Posts Tagged ‘fundraising’

Why are charities blowing donations on black-tie balls?

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Spend money to make money? It might seem like an oxymoron, but in reality it’s a great fundraising tool for charities to use. Large, extravagant events can benefit nonprofits in a couple of ways.

Everyone likes a party, so why not make some money off of it? That’s part of the mentality that black-tie benefit balls depend on. These events usually charge a ticket price for each person who wishes to attend. While the party may cost the charity $50 per attendee, tickets for entry might cost $250 or more – an easy net gain of $200 per person. Multiply that $200 by a thousand people and you’ve raised $200,000 before anyone even walks through the door. Once inside, a charity might hold an auction or have other mini-events that would contribute even more to their total funds raised.

Besides the monetary benefits, black-tie balls often attract celebrities and other influential people who can raise awareness about the charity. These events are also a great way for a charity to give back to its donors – to thank them for their contributions and (hopefully) continued support. By spending a little money on entertaining their donors, charities are the ones with money in their pockets at the end of the night.

Forget Traditional Fundraising. Let’s Grow Weed!

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Everyone had a theory about what would happen when California legalized marijuana for medical use, but growing it to fund an art foundation probably wasn’t on the list.

  • Using a small plot of land in Sonoma County, Kirsha Kaechele is experimenting with a way to fund arts programs in perpetuity by legally growing marijuana.
  • Some growers are already donating some of their profit to charities and creative causes, but Life is Art is hoping to use the marijuana farm as a consistent source of funding for a lifetime of homegrown art projects.
  • In November, California voters will consider a proposal to make marijuana legal for recreational purposes. Marijuana supporters who oppose the measure worry that expanding use will allow corporations to step in, put small growers out of business, and eliminate the potential for charitable growing.

Facts & Figures

  • Selling marijuana is still technically a crime under federal law.
  • An ounce of medical-grade marijuana sells for about $200 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Art is Life plans to generate $1 million next year to pay for art projects based on the farm and in New Orleans.

Best Quote

“The whole game of finding support just started to seem so childish. So I decided to grow up and became a marijuana farmer.” – Kirsha Kaechele, Director of Art is Life Foundation

Does An Increase In Donations Mean A Recovering Economy?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

In the first quarter of 2010, charitable donations rose sharply, which may indicate an economic recovery.

  • After donations to charity fell in 2009 due to the recession, first quarter reports indicate that 2010 looks much more promising.
  • Many charities are working on new fund-raising approaches in order to make donations seem more personal.
  • Even though things are looking up, it will still take a while for nonprofits to fully recover from the recession.

Facts and Figures

  • The median rate of growth for the 73 charities that The Chronicle of Philanthropy polled was 14%.
  • Donations decreased by about 12% in 2009.
  • The 73 organizations polled raised a total of $564.4 million more in the first quarter of 2010 than in the first quarter of 2009.

Best Quote

“The economy has certainly loosened up a bit, and that has loosened up how our donors feel and how we all feel.” – Joe Kender, Vice President for Advancement at Lehigh University

The Rocky Relationship Between Philanthropy And Government

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

The federal government and philanthropic programs have always struggled to get along, but they’re trying to put their differences aside to help programs grow.

  • The government sometimes has a hard time following through on promised funding to nonprofits. For example, $50 million that might have been allocated to Teach for America’s 2011 budget met calamity when political pressure cut the funds completely.
  • Program funding is moving away from direct government disbursements and toward foundations with grant applications and matching programs.
  • As budgets are expected to tighten, the relationship between philanthropy and the government will only become more complicated.

Facts & Figures

  • Teach for America received $18 million in the 2010 federal budget.
  • The Investing in Innovation Fund, run by the Department of Innovation, gives up to $50 million to education programs that are able to match 20% of the grant with private money.
  • 12 foundations have pledged over $500 million that they will use to either match winners or help programs that do not win government money from the fund.

Best Quote

“Partnership with government is going to continue to be hard. We should pursue it but with a sober recognition there will be curves ahead on the road that you can’t see coming.” – David Gergen, Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government

What do nonprofit boards do?

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

The board of a nonprofit has many of the same responsibilities as the board of a corporation: they pick the chief executive, ensure that the organization is fulfilling its mission statement, and provide financial and legal oversight. They make sure the chief executive is doing his or her job running the charity’s programs, managing its money, and executing its stated purpose in its mission statement.

Nonprofit board members are often integrally involved in fundraising and raising awareness of the organization. Frequently they ask others to donate, appear at fundraising events, and donate themselves. In looking for more people to support their organization, they also find and recruit new board members.

Nonprofit boards, as you’d expect, are unpaid positions. Serving on these boards can be a gratifying and essential way to serve a cause that you care about deeply.

A Nonprofit is…

Monday, October 5th, 2009

A nonprofit is an organization that exists mainly to address a social or public issue – not to earn profits for its owners or stakeholders. Sometimes, nonprofits are called charitable organizations or charities.

A nonprofit can pay its employees reasonable salaries, but all the money it brings in from grants, fundraising, or other activities is supposed to be used for charitable work. Nonprofits are exempt from paying many taxes that for-profit organizations (businesses) have to pay.

VIPs Can’t Afford The Gala… Should The Party Go On?

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Everyone is feeling the recession – even the rich – and that’s making it difficult for nonprofits to find honorees for their glitzy gala fundraising events.

  • The spring benefit season in New York (usually heavily funded by Wall Street) has been hurt by the struggling financial sector.
  • Potential honorees are opting out, not wanting the responsibility of asking friends and family for money in such lean times.
  • Some organizations, like Carnegie Hall, have canceled their galas, while others have gone ahead with their events without an honoree.

Facts & Figures

  • Groups earn anywhere from a few percentage points of the annual budget to the majority of a year’s expenses.
  • Nonprofit endowments are down 25 to 30%.

Best Quote

“This idea of getting on the phone and saying, ‘Wouldn’t you like to be honored at our gala?’ – that’s more difficult, more challenging now than in my 30 years of experience at this.” – Will Maitland Weiss, Executive Director of the Arts and Business Council of New York

A Capital Campaign is…

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

A capital campaign is an effort by a charity to raise a significant amount of money to pay for an important project – like a new building or extensive renovation. For example, a college might have a capital campaign to raise the funds for a new athletic facility.

A Matching Gift is…

Friday, August 7th, 2009

A matching gift is a donation that an individual or foundation pledges to a nonprofit if they can raise the sum of the proposed matching gift from other sources. For example, if the Ford Foundation pledges a $500,000 matching gift to Amnesty International, Amnesty must raise an additional $500,00 to receive the $500,000 matching grant from Ford.

A Pledge is…

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

A pledge is an asset or assets given to a lender as collateral (that is, the lender basically holds the pledge hostage until you pay back your loan, and he gets to keep it if you don’t).

A pledge is also a promise to donate money to a charity or other fundraising cause (so if you “pledge” $5,000, you haven’t actually given it, but you’ve promised to do so).