In This Edition:

• Donors' e-Payments Becoming Communication Tool
  
  
• Donors...
  Using professional advisors might help with big gifts
  
  
• Premiums ...
  5 steps to control cost and improve outcomes in donor recognition
  
  
• Grants ...
  Community foundations have expenses, too
  

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 Donors' e-Payments Becoming Communication Tool

By Michele Donohue

International Rescue Committee (IRC) in New York City launched an online pilot program this past October that connected donation dollar amounts to specific actions the organization takes to help refugees.

The “gift basket” program, launched in time for the holiday season, took visitors to the micro-site FromHarmToHome.org, where potential donors could click through donation amounts in categories such as health, education and safety. For example, donors clicking on the $100 donation in the education basket would see that amount could enable two Afghan girls to attend school for one year.

To read the complete article click here...

Donors...
Using professional advisors might help with big gifts

When it comes to money, those who have it can usually count on receiving advice from someone on how to handle it. Especially if “handle” means disbursing some or all of it.

These people offering advice can range from the friend who swears that buying swamp land in Tierra Del Fuego is a sure-fire way to wealth to the professional who knows the ins and outs of getting a multibillion-dollar Congressional bailout.

Philanthropic advisor Kathryn W. Miree offers a list of those willing or able to offer advice to people contemplating planned gifts to nonprofits, with a little background about each one.

• Attorneys. This is the individual who probably will draft the documents that create the gift.
• Certified public accountants (CPA). The CPA provides the tax expertise for the donor’s gift and might be the impetus for consideration of charitable- or tax-planning strategies.
• Insurance professionals. The insurance agent, generally a certified life underwriter (CLU) or chartered financial consultant (ChFC), might have the longest relationship with the donor.
• Financial planners. A financial planner is more frequently involved in gift planning as individuals seek one-stop planning and coordination of family financial needs.
• Trust officers. The trust officer could have a relationship with several generations of family members.
• Stockbrokers. A stockbroker is often the donor's primary source of investment advice.
• Real estate agents and brokers. While rarely considered a part of the planning team, such a person can often identify opportunities for charitable gifts.
  

Premiums ...
5 steps to control cost and improve outcomes in donor recognition

It is important to control every expenditure in this economy. Yet, saying "thank you" is even more critical in today’s competitive fundraising environment.

Don’t cut back. Just improve your thinking about thanking by considering these tips from donor recognition consultants Robin E. Williams and Anne Manner-McLarty.

• Define donor recognition. List last year’s “donor recognition” activities, purchases and events. Total hard (product) and soft (time) costs for each. Target a total expenditure of 1 to 3 percent of dollars raised wherever possible. And remember, good investments are those that both thank and communicate/inspire.
  
• Don’t over-commit during a capital campaign. Always compare the full range of recognition a donor receives to the gift amount. This includes plaques, sculptures, portraits, names on spaces, and Web-based or printed lists. Often capital campaign displays are impressive, but very costly architectural features which recognize those one-time gifts. Instead, thank publicly within the context of motivating continued giving by considering a cumulative giving program.
  
• Be mindful of electronic recognition costs. Use digital, Web-based and interactive recognition tools with caution. Before you purchase, plan for repair and maintenance and know who to call, costs to expect and how quickly problems can be corrected.
  
• Digital media promises quick and cheap updates, yet consider the hidden costs of boring the viewers you had intended to dazzle. Understand that the promise of lower expenses later might not include the cost of on-going content development and programming. Don’t let the costs -- in time and money -- of keeping digital donor displays engaging stop you from implementing routine changes. Electronic donor recognition displays are communication tools that demand a pre-planned library of rotating content.
  
• Control costs for product re-order efficiencies. Keep a file folder for every plaque and dimensional letter to be re-ordered. Include costs, vendor order forms, materials/sizes, and delivery times. Have a checklist of your procedures for donor data gathering and administrative approvals. These ready-reference tools foster consistency, accuracy and especially cost savings.
  

Grants ...
Community foundations have expenses, too

In an effort to gauge the expense and compensation patterns of foundations and the factors behind them, a collaborative group undertook a study of the largest 10,000 grant-making foundations in the United States.

The group consisted of representatives of the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, the Foundation Center and GuideStar, combining under the name of The Foundation Expenses and Compensation Project.

The Project issued a paper, “What Drives Foundation Expenses & Compensation?” It is a study focusing on the years 2001-2003. It did not include operating foundations. Together, the foundations in the study were responsible for 78 percent of foundation giving and 77 percent of foundation assets.

Regarding community foundations, the Project found that:

• Expense levels are fairly consistent across community foundations, nearly all of which are staffed. In addition, large givers typically benefit less from economies of scale.
• Larger staff size affects community foundations’ expense levels more than any other factor, followed by direct charitable activities.
• The youngest community foundations have the highest expense levels relative to qualifying distributions.
• Community foundations with Web sites have greater expense-to-qualifying distribution ratios than those without.
• Characteristics associated with higher expense ratios for community foundations held steady throughout the study period.

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