Blog Archives
What are you doing when you feel most beautiful?
What are you doing when you feel most beautiful?.
A reblog of Jacqueline Novogratz’s post from earlier in November. Acumen Fund is putting a new face on philanthropy and self-determination. Funding entrepreneurs for community development all over the globe. Want to see the highest level of the Golden Ladder of Giving? This is it . . .
This will touch your heart and give you new perspective.
Making Good Work 08/31 by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio
Making Good Work 08/31 by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio.
Laura Malone of American Endowment Foundation joins us this week for a discussion on being truly “donor-centered”. The ideas she will share with us will challenge you to rethink your current plans and strategies for fundraising now and in the future.
Join us!
Make a powerful difference
Consider these questions:
What do you really want to accomplish for yourself and your organization? What are the current challenges preventing you from realizing that vision?
Many of you reading this blog are either on staff at a non-profit or are active in promoting a philanthropic organization as a volunteer or board member. Despite that, these questions can be challenging. You are busy doing good work – but are you and your colleagues as effective as you could be? Are you engaged in frenetic activity or purposeful, planned action?
What are your board meetings and committee meetings like? Compare the percentage of time you talk about doing something and the time you spend actually doing it . . . Are you making the wisest choices for the future of your organization and those you serve?
If you continue on the path you are currently on – will you accomplish your highest aspirations?
By joining a Mastermind group, you can commit a small portion of your schedule each week to dramatic improvement in your situation. Take a look at the MASTERMIND page of this blog for more information. The next introductory web call is Monday, July 18, 2011 at 7pm Eastern Time/USA. Please make plans to join us.
We welcome all those desiring to explore new growth in themselves and their organizations –
regardless of the economy!
Raise significant funds in 2011 – and BEYOND
Use the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution in a special way – you don’t have to sacrifice current donations to build a long-term planned giving progam for your organization!
Take a look at this presentation on Slideshare.net – then contact Laura for more information.
Advancement model aims to better engage ‘OSU family’
Advancement model aims to better engage ‘OSU family’
Advancement – it’s about promotion, passion, aspirations. When every one in your organization is speaking with one voice, then the message to the outside world is clear. What you find is that as you connect and tell the story, you don’t have to “make the ask”. Instead, you will find that the potential donor gets excited as well and “makes the ask” with the question: How can I help? How can I be part of this?
OSU is often my model to other organizations on how to promote themselves and attract/acquire the resources that will help them grow and advance into the future. Contact me to learn more about how the best methods in fundraising and advancement can be applied to your non-profit, no matter the size.
Confidence & Optimism at All-Time Low
I saw this on MSN.com today – from an NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll:
. . . 61 % say the United States is headed in the wrong direction; 65 % believe the nation is in a state of decline; and 66 % say they’re not confident that life for their children’s generation will be better than it is now.
In addition, Americans are deeply pessimistic about the state of the economy. Only 26 % think the economy will improve in the next 12 months (which is down 14 points from the previous poll), and just 26 % believe their wages will increase in the next year.
Confidence in key U.S. institutions is also incredibly low: 18 % have confidence in the federal government; 13 % have confidence in the news media; 12 % have confidence in large corporations; 10 % have confidence in the financial industry; and only 9 % have confidence in Congress. The numbers for the media and Congress are the lowest for those institutions in the entire history of the poll.
What are the implications for philanthropy?
If you are a non-profit, what does this poll tell you? What do you have to do differently? What does it mean for the future of your organization and those you serve?
If you are a philanthropist (donor) – of ANY size net worth – what are the implications for you? How do you feel about the future of the American/World economy? How do you feel about your family’s future? What would you like to do about it?
SEEKING: non-profits that you know and love that are in looking to improve their revenue streams. Contact Laura Anne Miller, 614.915.4324, lmiller@nfpcoaching.com today.
Full story on msn.com http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38996574/ns/politics/?GT1=43001
Leadership at Gettysburg
Inaction is not an option
-Every organization
desires a leader like General John Buford. On the afternoon of June 30, 1863, Buford arrived on the scene just outside Gettysburg. After assessing the situation, he made a critical decision that led to a Union victory and probably changed the course of American History. Take a look at the video as we remember those that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.
$41,000,000,000,000
That’s read: $41 trillion
What is this number?
It is the estimated amount of wealth transfer from one generation to the another in the next 50 years. Most non-profits are salivating at that figure -anticipating that it is going to come to them. But most of these organizations are kidding themselves. Why? Because they are not planning to channel those funds to the social sector – they are pinning all their hopes on it just coming to them because people realize they are in pursuit of a noble cause.
In reality, most non-profits are so focused on events, direct mail and corporate sponsorships (i.e., annual fundraising) that they are losing sight of the fact that this $41 trillion will slip past them and go right to federal and state coffers. They are so concerned about their short-term urgency that they are setting themselves up to be in “urgent” mode in perpetuity.
MYTH: Your current individual donors are so in love with your organization that they will just naturally leave you their wealth.
REALITY:
- Most donors are not aware of philanthropic vehicles beyond a will bequest – which in many ways is the least beneficial of all planned giving techniques (for them, their families, and the non-profits they remember in their wills).
- Will bequests often are seen as a “windfall” to the non-profit organization. It comes as a 1-time surprise. There is no systematic, purposeful plan to include legacy funds in the long-term revenue mix.
A well-organized planned giving program can keep the doors open now and in the future. It is not an either/or situation. One of the key features of PhilanthropyPlus ™ is that it is pays for itself right away and along the way. It builds a steadily rising stream of income that is predictable and based in relationships – not annual transactions. PhilanthropyPlus ™ takes a shift in processes in fundraising and development; but it is one that can be implemented in less time, at lower cost, and with less frustration than you may think.
Check out the Interpretations Advisor Group website to learn more and to contact Laura Anne Miller to discuss how PhilanthropyPlus ™ can be a planned strategy for growth.
Unleashed Abundance 