The Smarter Giving Guy » charity relationships

$5 million returned — Petters Ponzi pickle

SG Guy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:50:28 +0000

Miami University (Ohio) has sent back $5 million received from convicted Ponzi-schemer Tom Petters. It’s a tough time for most charities, and you still have to respond to the occasional stinker donor.

Read the Minneapolis / St. Paul News article.

Charities can check you out, but this is too much!

SG Guy — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:45:46 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reports today on hospitals taking information gathered from patients and using it in hospital fundraising efforts. Certainly charities should be able to do research on potential donors, but this is going to far!

Hospitals regularly gather much more information about us than other charities.

Hospitals have struggled with the protected patient information rules of HIPAA. And all the exclaiming they’ve done about those rules has led many to believe that the information they give to a hospital will be kept private. Unless the subject hospitals are violating the law, it seems there’s a way to use the financial information you give to a hospital in pursuing you for a donation. Perhaps it’s time for Congress to tighten up the privacy rules again.

And then there’s the “golden runways” — producing special treatment for hospital donors and volunteers. That’s a story for another day.

Read the WSJ article (you may need to register).

Wall Street Journal echoes our call for smarter philanthropy

SG Guy — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:56:48 +0000

“If there ever was a time to get smarter about philanthropy, this is it. Donations are down, endowments have been decimated, and state and local governments are slashing their budgets. And the number of those who need help are rising rapidly” writes editor Lawrence Rout, describing The Wall Street Journal‘s recent special report on philanthropy.

The report’s wide range includes suggestions for improving individual, foundation and corporate philanthropy, a discussion on the growing public-private partnership approach to philanthropy, thoughts on converting private foundations to donor-advised funds, and much more. The report is still available on line, as of March 1, 2010.

2009 Purpose Prize Winners Announced

SG Guy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:04:48 +0000

Bravo! Congratulations to these terrific individuals, innovating for the good of society. From the Encore Careers release:

This year’s winners of The Purpose Prize, a $100,000 award for social innovators in their encore careers, are using a new stage of life to do extraordinary things to improve life for millions of people worldwide.

They include:

A former telecom executive who helped wire an Appalachian county and brought laid-off factory workers back to profitable farming.

A professor who invented a way to transform toxic fly ash into green bricks.

A psychiatrist who helps saves soldiers’ lives by offering free mental health treatment.

A former NASA exec who works to treat alcoholism in Native American communities by reviving old customs and traditions.

A couple who honor their son, killed on 9/11, by helping to bring mental health services to countries ravaged by terrorism, violence and war.

These people – and five other $50,000 winners – are social entrepreneurs over 60 who are using their experience and passion to take on society’s biggest challenges. Now in its fourth year, the six-year, $17 million program is the nation’s only large-scale investment in social innovators in the second half of life.

Read the Encore Careers release.

Tips for Smarter Giving: #8

SG Guy — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:21:16 +0000

Whenever you are thinking of donating or volunteering, keep our top ten tips in mind.

Evaluate each proposed organization’s relationship and responsiveness to you.

Are they responsive to your requests for information? Do the respect your privacy? Do they respect your wishes about mailings and other communications? Do they provide the recognition approach you want?

Charity Naming Rights: Let’s Make a Deal

SG Guy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:52:18 +0000

Bloomberg.com just published an interesting article on the changing market for naming rights – in light of the current economy. It may be time to strike a better deal, while supporting a cause you care about.

The Bloomberg.com article.

Question: I donate. What should I expect from the charity?

SG Guy — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:28:24 +0000

Answer: The answer depends in part on your type of relationship with the charity (see “What types of charity relationships do you want?”). Expect less from a charity if you are a Distant giver, and much more if you are Fully Involved.

No matter what type of relationship you have with the charity, it should:

Respond reasonably to your reasonable requests for information. It’s likely reasonable for a charity to take a few days to send you written information, and to ask you to pay for copying costs.
Acknowledge you appropriately. The charity should give you choices as to how you’d like to be recognized for your donation, and follow your choice. And get your name right. If you wish your donations to be anonymous, the charity should not list you in its public donor lists.
Respect your privacy. We recommend that each charity have a written privacy policy, publicly available to donors. If the charity has a website, check there. See also items VI and IX under “A Donor Bill of Rights.”
Make effective use of your volunteer time.

What types of charity relationships do you want?

SG Guy — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:25:27 +0000

What types of relationships do you want with the charities you support?

Do you want to give small amounts to many causes? Or large amounts to one or two? Are you some place in between?
Do you want to give from afar and stay distant? Do you want to get directly involved? Are you some place in between?

Take a look at this table — where are your current charity relationships? Where do you want your relationships to be?

Giving Approach	Small amounts to large number of groups	Medium amounts to a several groups	Large amounts to one or two groups
Relationship Type	Distant	Active Interaction	Fully Involved
Communication Characterization	Two monologues	Dialogue	Actively conversing

You can create whatever mix you want. For example, you could give a large amount to one group where you are actively involved and at the same time give small amounts to a fairly large number of other groups. It’s up to you.

A Donor Bill of Rights

SG Guy — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:26:17 +0000

The following Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits.

Many charities have adopted this bill of rights, or something similar.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.

VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Source: Association of Fundraising Professionals website on August 17, 2009

Less Charity Mail Please – Sample Letter

SG Guy — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:44:27 +0000

One of the themes that attendees at our classes keep raising is the heavy amount of mail they receive from charities they have donated to. Many are upset at what they consider a waste of money by the charity doing the mailing — money that was likely donated to the charity. Others just don’t want to be asked repeatedly.

I tell folks that a well-run charity

Will welcome their feedback on how and when to best contact them.
Will want a positive relationship with them.
Will not want to waste any of the money it spends on connecting with donors.

I suggest they send a letter to the charity, spelling out their wishes. Ask the charity to (a) acknowledge receipt and (b) comply. If the charity fails to acknowledge or comply — drop them. The letter can also be used with charities that use email to seek donations. Note: There may already be a mailing in process when you send the letter — don’t hold a mailing you receive in the first 30 days against the charity.

Here’s a sample letter for those who wish to be solicited just once, at the end of the year (feel free to use it or adapt it for other wishes):

[Donor Name and Address]

[Date]

[Charity Name and Address]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have donated to you because I care about your work and mission.

I am writing to let you know my preferences concerning contact from you.

Mailed program updates, newsletters, financial updates, volunteer opportunities, donation thank yous and similar mailings are fine (but not if they include a solicitation).

Mailed donation solicitations are fine, but just once a year during the months of October, November or December.

Telephone calls for any purpose (other than in prompt response to a direct inquiry from me) are not wanted.

I’m interested in minimizing the use and expense of paper. If and when you have an online way for me to manage my preferences, please notify me by mail. If and when you have a way for me access other information online (instead of through the mail) please notify me by mail.

Please acknowledge in writing your receipt of this request.

If you fail to honor my request, I will stop donating to you.

Sincerely,