Category: Finance

The following is an excerpt from a listserve discussion regarding the ethics of donor confidentiality:

I can’t imagine someone saying, while they’re being interviewed for a development position, “Well, I know Mr./Ms. Gotbucks, but I can’t make the initial contact with him/her if you hire me because I met him … a few years ago while I was on the development staff of a different nonprofit.” It would seem to me, that the ethical standard exists to keep people from stealing lists and intellectual property – not to keep a fundraiser from calling someone they happened to meet while working somewhere else.”

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Of course the standard exists to keep people from stealing lists and intellectual property, but the major focus is the protection of the donor – and his/her right to privacy/confidentiality.

The Code* was designed (over time, and with much revision) to protect NPOs, their constituents and (primarily) their donors.

If the (Gotbucks) reference is to an officer of a foundation or corporation, there is no conflict implied in your scenario. If it is an individual donor, you’d have to ask whether there was a relationship between that donor and the development person, outside of the donor/org relationship.

If, in fact the two people became friends, then there’s no prohibition in the code to prevent a friend from calling a friend. If, however, the contact was limited to “official” transactions, then the development officer can only take with him/her that which is common knowledge in the community. Ideally, the “relationship” is between the donor and the organization, not between the donor and the staff person.

If it is known that the person has a passion for and likes to give to cultural institutions, then a contact from another such NPO would not be inappropriate. But, if that information was not commonly known, and was known to the development officer only as a consequence of his/her former position, then that officer is obligated to “forget” that information.

One of the purposes of the code is to protect the donor’s right to have information gathered by an NPO maintained as confidential. It is also to recognize that the NPO made an investment in the research/education/cultivation process, and to protect that investment.

If this were merely a philosophical discussion, the bottom line would be that the development officer couldn’t/shouldn’t do anything that would violate the rights of others — individuals or corporations.

But, since it is a common question in fundraising, all of the “rules” were designed to protect NPOs, their constituencies and their ability to serve their constituencies. They were not set up to protect development officers or other staff of the NPO.

(*The AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards can be found at: http://www.afpnet.org/Ethics/EnforcementDetail.cfm?itemnumber=3261)

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]
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Click this link to find descriptions of all the titles in The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In my last post (on Dec. 6) I outlined the first four sections to be included in a grant proposal to a private or corporate foundation: the Cover Letter, Executive Summary, Contact Information, and General Organization Overview.

This month’s post will continue with the three additional sections to include in these grant proposals:

Program Description – this is the heart of your proposal – and it includes a number of subsections:
•  Needs Statement – describe the community needs or problems to be addressed by your program and why this issue is important. Check back for more about needs statements in an upcoming blog post.
•  Target Population – describe who will be served by this grant, how many will be served, and what are the demographics of this population (gender, age, income, etc.)
•  Program Goals & Objectives – what will your organization do to address the community needs or problems described above? Your goals will be broader in scope than your objectives and can also be described in terms of the long-term outcomes your organization hopes to achieve through this program. Objectives are narrower and more specific, and often shorter in duration.
•  Program Activities & Timeline – your Goals and Objectives are the “What” and your Activities & Timeline are the “How” and the “When.” What activities and/or services do you intend to engage in or provide? Include specifics such as how much, how often, and how long these will be provided.
•  Evaluation – program evaluation is becoming increasingly critical in winning grants. Potential funders want – and need – to know how you will determine if your programs are successful, and by extension, if their money will be well spent. Some tips that I will include in an upcoming blog post on program evaluation are: work with your program staff to define the goals, outcomes and metrics for their programs; use quantitative metrics to evaluate program effectiveness; define whether you will conduct an internal evaluation or hire an outside evaluator; and use your evaluation findings to modify program design.
•  Personnel – list the staff responsible for your program, and include a brief summary of their professional qualifications. Also include any volunteer needs that will ensure the success of your program, and if there are specific staff and/or volunteer training needs for your program.
•  Collaboration – will your organization collaborate with any other service providers on this program? What is your past experience collaborating with this/these organization(s), what is/are their roles in this program, and what is/are their expertise? Some foundations will also require letters of support or MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) from these collaborators.

Financial Information – this is another critical section of grant proposals that is receiving increasing scrutiny from grant reviewers. This section should include – or reference – your line-item program budget, sometimes a budget narrative, and always a statement of program sustainability (ie: how will you sustain the program after funding from this foundation ends). Check back for more about program budgets and financial information in an upcoming blog post.

Attachments – another boilerplate section. Most foundations will require your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, a list of your Board of Directors and their professional affiliations, your organization’s operating budget for the current fiscal year, your program budget for the grant period (if not detailed in the proposal), and your most recent annual report. Many foundations will also require your audited financial statement for the most recently completed fiscal year, your IRS Form 990, and a list of your foundation and corporate grantors, including grant award amounts.
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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Look for Lynn’s ebook on Grants & Grantsmanship. It’s part of The Fundraising Series of ebooks
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

We are often cautioned: “Don’t discuss religion and politics.” But why not? They’re a pretty big part of our total being, our livelihood and our spiritual lives !!

The “politics” thing, however, does have me walking with some care on what is often a rocky and sometimes perilous path – in these days of political topics so hot as to be overheated.

The all-too-frequent appearances on television of the “talking heads” with their polar opposite arguments keep the flames burning, and one of the arguments making the rounds these days does particularly tick me off.

That is the strong and intrusive idea of what to do with the money earned by the rich. Many of those firebrands who are belligerent about those who are “too” rich, tend to have difficulty defining what level of income is too much.

Who decides this anyway?

I have a strong and unwavering opinion regarding the “get-the-rich” attitude by all too many people in the U.S. And it’s an opinion based neither on left nor right, nor progressive, nor capitalist, ideology.

With nearly 40 years as a non-profit fund-raising professional under my belt, I have never seen or heard about a single building construction or a renovation of a facility for any charity whether it be food bank, nursing home, abuse or homeless shelter, animal rescue facility, education structure, arts and culture building, religious facility, hospital, etc. which was not paid for with contributions mainly and mostly from the rich.

Most always, such fund-raising campaigns have about 85% or more of the money raised coming from only about 15% or less of the donors. That funding ratio counts on there being people capable of making large gifts—the rich. If we had to rely on the middle class, even at its higher end, it would be a long wait for those capital projects. Nor can we expect the poor to be able to provide a lion’s share of the needed funds. After all, they are the ones in need—the ones the rich are making gifts to benefit.

Without the rich and a tax code that encourages giving, philanthropy as we know it would most likely take a drastic downturn. If we tax all their social capital away from the rich, we may find ourselves relying on a single funder—the government—to support the social good delivered by non-profit organizations. I, for one, am not ready to go that route.

Let’s take care that we don’t eliminate the goose that lays the golden egg by declaring war on the concept of being rich.
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If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at [email protected]. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com
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Click this link to find descriptions of all the titles in The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

When I saw a line in a listserve posting referencing that phrase, it took me back to my early days (30+ years ago) in fundraising.

Back then, the phrase, “Give ‘Til It Hurts,” was part of the lexicon of the capital campaign. It was a simpler time, folks were a lot less self-centered than people appear to be today, and many capital campaigns (depending on circumstances) could get away with that language.

The idea, back in the “old days,” was that, if the campaign was to fund an “urgent” need in the community, then members of the community were “obligated” to sacrifice in order to satisfy that need.

My first few years in fundraising was as an itinerant director-of-capital-campaigns for (small) hospitals. In those communities, it was usually accepted, without question, that the “need” was “urgent,” and that, in order to provide for the health-care needs of the community, members of that community had to give “sacrificially” – ‘til it hurt.

The line, “Give ‘til it hurts,” was eventually replaced with, “Give ‘til it feels good.” But both lines have become trite, and tend to be difficult to say or hear without a grimace.

These days, major donors are just too sophisticated and too experienced in the nonprofit sector, phrases like the above are (hopefully) no longer in use.

Of course, in a community where there really is a sense of community, people are still making sacrifices … even (sometimes) in their giving. The focus, now, from the donor’s perspective, is most often not on what’s best for the community, but how their giving will satisfy their own needs.

Now that’s not necessarily bad. For too long nonprofit organizations felt/thought/believed that people should support them just because of the wonderful things they did. It was always about the needs of the organization and the people it served.

Today, if an organization wants people to support it, they have to think in terms of how a donor’s gift will satisfy BOTH the needs of the organization and the needs of the donor.

And, the reason why that’s not a bad thing…. If a nonprofit can show/help a donor understand how his/her gift will satisfy his/her own needs while helping others, then the donor is more likely to continue supporting that nonprofit.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]
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Click this link to find descriptions of all the titles in The Fundraising Series of ebooks.

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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

“A method of charitable giving that involves the donor’s consideration of their retirement plan and family estate plan, and usually means cash to a charity at the donor’s death.”

I’ve been relying on that definition for years of public speaking and training. It’s easy, short and accurate. Others may quibble. It’s served me well for 15 years of Planned Giving fundraising.

Deeply personal factors come into play when your prospect decides whether to include your nonprofit in her estate or retirement plan. She’s thinking about her husband’s, children’s and grandchildren’s needs; maybe her parents’ long-term care; and other relatives. Even dear friends may come into the picture.

It’s a uniquely personal decision whether to include a person—or charity—in one’s will.

I talk about the charitable bequest because it’s the place to kick-off any Planned Giving program, irrespective of your charitable mission or size. I’ll have a lot more to say about that in future articles.

Who do we include in our wills?

You’ll be asking prospects to put your charity alongside husbands, children, grandchildren, parents and close friends.

That’s a revered place for you to be. No one loves a nonprofit as much as family, but you rank pretty high. You’ve got to treat that gift with the respect it deserves.

I hope you recognize that the gift is made at the time she tells you she’s included you in her will, or used some other method to make a gift. The gift is now. It will be cash to your organization at her death, but she’s made a gift today. Steward that gift accordingly.

You don’t say thank you only once. You thank your planned gift donors when you first learn of their intention, and many times after.

I’ll say more about stewardship—including simple, inexpensive ideas—in future posts.

Some practitioners say the gift “accrues” or “matures” at your donor’s death. Though there’s probably video of me using those somewhere, I try to avoid them. They’re technical and jargony.

I want to make Planned Giving accessible. I want you to understand it.

My signature seminar is “Planned Giving Demystified.” I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that mine was the first Planned Giving program they understood.

That’s enormously gratifying. It’s also disconcerting. Too many speakers and writers are talking over the heads of hard-working fundraisers trying to get a grasp on a subject that has a technical side to it but that at the outset—encouraging gifts by will—need not be out of reach.

You don’t have to be a technical expert to have a wildly successful Planned Giving program.

My definition above mentions that cash usually comes to your charity at death. The exceptions are gifts directly from IRAs—when those were allowed—and a fancy, uncommon trust (the charitable lead trust).

In my Planned Giving series, I’ll focus on gifts that get you cash at your donor’s death, and are easy to understand.

Next month, “Why Have A Planned Giving Program?” What’s the value to your organization?

Welcome to the series!

My thanks to Hank Lewis for inviting me to be part of this blog.

Starting next month, February, Tony’s posts will appear on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
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Tony Martignetti, Esq. is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. He’s a Planned Giving consultant, speaker, author, blogger and stand-up comic. You’ll find him at TonyMartignetti.com.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Some time ago, I had a conversation with a group of colleagues about “expectations” in our relationships with clients – our expectations, and theirs !!

We all pretty much agreed that it really doesn’t make much of a difference what we spell out in our contracts regarding deliverables, as the client (who often won’t give the contract a thorough reading) has a vision of what s/he wants, that s/he believes the relationship with the consultant will provide.

For example, when I have a contract with an organization to “work with them to design and train them and their leadership to implement a major gifts program,” that contract will spell out my understanding of what (I believe) both parties are agreeing to do. No matter the wording, however, the client often sees the relationship as resulting in the acquisition of major gifts, not in the creation of any kind of a “program.”

Another common example: Where a consultant’s contract will spell out the fact that (in language required by many states) the consultant will never handle (have possession of) a client’s funds, and that the consultant will work with the client to plan/design (for example) a major gifts program and advise/train/direct the client in their fundraising efforts, it is so often the case that the client believes that the contract calls for the consultant to “bring in” those major gifts.

Even though I always spend some time discussing desired outcomes with prospective clients before I draft a contract, and even though we will discuss that contract a number of times … and may modify it each time before it’s ready to be signed, no matter how much discussion and re-writing precedes the signing of a contract, it rarely reflects the totality of what the client organization *really* wants … and what they expect to happen as a result of the relationship.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t get value for their money. Of course they do !!

But however the client benefits, it’s often not in ways they thought they would….

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Grant proposals should go through a five-step writing process:
•  Plan: Think through your proposal section.
•  Organize: Use the grant guidelines as your outlining guide.
•  Write: Write in a free-flowing manner.
•  Examine: Walk away from your writing and review it later while letting others review it too.
•  Revise: Emphasize clarity, conciseness, correctness, and persuasiveness.

One of my previous postings (Plan And Organize Your Proposal Before You Write) discussed Planning and Organizing. This time, I will focus on the third step – writing the first draft of your grant proposal.

These are the steps you should take to write a good first draft.

•  Write the first draft quickly
Work from your notes and worksheet. Write heading and subheadings first and use them as a guide.
Begin with the easiest parts of your sections. (It is extremely rare for a proposal to be written linearly – from first page to last!)
Write quickly.
Do not worry about formatting and errors.

•  Use your outline
Focus on the funder’s hot buttons that you have identified.
Focus on your organization’s solution.
Validate, validate, validate!
Do not make claims you cannot prove.

•  Use paragraphs effectively
Limit your paragraphs to one main idea.
Begin each paragraph with a thesis statement.
Put the most important point first.
Use plenty of bulleted and numbered lists.
Put details at the middle and end of your paragraphs.
Make sure that your paragraphs flow logically.
Use transition sentences as your glue.

If you follow these steps to writing effectively, you should be able to produce a serviceable first draft of your grant proposal … in proper format.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

I work for a non-profit membership society as advertising and marketing manager, a position that falls under the umbrella of the development office. I am responsible for the advertising in our member publications and on our web site, and for selling sponsorships to local and national corporations.

I am having a difficult time separating out the difference between monies earned from selling sponsorships to a corporation and soliciting donations from them.

Should the two be recognized publicly as the same – such that all companies that sponsor and/or donate be grouped as Donors, or should there be a distinction between the two?

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The significant/functional difference between income from sales of sponsorships to corporations and contributions from corporations is that corporate expectations are different for both.

When a corporation buys a sponsorship, they expect specific visibility and recognition for the corporation and/or its leadership. In essence, selling a sponsorship is a contract between the NPO and the corporation — the corp. is buying what you told them they’d get for their sponsorship money.

If it’s an event, then there should be appropriate signage and/or visibility for the corporation on the event invitation and/or program.

Also keep in mind that the visibility you give to them, and to other sponsors, is part of how you are preparing for the next time you ask them to buy a sponsorship. It’s a case of “see what other corps got for being sponsors; you could get the same next time !!”

Sponsorships buy visibility and credibility and, therefore, help the corporations sell more of what they produce. Contributions from corporations “show” that they are “good members of the community” and suggest that community members should, therefore, “embrace” them and give them their “loyalty.” Corporations do give to support their communities, and to support the NPOs that provide services to their employees.

Corporate board members and executives also like to be recognized for their contributions, and they usually want to know beforehand what recognition they’ll get — a program listing, a listing in your annual report, a photo op — corp. exec presenting the check to your NPO’s ED or Board Chair.

Sponsorships and Contributions should never be “grouped” together, not only because they are obtained through different “processes” and come with different expectations, but also because they are perceived (by the corporations and your constituents) differently.

Bottom line, development is (at heart) marketing. It’s relationship building and enhancing — often on a one-to-one basis. It’s getting the prospect to want to do what it is that you want him/her to do — i.e., buying a sponsorship and/or making a contribution.

So, when it comes to corporations, the key to raising money is to first determine what their needs are — the needs of the corp. and the needs of the execs, then approach them with a plan (including either or both sponsorships and contributions) that will satisfy those needs.

Corporations that are buying sponsorships are not making donations. They are buying, not giving. Your record keeping (keeping the two income streams separate) will help you track which works best with which corporations. But, no matter which part of the corporate budget the monies come, the idea is that (for the most part) the sponsorship and/or the contribution will increase the corporate bottom line.

While I do not discount the many gifts to nonprofits from corporations that (really) want to support their communities, the basic approach to corporations must be with the consideration of how their bottom line will be impacted.

Of course all income goes to support the mission, but income of various types must be reported to the IRS in different categories. If you’re not familiar with IRS form 990, ask your organization’s leadership for a copy of a recent filing. If you wade through all the details, there will be some info that will address your questions.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

This post was supposed to be Part 2 of Proposal Development for grants. I’m moving that post to February 7th, however, so I may share a couple of personal insights on year-end giving.

The holiday – and year-end giving – season is over. We’ve all packed away our lights and decorations, year-end donor lists, and holiday cards, safely storing them ‘til next year.

Before we move on and start working our 2013 fund development plans, I want to share some personal experiences and two insights that relate directly to year-end giving. Specifically, why children and non-board volunteers are important groups to consider in your year-end solicitations.

Like many families, my husband and I make year-end gifts to non-profit organizations; and, when my daughter was six, we started to include her in the process of selecting to which organizations we would give.

She has had a love affair with penguins since about age two, so she always selected wildlife organizations, and we would make a sizeable gift to the organization she selected.

This year, it hit me: if my daughter has a significant impact on my year-end giving, then this might be happening in other families, and it could be a good strategy to use in a year-end giving campaign. My fundraising expertise is in grantsmanship, but relationships are at the heart of all fundraising, and as with grants, the gift is much more related to what the donor wants to give than what the NPO wants to receive…

Insight #1: When developing your organization’s year-end giving campaign next year, consider appealing to all members of your donors’ families, even those too young to have a bank account.

This year my family also started volunteering for a wonderful animal welfare organization, Stray Rescue of St. Louis (strayrescue.org). We became direct service volunteers by fostering four puppies and helping them find their “forever homes.” Lots of work, lots of puppy kisses, lots of fun.

When I asked my daughter (now age nine) to select the organization she wanted to donate to, I expected the usual penguin/wildlife organization. Without hesitation, she selected Stray Rescue…

Insight #2: OK, this is incredibly obvious, and I should have thought about donating to Stray Rescue before my daughter suggested it, but consider soliciting your direct-service volunteers at year-end. They already know and love your organization, and will probably want to support you financially in addition to their gift of time. Lots out there on this topic, just search, “converting volunteers to donors.”

Bonus Insight: Ask your volunteers to share their (positive) experiences with your organization on their social media accounts. I started volunteering for Stray Rescue because a friend of mine kept posting pictures of her foster puppies on Facebook!
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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

I was asked if one 501(c)(3) non-profit can give money to another 501(c)(3) charity. With the usual, and necessary, caveat of, “I am not attorney, nor am I giving legal advice,” I responded that, “Yes, when the transaction advances the donor non-profit’s charitable mission, a non-profit can donate money (and other resources) to another non-profit.”

In some instances doing so is an essential part of a non-profit carrying out its mission. Example: An orchestra could donate funds to an organization that seeks to develop overall marketing and PR education and outreach to that city’s arts and culture population.

Along with that necessary start to the process, the donor non-profit needs to make absolutely certain that there is:

1. No conflict of interest. Any person or persons responsible for the transfer of the donated funds must not personally (their families, friends, associates, etc.) benefit in any way. Example: The donated funds are used to purchase equipment in some way connected to business interests of a Board member of the donor non-profit

2. No violation of donor restrictions. While exacting restrictions are not generally connected to most donations, nevertheless, the risk is that some donors would not approve of their money, in principle, going to another charity they did not choose, no matter how it fits or how worthy.

3. No misuse of the donated charitable resources by the receiving non-profit. Should the receiving non-profit subsequently have publicized financial problems, even though the donated funds were not in fact misused, the overall perception of the receiving organization trumps the reality. Perception is everything. There could be serious trouble for the donor non-profit requiring it to justify its support of the ailing organization.

4. No question that donating funds in any way will imperil the donor non-profit’s own financial health. In other words, that the donation was not excessive, or beyond the realm of good judgment.

Of course, there are always exceptions, and at times such arrangements can be mutually beneficial. But, from what I have mostly come to know, the donation-to-another-charity question is most often asked by people who hope the answer is “No” because they are unhappy about, or uncomfortable with, a proposed action of this type. I know I would be as director of development, especially when challenges are possible by my donors asking that I explain the above point 2. I would not want to risk hearing, “Not with my money, you won’t!”
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If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at [email protected]. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.