Managing Through Tough Times

Despite recent stock market gains and speculation that the recession has ended, the situation for many nonprofits continues to decline. Over the last year, The Bridgespan Group has reached out to approximately 800 nonprofit leaders at six month intervals, asking questions about how their organizations were managing through the downturn and received approximately 100 responses to each survey. Their latest survey, conducted in the fall of 2009, showed that 93 percent of the nonprofits surveyed were experiencing the effects of the downturn, up from 75 percent one year ago. The number of organizations that reported funding cuts has increased to 80 percent from 52 percent; the number dipping into reserves rose to 48% from 19%; and 43% have reduced staff this year compared to 28% last. In the past six months,... Continue Reading

European Charities ‘Optimistic’ for 2010

This year’s pan-European SONI survey, conducted by Blackbaud in association with the Resource Alliance, shows that charities are becoming more optimistic about the future. Charities in France are the most optimistic with 80 per cent expecting an increase in income, while only 40 per cent of British and German charities felt optimistic about the future. On the whole, major giving is the top driver of fundraising income except in the Netherlands where direct mail is still top dog. Interestingly a much higher proportion of charities in the Netherlands (one in four) use volunteers to approach the majority of major donors. Investment income has fallen everywhere with 61 per cent of British charities reporting a drop and only 10 per cent seeing an increase. The results of this year’s SONI survey are drawn... Continue Reading

Decline in 2009 Foundation Giving Steeper Than Anticipated

Continued Reductions Expected in 2010 Foundation giving will likely decline by more than 10 percent in 2009, closer to the higher end of the 8 to 13 percent range estimated by the Foundation Center earlier this year. According to September 2009 survey findings released today in Foundations’ Year-end Outlook for Giving and the Sector, foundation giving will also decline further in 2010, as previously predicted by the Center. Despite reduced resources, more than three-quarters of the close to 600 respondents to the new survey expect that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the crisis. The focus of long-term changes range from governance to grantee relations to investments. “Foundations will be giving less than they expected at the beginning... Continue Reading

Highlights from Giving USA’s Spotlight: Giving Recovery after Economic Depression

by Robert I. Evans & Avrum D. Lapin As we begin to see some improvements in the U.S. and global economies, there remain an endless number of unanswered questions regarding philanthropy and future support for non-profits. What will the recovery be like? How will charitable giving be affected on the short term and longer term? While it is difficult to predict the future, we can examine past and recent trends to better understand how non-profits will probably fare as the U.S. and global economies enter, and hopefully sustain, their recovery. We look to perspectives highlighted in a newly-released “white paper” from Giving USA, “Giving Recovery after Economic Depression,” researched and written at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. According to this special report, the current... Continue Reading

Global Fundraisers Optimistic Over Economic Revival

The past year has been tough for some, with half of not-for-profit organizations reporting a decline in income, but one third (33%) of fundraisers have successfully bucked the trend and generated additional income despite the recession, according to The Management Centre’s Global Fundraising Confidence Survey 2009. The survey includes the views of 126 leading fundraising directors and sector experts from Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and Africa about the impact of the financial crisis on the nfp sector. The survey follows up on one conducted in 2008 and highlights which organizations, causes and regions have and will be most affected and what strategies fundraisers should adopt to overcome economic instability. Results show that not-for-profit organizations in Asia were hardest hit with... Continue Reading

Fundraising Dips in 1st Quarter

The struggling economy hit nonprofits hard in the first quarter of 2009. According to the latest Target Analytics Index of National Fundraising Performance, the number of new donors dropped by almost 13%, as compared to 2008. The Target Analytics Quarterly Index of National Fundraising Performance compares trends for key fundraising indicators among 79 organizations, including over 35 million donors and more than 66 million gifts totaling almost $2 billion in revenue. Key metrics include: The median average gift was $38 in Q1 2009. The median revenue per donor was $47. The median average gift decreased by 2.4% Retention rates decreased by a median 1%. Reactivation rates fell by 6.5% compared to Q1 2008. You can download the summary of findings and list of participating nonprofits that submitted data... Continue Reading

Fear Can Be Paralytic, But It Can Also Be a Great Motivator

by Wagner blogger Good management is good management, and the current fiscal and economic crisis has the potential to impel nonprofit organizations toward making the tough decisions they should have been making all along, according to consultant Jack Ukeles, founder and president of Ukeles Associates, Inc. The Berman Jewish Policy Archive at NYU Wagner welcomed representatives from philanthropies, nonprofit organizations, and the general public to a March 4, 2009, forum where Ukeles and Barbara Cohn Berman discussed “Doing More With Less: Can Jewish and Other Nonprofits Turn Crisis into Opportunity?” The particular characteristics of the nonprofit field – such as a tendency to diffuse authority, the difficulty of measuring success, and dependence on outside sources for funding –... Continue Reading

How Nonprofits Can Apply for Stimulus Package Funding

A special bulletin, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Act Appropriations Beneficial to the Nonprofit Sector and Key Resources for Organizations to Approach and Access Funding Sources, is now available at no cost from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Written and researched by the Center, and published in conjunction with Giving USA Foundation, the Bulletin provides timely information on how charitable and philanthropic organizations can apply for funding through the Act, also known as the stimulus package. The Bulletin contains hotlinks to numerous sites and resources. As a public service to the nonprofit sector, the Bulletin is offered free. The passage of the Act offers nonprofits opportunities to acquire desperately needed funding relief to sustain current programs... Continue Reading

Service or Advocacy: What Can Foundations Do and What’s Their Responsibility Given this Economy?

by Wagner blogger With the U.S. in the throes of a devastating economic crisis and donation dollars more scarce than ever, should foundations divert their funding efforts to direct-service programs which assist casualties of this devastating recession – or should they instead continue to funnel their funds into advocacy efforts aimed at alleviating social inequality? Leaders of several foundations and non-profit luminaries grappled with the topic during a lively, 90-minute discussion entitled “Philanthropy and the Economic Crisis” on Thursday, March 26th, at  the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Continue Reading [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Two Events Two Continents

This Sunday, March 22nd, the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning and The Jewish Week will co-sponsor a community forum entitled Torah for Troubled Times: Jewish Values and the Financial Crisis. The event will take place beginning at 3:00 pm at 10 East 66th Street in Manhattan. An opening panel will address urgent issues of the financial crisis, from a Jewish values perspective. Panelists are Shifra Bonznick (Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community), Professor Michael Chernick (Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion), Alan “Ace” Greenberg (Former Chair, Bear Stearns) and Scott Shay (Chair, Signature Bank). The discussion will be moderated by The Jewish Week’s Sandee Brawarsky. According to Skirball Center Director, Rabbi Leon A. Morris, “People... Continue Reading

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