Training in the Time of COVID-19

In conversations with clients and colleagues, I have heard that training is high on everyone’s list. With travel prohibited, many staff members are seeking additional training opportunities and many leaders are trying to structure appropriate learning opportunities for their staff members. That is well and good—an excellent way to utilize time.

Let me offer a suggestion for Training in the Time of COVID-19 (apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez) of development officers that should actually become part of our general training regimen for gift officers. This suggestion is born of several factors—my own experience, my work with many, many gift officers as both supervisor and consultant, and my review of any number of training opportunities afforded front line fundraisers.

First some background. In working with a front-line gift officer to assist in strategy development for prospects, I was reminded of a gap in his understanding. He was interested in developing an approach for an alumnus, who did not give personally, although the accounting firm for which he is the founder and managing partner made contributions. It was clear to me that he failed to recognize that gifts from the firm were, in fact, to some degree coming out of the alumnus’ pocket. While there was merit in working with that alumnus to secure an individual gift, to approach him as though he were not giving would be a mistake. In short, his lack of understanding of the differences among corporations was proving to be a problem in his work with a prospect.

That reminded me of my early days as a gift officer. I remembered dealing with a number of prospects who were involved in the world of investments. One was a hedge fund manager whose fund was a fund of funds, giving investors access to a good array of other hedge funds—sort of like a mutual fund approach to hedge-fund investing versus owning one specific fund. Let’s just say that, as he explained what he was doing, I was lost. I had no idea what a hedge fund was; to say nothing about some of the strategies those funds employed. I nodded, smiled and kept quiet. Another did technical analysis for a mutual fund company…say what?? A third ran a fund that employed a long-short strategy designed to give investors a steady return. As he described it, “This fund is for people who want to have a reasonable return on their investment. I’ll never hit a home run, but neither will I read the headlines and immediately get nauseous.” One other was employed by Bain Capital. As he described what this private equity firm did (and I had no idea what private equity even meant), I struck that “smile, nod, repeat” posture so familiar to me (and others) when being told something about which I know nothing.

So, what’s the point of this? I have come to believe that we would serve our budding (and some who may be in full-bloom) professionals well by ensuring that they have a basic—and I do mean basic—understanding of the language and structure of the business/finance world. Having a degree of fluency in those areas would be beneficial to most. Many of the prospects they will work with, will live in one or more of those worlds. Many who do not, will still have a familiarity with one or both. We take great pains to educate gift officers in the profession. We also make sure that they have a good understanding of our college and/or university. We provide them with continuing education opportunities of all sorts. Yet, I am fairly convinced that we do not serve them nor our profession well if we do not include the basic concepts and language of business and finance as part of their overall introduction to the profession. In doing that, we have resources galore, including faculty, our alumni or select board members, if we choose to use them. They could assist us in designing the training and even help with instruction…high-level, broad, but sufficient to give them some degree of fluency. In doing so, we are likely to help them become even more effective in their work with their prospects. So, as you think about the training or professional development you want to provide your staff—or some part of it—during this time of COVID-19 social distancing, give some consideration to this. Once we can return to normal (or a new normal), consider how it can be one essential component of the education of a gift officer.  

The post Training in the Time of COVID-19 appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

Human Connection in the Time of COVID-19

Some of you may remember the concept developed by John Naisbitt in 1982, High Tech High Touch, which acknowledged that with greater reliance on technology, people would crave more TLC. How prophetic. Almost forty years later, we have transitioned to a time of super high tech, where technology plays a significant role in our lives. Thanks to COVID-19 all of us, including preschoolers through octogenarians, rely on technology for education, work, entertainment, religious observances, games, information, and social contact. Even our cats are entertained by video games. With a tablet, cell phone, laptop and of course, WIFI or cell connection, we could be content. But even the introverts among us still long for greater human contact, for high touch.

My colleague, Arthur Criscilllis, above wrote of using this time of COVID 19 social distancing to provide specific training to your development team on finance, investments, and other business concepts. Technical knowledge to further hone the craft of development is essential. This is also a time to refine the softer skills for your staff, especially as the reliance on technology creates a greater need for higher touch which is more challenging to deliver remotely. These may include understanding the hierarchy of human interactions, improving communication skills, collaborating across the organization, working with challenging donors, supervising and working remotely, time-management, but also developing prospect strategies, managing a portfolio and so forth.

These types of training could be offered in “virtual group” settings, but are much more effective one-on-one, where the content is highly personalized and customized to the needs of the individual. Further, the ability to participate in role playing and to address specific issues with prospects or colleagues in a confidential setting leads to more genuine interactions and better outcomes. Given the importance of communicating successfully across the airwaves, team members at all levels (executive and senior staff, front-line development officers, and those who play supportive roles) may benefit from customized training, coaching and mentoring.

As you plan professional development during this time of COVID-19 give consideration to this. Its impact will be both immediate in today’s virtual work world, and long-term once we find the “new” normal.

The post Human Connection in the Time of COVID-19 appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

• Fundraisers will always respect the free choice of all individuals to give donations or not.
• Fundraisers will not accept donations where the acceptance of those gifts would not be in the best interests of the organization or create a conflict of interest that would be detrimental to the organization’s reputation, mission, and relationship with existing supporters and beneficiaries.

Until recently, I wouldn’t have thought about these statements representing donors’ and organizations’ rights necessarily being in conflict. However, considering recent high-profile cases of gifts being rejected, or being refused before they’ve even been offered, following these principles in certain circumstances can create quite a dilemma for the modern fundraiser.

On rare occasion, a donor’s conflict of interest, such as their own personal gain, the burden of administering a particularly complicated gift, or a donor’s desire to direct their gift for a use outside the organization’s best interest requires invoking a review of gift acceptance policies or the consideration of a formal gift acceptance committee – the channels through which fundraisers are shielded from personally deciding whether an unusual gift should be accepted.

Yet, these days, institutions are increasingly facing external pressure to reject otherwise legitimate donations from individuals and families, not on these grounds, but based on perceived immorality on the proposed donor’s part. As an example, numerous museums in the United States and England have recently been forced to respond to public pressure by rejecting current and future gifts from the Sackler family, with protesters asserting the family’s personal complicity and contribution to the opioid addiction crisis.

It is usually a straightforward decision not to accept a gift when a proposed donor has been convicted of criminal activity. But in recent cases, a donor’s political views, their position on a provocative or hotly-debated topic such as climate change, or their legal ownership of a company with controversial business interests have encouraged bystanders to take a vocal, public position on the validity of the donor’s giving and to criticize an organization’s appropriateness in receiving it.

The essence of charitable giving in America relies on an individual’s freedom to make a voluntary contribution to any organization or worthy cause they wish to support. These transactions of the soul can bring indescribable joy and fulfillment to the donor, while providing the resources necessary for an organization to maximize the delivery of its mission. Our job as fundraisers is not to question a donor’s character or motive for choosing to be philanthropic; it is to facilitate their ability to give unless some real conflict exists that would substantially impede or damage the organizations we represent.

The values-based questions in play today supersede the function of a traditional gift acceptance committee. An organization’s board of directors, with public input as it sees fit, should be the arbiter of whether a gift from a specific donor would be detrimental to its organization’s reputation or mission or would harm its relationship with its constituents to the extent that the gift should be refused. But as boards diversify and represent more divergent points of view, debate about the receipt of controversial gifts is only likely to increase, further complicating fundraisers’ ethical role in representing both donors’ and institutions’ interests.

In the end, I believe that the spirit of philanthropy and goodwill that has fueled America’s nonprofit sector and provided immeasurable benefit to society will continue to thrive, reconciling the generosity of well-intentioned individuals and families with the organizations that are meaningful to them. And as far as I am concerned, it is a privilege to assist them both in this worthy endeavor.

The post A Modern Day Fundraising Dilemma appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

Giving to charity continued to grow in 2018, but not as robustly as in the past. Overall giving increased by less than 1%, but the growth between 2016 and 2018 was a meaningful 7.1%. As has always been the case,  individuals and families contributed the lion’s share of giving at 68%, but their total giving declined 1.1% from 2017. The most significant increase in the percent given came from foundations, including gifts from family foundations and distributions through donor advised funds. Foundation giving increased to 18% of overall giving, a 7.3% increase over the previous year. Giving to the arts essentially held steady from 2017 and continued to represent some 5% of total overall giving.

Giving USA 2019 offers several important insights into the trends uniquely affecting museums and performing arts organizations. Here are a few takeaways to consider in planning for the upcoming year:

Larger gifts from high net-worth individuals should continue to be a focus.

According to the 2018 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, 90% of high-net worth households gave to charity, with a quarter of them giving to the arts. The Quarterly Report, also referenced in Giving USA, found that the overall increase in giving in 2018 was driven by a 2.6% increase in gifts of $1,000 or more; gifts under that size declined by around 4%. While maintaining efforts to increase gifts at all levels, arts organizations should prioritize their focus on larger gifts from individuals, through upper-level membership programs, project-related major gifts, and campaigns.

Campaigns are an important tool for attracting major gifts.

Cultural organizations continue to benefit from campaigns, which crystallize institutional priorities into fundable opportunities for donors and encourage larger gifts. Theatre Communications Group recently reported that 40% of theaters were currently in a capital campaign, and another 38% completed a campaign between 2012 and 2017, leading to a 23% increase in overall giving and a 55% increase in trustee giving during this period. This year’s Giving USA also reports that organizations in every region of the country received multi-million-dollar gifts in 2018, supporting capital, endowment, and programmatic initiatives, listing a sample of 18 representative gifts of $10,000,000 or more. As fewer individuals are giving and a greater percentage of philanthropic revenue is coming through larger gifts, now is the time institutions should consider organizing and launching a campaign.

Don’t discount online giving.

Blackbaud Institute’s 2018 Charitable Giving Report showed that online gifts represented 9.5% of overall giving to arts organizations in 2018, and the 5.8% growth in online giving to the arts outpaced other non-profits by four times. While this noteworthy growth rate in overall online giving to the arts may be a function of the membership culture unique to museums, these trends illustrate the significance of making online giving a convenient option for donors and members, especially considering the decrease in smaller gifts.

Despite the complex issues that affect charitable giving in our country – from policy and tax law changes to social, economic and other factors – the voluntary, philanthropic support of arts and cultural organizations has never been stronger, with donors giving $19.5 billion to the arts in 2018. Reflecting on the numbers and trends outlined in this year’s Giving USA report, this is a time for optimism and opportunity, as we engage those donors whose generosity lights the fire of creativity, casts light on the human condition, and brings beauty and enjoyment through our nation’s arts and cultural organizations.

Takeaways From Giving USA To Help You Plan Better:

Giving to the Arts: The Numbers

Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018, was released in June, and amid a complex climate for charitable giving, individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $427.71 billion to charities in 2018.

Giving to arts, culture and humanities organizations stayed relatively flat, increasing 0.3% to $19.49 billion.

• In current dollars, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 13.4% between 2016 and 2017, and increased 0.3% between 2017 and 2018. Cumulatively, current-dollar giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 13.8% between 2016 and 2018.
• Adjusted for inflation, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 11.1% between 2016 and 2017, and declined 2.1% between 2017 and 2018. Cumulatively, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 8.7% in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2016 and 2018.
• Contributions to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector comprised 5% of all charitable donations in 2018.
• Donations to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted amount record to date in 2017, and remains the highest to date.
• Donations to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector have amounted to between 3% and 5% of total giving over the past 40 years.

More information from the Giving USA 2019 report can be found here.

The post Giving to the Arts Holds Steady appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

According to the findings of Giving USA, 2018 was an uneven year for philanthropy, with some subsectors experiencing significant increases, while others saw significant decreases.

It was also a year that saw three unprecedented things: 1) a record year for giving at $427 billion, 2) for the first time since Giving USA began in 1954 individual giving was less than 70% of all giving, and 3) giving to Religion reached its lowest point in more than 40 years, falling to 29%.

Total giving increased in 2018 in current dollars, but just barely, at a rate of 0.7%. Adjusted for inflation giving actually decreased by 1.7%.

Five subsectors saw giving decline, while four saw increases. The biggest increase came in giving to International Affairs, while the largest decrease was in giving to Foundations.

As in previous years, giving by Individuals is the number one source of gifts at 69%, but declined by 1.1% from its 2017 level. Giving from Foundations, many of which are family foundations, increased 7.3%.

While Religion continues to be the number one recipient of gifts, giving to Religion continues to lose market share, reaching an all-time low of just 29% of the pie and actually decreased by more than 1.5% in current dollars. While the trend of a declining percentage of giving to Religion has been ongoing for years, the actual decline in current-dollar giving to Religion is a unique phenomenon; one that has never happened in a non-recession year.

Below, is a quick look at the numbers. We will share more in-depth information in our upcoming sector newsletters.
Sincerely,

David H. King
President & CEO

Quick Look At The Results

The Numbers for 2018 Charitable Giving by Source:

• Giving by individuals totaled an estimated $292.09 billion, decreasing 1.1% in 2018 in current dollars. The only source that decreased between 2017 and 2018.
• Giving by foundations increased 7.3% between 2017 and 2018, to an estimated $75.86 billion in 2018. Between 2016 and 2017 giving increased 12.0%. The cumulative change in current-dollar giving by foundations between 2016 and 2018 is 20.2%. This is the greatest percent increase of any source in this period.
• Giving by bequest remained virtually unchanged in current dollars between 2017 and 2018-to $39.71 billion. Adjusted for inflation, giving by bequest decreased 2.3% in 2018.
• Giving by corporations increased by an estimated 5.4% in current dollars from 2017 to 2018, totaling $20.05 billion. In current dollars, giving by corporations decreased by 2.0% between 2016 and 2017, and increased 5.4% between 2017 and 2018. The cumulative change in current-dollar giving by corporations between 2016 and 2018 is 3.4%.

The Numbers for 2018 Charitable Giving to Recipients

• Giving to religion decreased 1.5% in current dollars from 2017, totaling $124.52 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to religion decreased 3.9% in 2018. Accounting for 29% of total giving, this is the first time that giving to religion has fallen below 30% of overall giving.
• Giving to education decreased 1.3% in current dollars from 2017-to $58.72 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions decreased 3.7% in 2018. In 2017, giving to this subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted value recorded to date..
• Giving to human services decreased 0.3% from 2017, totaling $51.54 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Adjusted for inflation, contributions decreased 2.7% between 2017 and 2018. In 2017, donations to this subsector totaled the highest inflation-adjusted amount recorded to date.
• Giving to [grant-making] foundations decreased 6.9% in current dollars from 2017-to $50.29 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to foundations decreased 9.1% in 2018.
• Giving to health organizations grew 0.1% from 2017, totaling $40.78 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to health decreased 2.3% between 2017 and 2018.
• Giving to public-society benefit declined 3.7% in current dollars from 2017, for a total of $31.21 billion in 2018. The cumulative change in giving to public-society benefit between 2016 and 2018 is 2.1% in current dollars. Contributions to this subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted value recorded to date in 2017.
• Giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 0.3% from 2017, totaling $19.49 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Cumulatively, current-dollar giving to this subsector increased 13.8% between 2016 and 2018.
• Giving to international affairs increased 9.6% in current dollars from 2017-to $22.88 billion in 2018. The cumulative change in giving to this subsector between 2016 and 2018 is 5.2% in current dollars. Giving to the international affairs recorded the highest inflation-adjusted value in 2015, at $25.09 billion.
• Giving to environment and animal organizations increased 3.6% in current dollars from 2017, totaling $12.70 billion in 2018. Donations to the environment/animals reached the highest inflation-adjusted amount recorded to date in 2018.
• Unallocated giving represents 2% of total giving at $6.53 billion in current dollars in 2018.

The post Giving USA 2019 Results – Giving Reaches Record-Breaking High, But Not Everyone Benefited appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

1. Asking for money before engaging the donor.

Engage in a sincere and meaningful conversation with your top donors before asking for anything.  Remember that asking for a gift is only one step in the “development process” and it usually is not the first step.  You need to “develop” the relationship first and find the shared goals of your organization and the prospective donor.

2. Treating all donors the same.

You may not like it, but not all donors are the same.  Small donors are perfectly comfortable responding to a snail mail or email request. Major donors require major investments of time and energy and a personal relationship and request.

3. Thinking that donors to other organizations will not give to you.

People give wherever they feel they can have an impact and most donors contribute to five or more organizations. Even a donor who is supporting one of your “competitors” may have a very real interest in the area that you are serving and want to support as many organizations as they can that are having a real impact on that issue.

4. Spending too much time securing new donors while failing to steward your current donors.

Your best prospect for a gift is someone who has made a gift before.  Yes, you need to always be adding donors, but don’t make that harder by creating a churn of lost donors every year.  Continue thanking, cultivating and stewarding your existing donors and celebrate a renewed gift just as joyfully as you would a new gift.

5. Not saying “thank you” in a timely manner … and not often enough.

We used to say get the thank you letter to them before their check clears. Most transactions these days are electronic so that no longer applies. But, be quick, be sincere, and do it without asking for more money. A donor should receive a thank you within 24 hours of a gift and a major donor should get a phone call as soon as you receive the gift.

6. Failing to deliver bad news.

They say good news travels fast and bad news travels faster. The nonprofit community is small — there are no secrets. Be upfront and clear with information that deals with controversial issues or mistakes or problems you are facing. Donors invest in you and want/expect to be treated as insiders and trusted advisors. Don’t let your donors hear about your issues from someone else – take control of the messaging.

7.  Appointing Board members who aren’t donating and raising funds.

If your board members, who are legally responsible for the organization, are not your most loyal and dependable supporters you are going to struggle with fundraising.  Further, if your board members are not willing to help you raise funds – by soliciting gifts themselves or making introductions or being vocal advocates for your organization – then you probably have the wrong board members.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

The post 7 Sins that Kill Your Fundraising Efforts appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

Hamm Brings 30 Years of Senior Development Experience from 

Country’s Top Museums and Fine Arts Organizations

ATLANTA (January 29, 2018) – Alexander Haas, a national fundraising consulting firm, is pleased to welcome Carl G. Hamm to its team of experts. Hamm has nearly 30 years of senior management experience in the nonprofit sector, the majority of which is in senior development roles in the museum field. 

“Carl has a history of exceptional fundraising performance and will be a valuable asset to our firm, as well as to our museum and fine arts clients,” said David H. King, President and CEO of Alexander Haas.

Prior to joining Alexander Haas, Hamm served as Deputy Director for Development and External Affairs for the Saint Louis Art Museum. Hamm also has a career history serving as Senior Vice President for Development & Marketing for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and as Associate Director of Development for the Dallas Museum of Art. A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) since 1998, Carl is a past president of the Art Museum Development Association (AMDA), past chair of the American Alliance of Museums’ Standing Professional Committee on Development and Membership (DAM), and a former chair of AAM’s Council of Standing Professional Committees. 

“The Alexander Haas team has long been highly respected in the cultural community for their expertise and integrity, and I am excited for the opportunity to join the firm. It’s the ideal environment for me to apply my experience with organizations across every discipline of the arts – from museums to theater and ballet companies, public radio and classical music,” said Hamm, “I look forward to assisting institutions throughout the country strengthen their communities by reaching their ambitious goals.”

About Alexander Haas, Inc.

Alexander Haas is widely recognized as one of the leading fundraising consulting firms in the nation. We partner with organizations to secure the philanthropic resources to advance their missions by creating customized, actionable strategies that produce sustainable results. Our firm has provided fundraising counsel and conducted successful campaigns for over 2,000 organizations whose campaign goals have ranged from $1 million to more than $1 billion. From our headquarters in Atlanta, we work across the country with organizations of all types and sizes, including colleges and universities, independent schools, churches, human and animal welfare organizations, museums and performing arts organizations. Our services include counsel on: capital campaigns, endowment campaigns, campaign strategy studies, development assessments, annual funds, leadership annual giving, major gifts and planned giving. More about the firm is available at https://fundraisingcounsel.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Cynthia Hayes

PR Counsel
804-221-3486
cynthia@ligerpartners.com

The post Alexander Haas, Inc. Hires Fundraising Veteran Carl G. Hamm appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

However, a closer look at the figures reveals that giving to religious organizations is experiencing the lowest growth rate of all nonprofit subsectors. In all, giving to religion has dropped from 58% in the mid-1980s to 32% in 2017.

A steady growth in all other subsectors is consistently reducing its market share, and religious institutions themselves may be partly to blame. Were it not for religious groups, we would not have many of our universities, hospitals, hospices, and a number of human service-focused organizations.

Over the centuries, religious institutions did such a good job creating education, mission and ministry programs, and spinning them off into separate institutions, that those nonprofits have become the very competition for the philanthropic support that the Church (particularly in the United States) is encountering today.

Why do these other nonprofit subsectors continue to gain momentum while giving to religion continues to decline? One distinguishing factor is that unlike other nonprofit organizations, congregations, in particular, often lack a staff person, trained in development work, whose sole focus is on raising philanthropic funds. Not having a development person is contrary to how the nonprofits in the other subsectors subsectors — education, public benefit, health and human services, etc. — run their philanthropic campaigns.

Imagine if a nonprofit organization had a $3 million budget but didn’t have anyone waking up daily to think about how to meet that goal? Raising the significant funds necessary to operate our communities of faith these days is more than merely “passing the plate.”

Donors are becoming more sophisticated in how they give and also are becoming more accustomed to being asked directly to support specific causes. Congregations have often taken a more passive approach in raising the support. Other organizations are reaping the benefits of more formalized, aggressive solicitation.

Congregations more than other nonprofits appear to be hesitant to spend money on staffing a development position. But in today’s competitive philanthropic marketplace, they can’t afford NOT to invest in professionalizing their giving programs.

Depending on the size of the congregation, the coordination of giving programs is often left to volunteers. Sometimes, the giving programs reside with a financial manager or the church administrator, who have multiple responsibilities.

In these cases, the giving programs receive short schrift or are relegated to a “paint-by-the-numbers” fundraising approach that is stale in today’s world of segmentation and personalization.

Many congregations are beginning to recognize the need for a formal planned giving program to provide the sustainability for their ministries in the years to come. The task of managing annual, special project and planned giving philanthropic activities makes it even more imperative that they engage a professional fundraiser to assist with the mechanics and the unique strategies for each.

Professional staffing is emerging as a strong need, especially with increased donations (particularly in a number of faith communities) through online giving or enhanced uses of social media to broadcast the mission and ministry of a particular congregation.

Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all approach does not exist. So, each community of faith must determine what position or model might work best for their particular situation. The important thing to note is that congregations need to begin this discernment work now.

Congregations, particularly those with stagnant or dwindling membership numbers, will need to be creative in funding a position focused on giving. For example, one model might be a position titled Director of Stewardship and Development in which the staff member coordinates all aspects of congregational giving as well as program development.

Other congregations may have a Director of Stewardship and Membership Development where a staff member coordinates all aspects of congregational giving as well as cultivating on-going relationships with members. These two examples link areas of responsibility that provide the “case for support” (programming or membership) with the giving program in a direct way.

Because the religion subsector has been on a percentage-of-overall-giving decline for a number of years, the best we can hope for is to stop the decline. Particularly in the mainline Protestant denominations, no one knows exactly what “the church” will look like 10 years from now.

But if there’s one thing we do know, the religions of the world have existed for centuries and people of faith have supported them philanthropically for just as long. In today’s world of competing nonprofit forces, they will all need to step up their games.

About the Author:

Jerry W. Henry brings 35 years of experience to Alexander Haas, Inc. a fundraising consulting firm. He has worked nationally with groups such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, and the Meals on Wheels Association of America for workshops, speaking and Board training events.

He is a former clergy member of the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church and was Executive Director of a national organization of 3,500 clergy and lay members focused on promoting religion and the arts through the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church.

Jerry is also a past president of the Greater Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and has held committee assignments within the International AFP.

Over the past few years, he has been invited to teach special classes in nonprofit management at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and is a frequent speaker and trainer at fundraising and nonprofit education events around the country. He is a graduate of Wofford College (B.A.) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div.) and is a past President of the Yale Divinity School Alumni Board. He currently serves on the Dean’s Leadership Council. In 2014, he was elected to a three-year term on the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors as one of the 21 Yale University graduates, who represent more than 130,000 Yale alumni internationally.

The post One Distinguishing Factor Why Giving to Religion Continues to Decline and What to do About It appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

Unfortunately, throughout the years, there have been numerous public cases where donors or their heirs believed that the terms of an established endowment were not carefully followed. Most notably the case at Princeton involving the A&P grocery chain heirs, and their very public case against Princeton University.

Search the term “endowment misuse” and links to a number of articles will appear. It is wise to carefully monitor endowment funds, not only for investment growth, which is often the primary concern of boards or investment committees, but also to ensure the intent of the donor is at the forefront.

For institutions with a low threshold for endowment creation, over the years, the number of funds grows much faster than the staff monitoring the use of funds. Automation helps with labeling and categorization of line item expenditures, but human oversight from time to time is invaluable.

Providing good stewardship for endowments requires advance work. Here are several steps to keep in mind:

• Set policies that define all standards for endowments including investments, designation options, etc.
• Develop detailed procedures for establishing endowments including templates for documentation, keeping restrictions to a minimum.
• Ensure that documentation clearly articulates donor intent.
• Educate all staff responsible for soliciting major gifts on the policies, procedures.
• Provide for endowment review ensuring spending compliance.

The post Setting the Stage for Endowment Compliance appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.

Most recently his expertise was acknowledged by the American Craft Council (ACC) which at its fall meeting elected Jim to serve on the Board of Trustees. This is a wonderful honor and one that makes all of us proud in good measure because Jim previously served as strategic planning and fundraising counsel for the ACC.

The American Craft Council is a national, nonprofit educational organization founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb. The mission of the Council is to promote understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft. The Council is today the leading voice for the crafts in America, celebrating the remarkable achievement of the many gifted artists working in the media of clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and other materials.

In its October newsletter, News & Views, The American Craft Council announced the incoming members of the Board of Trustees. In addition to Jim, they include Damian Velasquest, Albuquerque, NM — furniture designer and maker, owner of Damian Velasques Modern Handcrafted Furniture; and Namita Gupta Wiggers, Portland, OR, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Craft in partnership with Northwest College of Art — author, essayist, artist and jewelry designer.

Congratulations to all!

The post Alexander Haas Partner to serve on American Craft Council Board appeared first on Alexander Haas - Fundraising Counsel.