Major Gift Editorial - Terry Burton

services@supportingadvancement.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Major Gift Editorial
November 23rd, 2009
by Terry Burton

How important is a brand name in fundraising?

To APRA members who focus on background research about major gift prospects, this may not seem significant. Senior development staff and the donor community appear to be taking notice.

I think there is an invisible link, a synergy of sorts, between the perceived value added of a nonprofit organization and the amount of financial support the donor community is willing to give to that entity.

A part of that perception is translated in the form of brand name presence, the visibility of brand name and the frequency of how often the brand name appears.

Over the last week we have been witness to a remarkable week of public announcements of funding support. Be sure to check out the full Major Gift Summary for Nov. 16 to 20^th. Over $574 million in gifts and pledges to nonprofits in the USA and another $17 million of support to the international community.

This is the second largest dollar amount in 2009, topped only by the week last summer when Warren Buffet made his billion dollar pledge to the Gates Foundation.

As we head towards year end the pace of major gifts has accelerated, the dollar amounts have increased and the breadth of the nonprofits receiving these gifts has expanded. If no one else in the printed media is going to applaud these donors perhaps we should say thank you

again and then maybe once or twice more.

Major gift donors want to embrace their beneficiaries not just with their check books but with their heart and soul. They want to make a difference.

As you review this week’s list take note of the diversity of the donors, it is an interesting mix of individuals and foundations.

I think that when a donor makes a major gift it impacts the brand name of the nonprofit in more ways than one. For nonprofits the major gift announcement helps to validate the brand name in the community, be that local, regional, national or international.

For the person or entity making the gift, the public announcement is one more way they can put their stamp on the future success of the recipient. In the ultra competitive world of nonprofit fundraising doing good is not enough, it must be perceived that the nonprofit is doing so in an efficient and effective manner.

Hats off to Mayor Bloomberg of New York and the staff officers of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who have chosen to make big gifts to nonprofits that can effect change in the long run. These choices raise the bar of accountability for everyone.

Boosting brand name is an end goal in the private sector. Consumers are bombarded with marketing messages in a continual multimedia barrage of sound bytes, jingles, iconic images and more. They buy stuff and their votes are recorded in the financial statements as corporate earnings, dividends and stock prices.

Nonprofits get to talk about how they add to the greater good of society and bolster the culture of the community.

Brand name has a different meaning in the nonprofit sector. When it comes to making a major gift of charitable support, the implication reaches deeper than the Price Earnings ratio of a blue chip stock or the potential of capital gains from the acquisition of a new listing.

I think that there is a residual benefit to the brand name of the nonprofit from today’s major gifts. The ripple effect through the donor community and particularly amongst their peers, is more dramatic than a Tiger Woods putt to win another championship.

At a time of fiscal distress these people have stepped into the whirlwind of financial chaos and shared a portion of their wealth. And your organization’s brand name is a secondary beneficiary.

Help them to tell their stories. You can. In your own stewardship.

Contributing author, Terry Burton, is President of Dig In Research, a market research and consulting firm where the focus is on major gifts to nonprofit organizations. For more information please visit my web site at http://diginresearch.biz or call 248-881-2323

Major Gifts in the USA - $ 574 million
Week of November 16 to 20, 2009

The following list came from newswire announcements over the last week.

New York, NY	Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor of New York city made his pledge to the World Health Organization to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from car accidents. Funds to be directed to six organizations over five years in 10 countries that account for 48% of deaths. This follows Bloomberg’s gift of $9 million for the pilot project back in 2007	$125 million
Seattle, WA	The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, one of the key recipients of the Intensive Partnership grants	$100,000,000
Seattle, WA	The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to Memphis City Schools in Tennessee, one of the key recipients of the Intensive Partnership grants	$90,000,000
Seattle, WA	The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to the College Ready Promise, one of the key recipients of the Intensive Partnership grants	$60,000,000
Glen Jean, WV	The Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve established with a gift from Stephen Bechtel Jr., chairman of the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation, the largest in scouting history	$50 million
Seattle, WA	The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to Measures of Effective Teaching project	$45 million
Seattle, WA	The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to the Pittsburgh Public Schools, one of the key recipients of the Intensive Partnership grants	$40 million
Dallas, TX	Gift to St. Mark’s School campaign from these donors: Sarah and Ross Perot Jr. Harlan and Kathy Crow family gift Ken Hersh, his wife, Julie, and the Hersh Foundation Bob Roberts and his wife, Eveline, and graduate Casey McManemin, his wife, Megan, the Communities Foundation of Texas and the McManemin Family Fund	$10 million $10 million $5 million $5 million
Madison, WI	University of Wisconsin-Madison received this grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop research on pandemic influenza viruses	$9,500,000
Chattanooga, TN	An estate gift from Lowell Andreas to Covenant College that will support a new residence hall. Also, an anonymous gift of $1 million to the institution	$4 million + $1 million
Des Moines, IA	Drake University to establish the William M. and Jean M. Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership from their endowment gift	$3 million
Coral Gables, FL	University of Miami gift from gift comes from The Goizueta Foundation to enhance its prestigious Cuban Heritage Collection housed inside the Otto G. Richter Library at its Coral Gables campus	$2,400,000
Portland, ME	A gift from Alston D. "Pete" Correll and his wife Ad Lee Correll, he is the former president and CEO of Georgia-Pacific Corp. and alum to his alma mater of the University of Maine	$2 million
New York, NY	TD Charitable Foundation announced the 56 winners of its annual “Housing for Everyone” grant competition, a total of $2 million in grants to support affordable housing initiatives	$2 million
Princeton, NJ	A Princeton Day School family made an anonymous gift to support professional development opportunities for teachers at the school	$1.75 million
Eugene, OR	An estate gift from Frederick Rankin, who was a local physician to the Eugene Public Library	$1.1 million
North Platte, NB	North Platte Community College received an estate gift from Oliver Durbin to support students wanting to attend college	$1 million
Kansas City, MO	Gift to the Johnson County Community College Foundation, to establish the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Art Acquisition Endowment	$1 million
Davis, CA	Trinchero Family Estates, a family-owned wine company in the Napa valley, made a gift to the grapevine program at the University of California, Davis	$1 million
Little Rock, AR	The Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation named the Stella Boyle Smith wing in honor of her estate gift just received	$1 million
Cleveland, OH	The GAR Foundation of Akron grants of $906,000 including: Kent State University - $120,000 Invent Now - $84,000 Habitat of Humanity of Summit County - $75,000 Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association - $60,000 Access Inc. - $50,00	$120,000 $84,000 $75,000 $60,000 $50,000
Fort Smith, AR	A corporate gift from First Bank Corp to the U. S. Marshals Museum in downtown Fort Smith	$500,000
Columbus, OH	The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant to the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus	$200,000
New York, NY	The New York Life Foundation grant to the YMCA of Greater New York’s new curriculum driven by the Salvadori Method, to support after school staff with “hands-on / minds-on” activities in to explore math, science, arts and humanities	$200,000
Nampa, ID	A grant from the John H. & Orah I. Brandt Foundation to the School of Nursing at Northwest Nazarene University to buy equipment for a new nursing lab named for the foundation	$87,000
Seattle, WA	The Microsoft Alumni Foundation awarded its first "Integral Fellows" awards to three nonprofits started by company alumni, each received a $25,000 grant: recipients included Trish Millines Dziko, founder of the Technology Access Foundation in Seattle and John Wood, founder of San Francisco-based Room to Read and Patrick Awuah, founder of Ashesi University in Ghana	$75,000 ( 3 gifts of $25,000)
Sacramento, CA	Verizon Foundation grant to My Sister’s House to fund job-skills training and financial education for domestic violence survivors	$40,000
Los Angeles, CA	Grant from the Academy Foundation of The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences to Film Independent for the 2010 LA Film Festival	$30,000
Visalia, CA	Tulare Public Library grant from AT&T Foundation for computer in the Learning Center	$25,000
Tampa, FL	Legacy gift named the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts named for his private gift to the former Tampa Center for PA	Private Gift
	International
Geneva, Switzerland	Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, a fatal disease that threatens 60 million people in Africa	$15 million
Jerusalem, Israel	Grant from the Shpilman Art and Culture Foundation to the Israel Museum where the Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography was established	$1 million
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Mike and Nicole Tevlin have renewed their commitment to Canadian tennis with a second $500,000 pledge to Tennis Canada, has renamed the popular players lounge used primarily during the world-class Rogers Cup to the Tevlin Players Lounge	$500,000
Trail, British Columbia, Canada	Teck Minerals gift to o create an endowment fund ensuring future management of the 964-hectare Fort Shepherd Conservancy area	$400,000
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Historian and writer Stephen Otto’s gift to the restoration campaign at Fort York in downtown Toronto	$250,000
Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada	At the Bruce Power’s annual Spirit of Giving dinner the company announced the gift to Easter Seals Ontario	$200,000

Some SQL and Related Resources

services@supportingadvancement.com — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Microsoft’s SQL server and the related suite of products continue to increase in popularity and provide an even richer array of possibilities for significantly improving your reporting and business intelligence environment. However, the suite is complex – anything with comprehensive functionality is.

What are some resources and approaches to get you ramped up as you move into your data warehouse project?

The advantage of using mainstream products is that user communities are often large, active and there are many comprehensive resources available. It takes a while to get up to speed with what first appears to be a daunting task, but it’s not impossible and you just need to be organized in your approach.

Vendor Web Sites

No matter what the tool, your software vendor web sites are good starting points. As a first step, bookmark and register on these sites. Get familiar with their newsletters and discussion groups and whether there are local chapters or user groups in your geographic area.

Subscribe to forums and read the discussion postings daily as you start up the learning curve. Discussion groups are populated by people in the field using these products on a daily basis and are a quick way to get the “pulse” of a product.

Within the Software – Help and Configuration

The next place to look for help is in the help screens. We sometimes forget this and there is usually a wealth of information along with direct access to online resources. The help is often designed in a “top-down” configuration so you can read from start to finish – from beginner to expert.

An additional strategy – once you’ve been using a product for a while, re-read the help. You’ll often find a lot of great things you may have missed or not understood the significance of on the first go around.

Configure your tools. For example; know when to turn query plans on/off and how to interpret them, configure Visual Studio for specific projects such as business intelligence. Know how to use your tools – they often have a steep and complex learning curve, but are robust, have in-depth functionality and can really enhance your productivity when you work with them effectively.

A small sample of resources follows. Some are Microsoft SQL specific, and there are some that cross all platforms – database, reporting, visualizations – you probably know where you need to go, how you get there … that’s the fun in learning.

Primarily SQL

Microsoft sites contain volumes of information on everything from recommended practices, product downloads, utilities and much more. Particularly useful are the discussion forums where MVPs (most valuable participants/programmers/players) regularly post answers to questions. Don’t be shy about asking questions and joining discussions.

Microsoft SQL Server Home Page

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/default.aspx

Microsoft SQL Server Developer

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/default.aspx

Microsoft Business Intelligence

http://www.microsoft.com/BI/

MSSQL Tips

Site has tips and tricks including a good newsletter. http://www.mssqltips.com/

SQL Server Central

Comprehensive site with numerous resources in all areas such as sample scripts, a newsletter and more. http://www.sqlservercentral.com/

SQL Tutorial

Good site for the SQL with commonly used commands. http://www.1keydata.com/sql/sql.html. There are many similar sites like this.

PASS (Professional Association for SQL Server)

This is the primary Microsoft SQL Server user group. The annual conference is what would be considered “best value” for utilizing your professional development dollars if you really want to learn SQL. The conference is very affordable and some of the most knowledgeable experts in the world attend.

PASS has active chapters in many major cities which provide great opportunities to develop your local network of resources and contacts. http://www.sqlpass.org/

Data Warehousing, Visualizations, Reporting and BI

The Data Warehouse Institute

The Data Warehouse Institute is the premier place to get information (mostly non database specific) on data warehouse concepts, best practices and other in-depth information. They also have a chapter network. http://www.tdwi.org/

Perceptual Edge

If you’re interested in discussion and commentary on data visualization, Perceptual Edge is an active blog with regular postings. Good selection of examples, white papers and more on what is an interesting and complex subject. http://www.perceptualedge.com/

Many Eyes

Site with various data visualization tools – you can load up your own sets of data and perform visualizations but remember - these data sets and visualizations are public so make sure you don’t post anything with any identifiable characteristics.

http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/

FlowingData

Site providing interesting visualizations and many other resources. http://flowingdata.com/

Crystal Reports

All things related to Crystal products. http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/crystalreports

Summary

There are many more resources and we could go on forever creating a much more comprehensive list. However, a better approach is for you to add your own as you discover them.

You’ll all end up with a few favorites. Try and concentrate on those that make the most sense for your shop rather than trying to deal with hundreds of links, feeds and newsletters. The bottom line is still about efficiency as opposed to fascination. Your efficiency is the reason for having an organized approach and managing what you focus on.

We can spend all day learning, but at some point, that next request is still due. With the right foundation, that next request will be done much faster.

Brian Dowling

Principal and Founder
SupportingAdvancement.Com
www.SupportingAdvancement.Com

Weekly Major Gift Editorial November 16, 2009 from Terry Burton

services@supportingadvancement.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Major Gift Editorial
November 16th, 2009
by Terry Burton

Trends can be revealing, insightful and sometimes perplexing. In this week’s editorial follow along with me as we examine a powerful emerging trend. Second Round Namesake Major Gifts.

Highlights from last week feature another collection of second round namesake major gifts. This trend has been building in number and in frequency throughout 2009.

The most recent announcements validate the trend and its’ upward momentum.

Second Round Namesake
Major Gifts, Nov. 9to 13

>> $10 million - the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer made a second major gift to its namesake property at the Indiana University

>> $500,000 - Dr. Ralph Ketner, a Tri-State College accounting graduate, has donated to the Ketner School of Business at Indiana State University

>> $500,000 - Ed and Cathy Gallagher of Waterloo made a gift to their namesake property at the University of Iowa, the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center to help celebrate its’ 10^th birthday

Last week

>> $100,000,000 million gift to the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital came from the namesake foundation

Philanthropy such as this needs to be credited to the ongoing work of donor relations staff who have worked hard to deepen the relationships with existing donors. The year of 2009 will go down as the year stewardship became a top of pile priority.

How did they manage it? What’s the secret?

Turn back the pages of fundraising history to the creation of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) http://www.adrp.net/ in the spring of 2005, a bell-weather event. It was an interesting day at Babson College, MA, I was fortunate to be there.

Those attending the New England Stewardship Annual Conference had just wrapped up its’ sessions. We stayed in our chairs and rolled right into the inaugural meeting of ADRP. A discussion of the broadening the mandate of donor relations staff, election of officers and directors and
voila, there it was. Volunteer driven with grassroots support.

Philanthropy in the new millennium includes advanced stewardship at a growing number of charitable causes. It’s more than a single thank you letter or just sending along a copy of the annual report.

While the mainstream economy of the USA has struggled to regain the robust plateau of prosperity, a large number of American nonprofits have tallied record years in annual giving, worked hard to deepen the relationships with past donors and now reaping the benefits of their efforts.

My own research suggests that major gift donors see their actions of writing the big check as a financial investment and not just a philanthropic gesture. They see the act of sharing a portion of their wealth as an opportunity to get involved with a nonprofit organization. And as with their other investments they follow the progress, the good and the bad and tend to stay involved long after the signing of the gift agreement.

These people have an emotional attachment to your organization, just not the purely philanthropic one that was taught in fundraising classes a decade ago.

What does this suggest?

Keep your focus on the retention of existing donors.

Allow me to wrap up this week’s edition by sharing some more good news. This comes from the upper regions of the mid-west.

The University of Minnesota announced it had the second-best year on record for philanthropy with 83,000 donors gave $267 million in gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2009.

Congrats to you in Minneapolis ~ St. Paul, a marvelous example for others.

Contributing author, Terry Burton, is the President of Dig In Research, a market research and consulting firm where the focus is on named gifts in the nonprofit sector.

Relics of the Past - Annual Giving Clubs

services@supportingadvancement.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Annual giving clubs are a relic. These are the primary issues:

1) Using the term "Club" imply benefits thus turning a donor's gift into a transaction. We must get away from treating our annual gifts as transactions. It is about impact of the gift and the continued development of the relationship. Instead, we should have giving societies that simply steward. Plus, our budgets don't allow for worthwhile "benefits" or widgets.

2) Donors are not motivated to give due to benefits. In fact, the majority, particularly at the AG level, would prefer we not spend the money. The exceptions are giving clubs related to athletics.

3) The only annual giving societies should be for Leadership Giving and for Consecutive Years giving. Nothing more. The most important is Consecutive Years. We are all much more sophisticated in terms of data and technology that we can naturally increase AG support over a lifetime instead of forcing it via artificial benchmarks that focus on dollar amount vs. impact. It becomes a transaction and if you, the donor, jumps over a barrier, we provide a Pavlonian benefit. We should be rewarding loyalty over dollar amount as we will get upgrades via our solicitiation strategies.

4) A test. Have all your development staff, including annual giving staff, take out a piece of paper. Ask them to write down all the giving levels for the varied clubs with the "benefits" assigned to each. The majority, if not all, will fail to do this. If our giving "clubs" have no meaning to us, how can we expect it to have meaning to folks external to our programs.

Weekly Major Gift Editorial, November 9, 2009

services@supportingadvancement.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Major Gift Editorial
November 9th, 2009
by Terry Burton

Job losses continue to rise, unemployment rates are up and Wall Street bankers appear to be stashing cash while keeping lending restrictions tighter than the lid on a new jar of pickles.

And for third week in a row, we hear of a $100 million philanthropic gift, this one to Amherst College. Go figure.

While the editors of traditional media have their eyeballs stuck on the minutiae of economic forecasts, foreign exchange rates and the price of a barrel of January crude oil, the philanthropic sector is surging forward.

Here’s a new thought for you.

I call it my Theory of Compelling Philanthropy.

In the midst of one of the most troubling years in recent memory, a handful of people have made the choice to vote with their dollars and support charitable causes in a big way.

While the number of major gifts is down the dollar value of major gifts received in 2009 appears to be higher than in 2008 and 2007.

I think it is because of compelling philanthropy.

Years ago I heard the President Semple of University of Southern California give a luncheon speech about the success of their fundraising efforts. At the time it was just the second campaign to top the billion dollar mark. He shared the secret of USC’s success. He said they talked about just one thing, “compelling excellence”, in every discussion with a major gift donor.

Borrowing on that notion I think that the major gift donors of 2009 heard the bugle call of Father Time, scanned the landscape of America charitable causes and decided to take action. They have stepped up and made shared their wealth in the form of major gifts.

At a time when charitable support was down across the board in all sectors, a few people stepped forward to make a difference.

At a time when the global economy quivered and held its breath, a few people stepped forward to make a difference.

At a time of financial uncertainty and the pandemic concern over the H1N1 sickness, a few people stepped forward.

Why?

Compelling philanthropy.

It starts with stewardship. Development staff sharing their stories of success and within their communities.

People want to believe in the greater good, the hope of something better. Mission and vision, accountability of development efforts and knowing that their gift will make a difference, these are some of the keys that unlock the power of precious penmanship to write the check to a charity.

For generations Americans have been the beneficiaries of a high standard of living thanks in part to the services and offerings of nonprofit organizations. A few people have taken notice and decided now was the time for them to give back.

As the world works to pull itself through the looking glass of a paradigm shift of enormous proportions, people have begun to settle into the new and adjusted realities of life after the spring and summer of 2009.

This calendar year will go down as the worst of times and I suggest, the best of times. As we reflect back on the giving history scoreboard we can infer that philanthropy has evolved to a new plain, with adjusted expectations and perhaps a greater presence of brand name in mainstream America.

It was more than a decade ago when Ted Turner, the man who created CNN, stepped up to the microphone and announced he was going to give away a billion dollars to charity. A few more people have taken notice; a few more people are giving today. Compelling philanthropy will encourage others to give tomorrow.

Contributing author, Terry Burton, is the President of Dig In Research, a market research and consulting firm where the focus is on named gifts in the nonprofit sector.

Major Gifts Highlights in the USA - $173 million
Week of November 2 to 6, 2009

Amherst, MA	Two graduates of Amherst College pledged separate gifts of and both wished to remain anonymous	$100 million + $25 million
Las Vegas, NV	Mel Wolzinge, a local businessman’s gift to UNLV to support the capital campaign	$15 million
Fort Leavenworth, KS	H. Ross Perot gift to support two new initiatives at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, to fund the Col. Arthur D. Simons Center for the Study of Interagency Cooperation and the Gen. Hugh Shelton Chair in Ethics	$6.1 million
Indianapolis, IN	The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation pledge to the Wishart Hospital Foundation towards the new hospital	$6 million
Fort Myers, FL	The Tom Golisano Field House named for his gift to Ave Maria University athletics campaign	$4 million
Gainesville, FL	Harris Gateway to Learning and Innovation named at the University of Florida for the corporate gift, the company’s head office is located in Melbourne, Australia	$3 million
Flint MI	Richard and Rose Marie Schick Dental Clinic named at Mott Community College	$3 million
Baltimore, MD	Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives named for the gift made to the University of Maryland from Madieu Williams, a graduate and current pro football player with the Minnesota Vikings	$2 million
Davis, CA	The bequest from the estate of Charles J. Soderquist to University of California, Davis to support entrepreneurship studies in the school of business	$2 million
Kalamazoo, MI	Anonymous gift to Western Michigan University to cover the costs of starting the process to have a school of medicine	$1.8 million
Columbia, SC	Long time basketball supporter Dodie Anderson made his gift to the combined men’s & women’s basketball programs at the University of South Carolina	$1.3 million
Las Vegas, NV	Bill Paulos and Bill Wortman, co-principals of Cannery Casino Resorts each made a gift to UNLV to support the capital campaign	$1 million (2 gifts)
Las Vegas, NV	Jon Cobain, a California businessman, gift to UNLV. He was a student body president and now works in mergers and acquisitions	$1 million
University Park, PA	The Hershey Co. gift to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center towards building a new children’s hospital	$1 million
Valley Center, CA	The Rincon Band of Mission Indians has donated $386,000 so far this year to local nonprofit organizations	$386,000
	International
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre received a gift from Seymour Schulich to support the current campaign	$10 million
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Gift from Peter and Doris Kule of Edmonton to the University of Alberta to establish the Kule Interdisciplinary Institute	$4 million

1 Billion = 7

services@supportingadvancement.com — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Microsoft’s campaign for the release of Windows 7 will use the theme that 1 billion users have been part of the design, and Microsoft has listened. “I am a PC and this is how I made it better.” “I spoke and Microsoft listened.” “I wanted less clutter and there will be less clutter.” “I wanted better security and the security is better.” There will be no mention of Vista.

7 is the “lucky” number – how “lucky” will your organization be this new release?

Unfortunately, we often assume a lot about the ability and knowledge of our users. It used to be – in the olden days - that when a new operating system came out – for those of you that remember (DOS to Windows) – changes were “radical”. We ensured we had training sessions so users could adapt and take advantage of new functionality. “Try the solitaire game to learn how to use the mouse.”

Now, with reductions in budgets and time, many of us will just send out an email – “your upgrade is happening on Monday, let us know if you have any questions” – and wait for the bombs to go off.

Back to the future ...

Consider the scope of a software release where there are 1,000,000,000 users.

10 ineffective mouse clicks per day X an average of 10 seconds per mouse click to make the correction = 3,472 lost days of productivity across the globe / day. There has never been an industrial product that can change productivity globally.

Now, to bring this thought back to our own organizations– we need to improve our productivity with any new software release.

And opposed to shouting about the flashy new wallpaper - the eye candy of colorful three dimensional icons and gadgets dancing in the wind - it’s an opportune time to review basics and get over some of our ingrained assumptions on how well people know how to actually use their software.

From experience – sometimes what we think is done well may not be that way at all. (And these are only a few of what is probably a very voluminous list.):

Use email and calendaring effectively.
Create a directory structure, manage and organize files.
Rename a file using the F2 key.
Keyboard shortcuts. (Bring back the mainframes!)
Making the top of screen menus always appear.
Use the right program for the right task.
Know how to use the various “free” programs provided as part of the operating system.
Ever see those desktops with hundreds of documents?

A major operating system upgrade represents a significant opportunity for us to notch up the level of knowledge across our organizations. Plus - we get to lobby for new, more powerful machines to run the new operating systems.

Eye candy, speed, power – sounds like a “win win”.

Plan proactively and take advantage while you can.

Weekly Named Gift Report, Terry Burton

services@supportingadvancement.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Named Gift Report
October 5th to 9th, 2009
by Terry Burton

When it comes to soliciting a major gift, there is no substitute for in-depth research. I sometimes think of development staff as people who time shift back and forth, from immersion into the past and projecting into the future.

Why not start with proven philanthropy?

Gathering the historical data from your own nonprofit organization is a starting point. Prospect research staff can dig up last gift, largest gift and number of gifts made. If your donor management system is up to date you may also have a record of thank you letters, emails and notes about personal visits.

Many stop right there in terms of giving history.

Why not cast a wider net, look for more information about giving history?

In today’s fund raising environment major gifts staff is expected to have the all powerful crystal ball and a magic wand to see into the future. Unfortunately they limit themselves with the resources they use to make those forecasts.

What’s missing?

Giving history of the prospective donor to other nonprofit organizations.

And, more stewardship.

The top tier donors, those sometimes referred to as venture philanthropists have shown extraordinary levels of support in 2009. Major gifts to nonprofits have not disappeared but have indeed diminished.

As the fundraising sector crawls out of the recession there have been many examples of deep silos of philanthropic activity here and there across the USA. These microclimates of gift giving have bucked the national trend and afforded local nonprofits to report record gift years.

Last week that trend continued as more than $58 million in public major gift announcements celebrated philanthropy. There were six dedication ceremonies of private gifts last week, including the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

According to one source the Dallas fundraising effort was the first time there have been more than 100 $1 million donors to an arts campaign.

Stewardship, mission & vision, share those stories, they do make a difference.

SILVER Shovel Award: October 5^th to 9^th, 2009
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, NJ

A weekly award philanthropy award that goes out to the nonprofit organization. For digging in and doing the hard work of building the relationship, keeping in touch with the donor and stewardship related efforts that lead to a major gift.

Contributing author, Terry Burton, President of Dig In Research,
a market research and consulting firm focusing on major gifts
to the nonprofit sector.

Major Gifts & Named Gifts Highlights in the USA - $58 million
Week of October 5 to 9, 2009

Davis, CA – The grand opening of Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. Hall, the new home of the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis celebrating the gift . The gift came from Maurice Gallagher, Jr. and his wife Marcia. He is a Las Vegas airline executive. Gallagher earned his undergraduate degree in history from UC Davis in 1971.	$10 million
New York, NY - Anonymous gift to The Miami Project, organized by NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and his son Marc hosted a full house of 1,300 guests at the 24th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner, held at the Waldorf Astoria, to benefit The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis	$10 million
Philadelphia, PA - The Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Market and Social Systems Engineering was dedicated and named for the donors to the University of Pennsylvania	$8 million
Indianapolis, IN - Marian University has received an anonymous gift to support student scholarships	$5 million
Louisville, MO - The Speed Art Museum received a grant from the James Graham Brown Foundation for renovation and expansion capital campaign	$5 million
Engelwood, NJ - The Kaplen Pavilion, a new two- story building at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, dedicated in honor of the gift from Maggie and Bill Kaplen	$5 million
New Haven, CT - Norman Foster and his family have donated $3 million to Yale School of Architecture to fund a visiting professorship in his name. Foster is a Pritzker-Prize laureate and Yale School of Architecture alumnus.	$3 million
Arlington, TX – An anonymous gift to the University of Texas, Arlington to support the UTA College of Business Goolsby Leadership Academy. Lockeed Martin made a $40.000 scholarship gift to the same campaign	$2 million + $40,000
Bozeman, MT - Montana State University President Geoff Gamble and his wife, Patricia, will leave their estate to the school. Patricia Gamble will also leave MSU an endowment created in honor of her parents - Florence and Monty Moneyhan.	$2 million
Houston, TX – A gift to Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston from alum Houston-based hotel developer and president of American Liberty Hospitality, Nick Massad Jr. for the library archives	$1.5 million
St. Louis, MO - Owsley Brown Frazier gift to create a new endowed chair in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Frazier Rehab Institute and University of Louisville’s School of Medicine	$1.5 million
Little Rock, AR - The Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation announced a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, given in honor of Barbara H. Hanna, for her years of service as a trustee of the Reynolds Foundation	$1.4 million
Hattiesburg, PA - Joel McKenzie of Foxworth named William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in his trust, and created an endowed professorship	$1 million
Wilmington, NC - H. David Swain and his wife Diane presented their check to support economic research and business development at the University of North Carolina, Willmington	$1 million
University Park, PA – A gift from William and Lee Beard as the lead gift for a new facility for the Nittany Lion softball team at Penn State named the facility the Beard Field	$500,000
Wellesville, UT – Gift from the ALSAM Foundation, an organization named in honor of food and drug store magnates Aline and L.S. “Sam” Skaggs to the University of Utah, recognized by naming the Sam Skaggs Family Stable	$400,000
Kent, OH - Kent State alumnus Ron Zoeller, who played on the varsity team while attending university there, made a gift to the varsity soccer program.	$125,000
Middleton, CT - The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, which occupies the renovated Davenport Campus Center at Wesleyan University, dedicated on behalf of Robert ’92 and Elena ’93 Allbritton. Robert Allbritton is serving as a Wesleyan Board-Elected Trustee through 2015.	Private Gift
Dallas, TX - AT&T Performing Arts Center dedicated with a private gift. According to Bruce Thibodeau, president of Los Angeles-based Arts Consulting Group Inc., who did not work on this project, this is the first time there have been more than 100 $1 million donors on an arts campaign.	Private Gift
Detroit, MI - Ben Roethlisberger Foundation grant to Detroit Police to buy two new canines that will replace two other dogs who are retiring at the end of this year	Private Gift
Northampton, MA - Ford Hall named at Smith College, a gift from Ford Motor Company	Private Gift
Belfast, ME – University of Maine celebrated the of facilities with the naming the new wing the Edward J. Walsh wing after the grandfather of MBNA founder Charles Cawley	Private Gift
International
Saskatoon, SK, Canada - Irene and Leslie Dube gift to the Saskatchewan Children’s Hospital capital campaign. When the new hospital is built, the entrance and core areas will be named the Leslie and Irene Dube Centre of Care for Children.	$6.5 million
Kingston, ON, Canada - Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University, dedicated last week	Private Gift

Prepping for Networking and Knowledge Acquisition

services@supportingadvancement.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Prepping for Networking and Knowledge Acquisition

Attending a conference is a great perk. With some of the budget struggles we have on a daily basis, the wise attendee should always remember to get absolutely as much value as possible – and to communicate the value of your organization’s investment when you get back.

A specialized conference geared to your specific field of expertise is a professional development opportunity second to none. Peer networking, hearing from and meeting experts in the field, seeing and getting to try the latest vendor products, and more. All of this learning is a lot of fun and there are the social gatherings and reconnecting with friends – even more fun.

Is there a call for presentations? You need to submit your ideas – if you’re shy, volunteer for a panel or similar activity. Eventually you’ll feel more comfortable in presenting in front of a group. And don’t assume that you might not have the expertise – very often the people presenting will be specialists in their field, but you may be a specialist too – the only difference is that they’re in front of the room. Is there a requirement in your organization that you need to participate as a presenter or panelist in at least one of the sessions?

Are there any pre conference surveys? If so – full them out and make sure you provide accurate information. Presenters often re-jig their presentations at the last minute to meet audience expectations – if you provide good information, sessions will be tailored more to you.

Before you go – check the attendee list and make sure you plan some networking opportunities in advance. Email those individuals that you’d like to connect with and set up times to meet or have dinner. Is there a social networking page, blog, newsletter or other electronic communication vehicle? If so – join and sign up to get the latest updates.

Have a look at the sponsors, review their web sites and email them to arrange a specific time for a product demonstration while you’re there. This is a great way to build your vendor network – in addition to the products they’re selling, vendors can be a great source of information and can often connect you with people who can give you the answers you need. They’re aware of the “latest and greatest” and can help update you on trends.

If agendas and topics are distributed in advance, plan which sessions you’re going to attend. If you’re not sure if a session is what you might be looking for, or the description is not clear – email the speaker to get clarification – good for network building.

Knowledge is power.

Ask lots of questions of the people presenting, don't be shy about relating your own experience and expertise and bring samples of your work for sharing. When the call comes for volunteers for next year, step up, join in and offer your services as a presenter or chair. Most conferences are volunteer driven and everyone has valuable expertise and energy to share.

Don't forget your responsibilities when you come back to the office.

Too many times we're very enthusiastic while away, get a lot of new ideas, but the minute we're back, we're immediately buried in the day to day.

We sometimes have a hard time stepping back, gaining perspective and implementing some of the ideas we heard. Try and use what you've learned ASAP. Have a staff meeting and re-present(represent) some of the materials in relation to your organization. (More and more we have all of the materials on a flash drive or web site – you don’t have to do much to project on a screen and talk about.)

Add the conference materials to your resource library and incorporate into your training if appropriate.

In fact, this is a good requirement to include as part of your HR policies and procedures – staff who attend a conference have to present at least ___ sessions on what they’ve learned when they get back to the office.

Another tip – during the conference, write down 2 or three ideas and keep these at the forefront of what you’ve learned. Tape this to your monitor or somewhere else that it will be visible and try and implement.

You can ask a speaker if they'd like to present or do some training at your organization. Most will do it for just the reimbursement of their out of pocket expenses. Post conference networking – get together with people in your geographic area for a lunch and learn to share ideas. Leverage your networking at the conference by creating an email group of peers and building up your network when you get back home.

Conferences are a great perk, but it's a two way street. Learn lots, participate greatly, and try to give your employer the best value possible for their investment of time and money.

And don’t forget to have fun. Since your organization is usually covering your expenses, look at the differential cost of extending over the weekend previous to – or after the conference. It’s usually a small differential cost to visit somewhere you might not get to again.

Brian Dowling

Weekly Major Gift Editorial - August 31, 2009

services@supportingadvancement.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Major Gift Editorial
August 31^st, 2009

by Terry Burton

The last full week of August was another busy week of major gifts that were announced publicly.

Stewardship gifts account for the bulk of major gifts listed in the summary of market activity for August 24^th to 28^th.

In 2004 the Reynolds Foundation made a $31 million gift to the University of Missouri to support the journalism program. The Columbia based institution of higher education bestowed naming rights to the foundation for that gift. Five years later, we have more evidence of the power of stewardship as the Reynolds Foundation made another big gift, this one for $15 million.

When you talk about stewardship, you have to include the estate gifts that just keep rolling in. After all, these are part of the final wishes of donors who decided that they not only had fond memories of the nonprofits and they wanted to keep giving, keep supporting them to their own mortal end of time. Belief in the mission and vision, financial accountability and the knowledge that their gift was going to make a difference, all these touch the spirit of stewardship.

Here is the Stewardship Scorecard from last week

            Reynolds School of Journalism                                                 $15 million

            Jewish Community Center of the Greater Palm
            Beaches the Arthur R. Meyer Jewish Academy                            $3.5 million

            Bruce & Gloria Ingram gift to the Ingram School of
            Engineering at Texas State University                                         $2 million

            Virginia Bartos gift to Twin Lakes Community Foundation
            to be shared with local hospital and humane society                   $1.8 million

            Dr. Charles Helton and matching pledge to WakeMed                 $1.5 million

            University of South Carolina, Aiken received it’s largest
            estate gift, directed to support student scholarships                   $1.3 million

            University of Wisconsin, received largest ever estate gift
            to support student scholarships                                                 $1.06 million

            Ron & Katherine Harper gift to Charlotte Community College       $200,000

            Bequest to bring Upper Michigan teachers to Michigan State
            University to upgrade their skills                                                 Private Gift

A wise man once told me, “….it all begins with stewardship” as we were talking about the process of moves management and major gifts. I can see now what he meant.

Something else you may find interesting.

The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an insightful interview with philanthropist and entrepreneur Eli Broad. It ran on page A11, well worth the read. Broad’s comments and his thinking about education reform are ahead of the curve for many. His philanthropy has become some thing close to legendary. Broad refers to himself one of the venture philanthropists. He speaks of risk taking and risk avoidance, accountability at the grassroots level and changing the way large nonprofits are managed.

As we move into the busiest time of the year take comfort in knowing that the patchwork economic recovery is gaining momentum.

Share your stories of stewardship, it’s like paying it forward, good things will come back to you.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Major Gifts in the USA - $52 million
Week of August 17 to 21, 2009

The Major Gifts & Named Gifts report offers highlights of recent market activity.
Year To Date: $5.919 billion of identified major gifts

Columbia, MS	Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri School of Journalism pledge from its namesake benefactor, the Reynolds Foundation that had made the naming gift of $31 million in 2004. Same foundation made a named gift for the Reynolds Alumni Center	$15 million
Las Vegas, NV	MGM Mirage Chairman Kirk Kerkorian through his Lincy Foundation gift to establish a the Linsey Institute. The goal is to develop integrated problem solving in education, health care, social systems public policy	$14 million
Melbourne, FL	Nathan M. Bisk College of Business named at Florida Tech + Max, Edith and Robert Bisk Distinguished Chair of Business for this gift	$5 million
Palm Beach, FL	Estate gift from Mrs. Ross, allocated $2 million to the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Palm Beaches and $1 million to the Arthur R. Meyer Jewish Academy	$3.5 million
Richmond, IN	Tom Raper Hall named in recognition of gift to Indiana East University	$2.17 million
San Marcos, TX	Bruce and Gloria Ingram gift to the Ingram School of Engineering at Texas State University for scholarships. In 2006 the couple made a gift of $5 million to name the school	$2 million
St. Louis, MO	Chancellor & wife gift to School of Fine Arts at University of Missouri, St. Louis	$2 million
Baxter, AR	Estate gift shared by humane society and local hospital from Virginia Bartos gift given to the Twin Lakes Community Foundation	$1.8 million
Wake Forest, NC	Dr. Charles Helton endowment gift of $1 million + matching pledge of $500,000 to support nursing endowment at WakeMed	$1.5 million
Aiken, SC	University of South Carolina, Aiken received it’s largest estate gift, in support of need-based scholarships	$1.3 million
River Falls, WI	University of Wisconsin, received largest ever estate gift from Willis H. Miller, to be used for scholarships	$1.06 million
Columbus, GA	Dr. Robert L. Wright Jr. Health Sciences Center named at Columbus Technical College	$1 million
Hudson Valley, NY	Orange Regional Medical Center gift from Dr. Hal Teitelbaum and his partners at Crystal Run Healthcare	$1 million
Detroit, MI	Detroit Public Schools Foundation re-launched with gift anonymous gift	$1 million
Warren, OH	A matching grant from the Covelli family and Cafaro Foundation funding to build a new Animal Welfare Care and Education Center near Kent State Univ.	$500,000
Charlotte, NC	Ron and Katherine Harper gift to Charlotte Community College to allow it to take in more students	$200,000
Chesterfield, MS	St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield names the Albert Pujols Wellness Center for Adults with Down Syndrome	$70,000
Cold Spring Harbor, NY	Swim Across America pledge to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in support of cancer research	$50,000
Detroit, MI	Kid Rock donation for Arts, Beats & Eats in metro Detroit	$20,000
Charlotte, NC	AT&T Presenting Sponsor of Women's Leadership Summit at the University of North Carolina	Sponsorship
East Lansing, MI	Eiker bequest to bring upper peninsula teachers to Michigan State University to upgrade their skills	Private Gift
Chicago, IL	Sponsorship spending by North American companies is expected to grow 2.2 percent in ‘09 to $16.97 billion, according to IEG Sponsorship Report	Upward Trend
	International
Watford, UK	Half marathon walker, S. Inman, raised funds for Peace Hospice	£1,000
Toronto, ON Canada	Scotiabank sponsorship of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation event	Private sponsorship

Weekly Major Gift Report - August 17 - 21, 2009

services@supportingadvancement.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Weekly Major Gift Report
August 17^th to August 21^st, 2009

Signs of the economic recovery appear to be growing with each passing week. The overall health of stock markets has been showing resilience as investors become more active. As the US economy gains momentum we are more likely to see a shift in attitudes towards charitable contributions. It takes time but the trend is moving in that direction.

Join The Dots to identify
Major Gift Prospects

What’s next for fundraising? That depends on what kind of things you are working on now. Major gifts take time to come together and tend to have a long closing cycle as compared to an annual gift ask. The road to increasing your major gifts starts with the process of research to identify and qualify who you are going to talk to.

Prospect research is an inexact science at best. The more active development departments are constantly seeking out new major gift prospects. In this weeks editorial I hope to offer some tips to help you to identify and qualify more people to talk to. Or as I like to say, join the dots.

The notion of joining the dots is a fun way to look at doing research. How about it? Ready to give this a go? Of course you are. As you read through the paragraphs below pause from time to time and think about your own donor community and the major gift prospects.

Emerging trend: Consumer confidence is building

The US economy is far from a full recovery as unemployment rates and foreclosures push and pull at homeowners. The good news is that the pockets of economic trauma are beginning to diminish in number. At this rate, we may be well into the spring of 2010 before you see a return to levels of prosperity of 2007 and earlier.

Over the last several months we have seen a resurgence and confidence in stock markets as the downward spiral bottomed out and has headed in an upwards directions. This is significant for several reasons.

Question: What and where do the dots start to appear on in your research?

Tip: Perhaps start by reviewing past donors and new prospects that you know are officers and directors of public and private companies.

For many nonprofit organizations the upward trend in the stock market is about the growing value of their endowments. Endowment dollars in particular that have been invested in equities, bonds, mutual funds and other financial instruments, are on the up tick in many cases. Others have found that the activity in the stock markets has had a calming effect on prospective donors. In the months of May, June, July and August we have seen a steady growth in major gifts in dollar value and more recently in number.

Housing sales across the USA in July were up over 7%, another positive trend.

Have you added any more dots to you page of prospects? Perhaps if you know of people who are investing in a second property, re-mortgaging their home to free up some cash flow and do not forget about the real estate agents who are keeping busy through this upward cycle. Their own cash flow has improved dramatically in 2009. Real estate developers, construction companies and top sales reps in the real estate sector may be worth adding to the prospect list for 2010.

There is more.

According to stock market analysts who write for the USAToday, another key component of the stock market has been showing signs of coming back to life. The IPO’s, the initial public offerings of stock of publicly traded companies, are showing signs of life. It is as if the economic revival has shared a breath of air with the new stock issues that have been on life support for much of the last year.

What’s the big deal you ask?

IPO’s are an integral part of the securities market and have a direct impact on gifts of stock to nonprofits. As entrepreneurs grow and expand their businesses they need money. Whether the expansion is from a blue chip company that has been in business for decades or a startup that is looking to take the business to the next level, growth is driven by access to money. More money flowing through the economy means more jobs and the multiplier effect begins to kick in and inches upwards one new job at a time. Consumer confidence grows and so does spending.

Maybe one day we will see an economic forecast that gathers up the accumulated benefits of the fundraising campaigns that are going on and organizes the data in such a way to help fundraising executives and board members get a better read on what’s happening.

From where I’m sitting it appears as though the economic engine of the USA is gathering strength, fueling the confidence of the recovery better than a fill up with 60% ethanol gas.

This past week over $40 million in major gifts made it to the national news, tip of the iceberg of all the other good things happening behind the scenes in philanthropy.

Until next time, think about how you can boost your stewardship efforts. Keep sharing those great stories of how the donor’s funds have made a difference to your organization. What goes around comes around, especially in the business of fundraising.

Terry Burton
Director of Client Services