Dear
Friend,
What does it cost to raise money? One of the best answers I have come
across recently is found in the President's Report by Paulette V. Maehara
in the July/August issue of Advancing Philanthropy (p.6). Thirty-five
percent or less is considered "acceptable" by the Canada Revenue
Agency.
In the U.S. the answer varies with the age and size of the non-profit raising
money pointing to the fact that (according to the Indiana University Center
on Philanthropy) "all subsectors of the U.S. non-profit sector had different
overhead and fundraising cost ratios, suggesting that one-size-fits all benchmarking
ratios are not appropriate".
As Maehara points out, it takes money to raise money. Fundraising is
basically "relationship building", and this requires a long-term
financial commitment by a non-profit board. There is no "short-term
fix". Fundraising always pays off down the line and not necessarily
today. "No one criticizes a for-profit for investing in research
and development; the same should be true of a charity's development costs".
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D.
_____________________________________
Did you know?
A NON-PROFIT HEDGE FUND TWIN
Christopher Cooper-Hohn
runs a successful hedge fund, the Children's Investment Fund, in Great Britain. His
wife, Jamie, runs the Children's Investment Fund Foundation which uses some
of the profits from the fund to underwrite programs for underprivileged children. The
foundation recently received $856 million in new funds, mostly from the fund
and the Cooper-Hohns personally. This couple's philanthropy is an inspiration
to us all.
New York Times, June 26, 2008, p. C3
FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PRISON REFORMER
After leaving his
position as Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2001, Mark
Earley has been involved in prison reform. He recently has become President
of Prison Fellowship Ministries, a national non-profit located in the suburbs
of Washington, D.C., that was founded by Chuck Colson. Using his platform
at Prison Fellowship Ministries, Mr. Earley has championed such causes as
a roll back of mandatory-minimum sentencing, equalizing penalties for crack
and powder cocaine, and offering non-violent offenders treatment rather than
incarceration. We commend Mr. Earley for his endeavors on behalf of
prison reform.
New York Times, June 28, 2008, p. B10
CHARITIES TAKE HIT WITH FIREWORKS HALT
With fires burning all
over California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged Californians not
to buy or use fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday. This was a
financial blow to many non-profits such as schools, churches and youth sports
leagues that relay on sales of fireworks for a large part of their annual
income. The Governor's office asked people to visit fireworks stands
and donate money, but not buy fireworks. We await the results.
Wall Street Journal, June 28-29, 2008, p. A2
HAVING A GOOD TIME ON A VOLUNTEER VACATION
More and more travelers
are opting for vacations where they volunteer their time. The problem
is that the "do-gooders" don't always have a good time. And,
sometimes the short time that the untrained volunteer puts into a project
is counter productive. As a result, many charities and tour groups are
returning to the idea that tourists should just be tourists. Instead
of asking for volunteer time, they are asking the tourists to make contributions
when they visit the project usually only for a day. We will follow this
trend with much interest.
Wall Street Journal, June 28-29,
2008, p. W7
THE "KALAMAZOO PROMISE" BRINGS HOPE
A group of anonymous
donors, in November 2005, promised free college tuition to students who graduated
from the local Kalamazoo school district. Little did they know the impact
this 'promise' would have on the community. Since then an $85 million
bond issue to build two new schools passed, volunteering at schools shot
up 134%, and mentors for Big Brothers Big Sisters almost doubled. To
date, 745 high school graduates have used the promise scholarships. What
a story in true philanthropy.
USA Today, July 2, 2008, p.
3A
CHARITIES FEEL EFFECT OF FUEL CRISIS
Record gasoline prices
are hurting charities. Non-profits, such as Meals on Wheels, have lost
up to 58% of their volunteer drivers because of gas prices. Efforts
to raise the charitable mileage deduction to 58.5 cents per mile are being
pushed in Congress. The current 14 cents does not cover the cost of
gasoline. The American Red Cross is spending $10,000 extra a day at
the mid-western flood sites on fuel. Thousands of volunteers are running
into trouble as they pay for the gasoline they must use. Congress needs
to tend to this matter - and soon.
USA Today, June 3-4, 2008,
p. 1
A RECORD COLLECTION GOES TO SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
More than 340,000
78 rpm records valued at $1 million have been donated to Syracuse University. Morton
Savada, the recently deceased owner of "Records Revisited", a landmark
Manhattan store, left the collection to Syracuse. The collection includes
recordings from 1895 to the 1950's. The collection, weighing 50 tons,
represents more than a half century of American music history; from the big
band sound to jazz, country, blues, gospel, folk and Broadway. Mr. Savada,
who passed away at 85, will be missed - but his legacy will live on through
the music he loved.
The Albuquerque Journal, July 6, 2008,
p. A10
HISTORICAL SOCIETY DROPS IDEA OF LUXURY CONDOS
The New York
Historical Society has dropped its idea of developing a 23-story luxury condominium
tower next to its current building on Central Park West in New York City. Instead,
it is embarking on a $55 million year renovation of its current galleries. Neighbors
of the museum fought the condominium tower idea, until it was finally dropped. We
wish them the best in the new undertaking.
New York Times,
July 9, 2008, p. A23
THE TEMPLETON PRIZE PHILANTHROPIST DIES
Sir John Templeton,
founder of the Templeton Funds and the Templeton Prize for Religion, died
on July 8,2008 - at the age of 95. The Templeton Foundation, which he
also founded, is known throughout the world for grants to research into religion
and science. Lawson Associates was retained by the foundation several
years ago to raise matching funds for two of these research projects. At
that time, we had the privilege of meeting Sir John, his son - Dr. John Templeton,
and other wonderful members of his foundation's family. As both a person
and a philanthropist, he will be missed, but his legacy will live on for
years to come.
USA Today, July 9, 2008, p. 6B & New York
Times, July 9, 2008, p. C10
$100 MILLION PLEDGED TO NEW YORK STATE THEATER
Billionaire
David H. Koch, has just pledged $100 million to finance the renovation of
the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York. This, the
largest gift ever given to Lincoln Center, will underwrite the naming of
the theatre when the New York City Ballet and the City Opera perform, the
David H. Koch Theatre. Recently listed as the wealthiest citizen of
New York, Mr. Koch is underwriting the future of culture in the largest city
in America. Mr. Koch joins an ever growing list of Americans contributing
$100 million or more to the world of philanthropy.
New York
Times, July 10, 2008, p. B1
YOUNG VOLUNTEERS GIVE ENERGY TO ORGANIC FARMING
Young people are
flocking to organic farms where they are helping to raise healthy food for
all of us. Those in their twenties across the U.S. are fleeing their
suburban and city lives for a chance to volunteer on organic farms. World-Wide
Opportunities Farms-USA reports that it has quintupled its membership from
2003 to 2007. Last year this organization alone had 2,643 volunteers. Other
non-profits such as World Hunger Relief have experienced the same level of
gains in young volunteers. For more information on volunteer opportunities
on organic farms go to WorldHungerRelief.org; WWOOFUSA.org; HelpX.net;
OrganicVolunteers.org; ATTRAInternships.ncat.org; or WorkAway.info.
Dallas Morning News, July 11, 2008, p. 1
SHARING HEALTH CARE COSTS WITH OTHERS
Non-profits like Samaritan
Ministries of Peoria, Illinois Christian Care Medi-Share and Christian Healthcare
Ministries are sponsoring rapidly growing health care programs, which have
members contributing small monthly "shares" to pay for each other's
medical bills. The program functions like an insurance company with
the big exception that - it is cheaper with a lot less red tape. Based
upon the Biblical passages encouraging Christians to "carry each other's
burdens", the programs have been growing since the early 1980s.
US News & World Report, July 7, 2008, p. 58
DONORS PROMOTE THEIR FAVORITE CHARITIES ONLINE
The world of
philanthropy is being reshaped as many charities and thousands of donors
are using online networks to promote their favorite charities. Donors
are using Facebook.com and MySpace.com to send charitable requests to their
friends. Charities are setting up online sites to make it easy for donors
to pass on information about their favorite causes to friends. Online
giving is increasing across America and this new thrust by charities and
donors will help to increase it even more. Some web sites promoting
this new idea are: Chipin.com; FirstGiving.com, GiveMeaning.com, JustGiving.com,
RealityCharity.com and SixDegrees.org.
Wall Street Journal,
July 14, 2008, p. R11
FREE CLINICS HELP THOSE IN NEED
Where do people with health
problems go if they lack insurance or legal status? The answer: the
non-profit free clinics that are springing up all around the country, but
particularly in Texas. In Dallas county alone, over the past decade,
the number of free clinics has increased ten fold. Texas leads the nation
in the percentage of residents without health insurance. As a result,
the free clinics have proven to be a blessing. The free clinics rely
heavily on the volunteer services of more and more doctors, nurses and social
workers.
Dallas Morning News, July 15, 2008, p. B1
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR NON-PROFIT PROFESSIONALS
In the post 9/11,
tsunami, Katrina world we live in, more and more young people (having participated
in high school community service projects) are going into the non-profit
field. With this influx of new eager young people the need for more
in-depth professional training has become a reality. Colleges and universities
such as N.Y.U, Duke and Indiana are responding with certificate programs
as well as MBA, MSW and MA degree programs. This is a welcome trend
as the non-profit sector grows in this country. For more information
on colleges and universities that offer graduate and postgraduate programs
see: http://tltc.shu.edu/npo.
Advancing Philanthropy,
July-August, 2008, p. 21
___________________
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