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, started by his father.

Unfortunately, I have a different "takeaway." For me, it stands out that the two biggest gifts were given almost involuntarily... when one donor died and the other may have needed to find a tax shelter after making a multi-billion dollar capital gain tax this year.

Sure, both gifts are very big... and generous... and I'm sure the world will be a better place because of these donations. I'm not going to knock planned gifts of personal estates. I'm also impressed that our government continues to offer generous charity donation deductions.

However, size isn't what always touches this fundraiser. I'm more impressed with the gifts given voluntarily during one's life. Gifts that respond to an organizations specific needs without asking for anything in return. Is that too naive?

Yep, he's still in jail

Thanks to the research assistance of a quick-witted old friend, Don't Tell the Donor has learned that John G. Bennett Jr. is still in prison serving a 12 year sentence for bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false statements, filing false tax returns, money laundering and money laundering to promote unlawful activity.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons website shows that inmate number 50156-066 is projected to be released on March 5th, 2008. So lock up your endowments fellow fundraisers, in less than a month he's going to be released from Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey.

To read more about "the six-year long Ponzi-turned-pyramid scam defrauded roughly 150 charities out of more than $100 million," go here.

Be sure to vote in our reader poll - should Bennett have been sentenced to more than 144 months in prison?

Is John G. Bennett Jr. still in jail?

A free "Don't Tell the Donor" prize to the first person who can email me at donttellthedonor@gmail.com and prove whether or not John G. Bennett Jr. has been released from prison yet. The only source I can find says that he applied for early release in the summer of 2005.

The biggest charity scam of all time?

CNBC's hit show American Greed devoted its broadcast Wednesday night to the infamous story of John G. Bennett, Jr. who was able to scam roughly 150 charities out of more than $100 million prior to being caught in 1995.

The NonProfit Times described the scam as "a promise to double organizations' investments after a six-month holding period through anonymous matches. It was later discovered that the anonymous donors didn't exist. At its most basic, a Ponzi scheme pays off original investors by using the funds from new recruits. Eventually new recruits dry up and the scheme collapses."

Amazingly, Bennett was able to raise over $500 million from 1100 donors and embezzle $135 million of it - mostly from Christian religious organizations and charities in the Philadelphia - before being discovered by Albert Meyer, an accounting teacher at a college in Michigan.

After Meyer was able to get the attention of a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, the foundation declared bankruptcy and many prominent nonprofits in a terrible financial situation.

According to the PA Attorney General's complaint, the victimized charities included the Boy Scouts of America, the Environmental Defense Fund, Haverford College, Harvard University, Princeton University, The Nature Conservancy, One to One Partnership Inc., Planned Parenthood, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stanford University Medical School, the United Way and Yale Law School. Other organizations included:

Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, $2.7 million
Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield, Pa., $5.8 million
CB International, Wheaton, Ill., $4.6 million
Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Ga., $5 million
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Mi., $4 million
Houghton College, Houghton, N.Y., $4 million
John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Ark., $4 million
International Missions, Reading, Pa., $5 million
International Teams, Prospects Heights, Ill., $5 million
King College, Bristol, Tenn., $5 million
University of Pennsylvania, $2.1 million
Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., $4.6 million

The NonProfit Times also reported that "victimized charities later recovered more than 90 percent of their losses in an unprecedented bankruptcy settlement orchestrated by leaders at ECFA who formed the United Response to New Era, according to officials familiar with the settlement."

Bennett faced 82 federal counts of money laundering and wire, mail and bank fraud. He planned to claim in his defense that he had been possessed by "religious fervor", but the judge did not allow this. In the end Bennett pleaded no contest to all the charges in March of 1997. Though federal sentencing guidelines indicated a sentence of 22 to 27 years, the judge gave him 12.

What's most interesting is that Bennett was originally slated to be released next month - in March of 2008, but I've been unable to determine through research if this bastard ever got out of jail early on good behavior.

If you want to read more about this scam, I recommend this article.

Google Custom Search covering foundations

Lucy Bernholz shared this post yesterday from the NTEN listserve:

"To assist E-Democracy.Org's grant prospecting efforts I put together a little (big actually) Google Custom Search covering foundations, somegovernment funding sites, and sites with fund raising advice fornon-profits. Why not share it with the world? Try it out from:

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=008992915104785064737%3Aq7jehshqp3g

Google Custom Search has a nifty option where you can say search all of the sites or partial sites to which a certain pages links. The main area where the search can be improved is by adding pages with links tosmaller community foundations. I've opened up the search engine to volunteer contributions."

She then goes on to make this wise observation:

I remember several years ago being asked by a 20-something nonprofit executive why anyone would need the Foundation Center. "Can't I just Google everything I need to know?" he asked. The question, and the search engine above, reveal a lot about how things have changed. There is such experienced-based assurance among Internet users that they can find what they need to know, by themselves. There is good reason to believe that many relevant funders can be found on the Web - though I don't know if anyone has counted foundation websites (which would be found by Google) and compared it to the 10,000 foundation database maintained by the Foundation Center or the larger universe of grants and funders catalogued by FoundationSearch. Savvy users of any search engine must always wonder what they are not finding, but so should users of industry sources such as the Foundation Center.

I've often said that there are some fundraisers who are cool enough to be "on the bus," and then there are others - like Lucy - who are so cool that they are literally helping to drive the bus.

Bush budget rewards Smithsonian but cuts PBS

I've been digging through the scary $3.1 trillion budget proposal Bush presented recently. Not surprisingly, the Republicans put a lot of domestic programs on the chopping block.

However, the Smithsonian Institution, the largest of the cultural accounts in the federal budget, received a proposed overall increase of $33.8 million in the 2009 budget request the White House.

It looked like the Smithsonian's budget would be trimmed, as politicians warned the institution that it needed to shape up. But despite the turmoil, the Smithsonian received $682.6 million for fiscal 2008, which ends in October. That was a $47 million increase from the previous year. Yesterday's proposal for fiscal 2009 is a response to pleas from Smithsonian officials that more help is needed to reduce a backlog of repairs that totals $2.5 billion. The proposal includes $128 million for facilities, up from $105.4 million in 2008. That includes continued funding for improvements at the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo. In another category, the budget proposal gives the Smithsonian $69.1 million for maintenance, a boost from $51.4 million in 2008.

The budget proposal wasn't too kind in its recommendation for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting:

In another proposal, President Bush recommended substantial cuts in the 2009 and 2010 budgets of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He proposed eliminating $200 million from the already approved $400 million for 2009 and $220 million from the $420 million passed by Congress for 2010. The CPB, which oversees and funds public radio and other public broadcasting operations, gets funding allocations several years in advance, although those can be changed. For the past eight years, Congress has overridden the president's cuts and restored full funding.

Looks like we're going to try harder for the 9th straight year to override those cuts again. Although, with all this fighting... it reminds me to ask... "What would Mr. Rogers do?"

Where do the pre-printed Patriots t-shirts go?

Immediately after the New York Giants won the Super Bowl last night, the players were given Championship t-shirts and hats.

I couldn't help think about all those people who assumed the New England Patriots were going to win and probably printed all the shirts and hats over the past couple weeks. Did you ever wonder where the unused (and incorrectly printed) t-shirts go?

Well, it turns out that a smart nonprofit already thought of an idea for that:

International Christian agency World Vision and the National Football League are continuing their long partnership to provide pre-prepared memorabilia designed to congratulate the losing team on their win to needy families around the world. This year, children in Nicaragua, Romania, and several other countries will be the recipients of the donation.

I guess that means that in developing countries around the world, a couple weeks from now there are kids walking around who are wearing what Tom Brady thought he would be wearing late last night.

"I Didn't Get Elected To Be A Fundraiser"

Christopher Murphy is freshman Congressman representing Connecticut’s Fifth District.

Today he published a heartfelt letter in the Hartford Courant explaining his frustration that the demands of fundraising distract him from being able to help his constituents.

But let me pull back the curtain a little bit more. On top of all of the official duties of a congressman, I and my colleagues find that more and more of our time is spent on our re-elections, largely raising money. On any given day, the foot traffic to and from the national Republican and Democratic campaign offices is constant, and the conditions under which we labor are pretty depressing. At the Democratic offices, I sit in a room with cubicles, surrounded by freshmen and veteran legislators, feeling more like a telemarketer than a member of Congress. And I'm told that every year, the room gets more crowded. When I take a breath and look around, it becomes clear that this problem won't correct itself with time.

He goes on to explain that he may face a backlash for sharing this insight into the ugly world of political fundraising:

Most elected officials don't want you to know about the world of political fundraising because they fear that it paints an unflattering portrait of public life. (I'm sure there might even be a political price for me to pay for talking so bluntly about fundraising here.) But if the picture is unbecoming, the solution lies not in hiding the ugliness, but in exposing it. Why? Because it doesn't have to be this way.

The congressman goes on to advocate for public financing of congressional campaigns in order to cure this terrible reality of our democracy.

The Causes Giving Challenge is over!

From Facebook's website:

The Causes Giving Challenge (the “Challenge”) concluded at 3:00 PM EST on February 1st, 2008, and the Causes team and donation processing partners are currently reviewing and tabulating the results based on unique donors and in accordance with the Challenge Terms and Conditions. At the conclusion of this review period, the final award recipients will be posted on this page, http://apps.facebook.com/causes/giving, and we expect to announce these official results on or about February 21st, 2008.

The official top winners are: Love Without Boundaries Foundation, Tibetan Freedom Movement, and Fight Poverty with Nourish International.

Developing...

My new column in The Nonprofit Times

The NonProfit Times asked me to write a column using my anonymous alias "a fundraiser" which will appear as a monthly feature on their website.

Apparently someone over there thinks I'm running, "one of the hottest blogs in the sector" and since I'm such a sucker for flattery - I told them I would be honored to share my thoughts.

So, a couple days ago I sat down and thought about a topic that worries a lot of my fundraising colleagues... and I began my first post by asking a scary question:

How would you feel if you discovered that 500 of your donors had created a group on a social networking Web site like Facebook to publicly discuss their experiences donating to your organization?

I suspect some fundraisers would panic with a sense of fear...

Continue reading the rest of this thought-provoking article titled "Our Donors Are Talking - What Are We Afraid Of?" on the NonProfit Times website.

Make-A-Wish Foundation Bankrupted by Greedy Kid

The folks at The Onion produced this excellent satirical video claiming that a 8-year-old Boston boy who "took advantage of some bureaucratic loophole" in the charter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation by asking the organization to provide him with unlimited wishes.

Apparently, Chad's "non-stop" wish fulfillment" has grown to include "nine trips to Walt Disney World for himself and his family of five," "a real live F-14 Tomcat (which had to be decommissioned from Afghanistann)," and "daily hot dog lunches with Yankee slugger Johnny Damon," with the result that Chad alone has cost Make-A-Wish Foundation five times its annual budget.


Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

The spoof has been so popular, it even got an official response on Snopes..

If you want to give a gift to Make-A-Wish Foundation, you can go here.

Thanks to a loyal reader of Don't Tell the Donor who lives in Israel for sending me an email about this story... and congrats to Jeff Brooks for beating me to this post :)

Why is Barnard's endowment so tiny?

According to the Columbia Spectator:

Barnard’s endowment of around $200 million is markedly smaller than those of similar institutions. In comparison, Wellesley College’s endowment, the largest of any women’s college, was $1.6 billion in 2007.

Martha Dean, Director of Development at Bryn Mawr College, speculates that women’s colleges have faced unique fundraising challenges because “women, at least historically, have approached philanthropy more tentatively than men.” According to Dean, women tend to leave money to their colleges as part of their estates, while men donate more throughout their lives.

Even with recent shifts in fundraising at women’s colleges, Barnard’s endowment is still much smaller than Smith’s $1.3 billion or Bryn Mawr’s $678 million.

Maybe more donors need to be told that Barnard and Columbia have separate endowments and, moreover, “the Barnard endowment does not receive money from Columbia’s fundraising efforts.”

Facebook causes contest drawing to a close

Stephanie Strom proves once again she really does have her finger on the pulse of the fundraising world by putting out a story in the New York Times on America’s Giving Challenge and the contest being run on Facebook's Causes application.

Strom points out that smaller charities are kicking larger charities butts.

Love Without Boundaries, which raised just $1.2 million in 2006, has attracted the most donors in 10 different 24-hour periods, winning $1,000 each time.

Compare that to Amnesty International:

Amnesty established a presence on Facebook in May and has raised about $15,000 from 200,000 Facebook members. They were the first people Amnesty contacted when it decided to participate in America’s Giving Challenge, and they were asked to work to get five friends to donate at least $10. If they succeeded, they would get a copy of the CD “Instant Karma.” But no one has claimed the prize yet, and Amnesty had garnered just $540 by Wednesday afternoon.

It's an interesting article... but maybe an even more interesting question - are smaller organizations really better positioned to raise money in these forums or are the larger organizations simply making rational decisions to focus their efforts on bigger revenue goals than a $50,000 popularity contest?

Barefoot coach gets huge donation

A college basketball coach named Ron Hunter in Indianapolis wanted to raise 40,000 pairs of shoes for Samaritan's Feet - a charity based in Charlotte, N.C. that helps children in the U.S. and around the world.

To draw attention to this feat - he decided to go barefoot while coaching a game for his team at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Soo... it was a little unorthodox, it might have violated some health codes, and it most certainly stunk... but it worked.

The coach appeared on several ESPN shows on Thursday, and secured donations of thousands of shoes from Converse, Wal-Mart, Nine West and the Department of Homeland Security.The mission of the nonprofit, Christian-based Samaritan charity is to send 10 million shoes in 10 years to children living in poverty.

By the time the results, nearly $20,000 and 110,000 pairs of shoes were donated.

Hunter, 43, who almost never sits when coaching games, didn't have his feet stepped on, but they were still sore.

"My feet hurt so bad," he said after the game. "But imagine a child or a human going their whole lives without shoes."

As a small footnote to the story (get it?), IUPUI beat Oakland 82-69.

I think she's talking about me...

It turns out that asking a consultant to go to a conference and report back on their findings is a shitty way to collect content for a blog... and alas, it looks like I was called out on it.

"I don’t have a blog — yet — but if I did, I sure as hell would be blogging about the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s annual conference that took place in D.C. last week. I mean, come on, these conferences are chock-full of useful information — not to mention juicy gossip and ‘celeb’-fundraiser sightings. But here it is, four days after the close of the conference, and the only thing I see on the blogs is one blogger’s promise to post guest blogs from someone in attendance … but no follow-up. Weird."­

— (Not really) posted Jan. 29 by FundRaising Success Editor-in-Chief Margaret Battistelli on her imaginary "I Don’t Have A Blog Yet" blog.

Donation thief sentenced to one night of homelessness

Last Thursday, a 28 year old man named Nathen Smith walked into Judge Michael Cicconetti's courtroom in Painesville, Ohio expecting to be sentenced for stealing a donation kettle from the Salvation Army last Christmas.

However, the sentence seemed to shock everyone.

"Now when you're taking money directly from the homeless", said Cicconetti, "then I want you to feel like that individual, like the homeless person and experience that. So you can do 90 days in jail or spend one night on the street followed by 3 days in jail."

The judge told Smith to empty his pockets and carry only his identification. A global positioning tracking device was clamped on Smith's leg so that he could be located at all times as he wandered the streets of Painesville.

Smith seemed resigned to his punishment despite the harsh cold temperature outside.

One of Nathen's options for the night is under the Main Street bridge where the homeless in Painesville can often be found sleeping. There are blankets and sleeping bags piled up in the snow near the base of the bridge.

Judge Cicconetti told Smith, "I am not going to give you any clues where you're going to find food. I'm not going to give you any clues where you are going to spend the night. That's up to you."

Hardly a slap on the wrist, huh? Go here to watch a video from a local Ohio television news program.

A big blog called "a small change"

Congratulations to Jason Dick for cultivating an excellent conversation about how small nonprofits can successful implement online fundraising programs. Check out A Small Change for a multi-part interview with folks from: PaySimple, Firstgiving, DonorPerfect Fundraising Software, GiveStream, Click and Pledge, and EchoDonations.

Obama's win drives fundraising spike

Matthew Mosk and Jose Antonio Vargas at the Washington Post had an interesting article last night on the unbelievable fundraising spike that followed Obama's win in South Carolina.

A source inside the Obama campaign says the candidate's web site has seen one of its best hours tonight, raising $525,000 in one hour. A senior aide inside the Obama campaign said the candidate's site saw its "highest peak" tonight in both online donations and traffic, "bigger than after Iowa, bigger than after New Hampshire."

By my math, that comes out to $8,750 a minute.

2008 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference

There is a big nonprofit fundraising conference going on in Washington, DC this week which is run by the Direct Marketing Association's Nonprofit Federation.

I've been told they have about 800 people there this year... and while I'd love to be there blogging about the education conferences and gossip from the various networking events, it's not going to happen.

So, in my place I asked a dear friend, who I will call "a consultant" to send me emails from the inner working's of the festivities in Washington. Here is what my source sent me:

Hi Fundraiser, Greetings from the conference! The escalators don't work at the hotel, so getting between floors is a pain-in-the-butt, but not as much of a pain as schmoozing with clients, former co-workers, and vendors. There is an interesting panel being held this morning moderated by Senny Boone, Esq., Vice President, Special Counsel & Executive Director, DMA Nonprofit Federation. She is going to have some impressive panelists, including:

Carolyn A. Emigh, Principal, Nonprofit Service Group
Charles Nave, Esq., President, Charles H. Nave, P.C.
Geoffrey W. Peters, President, CDR Fundraising Group
Robert S. Tigner, Regulatory Counsel, DMA Nonprofit Federation

I'll keep you posted on what I see, hear, and learn from the events.

As a note to the rest of my readers, if you have tips, stories, and reactions to the conference in DC or to any conferences you've been to recently, please send them along.

I guess DM News finally got my memo

Exactly one month ago today, I warned readers of this blog that I wasn't here to waste their time. I believe my exact words were:

Most people don't know this, but I have a magic crystal ball in my desk drawer. It has special powers that allow me to predict the future. Not only that, but I read a shit load of news stories everyday about fundraising in order to hopefully share some observations of what trends will influence our industry.I'm not trying to scare you. I only want to warn you - so pay attention.

For Pete's sake, I'm been running around with my hair on fire trying to tell fundraisers that they need to be very worried about a pending financial disaster in the global economy. Are you listening yet?

It appears Chantal Todé got my memo. An article written by Todé appeared on the DM News website yesterday with quotes from Greg Fox, SVP and chief strategy officer at database market­ing agency Merkle.

According to Merkle's data, giving is already down in some areas of the Midwest and the South, and Fox says, “there may be a correlation between [the reduced giving and] the heightened foreclo­sure rates in those markets."

Unfortunately, I think we've moved past just describing this as a "foreclosure crisis" and what we now need to deal with is a global economy that needs to unwind massive amounts of leveraged trades tied to a spreading credit crisis.

...but what do I know, I'm just "a fundraiser" with a blog.

Navy Times weighs in on investigation of veteran charities

The Navy Times is a very powerful newspaper. Some people have pointed to an editorial in the esteemed military paper titled "Time for Rumsfeld to Go," on November 6, 2006 as being the straw the broke the camel's back... less than 48 hours after that column ran, the former Secretary of Defense was pushed out of his job.

So, it was a very big deal yesterday when the Navy Times joined other media outlets in raising ethical concerns over Tommy Franks acceptance of $100,000 to appear in a fundraising letter for a veterans charity that is alleged to have spent only 25% of donations on program expenses.

Unfortunately, the Navy Times failed to mention the name of Richard A. Viguerie - and therefore, may be overlooking the most interesting aspect of this scandal.

The Congressional investigation into the "veterans charities" in question revealed that Viguerie was paid millions of dollars in fundraising-consulting contracts and even received a $1 million loan for a start-up initiative from the charity.

Richard Viguerie has been dubbed the "funding father" of modern conservative strategy, having pioneered important tactics in computerized direct mail strategy in the 1970s and 1980s. He is considered the direct mail titan of the right.

I found this 1982 article titled "Direct Mail: The Underground" which describes Viguerie like this:

Richard Viguerie, the direct-mail impresario of the New Right, is credited with first using letters as a medium rather than merely as a fund-raising trigger. For eighteen years, Viguerie has used the mail as an explicit alternative to what he sees as a liberal monopoly in the media mainstream . "It's not that the media presents [sic] the news in a partisan way, it's that they present the positive side of liberal causes, liberal issues, liberal personalities and, for the most part, ignore conservative causes, conservative issues, and conservative personalities, or present them in an unfavorable manner," Viguerie wrote in 1980 in The New Right: We're Ready to Lead. "However, there is one method of mass commercial communication that the liberals do not control - direct mail . . . . You can think of direct mail as our TV, radio, daily newspaper and weekly news magazine."

During the last few years Viguerie has earned a pretty penny as a fundraising consultant for right wing causes... which makes it all the more interesting that he is caught up in this most recent controversy of fundraising costs at a charity that is supposed to help injured Vets.

Tommy Franks critcized for $100,000 fundraising payment

'Face The Nation' host Bob Schieffer questioned the integrity of General Tommy Franks on Sunday for accepting $100,000 to use his name in a direct mail appeal to raise money for wounded soldiers.

This blog reported yesterday that Congressional investigators continue to dig into allegations of excessive fundraising costs incurred by two veterans charities - Help Hospitalized Veterans and the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Foundation.

Schieffer's stinging critique entitled, "The Follies Of Fundraising," asks the question:

What kind of PERSON would insist, or even ALLOW himself, to be paid to raise money for those who were wounded while serving under him?

Franks says he severed his connection to the fundraiser when he realized most of the money he helped raise went to the fundraiser, not the troops.

House Committtee investigates two Veterans charities over excessive fundraising charges

The President and Founder of the nonprofit group "Help Hospitalized Veterans" was forced to testify before the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform late last week.

Forbes reported this story:

The focus of Thursday's session was Roger Chapin, president of Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV) of Winchester, Calif., and the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Foundation in Ossining, N.Y. Chapin had declined an invitation to appear voluntarily at a December hearing, forcing the committee to subpoena him.

Philip Rucker covered the story on Friday and shared enough details to guarantee the scandalous story would receive front page treatment in Friday's Washington Post.

At a raucous, three-hour hearing [Thursday], House members questioned California entrepreneur Roger Chapin about his management of two charities. One charity, Help Hospitalized Veterans, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations that were to help wounded soldiers on personal expenses for Chapin, executive director Mike Lynch and [conservative activist] Richard A. Viguerie, to whom the charity has awarded millions of dollars in fundraising-consulting contracts, the hearing found.

The expenses included at least $340,000 in meals, hotels and entertainment; a $135,000 loan to Lynch for a divorce settlement with his former wife; a $17,000 country club membership; three airplane tickets to Hawaii; and a $1 million loan to Viguerie for a start-up initiative at his firm, several members of the committee said.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the committee, said Help Hospitalized Veterans raised more than $168 million from 2004 to 2006. The charity spent a quarter of those donations on the veterans, with the rest going to direct-mail fundraising, salaries and other expenses, Waxman said.

At one point during the hearing:

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) asked Chapin what would happen if his charities told donors how their donations were spent.

"If we disclose, which I'm more than happy to do, we'd all be out of business," Chapin said.

"Nobody would donate. It would dry up."

Chapin said few people know how expensive fundraising can be.

"If I could do better, I would," Chapin said. "I've tried television, I've tried radio, I've tried foundations, I've tried corporations and the only thing that works is direct mail."

You can watch or listen to the hearing here.

(Photo Credit: Sarah L. Voisin, The Washington Post)

This is my 500th blog post!

Today is a big day for "a fundraiser."

Today is the 553rd day since I started this blog and this marks the 500th blog I've written for Don't Tell The Donor.

Technorati continues to reward the growing traffic numbers... this site has had over 55,000 visitors come to the website, while another 450+ readers subscribe to the feedburner email delivery.

Today this site is ranked as the 108,652 most popular blog on the Internet... and with your help, I have no doubt Don't Tell The Donor will crack the top 100,000 blogs now.

Feel free to leave a comment on this post with ideas about which blog post was your favorite!

Why not celebrate this anniversary day by reaching out to a couple good fundraisers you know and trust... and invite them to join the conversation we've got going here?

Loser on 'Survivor' is a winner in fundraising

Sonja Christopher was one of the first cast-aways on season one of the CBS hit show "Survivor" back in 2000.

Prior to the show she was asked what she would do with the $1 million if she won and she told friends that she would donate the money to her church in the San Francisco suburb of Walnut Creek to help them build a fellowship hall.

Unfortunately, she was the first contestant voted off the island after stumbling during a race.

Yet in an ironic twist of fate, Christopher donated her $2,500 consolation prize and that generous gift spurred more than $1 million in donations. This month, the 70-year-old Christopher helped break ground on that hall.

Richard Hatch, the winner of that first season is now serving time in a federal prison for tax evasion. That irony prompted Michelle Locke, an Associated Press Writer to observe:

Kind of adds a whole new layer to that "last shall be first, and the first last" thing.

Red Cross rocked by staff cuts

The New York Times reported today that the American Red Cross is facing a $200 million operating deficit as a result of short fundraising and is preparing to cut as much as one-third of its headquarters staff.

Up to 1,000 employees are said to be on the chopping block - including about 60 members of the organization’s national fund-raising staff who have been told they should start looking for new jobs. My sources tell me that department heads have already begun talking to staff, although I haven't heard gossip yet about severance packages.

Suzy C. DeFrancis, the Red Cross’s chief public affairs officer, declined to discuss fund-raising problems specifically with Times reporter Stephanie Strom, other than to say that the organization had not raised enough to cover costs. “There are probably a lot of explanations for this deficit,” she said.

Take your pick. Is this the result of the leadership scandal caused by Mark Everson's departure, the lack of any significant natural diasters in 2007, or the first wave of RIFs that "a fundraiser" has been warning against for the past two weeks.

No matter which cause you want to blame... I'm willing to bet that this is not the first shoe to drop at the Red Cross or at other nonprofits facing similar pressure.

NP Times names World's Best Fundraisers

Six years ago a friend gave me a t-shirt that says "#1 Fundraiser in the World."

I wear it to work sometimes underneath my clothes. I've found that, not only does it give me secret powers, it has also been a self-enforcing prophecy. I've had some of my greatness fundraising successes while wearing that t-shirt... after all, that don't give out shirts like that to just anyone.

So, you can imagine my shock when the NonProfit Times released their list of the World's Best Fundraisers today. They didn't mention the fact that I was already awarded this title (by way of my t-shirt) over six years ago.

Despite this oversight, I think the list (and the rational) is very solid:

Younger Than 40 - Sarah Tanner
Younger Than 40 - Brian Cowart
Online - Greenpeace International
Living Legend - Larry Jones
Cause Marketing - Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Direct Mail - Susan Loth
International - FINCA
Trendsetter - Jewish National Fund

Now that I know this t-shirt isn't an exclusive award... I might as well start selling "World's #1 Fundraiser" t-shirts and mugs in the Don't Tell the Donor online store.

Important findings from the COPPS study on SYBUNT trends

If you are a fundraiser that uses DonorPerfect or Raiser's Edge as your fundraising software database, you know the power of the SYBUNT report which can help target donors who give "Some Years But Unfortunately Not This" (year).

Most successful fundraisers know that inconsistent donors have a significantly lower lifetime value than donors who give annually. As a result, it is important to segment Annual Fund mailings to ensure too many resources aren't spent on these "occasional donors" at the expense of not soliciting committed donors enough.

It's just as important to understand the broader trends of individual donor giving and the body of research available to help fundraisers understand the big picture.

The NonProfit Times published an excellent review last week of an ongoing study conducted by the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) at Indiana University.

The COPPS survey talks to 8,000 families about their nonprofit giving. According to this report, "while the total percentage of households that gave was similar in all three years (67 to 69 percent), it was not always the same households - in fact, it appears that a third of U.S. households appear to shift between donating and not donating.

COPPS researchers found that 56 percent of households gave donations in each of the three years. Another three in 10 households (29 percent) contributed to charity in some but not all years studied. Just under 15 percent did not contribute at all in any of the years studied.

COPPS is conducted every two years (beginning in 2001) in conjunction with the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a landmark recurring survey by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research initiated in 1968.

It's a shame the survey results aren't made public in a more timely manner, but if you would like to read a recent report from January 2008 on the key findings from the survey conducted in 2005 (which covers giving in 2004) you can go here.

A special thanks to the NonProfit Times for publishing this critical link (which all fundraisers should bookmark) to the Center on Philanthropy for quick reference to a dozen major donor research studies.

Would you work for free?

A lot of professional nonprofit fundraisers I know are aware of the fact their skills could earn them significantly higher paychecks if they were to leave the nonprofit world.

Many stay because they feel passionately about the mission and want to work for a higher purpose than the corporate rat race offers. They work just as long and just as hard. However, as a result of the lower pay, fundraisers (and their families) make financials sacrifices to support the cause they believe in.

But would you work for free?

I'm not talking about the rich Board members who volunteer their time to the local hospital. I'm asking if your Executive Director came to you and asked if you would forego a paycheck for a month to avoid the organization cutting critical services... what would you say?

Apparently Rudy Guiliani's campaign manager Mike DuHaime and between 15 and 20 other senior staffers will not collect a paycheck this month in order to help their boss concentrate financial resources in Florida.

Spokespeople insist this is a voluntary act and does not reflect a sinking campaign that is living hand to mouth... and if the former New York City mayor can pull out a primary victory in Florida their is a chance that the gamble could work out as donors reward the Guiliani campaign.

I'm not sure how often that would work outside of the political world...

tick tick tick...

I think Jeff Brooks may have been talking about me when he mentioned not wanting to be "an alarmist" in his post today.

...but Holly Hall at the Chronicle sniffed out the real story in Target Analysis Group's most recent National Index report.

Even though Target's press release painted a rosy picture saying that there was "Modest Revenue Growth During First Three Quarters of 2007" the picture is actually a little different when you figure in inflation as Holly Hall notes:

In first three quarters of last year, donations made in response to direct-marketing appeals failed to keep pace with inflation, growing by a median of 1.4 percent, meaning that half the groups achieved greater increases and half fared worse. The number of people who made gifts declined by a median 1.4 percent since 2006. Meanwhile, the organizations recruited a median 6.2 percent fewer new donors, on top of a 10-percent decline in new donors for the first three quarters of 2006.

Oh yeah... and did I mention that Goldman Sachs finally jumped on the bandwagon predicting a recession?

Is your job at risk in 2008?

I've already told readers that I think a recession is coming in 2008... if it's not already here. I see scary signs that our economy is in serious trouble... and as the economy slows, fundraising will be affected.

But what about fundraising jobs? Is your job as a nonprofit fundraiser, consultant, or vendor serving the nonprofit sector in jeopardy?

Peter Panepento at the Chronicle of Philanthropy moderated an online discussion today with Alan J. Abramson is director of the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program at the Aspen Institute and Patrick Rooney is director of research at Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, where he manages the research and writing for Giving USA.

One participant asked what changes in the economy will mean for fundraising sector jobs in 2008 and Rooney had some dire predictions:

...charities face a tough situation in times of fiscal distress: one the one hand they need to reduce costs and for most charities, compensation is 3/4 or more of their costs, so RIF are seen as a necessary solution sometimes.

For those of you that don't know, RIF stands for "reduction in force" and refers to different kinds of layoffs.

Rooney then went on to say:

...we know from our prior research that recessions have a deletarious impact on giving for all subsectors (except religion, which grows throughout all stages of the business cycle--although more slowly than most subsectors in good time and in bad). Human service org's are especially hard hit as they experience an increase in demand for their services at the same time they typically see a decline in their charitable gift receipts.

I'm afraid we are already there.

High school 50/50 raffle faces scrutiny

The Lafayette School Corporation has suspended its 50/50 fundraising raffles after a parent of a Jefferson High School basketball player reported the raffles to the Lafayette (Ind.) Police Department.

The school district since has ceased all raffles at athletic events until a permit is given from the Indiana Gaming Commission. Other area schools The Star Press that they face similar pressure.

"I stay as far away from that Gaming Commission as I can because they're not real flexible people," [New Castle Chrysler High School Principal Bruce] Gaylor said. "Most of the people that win the 50/50 go ahead and give it back to the school as a donation. For crying out loud, schools are just hustling to find dollars now, and they keep trying to take 'em away from us. Every time we find a way to make a buck, they try to take 'em away from us, it seems like."

For crying out loud indeed. While it may be hard to believe that a parent actually ratted them out to the police... the truth of the matter is, many donors are outraged when they hear that a nonprofit's fundraising program keeps only 50 cents of every dollar raised... why should a raffle be judged any differently?

In fact, a friend of mine in California emailed me to say the California Penal Code (Section 320.5), bans such raffles "because less than 90% of the overall earnings are offered to the high school or charitable cause."

James Brown's children fight late singer's charitable trusts

According to an Associated Press story on Time.com:

Five of James Brown's children say their late father's will should be invalidated because his former advisers used undue influence to get him to create charitable trusts that the advisers would profit from, according to court documents filed this week.

The New York Times adds this:

Five Brown children are challenging the will in Aiken County Probate Court. They claim Brown's longtime advisers Buddy Dallas, Alford Bradley and David Cannon convinced the soul singer to create the trusts so the advisers would profit from managing the two charities after Brown died.

Just how much money is involved in Brown's estate is unclear. In October, Forbes reported Brown made an estimated $5 million in 2005 alone. But attorneys have said Brown's accounts do not have the money they expected.

Did Paris Hilton get screwed or was it a play to avoid taxes?

When Paris Hilton's billionaire grandfather announced on Christmas day that he plans to give away 97% of his fortune, the news coverage was almost giddy. Was the controversial heiress going to become a pauper?The Guardian Unlimited reported that the 80 year old Barron Hilton is worth over $2.3 billion thanks to the recent sale of the Hilton Hotels Corporation and from the coming sale of Harrah’s Entertainment.

Jerry Oppenheimer, author of House of Hilton, said that Barron Hilton "was, and is, extremely embarrassed by how the Hilton name has been sullied by Paris. He now doesn't want to leave unearned wealth to his family."

Seriously?

Call me cynical, but it seems like the media is ignoring the fact that the mega-rich often use charitable donations to manipulate tax laws. So, let's take a closer look:

First, since most of this wealth was generated in 2007 as the result of two huge sales of almost a billion dollars in assets, you can be sure that Barron was facing some serious taxes. By placing $1.2 billion in a charitable trust this year, he gets immediate tax relief. Convenient, right?

Now, I guess the foundation does do some good work. But don't forget, it also paid Steven Hilton more than a quarter million dollars in 2006. The most recent IRS Form 990s for th Conrad Hilton Foundation show three other Hiltons on the payroll, in addition to a group of investment managers who received over $2,300,000 in 2006.

It sure makes those claims that Barron wrestled millions intended for the poor from his dead father's estate look more interesting.

The big business of college football

Yesterday, I found myself watching some boring college football Bowl games... so I tried to pass the time by arguing with friends about the largess of NCAA coaches. If you want to impress your friends with some facts and figures, here is some quick research I pulled together from other sources.

The USA Today reported last month that "the number of million-dollar coaches has soared from five in 1999 to 50 today."

The truth is that the games on New Years Day are only part of college football's larger $400 million bowl industry. Fox Business reports that each of the BCS bowl games pays out $17 million to the conferences represented. The conferences, based on their own rules, divide the payout among all of the teams in the conference. If an additional team from a conference is lucky enough to make a BCS bowl, the conference receives an extra $4.5 million.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had a great article last week outlining the huge bonuses given to coaches for winning their bowl game. The biggest bonus seems to await Les Miles if LSU can win next week's National Championship game. Others earn the right to renegotiate contracts if their team hits overall goals.

Alumni boosters at Hawaii ran a campaign to raise $114,000 for the team’s head coach, June S. Jones III when they grew worried he might leave the university when his contract expires in six months.

According to Forbes magazine, Ohio State has the biggest athletic department budget in the U.S. at a whopping $104.7 million for the year ending June 30, 2006. Texas was second at $97.8 million.

Then again, we are living in the age where 31 universities are seeking to raise at least a billion dollars.

In December, Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee tapped Peter Weiler to head up all of OSU’s fund-raising efforts, including a possible $2.5 billion capital campaign. Weiler will begin his new job in early 2008 as senior vice president for university development and president of the Ohio State University Foundation.

Just hours after OSU's announcement, the University of Georgia named longtime administrator Tom Landrum the permanent senior vice president for external affairs, the administrator in charge of fundraising, public affairs and alumni relations.

With Landrum in the vice president's office this year, fundraisers shot past their five-year fundraising goal to collect $500 million for the Archways to Excellence campaign. The campaign is set to conclude June 30, but already has collected $580 million, according to Landrum.

As vice president, Landrum will make $252,000 a year, the 13th highest salary among UGA administrators and faculty, according to university spokesman Tom Jackson.

Did public radio put pledge drive before breaking news?

On December 27th, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated as she left a rally for the Pakistan Peoples Party. The Opposition leader's death is a major news story since many observers predict it could spell uncertainty for Pakistan's future.

While almost all news outlets gave the story breaking news coverage, the public radio station WNYC in New York decided to to go ahead with a one-day fundraiser that day.

FishbowlNY, the media news and gossip blog, clipped a couple angry listener comments from WNYC's message board and ran a story with the title, "WNYC Listeners Fume Over Fundraising That Interrupts Bhutto Coverage."

One comment from a listener named Evan Robinson puts it this way:

I too am shocked and dismayed at WNYC's continuing the pledge drive during this tragic and important event. The WNYC I used to know was the one that suspended a pledge drive when Leonard Bernstein passed away. The management at that time recognized the importance of the event to the culture, the city and the world, and saw fit to honor an important figure rather than beg for money. Laura Walker owes all of WNYC's listeners an apology for such a crass demonstration.

Even if Evan's comments are a bit over the top, the reaction does highlight the difficult decision all fundraisers face when major news events or natural disasters interrupt our campaign plans.