Dear Social Change Innovator,

We are zipping to you the first edition of OTG e-TA (On-The-Go electronic Technical Assistance). Delivered every other week, OTG e-TA is your “drive through” window for receiving easily absorbed capacity building information.

Refer to the content section on the right to click on resource development topics. Use the hyperlinks within blurbs for more detail. Tell us what you think of OTG e-TA.

Also, if you’re on information overload, you may request email removal. Otherwise OTG e-TA will be back in two weeks with another edition. Both, the sponsor, CNCS (Corporation for National and Community Service) and its provider, Campaign Consultation, wish you ongoing success in raising resources.

Grow Major Donors in Diverse Ways for Diverse Purposes

Growing modest givers into major donors is possible, but before you get that “big gift” you need to get that first gift. Major donors will donate significant gifts of cash, pledges, in-kind or deferred support indefinitely if they are kept informed and involved. Different donors respond to different approaches, such as…

Incorporate at least four of these fundraising methods to attract and upgrade annual and restricted support from modest to major donors.

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Shift That “Money Attitude”

Many of us were raised to consider money a taboo subject. We didn’t talk about it in polite company. You can change that old thinking and adjust your attitude about asking for money. Keep these concepts rotating in your mind:

• You are providing an occasion to enhance quality of life – it’s not begging.

• You are asking for a cause in which you and others believe – it’s not asking for yourself.

• Your are making a personal gift – it qualifies you to be a good solicitor of other gifts.

• You understand that 1 in an average of 8 asks will say yes – don’t get discouraged from the no’s.

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Promote Giving Circles - Individual Giving in a Group

There is strength in numbers. More and more Americans are discovering the truth of that adage as they look to 'give back' to their communities. They are forming what are known as "giving circles," and these circles are changing the face of philanthropy in America.

Your prospect research should include the rapidly expanding means of thoughtful, strategic charitable giving called “giving circles.” (click here for FAQs about Giving Circles)

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Resources

Fundraising Basics: A Complete Guide, Ciconte and Jacob.

Taking the Fear Out of Asking for Major Gifts, James Donovan.

Fundraising Cost Effectiveness, James Greenfield.

Giving USA: An Annual Report, American Association
of Fundraising Counsel.

The Grantsmanship Center at www.tgci.com

American Association of Fundraising Professionals
at www.afpnet.org

Tech Soup at www.techsoup.org

The Giving Forum at www.givingforum.org

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CONTENTS:
click on titles below to read full items

Grow Major Donors in Diverse Ways

Shift That “Money Attitude”

Promote Giving Circles

Share Square Facts for your fundraising volunteers to know

Tell Us Share a successful fundraising experience and help others Ask a resource development question and get some advice Contact us through LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com

Resources “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a different way to stand.” Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, October 2002 Share Square "More than 80% of all giving in the United States comes from individuals." Giving USA 2005 Use this fact to advocate for annual giving vs. grant writing staff. [TOP]

Detail from above:

Promote Giving Circles - Individual Giving in a Group: Frequently Asked Questions

The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers produced a national survey of Giving Circles and found the following:

How many giving circles
are there in the United States?

There are many hundreds of giving circles in the US. In a scan conducted in 2004, New Ventures in Philanthropy found 220 circles. However, this number certainly undercounts the real total of giving circles in the country and is estimated to be four or five times greater.

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Is it true that giving circles appeal only to women?

No – in fact, giving circles have wide appeal across gender, race, and age. Although giving circles are traditionally known for appealing to women, the survey sample is fairly evenly split between those that self-identify as women-only or majority female (57%) and mixed gender (42%),

Where are giving circles found?

Giving circles are found throughout the United States, from Los Angeles, CA to Portland, Maine and everywhere in between. Although they tend to be concentrated in urban centers, they can also be found in small towns such as Angleton, Texas.

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Where do giving circles keep their money?

Once the money from each giving circle member has been donated, circles need to decide where to store or invest the money until they are ready to make grants. Smaller circles may simply ask each member to write a separate check to the selected nonprofit, removing the need to keep the money anywhere. Most, however, look for a financial host that can hold the money and, ideally, provide tax benefits to the donors. The organizations most often selected to hold giving circle money are community foundations. However, women’s funds, other philanthropic organizations, and nonprofit organizations can all provide this function.

Relationships between giving circles and institutional hosts can range from minimal (where the host simply holds the money) to involved (where the host may provide administrative or staffing services).

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What kinds of organizations
do giving circles support?

Giving circles have a wide range of interests and passions and support a variety of issues, with the top being youth development (34%), women and girls (27%), human services (25%) and mental health/crisis intervention (20%). These numbers differ somewhat from foundation giving trends.

How much money does each donor need to contribute to be part of a giving circle?

One of the beautiful things about giving circles is that each can establish its own financial commitment level that is right for its members. So, while some circles may have a fairly low contribution rate ($150-$500 per year), others may choose to set a higher financial threshold ($5,000-$20,000 per year). Many circles ask that each member give the same amount. However, others set tiered levels of giving or have a “give what you can” philosophy.

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Do giving circles encourage their members to volunteer in addition to giving money?

This study found that circle members offer a range of additional support to nonprofit organizations, with 51% of respondents indicating that the circle’s members participate in organized volunteer activities, while an additional 45% report board-level involvement in grantee organizations, and 43% providing fundraising support such as introducing the organization to other donors. Circle founders interviewed assert that participants give additional money to the nonprofits to which they are introduced; close to 70% of the respondents indicated that their members give additional money directly to the nonprofit organizations that the circle funds.

What does it take to start a giving circle?

Other than motivation, commitment, and an interest in philanthropy, you need very little to start a giving circle. The Giving Circle Knowledge Center (www.givingforum.org) is full of information to answer this very question. See the Giving Circle Starter Kit for some basic steps to starting your own giving circle. You will find more detailed information in the Resources for Starting and Maintaining a Giving Circle section.

Source: Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers

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