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A recent survey of donors by marketing firms Russ Reid and Grey Matter Research & Consulting resulted in numerous insights about how donors think and give.
The survey asked about many aspects of the respondents' giving patterns, including donating in response to the appeal for funds in the wake of the Haiti earthquake earlier this year. For those of us who have been thinking hard about disaster giving recently, these data are helpful in answering the question of who might give in these situations, to what, and by what channels.
Here are the points from the study about giving to Haiti:
38% of Americans gave to help Haiti.
52% of active donors--those who give to nonprofits regularly--donated.
Nearly 30% of Haiti donors said they did not support any nonprofits in the last year. This included 16% of what the researchers called "fairly determined non donors."
Most likely to give to Haiti were African Americans (51%), Latinos (53%), Asians (59%) as were people not born in the US (59%).
Four out of ten donors said that if they hadn't responded to the Haiti appeal, that money would have gone somewhere else (presumably to another cause).
58% of donors said their donation to Haiti was unique. It was over and above what they normally give.
Haiti was a first-time gift for 3% of all Americans, 6.7 million people.
32% of Haiti donors gave to nonprofits working in Haiti through their places of worship; 22% gave online; and 19% gave through texting. Ninety percent of the texting donors said that if texting had not been available they would have donated in some other way.
The researchers noted that emergency donors are different than everyday donors, and that many such donors give above and beyond for disasters, not instead of their usual donations. That is comforting since there has been a general belief on the part of nonprofits that disaster giving detracts from other causes.
It is also clear that people who never give to causes can be persuaded to give during an emergency; and that minorities are heavily involved in emergency giving. It might be wise for a nonprofit involved in disaster fundraising to rewrite its message to appeal to potential donors that may be substantially different than their mainstream donors.
The data also raise the question, but do not offer a definitive answer, "would people who texted their donations give more through other channels?" Do the restrictions on the amount of a donation through texting limit the actual amount of money ultimately raised?
Every disaster is different. We'll be wondering for a long time what differences matter. Why was the response to Haiti so huge and immediate, but in the case of the flooding in Pakistan, giving has been slow and much less? But this study provides some tantalizing clues.
More about the study:
News release about the study.
The study: Introducing The Heart of the Donor: Insights into donor motivation and behavior for the 21st century.
Study Sheds Light on Who Gives and Why Nonprofit Quarterly.
'Old" donors give more - so do we stick to the same 'old' fundraising? Katya Andresen
New Survey Gets to the 'Heart of the Donor' Fundraising Success Magazine
Related:
Why Aren't We Helping Flood Victims in Pakistan?
Disaster Philanthropy: Why Are Some Disasters More Appealing than Others?
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Is your nonprofit on this IRS list of organizations that have not yet filed their Form 990-N (e-Postcard)? If so, Uncle Sam is offering a helping hand.
It turns out that many small NPOs (those with annual revenues of $25,000 or less), who in the past did not have to file a 990 annually, are not aware of a new requirement (a result of a 2006 law) that they complete an easy-to-do email filing. Consequently, those nonprofits are in eminent danger of losing their tax-exempt status.
Basically, if your organization has failed to file for three years running (07, 08, 09), it could be out in the cold. Once tax-exempt status is revoked, a nonprofit will have to file again for its tax-exempt status.
Because so many nonprofits were in non-compliance by the filing deadline this year, the IRS has provided a one-time relief, consisting of an extension of the deadline to October 15, 2010.
The IRS said in a reminder published today that "If you are a volunteer, member or just a friend of an organization at risk of losing its exemption, please alert the organization and encourage it to go to IRS.gov and find out how the organization can come back into compliance today."
The final list of non-compliant nonprofits will be made public by the IRS in 2011. But it is very easy to comply. Just go to the IRS website, read the instructions, fill in some basic information, and click. If you went to the trouble of getting your tax-exempt status, don't let it slip away because of an oversight.
More about this IRS requirement and extension:
IRS Offers Small Charities 'One-Time Relief' Through Extended Deadline(Chronicle of Philanthropy)
What is IRS Form 990-N? And Who Should File It?
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Last December I was snowed in when I stayed with my grand dogs in Baltimore, just in time for the first big snowstorm of that snowy winter. This year I was "hotted" in when I went back to Baltimore again in July to dog sit. These experiences have given new meaning to the term "dog days."
Now, I am just trudging through August, sweating and reading one last novel before the more serious business of September and beyond. So, what better time to think about grammar?
I only thought of that when I got one of my favorite email newsletters from ProofreadNOW.com this week. I don't know who works there, but they are wonderful wordsmiths. This week's newsletter has the "Weekly Grammar Tip" which takes on capitalization. Did you know that "cold war" is not capitalized but "Cultural Revolution" is? I'm going to print out this handy list of phrases and put it up next to my computer for future reference.
To get back to the dog days of summer, Proofread.NOW's newsletter has a great photo of a border collie (not capitalized) atop a list of dog breeds and their capitalization rules. The "Weekly Challenge" (a quiz about definitions) uses dog days as its theme, testing readers on words such as "bandog," "dogtooth" and "canicular."
If you want to subscribe to this very helpful, and humorous, newsletter, just visit its website.
Besides ProofreadNOW's weekly grammar lessons, there are many grammar books I have enjoyed over the years. But the one I consult the most often (and read cover to cover at least once a year) is Patricia T. O'Conner's Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English.
It's the plain English part I really like about this little book. Despite having majored in English, I have a problem remembering all those pesky grammar rules. That's because I'm more of an impressionistic writer, rather than a technical one, I guess. I like the ideas, not the details...a trait that has gotten me into trouble more than once.
How are you handling the dog days of summer? And, by the way, who/what are your favorite grammar muses?
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Generations
Monitoring the ups and downs of the baby boomers and the various interpretations of the Millennial generation seems to be required for any nonprofit these days. So I found the New Retirement Rules: Caught Between the Dow and the Tao, by age expert Ken Dychtwald, writing for the Huffington Post, very pertinent. There are good insights here that any nonprofit will find applicable to its fundraising and volunteer recruitment.
Then there is the recent NY Times article, What Is It About 20-Somethings?, a thought provoking piece about a new stage in life...maybe. That article deserved a response and got one at Social Citizens with Kari Dunn Saratovsky's blog post, Who's That Talking 'Bout My Generation.
Bringing the generational discussion directly to fundraising is Katya Andresen with her post, 'Old" donors give more - so do we stick to the same 'old' fundraising?; while Andrew McAfee, blogging at the Harvard Business Review, finds the transparency of younger people refreshing in How Millennials' Sharing Habits Can Benefit Organizations.
Social Media
Sean D'Souza, of Copyblogger, explains the 5 Reasons Why No One Is
Reading Your Email Newsletter. Mistake #1 is "Your newsletter isn't helpful." This post doesn't pull any punches and is equally applicable to nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
Did you miss the highly discussed article from Wired this month that "The Web Is Dead"? Well, Brett at NTEN has pulled out the salient points for nonprofits in The Web Is Dead? What Does that Mean (to Nonprofits)?
Fundraising
Are you wondering what to do with mobile? Karen Zapp, writing at Frogloop, has the answers in How to Engage Donors with Mobile. Laying out the many ways you can use mobile, this post is bound to get your creative juices flowing.
Noel Beebe, at Connect Cafe, has tips about getting the most out of your fall "Thon" in Runners, Take Your Mark. From giving your event a personality to what metrics to gather, these five ideas are specific and doable.
Best Opportunities
There are two conferences coming up in September that are particularly attractive for nonprofit folks. The first, on Sept 15, is the Women Who Tech Telesummit for Women in Technology. I like this conference particularly because it is all online and the registration fee is only $20. Check out the terrific line up of speakers, which includes several nonprofit tech experts, and topics.
The other conference, on Sept 20, is the Social Good Summit, sponsored by Mashable and 92Y. What is juicy about this conference is that it is teaming with the United Nations Foundation to discuss the UN's Millennium Development Goals. You can attend the conference in New York City, or enjoy the livestream right at your computer. There is a stellar lineup of speakers, with the livestreaming free and on site registration at only $85.
Photo by Getty Images
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The recession beat goes on.
A new survey by GuideStar, of more than 7,000 nonprofits, revealed that donations continued to decline for 40% of the survey respondents during the first five months of 2010, when compared to the same period in 2009.
Meanwhile, 63% of those organizations reported that they have seen an increase in demand for their services. Some 28% of the participating nonprofits said that contributions had stayed about the same, and 30% stated contributions had increased.
Perhaps most upsetting is that so many organizations attributed the decline in contributions to a decrease in the number and dollar amount of donations by individuals. Chuck McLean, GuideStar's vice president of research, speaking to the Washington Post, said "The bottom line is that individual giving drives philanthropy." He pointed out that some 10% of giving is typically from foundations, while 90% comes from individuals.
In his blog, Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of Guidestar, commented last week on the economic survey, and what the results show about what he calls the "new normal" for nonprofit organizations. Ottenhoff writes, "The "new normal" may not apply for certain subsectors of the nonprofit sector and for some regions of the country, but in general our new survey underscores the fact that we still have a slow and painful recovery ahead."
Here are the highlights from the GuideStar report:
8% of respondents reported that their organizations were in imminent danger of closing.
17% reported that they have reduced services;11% have laid off employees.
More than 60% of the respondents that reported decreased contributions said the drop was due primarily to a decline in both the number and amount of donations from individuals.
17% of those organizations that use volunteers have converted one or two paid staff positions to volunteer positions.
32% of the surveyed organizations said they had increased their reliance on volunteers; 9% had experienced a decline.
What has been your experience? Are donations off for 2010, compared to 2009? Or perhaps you've held your own or even increased donations. Take our poll above and/or leave a comment.
Related:
How to Stay Afloat in a Double Dip Recession
The Nonprofit Hard Times Survival Guide
7 Fundraising Tips to Help Nonprofits Weather the Recession
Philanthropy Info
from Business Week
As baby boomers celebrate their 60th birthday and prepare for retirement, a growing number of them are choosing to leave wealth to their children in the form of a family foundation. Philanthropy offers an important and meaningful legacy to generations that follow, and it's critical that younger folks find their own footing in the world of giving. BusinessWeek staff editor Jessi Hempel talks with Sharna Goldseker -- a vice-president at the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies -- about next-generation givers. Goldseker works with Grand Street, a group for Jewish people ages 18 to 28 who are inheriting a family giving legacy. She herself also came into a role in her family's foundation
The spirit of giving back is upon us: Young people are replacing summer camp with service trips, and baby boomers approaching retirement age are searching for ways to give back to their communities. With the number of new groups in the nonprofit sector growing by 70,000 a year, it will need more support than ever. BusinessWeek's Jessi Hempel talks with Dr. Tim Seiler, director of public service and the Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, about how to attract volunteers and why they are so crucial to keeping the sector vibrant
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