Interesting Recession Statistics

From the Southern California - Center for Nonprofit Management The Center's "Recession Survey" was sent out December 18, 2008 to approximately 3,000 individuals. There were 260 surveys completed.Impact of the Recession on Organizational Funding:

1. What trends are you seeing in individual donations to your organization?
Increasing 6.6%
No Change 7.8%
Decreasing 50.6%
Too Soon to Know 28.8%
Not Applicable 6.2%

2. What trends are you seeing in foundation support at your organization?
Increasing 7.0%
No Change 14.8%
Decreasing 42.2%
Too Soon to Know 29.3%
Not Applicable 6.6%

3. What trends are you seeing in corporate giving to your organization?
Increasing 3.6%
No Change 16.1%
Decreasing 47.4%
Too Soon to Know 19.7%
Not Applicable 13.3%

4. What trends are you seeing in government funding at your organization?
Increasing 4.7%
No Change 20.4%
Decreasing 32.2%
Too Soon to Know 20.0%
Not Applicable 22.7%

5. What actions has your organization taken in response to the recession? (Choose all that apply.)Looking for new streams of revenue 79.1%
Increase board’s fundraising activities 51.2%
Delaying planned new initiatives 39.8%
Hiring freeze 32.7%
Staff cuts 24.0%
Service reductions 20.5%
Joint Ventures 15.7%
Tapping lines of credit 15.4%
Layoffs 11.4%
Cancel fundraiser event(s) 7.9%
Planning no actions, our revenue looks good for the next year 5.9%
Outsourcing back office functions 5.1%
Looking to merger 2.8%

Wealth Advisors Role in Philanthropy Grows

This originally appreared on the Tacticle Philathropy blog written by Sean Stannard-Stockton.

In each of the past few years, Bank of America and The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University have conducted a study of high net-worth philanthropy. The study focuses on the giving of wealthy families, not institutional foundations (although the wealthy families may very well have their own foundations).You can find a summary of the findings here.


Because they’ve been conducting the survey for the past couple of years, they are now able to track changes in donor behavior. What was most striking was the marked shift in whom major donors are turning to for advice on their giving decisions. The study shows the number of wealthy donors who reported they asked nonprofit personnel for advice dropped by 29% while the number who reported asking their wealth advisor for advice increased 96%. Major donors are now turning to wealth advisors for giving advice more frequently than they turn to nonprofits.

NFTE Needs some help......

Lots of great things happening this week with Global Entrepreneurship Week. We recently received this request for help from NFTE. If you have a story to share or some time to volunteer please contact Betsy below.

The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is a global partner with GEW and in Los Angeles NFTE has over 20 events scheduled at 14 different schools, with over 45 volunteers scheduled throughout the week. If anyone is interested in getting involved in sharing their story as an Entrepreneur this week, or volunteering as a coach or business plan judge, please contact Betsy Blanchard, Program Director at betsy.blanchard@nfte.com.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world’s first-ever celebration of enterprising behaviour, starts this week. Recognising the global nature of many of the challenges we face, Global Entrepreneurship Week aims to connect enterprising young people with their counterparts all over the world, and ultimately create a global movement of entrepreneurial people.

GEW was created by the UK’s Make Your Mark campaign and the US-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Globally more than 11,000 events are taking place in 77 countries involving an estimated five million people, from the US to Mozambique. “You can be making a difference, so be bold, be imaginative, be brilliant. That’s really what this week is all about. Enjoy it.” Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation said: “For seven days, millions of young people around the world will be introduced to entrepreneurship and encouraged to think about how innovation can take them anywhere, no matter their location on the map."

GEW is a true testament to what foundations can accomplish. During this week we should not forget about social entrepreneurship and all the great things that are being accomplished in the social arena. More to come on social entrepreneurship later this week.

Civic Engagement

Earlier today I had the pleasure of listening to Sterlin Speirn speak, of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, at the USC Center for Philanthropy luncheon. Among his many remarks he commented on civic engagement and the need for society to participate in deliberations and dialogue around the challenges that face us today. He suggested that dialogue and deliberations would greatly change the outcome of elections where most voters are either uninformed nor have had the opportunity to explore both sides of the argument in discussion among equals. Not to mention that 1/3 of all registered voters did not vote in the elections two weeks ago, despite the historic turnout.

So what does this have to do with philanthropy? Everything if you accept his premise that education must create more than a skilled labor force - but rather citizens capable of participating in their own governance.

It's Different this time.......

Recent Headlines.....

The Red Cross is suffering as much as a 30% drop in responses and contributions from new donors, and corporate donations are "coming in at lower amounts" at the halfway point of a campaign to raise $100 million by Dec. 31, Towers says.

The Salvation Army reports its western territory suffered a 9% drop in overall fundraising since August alone. Data for the organization's other territories weren't available.

Many charities are between a rock and a hard place, being asked to do more with less," says Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, a large independent U.S. charity evaluator.

“Our nonprofit partners will bear the brunt of shrinking resources and growing need. Within parameters defined by our respective missions, resources and work, we should actively look for creative ways to assist the sector in weathering this storm and serving those most impacted.”

To be sure, foundations themselves are hurting from the financial meltdown and stock-market volatility, which may limit their ability to respond.

Across New York, nonprofit organizations are anxiously tracking the demise of longtime donors such as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, American International Group and Bear Stearns, as Wall Street's problems begin to trickle down to the city's poorest residents.

Philanthropy - Art of Science?

We have all heard the saying, ”it’s a little bit art it’s a little bit science” applied to many topics, it holds true for philanthropy as well. Given the volatility we are seeing in the financial markets much more focus is being placed on the effectiveness and efficiency of the philanthropy sector – or the science. It’s the “Art” though, that for many, drives giving. Statistics show that regardless of whether the economic numbers are up or down, donors have the innate desire to help others. These are real people who are also passionate about making a difference. This is good news for our local charities and their operations.

With that said donors are taking a much more active approach to their giving, looking more closely at the operations of their favorite organizations and how their dollars are being deployed. This will require a change in activity from both donor and charity alike. As donors move away from automatic giving to their favorite charities they are moving toward a model that might be considered more “business-like.” Their involvement is somewhat akin to making a financial investment where planning, structure, procedures, measurement, monitoring, accountability, evaluation, effectiveness, and efficiency are essential tools in measuring the worthiness of a particular philanthropic investment.

The ideal approach is to give with both the heart and mind; to merge the “art” of philanthropy with the “science” of philanthropy. A quintessential concept that defines the philanthropic sector is private initiative for the public good. Indeed, Peter Frumkin, in his book Strategic Giving: The Art & Science of Philanthropy writes that “philanthropy is best conceived as a private activity that allows donors to use their funds to explore their own private visions of the public good.”

While there are no statistics available regarding end of year giving, most charities conduct fall appeals, touting the next few months as an opportunity to give and still receive a tax deduction for the current year. Due to the economic crisis this year, maybe more than any other time in history, charities will have to ensure they appeal not just to our hearts - but to our heads. Demonstrating not only the need for our money but that they will deploy it efficiently, its a little bit art and a little bit science.