Nonprofits looking for better‐informed, more engaged major donors

• Date: 01 January 2020
• Published date: 01 January 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30698

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Vol. 364 January 2020

Nonprots looking for better-informed,

more engaged major donors

A survey of more than 600 nonprot leaders from

across the country highlights how charities are work-

ing to attract and retain major donors—an increas-

ingly vital source of donations for the charitable

sector—and how these donors can best support the

needs and programming of the groups they fund.

According to Crucial Donors: How Major Individual

Givers Can Best Support Nonprots, recently released

by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, nonprots are

well aware of how important it is to develop personal

relationships with major donors—dened for this

study as individuals who give a single gift of $7,500

or more, although nonprots themselves use a range

anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to mark such donors.

In fact, the CEP survey lays out the ways in which

charities are building these personal relationships

currently, and how they plan to extend those efforts in

the future. Most say they strive to build more personal

relationships with major donors as their gifts grow in

size—the larger the gift, the more personal attention

Also in this issue

Conferences and Events: Philanthropy Southwest

Nonprot Organizations Institute; the University of

San Diego’s Nonprot Governance Symposium; the

2020 ANA D.C. Nonprot Conference .............4

Industry News: eBay for Charity hits $1 billion

fundraising milestone ...........................5

Nonprot Research: Data shows 2018 DAF donations

top $20 billion .................................6

Facebook rolls out new fundraising tools ...........6

Industry News: Disaster-related giving surges, but

little going to prevention ........................7

Health foundations ned for role in kickback scheme . 7

Resources: Charityhowto.com webinar offers tips on

nonprot dashboards; Webinar focuses on online

communications plans; Candid to host special

session on scal sponsorships .....................9

Employment Law: Legal cases that impact nonprots . 10

News: Briefs from around the sector .............. 12

Report calls for support

of voting rights

A new report from the Carnegie Corporation of

New York points out a host of ways that corporate

giving departments, family foundations and other

funders can help protect the right to vote for all

eligible citizens.

The report, Voting Rights Under Fire: Phi-

lanthropy’s Role in Protecting and Strengthening

American Democracy, outlines numerous current

threats to voting rights across the United States,

most of which can be tied to a 2013 Supreme

Court ruling that eliminated key parts of the Vot-

ing Rights Act.

Since that decision, the report argues, there has

been a dramatic increase across the country in bar-

riers to voting, most of which disproportionately

affect low-income voters, rural voters, communities

of color, young people and people with disabilities.

The report offers several suggested actions for

funders to consider, including:

• Investing in core support and infrastructure.

Since the 2013 decision, organizations working

on voting rights have faced unprecedented pres-

sure, the report said. These groups monitor elec-

tions, support targeted populations, advocate for

voter-friendly policies and bring legal action when

needed. To help them continue their programming,

these groups need to strengthen their stafng,

infrastructure and technology—and they need

expanded support to collaborate with those at the

local, state and national levels.

(See RIGHTS on on page 3)

(See DONORS on page 2)

they receive. This involves communicating with them

more frequently and in person, as opposed to email

communications; having greater donor involvement in

the work of the organization; and taking steps to rec-

ognize them publicly and/or privately. Going forward,