4 responses to “Exciting Time To Be A Fundraiser”

1. Claire Axelrad says:

   January 9, 2013 at 2:18 am

   I can’t disagree with these predictions in terms of where the nonprofit sector SHOULD be heading. As a consultant (with 30+ years in the trenches) I do, however, worry about how long it’s going to take us to actually arrive in the 21st century. The nonprofit model is notoriously slow to adapt to change. We’re run by boards of directors, and this is not their day job. They meet, and meet, and meet again — often discussing the same thing over and over. And nonprofits tend to be exceptionally risk averse.

   Yet we’ve got to take risks. To be sustainable in a global, digital economy requires more than status quo. It requires adapting. It requires growth. And growth requires taking risks. Nonprofits are still stuck considering the cost per dollar raised for every strategy. And donors are complicit, insisting that administrative/fundraising costs never exceed 20% (and many think this is too much). Many nonprofits will not seriously adopt social technologies because they believe they’re ancillary and don’t provide an ROI. So they don’t hire people with the requisite skills. Ultimately, only the large well-resourced nonprofits can move forward to provide supporters with the donor-centered experience they increasingly require.

   So, I wonder if another trend will be a rash of mergers — as smaller nonprofits are acquired by larger ones — coupled with the death of smaller organizations that can no longer compete.

2. Robin says:

   January 9, 2013 at 4:03 pm

   Claire,

   I do agree with you and worry about the same concerns. Along those lines, it becomes our professional obligation to “lead up” and to work with boards of directors to begin moving towards strategic governance models. Yes we are run by boards of directors, but, they are not running our organization. They need to be engaged in strategic conversations such as these i.e. “what does it mean to work in an increasingly flat world?” or “how will this change how we operate and do business?”

   We can not expect our board members to be thinking along those lines IF we do not take the obligation of enabling and empowering this type of dialogue. While yes we are risk adverse we also need to discuss “what risk are we taking by not embracing these changes within our organization?”

   Donors today have a whole world to give to. No longer is the competition local or even national. The choices are so very many.

   We as professionals must begin to change the cultures within our organizations or they won’t survive AND that in my opinion is our task. We can’t blame boards for expectations that were never set. We need to set them, shape them and mold them internally. Fund development professionals must begin to see themselves as leaders within their organizations.

3. Mitch Hinz says:

   January 10, 2013 at 4:01 am

   Dear Clair, Robin and Roger:

   My favorite quote about this comes from science fiction writer William Gibson:

   “The future has arrived. Its just not very evenly distributed.”

   As someone with now more than 30 years in NGOs, (but not as many as Roger!), I predict some groups will get it, others will not. And despite the “disintermediation” first caused by Kiva (no need for “middle-man” groups) the sector is still growing, because needs are still growing, Merger’s don’t occur (as someone recently wisely pointed out) because NGO top managers don’t get “parachute packages”; if they did, we’d see a LOT more of them. Otherwise, where’s the incentive?

   My read on Marc’s comments about shrinking borders is not that there will be more global giving; its that there will be even more LOCAL giving; as Patrick Moynihan famously said, “All politics is local.” Now, with a click, your gift can be, too. I think diaspora giving is going to be one of the bigger waves of the future, however you define that term.

   All donors give from the heart. And “Home” (in all of its new definitions) is where the heart is, as well.

   – Mitch Hinz

4. Usha Menon says:

   January 11, 2013 at 8:55 am

   Dear Roger, Mitch,

   All best for 2013!

   I would like to share three trends I see emerging in fundraising :
   1. The ‘world is shrinking and the shift in wealth’ is indeed correct. The 2012 CAF Global Giving Index confirms that point related to Giving too. Australia, Ireland , Canada are the most generous, however in terms of absolute numbers of donors and volunteers – India , Indonesia , China, Thailand and Philippines leads well ahead of the rest. And with the shift in wealth, that is well documented, the Asian market provides a huge opportunity to fundraisers.

   2. While these Asian countries are indeed re-emerging and regaining their place as the prosperous region of the world, there is also the huge Diaspora communities in USA, UK, Australia, who are sending philanthropic dollars back to their ‘home land’ . Local charities in USA, UK etc need to re-calibrate their understanding of the donor profile and learn the motivations and culture of this group, so that they grow their ‘donor-pie’ locally.

   I have just finished a chapter for a book on Indian Philanthropy, to be soon released by the London School of Economics. My chapter focuses on the Indian diaspora in South East Asia.

   3. While the methodologies developed and fine-tuned over the past decades like direct marketing etc are still relevant, if fundraisers need to engage with the philanthropists in the emerging economies, they will need to understand and learn methodologies that is not focused on mere check-writing, but on venture philanthropy and impact investing.

   My blog on Fundraising Trends from Asia, provides a peak into how understanding of private equity, mezzanine financing , debt securities etc would need to become part of the fundraisers skills and tool kit if they need to engage with the new philanthropists in Asia, who have made their wealth through business acumen and sheer efforts within this generation, and not through Government or community hand-outs. http://ushamenonasia.com/blog/?p=89

   We live in interesting times!

   Usha Menon