Transcript No Slide Title

Leadership, Governance
and Giving
1
The following material was prepared for the AFP
Research Council Think Tank held October 7-8, 2008.
The event was co-sponsored by the Philanthropy and
Nonprofit Leadership Center at Rollins College.
The Research Council is indebted to a generous grant
from the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation to the AFP
Foundation that made it possible to convene nationally
recognized presenters for the 2008 AFP Think Tank.
2
Individual Giving:
Just What Have We Achieved ?
Dr. Adrian Sargeant
Robert F. Hartsook Professor of Fundraising
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
3
2008 Charitable Giving
$307.65 billion
Corporations
$14.50
5%
Individuals
$229.28
75%
Foundations
$41.21
13%
Bequests
$22.66
7%
4
Public Trust and Confidence in the
Sector is Miserably Low
• Only 16% of Americans have a great deal of
confidence in nonprofits
• 34% have not much or none at all!
• In 2003 34% of Americans said nonprofits were
‘very good’ at helping people – now only 25%
• 70% say we waste money – up 10 percentage
points in 5 years
5
Public Trust and Confidence
6
On Judgment . . .
• Roughly 40% of U.S. nonprofits claim zero
costs of fundraising—that “100% of your gift
goes to those who need it”
• In other reports, 6% of nonprofits indicate no
direct costs associated with fundraising and
59% indicate no overhead costs associated with
fundraising
7
“But under a different accounting
convention . . .”
8
A Model Worth Considering
The CharityFacts website (www.charityfacts.org)
provides information on fundraising and
philanthropy in Great Britain for members of the
media, researchers and the general public
9
10
Another Good Idea
The ImpACT Coalition
• A group of charities that promote better public
understanding of how charities work
• Also promote the benefits nonprofits bring to
society by improving accountability, clarity
and transparency (ImpACT)
• NPOs in the group speak with one voice on a
specific set of messages
• www.impactcoalition.org.uk
11
Messages from the ImpACT Coalition
12
Levels of donor attrition are terrible
and getting worse …
13
14
The donor pool is
contracting steadily . . .
15
16
Participation in bequest giving is
unchanged in a century of our best
efforts . . .
“90% of donor mortality will simply result in lost
current giving” . . . as a result of current
donors having made no plans for charitable
bequests . . .
—James (2008)
17
Online giving still accounts for only
around 2% of individual giving
18
So what can we do to
stimulate giving?
19
Wouldn’t it be good if every
fundraiser knew . . .
• One or two models of giving behavior
• The underpinning psychology of giving?
Philanthropic psychology?
• What drives bequest giving? How people
make decisions about the future—and what
language is most effective?
20
Wouldn’t it be good if every
fundraiser knew . . .
• What drives public trust in the sector—and in
organizations—and why this matters
• The three things that drive donor loyalty—and
why this matters
• The characteristics of successful nonprofit
websites—and the links between these
characteristics and facts of performance
21
So, for the Profession . . .
• Set real performance standards—aspirational
standards
• Create a formal qualification framework
• Pursue education, NOT just credentialing
• Value research and integrate it into the books
we write and our fundraising practice
• Establish ethical standards with teeth
• Implement public information and education
• Coordinate action
22
Questions and Comments
Please send any questions or comments about this
presentation to . . .
Association of Fundraising Professionals
Research Council
4300 Wilson Boulevards, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 684-0410
Or submit a comment via the AFP website . . .
www.afpnet.org
And click ‘Contact Us’ at the bottom of the home page.
23