Naming rights "on the cheap"

You remember the donor who withdrew a $20 million pledge because the Florida International University University President hurt his feelings by saying the was getting the medical school named after him "on the cheap." Well, despite the fact that we think that's the kind of thing you just don't tell the donor... maybe he was right. Will Shanley at the Denver Post reported yesterday:

While the University of Colorado announced this week that its medical campus in Aurora will be named after Denver-based financier Philip Anschutz, school officials continue to seek a name donor for its School of Medicine.

"I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'm sure we'll get this done at some point," said Dr. Richard Krugman, dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "This isn't a sprint."

More than a year ago, Krugman and a team of advisers launched a campaign to find a well-heeled philanthropist willing to donate $100 million or more in exchange for the naming rights to the school.

I guess it's of little consolation to the Board at FIU that the president was right. After all, it was just "strictly business," right?

Known by the company they keep

I read yesterday on The Agitator that Roger Craver and another Canadian, Mike Johnston of HJC New Media, and a group of folks from Craver, Mathews, Smith, Grenzebach Glier & Associates, Direct Advantage Marketing and The Share Group have formed a joint venture called The Legacy Giving Group.

They are argue that "the reality of legacy giving is that 95% percent of all 'planned gifts' come in the form of bequests by a simple will...averaging about $35,000." And these donors come in by direct mail and are easily cultivated with the right strategy.

They call it " an innovative approach at orchestrating a virtual symphony." But it sounds to me more like a fundraising dream team. The only one of those groups that I've never heard of is Grenzebach Glier & Associates, but they are keeping some darn good company... so they must be cool people who are definetly on the bus.

Quiz for fundraisers who use telemarketing

As readers to this blog know, I work as a direct marketing fundraiser for a nonprofit organization. Not only do I love the fundraising that my group does... I also love digging into other nonprofit fundraising programs. I give to several nonprofits (as you may have read on Duke Smith's Donor Insite blog) and I try to get myself seeded on as many direct mail lists as possible. And unlike Trent Stamp, I love to give to telemarketers. However, I ask the caller's really hard questions.

Last night I got a call from a telemarketer who was trying to convince me to give my gift via credit card. Which is great, I push my telemarketing vendors to put as many gifts on a credit card as possible... it's guaranteed money in the bank. When the caller got to his ask, I countered by offering either a pledge of $50 or a credit card gift of $25.

In my mind, there is only one rock solid answer to this question... but I'm going to wait until Friday to tell you what I think the answer is. Feel free to post your opinion in the comments.

And because I know that my family and other folks who know nothing about fundraising also visit this site... I'll even give you a clue... the original title of this post was going to be "Why Fundraisers Make Good Poker Players."

Thanks everyone!

We reached our goal of $250 a full month ahead of our expected deadline. Thanks so much to those who contributed. I've ended the ChipIn event, but if you still want to support this great site you'll just have to wait until we launch the clothing line and online store later this week OR you can always help by clicking on these Google advertisements all throughout the page (believe it or not, those eyesores bring in about $10/week.

Worst Person in the World?

I admit it - I really like Keith Olbermann. I liked him when he was at ESPN and I've really enjoyed watching his climb through the ratings. As part of his nightly 8pm broadcast, Olbermann awards his "Worst Person in the World" award. Tonight, he gave it to someone for returning a donation:

But tonight’s winner, Linda Crosshauer, the National Science Teachers Association president. Laurie David, co-producer of the Al Gore movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” and wife of the actor Larry David, tried to donate 50,000 DVD copies of the movie so science teachers could show their students.

She said they e-mailed back that they couldn’t accept the DVDs because, among other things, doing so would place, "unnecessary risk upon the National Science Teachers Association capital campaign," especially certain targeted supporters. Who might they be?

Who wouldn’t donate lots of money to the Science Teachers Association if it accepted copies of “An Inconvenient Truth?” Try Exxon Mobile and Shell, which had already donated millions to the association and the American Petroleum Institute, whose own movie the association happily accepted and distributed. It’s called “Fuel-Less, You Can’t Be Cool Without Fuel.”

I got Copernicus and Galileo on the phone. They say the Earth revolves around the sun. What hang up on them? All right, I’m sorry, we have taken millions from the Flat Earth Society. Linda Crosshauer, president of the National Science Teachers Association, available at the right price, Monday's Worst Person in the World.

You can read more about this in last Sunday's Washington Post or on The Democratic Daily website.

It was only a week ago that the Marines' Toys for Tots Christmas toy drive reversed course and decided to accept the 4,000 12-inch tall talking Jesus dolls from the Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co.

"We realized it's a lot less time-consuming to find homes for the dolls than it is to answer media and complaints," said Bill Grein, vice president of the foundation in Quantico.

If you feel compelled to contact the National Science Teachers Association - first you should know the President's name is NOT Linda Crosshauer, her name is Linda Froschauer. She can be reached at fro2@mac.com or 703.243.7100.

They have 165 fundraisers?

The Boston Globe ran an Associated Press article on the trend by Boston area hospitals to bulk up on the number of fundraisers in their development department. While it doesn't make the explicit conclusions that hiring more fundraisers helps nonprofits raise more money... it came close enough for me.

Dana-Farber, which has tripled its development staff in the past 10 years to 165 employees, raised $203 million in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The total was its best ever and more than double the dollars raised in 2001. The institute also got its largest donation ever this year -- a $50 million unrestricted gift from trustees Richard and Susan Smith for a new research and patient care building.

Do we get any readers at Don't Tell the Donor from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute? If so, drop me an email. I'd love to know how you all run development staff meetings.

Oprah update

A couple weeks ago, Oprah surprised her audience by giving them each a $1,000 debit card from Bank of America. The catch was that they had to give all the money away in less than two weeks. Today was the update show and despite my doubts - several did find ways to multiple the $1,000 many times over. But apparently, there were more catches for participants in Oprah's stunt that haven't been reported in the mainstream media. On a selfish note, earlier tonight if you googled the words "oprah pays forward" without the quotes, Don't Tell the Donor was the first hit - I love it when that happens!

MSNBC gets on the bandwagon

As part of their "Give and Take" series, MSNBC has an interactive feature on charity scandals and controversies. The good folks at Charity Blog Network and the Agitator have already posted on other aspects of this television series. I wonder how we could persuade the MSNBC folks to feature the slew of great blogs run by fundraisers...

Fundraising widgets

I admit that my use of the ChipIn widget for website fundraising is a selfish one. However, as a fundraiser I can already see the potential for this tool to create earth shattering viral fundraising opportunities. Maybe you've seen the posts written on Beth's Blog or Duke Smith's Donor InSite. If you want a well researched overview, read this article.

Can debtors be donors?

Recent bankruptcy reforms in the United States have been criticized for favoring credit card companies at the expense of the debtors and the poor by making it harder to file for bankruptcy. Jonathan Cohen at Charity 2.0 Blog Network pointed us in the direction of Michelle Singletary's recent column, "Charity begins, and ends, at creditor."

The courts used to allow debtors filing for bankruptcy protection to exempt up to 15 percent of their annual income from creditors for tithing or charitable donations. However, a judge in New York recently ruled that the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, places limitations on a bankrupt donor's ability to tithe to their church before the creditors have been paid off.

In a New York case, a bankruptcy judge ruled that some debtors can't tithe or donate money to charity if they want federal bankruptcy protection. US Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Littlefield Jr. ruled in August that because of the recent overhaul of the bankruptcy code, the $100 a week a New York couple wanted to give to their church had to go to creditors.

Under the new bankruptcy rules, which went into effect a year ago, debtors who file for bankruptcy must first undergo a means test. Those whose annual incomes are at or below a certain amount based on their state's median income are permitted to file for Chapter 7, which for the most part wipes out nonsecured debt.

However, if an individual or couple makes too much money based on the means test, they must file under Chapter 13, which requires debtors to repay their debts over three to five years. In a Chapter 13 filing, only certain "reasonable" expenses are allowed. What's left after those expenses are determined must be used to repay creditors.

Before the law went into effect, bankruptcy court judges were required to permit debtors to tithe a portion of their income on a regular basis. Specifically, the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998 allowed debtors filing for bankruptcy protection to exempt up to 15 percent of their annual income from creditors for tithing or charitable donations.

Congress has raced to explain that this is not how they intended the law to be used. Senators Orrin Hatch and Barack Obama to propose legislation that would allow individuals in bankruptcy to continue giving to churches and charities.

Obama, who voted against the 2005 bankruptcy legislation, said the bill would clarify that Congress didn't intend for the law to prioritize creditors over religious institutions and charities. The bill passed in the Senate and has now been referred to the House.

Regardless of your views on what this author sees as a deeply flawed bankruptcy reform, there are several good topics of debate in this story. Are restrictions on tithing paramount to restrictions on religious freedoms? Should donors who are deeply in debt continue to give to charities?

Even for donors that are not in bankruptcy, as more and more charities ask donors to use credit cards for automatic monthly donations or even single gifts - should charities care that these donations are adding to mountains of existing debt?

Sheriff guilty of fundraising "macing"

The Associated Press reports that former Allegheny County Sheriff Pete DeFazio has agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to charges that he benefited from strong-arm political fundraising tactics (known as macing) in order to raise money from underlings.

Paula Reed Ward from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains it this way:

As part of the scheme, top officers in the department would sell tickets to campaign fund-raisers to deputies and other employees. Those who bought tickets and contributed were rewarded with plum assignments and overtime opportunities. Those who didn't were punished, the government said.

DeFazio stepped down from the sheriff's office on Oct. 31, ending a 36-year career in law enforcement. He will still get his pension "because macing is not among the 22 state charges that can disqualify a person from receiving a pension." And he may only get probation when sentenced.

I bet if they were his daughter's girl scout cookies instead of tickets to a political fundraiser people wouldn't be as upset.

Fundraising, flamingo style

Some of you may have heard that Union Products, the Massachusetts company that produced kitschy pink plastic yard flamingos, closed this month. If only their marketing department had heard of Shannon Mammen earlier.

Shannon is a Sunday school teacher at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in New Richmond, Wisconsin. According to the Pioneer Press, this past fall she had the idea to raise money for Hurricane Katrina. She ordered a flock of flamingos from eBay and then she notified her congregation the birds would randomly appear in their yards unless they paid "flamingo insurance" for $10. After that - the real fun started.

Flamingos were placed in the yards of congregation members and were removed only when the members donated money to the fundraising event. The members were not required to donate a set sum, and Mammen said donations ranged from $5 to $50.

The fun of the event, Mammen said, was that once members were "flamingoed," they could choose whose house would be next.

The event raised $2,000. But if you ask me... that sounds more like extortion than fundraising. And you thought telemarketing was invasive?

Ohio fundraiser gets 18 years in prison

John Seewer at the Associated Press reports that Bob Ney, the former GOP fundraiser at the center of a scandal-plagued state investment in rare coins, was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison.

Don' Tell the Donor had previously reported on this story in September when Ney was sentenced to twenty-seven months for funneling money to George W. Bush's reelection campaign. Today's sentencing was tied to Ney being found guilty of theft, corrupt activity, money laundering, forgery and tampering with records.

Target supports Salvation Army, but not bell ringers

For the third straight holiday season, Target Corp. (like other malls featured on this blog) continues its policy of banning Salvation Army bell ringers from standing in front of its stores.

However, according to the Dallas Business Journal, the discount retailer is making a two-fold effort to support the charity in other ways.

Target said last week it is donating $1 million to the charity via an online version of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. The site raises money by allowing shoppers to buy and decorate a virtual angel ornament in return for a donation of any size. The money will be used by the Salvation Army to buy clothing, toys or food for needy families.

According to Reuters, David Blaine will be hoisted 40 feet above the ground just off New York's Times Square on Tuesday. Target Corp. has challenged the magician to escape from his position by 5 a.m. Friday. If he succeeds, Blaine will then accompany 100 families chosen by The Salvation Army on a $500 shopping spree at Target.

Blaine's previous stunts include 61 hours encased in a block of ice, one week buried in a coffin, and a failed attempt to escape a water globe. This time, the publicity hound will be secured in a three-ringed gyroscope spinning continuously in all directions.

I wonder if Blaine fails again, will the kids still get the money?

Around the Fundraising Campfire
Stories of Dismal Failure, Near Misses, and Great Success

Cecilia Hogan is the Director of University Relations Research at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. She published an interesting article on the Information Today, Inc. website using a campfire metaphor to describe the inside story to headline donations.

Charity on this scale doesn’t just happen. In most cases, it represents the culmination of a direct and concerted effort on the part of the nonprofits who receive the assistance. Even in the case of natural disasters, many relationships between donors and nonprofits have been built long before the critical moment. The reputations of the receiving nonprofits have been well-established in the minds and hearts of major gift donors before the moment when support is needed.

In most cases, that big gift from an alumnus, former hospital patient, or museum patron begins months or even years before the public hears about the gift. And it often begins when the potential donor’s name draws the attention of a nonprofit researcher.

I was a little disappointed because the article uses generic examples instead of the inside stories and gossip the headline suggests. However, it's still a worthwhile read for a Sunday afternoon.

Halfway there to goal

Thank you to those who have already made a donation to help me buy a new URL and redesign my blog. I jumped the gun and already bought the donttellthedonor.org URL, but it's going to take a few weeks to get it going. (By the way, some "poacher" stole donttellthedonor.com from me - crazy, right?) For basic one-year hosting, register.com charged me $177... so if you want to help this community grow, use the widget to your right.

They never knew they were donors
Feds probe "straw contributions" to Puerto Rican official

Last year, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Before becoming Governor, Acevedo was elected resident commissioner in 2000 which serves as the Commonwealth's nonvoting representative in Congress.

For several months the FBI has been investigating donations made to his 2000 election. On Thursday the Puerto Rican office of Secretary of State Fernando Bonilla was ordered to turn over all documents -- including checks, e-mails, faxes and handwritten notes -- on more than 60 individuals or companies tied to a handful of Philadelphia fundraisers.

Frances Robles at the Miami Herald reports that federal investigators are trying to determine whether ''straw contributions'' -- donations illegally made under another person's name -- were made in order to bypass federal campaign donation limits.

A June report by the Philadelphia Inquirer showed that several Pennsylvania dental company employees listed as contributors on Acevedo's campaign finance reports had said they never gave money to the campaign.

The investigation so far has centered around Philadelphia dentist Candido Negron and his business associate, Robert M. Feldman, a Philadelphia Democratic Party fundraiser who once co-hosted a fundraiser for Acevedo Vilá.

Feldman and Negron are under scrutiny because they were seeking a contract from the island's government healthcare system for Doral Dental, a Wisconsin-based company that has paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions, the Inquirer reported.

It seems like someone forgot to tell the donors that they were actually even donors.

Free booklet on fundraising

The only thing I love more than fundraising is free stuff.

In 1964, Lewis B. Cullman and a colleague engineered the very first leveraged buyout (LBO). With only $1,000 in cash, they bought Orkin Exterminating Company for $62.4 million. And a subsequent succession of deals resulted in his purchase of Keith Clark, a desk calendar company, that evolved into At-A-Glance®, the largest manufacturer of calendars and appointment books in the U.S.

Cullman's website says that after he sold the company, he embarked on "the most rewarding, journey of his life — philanthropy." To date, he and his wife Dorothy have given away over $223 million to the arts, sciences and education.

Cullman, 87, is now giving away his newly-published booklet, How To Succeed in Fundraising By Really Trying (Download here). This is not the typical book by a rich donor who thinks just because they give a lot they know anything about fundraising. Cullman is also a fundraiser himself and this booklet shares a number of funny anecdotes. My favorite:

NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
A few years back, Tom Rogerson of State Street Growth told a story about going to see some ancient curmudgeon in Boston. Tom was hoping to convince the guy to give the bulk of his $25-million estate to charity, but he knew it was going to be a tough sell.

Tom had barely started his pitch before the guy lit into him.

“I wouldn’t give a dime to any goddamn charity,” he shouted. “People ought to take care of themselves. Why don’t they make their own money instead of hitting me up for it?”

Tom said, “Do you know that when you die, 55 percent of your estate goes to the government? Have you decided how much you want to go to defense? How much to education?

“I can’t make that kind of allocation!”

“Well,” Tom replied, “I’ll show you how you can.”

I’ve always liked that story because Tom countered the curmudgeon’s nonsense by suggesting charity as a way to make a choice. But what I most admire is the way Tom refused to give up.

Persevere! It works!

I recommend the download... and unlike most of what the DMA offers - its free!

Giving will only encourage them

This past Saturday the Washington Post ran a story by Linda Stern telling her readers "it's time to update the way you give to charity." Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, her story reads more like an advertisement for charitable gift funds. At the end of the piece there was one tip for donors that really made me mad:

Give fewer, more generous gifts. You might have a number of favorite charities, but try to limit that. Figure out which causes mean the most to you before you decide whom to fund, and then focus on those causes. Giving small amounts to many charities mutes the impact of your gift and encourages myriad charities to spend more and more money trying to get more out of you.

Come on Linda... you make us sound like pigeons.

I feel like Trent Stamp at Charity Navigator has also urged donors to concentrate their giving. That may be true if your main definition of "impact" is donor recognition. But if your definition of "impact" means financial efficiency or effectiveness at achieving the organizational mission then I would argue giving 10 gifts of $10 could have the same impact of one gift of $100.

Text message fundraising via mobile phones

It's coming. We all know it's coming. In fact, I have a small wager with a couple fundraising colleagues about which one of us can make our direct response departments get it working first. However, as a word to the wise: If you are going to hand out fliers with a text number for donations - make sure you proofread twice!

Last August, a group of 10 people from the Animazzjoni Missjunarja Teresa Nuzzo, went to Kenya, where they worked in a secondary school for girls. They had good intentions to fundraise - but sometimes even good intentions end up on my blog.

Following their experience, the Animazzjoni Missjunarja Teresa Nuzzo launched a fund-raising campaign on 1 November. The campaign mainly consists of a leaflet distribution to all households in Malta and Gozo. During distribution, the group realised that the SMS donation numbers printed on the leaflets distributed to the 160,000 households were incorrect. Any donations sent via the numbers featured on the leaflet are being passed on to organisations that have nothing to do with the missions.

Ugh. That hurts.