The Rundown - April 8, 2022
The latest news and notes from the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors
The Rundown - Opening Day Edition
“Play Ball!” After an elongated period of labor strife, Major League Baseball kicks off a full 162-game season today (which seemed like a near-impossibility just a few weeks ago). It’s a day where hope springs eternal. For most of us, it’s the promise of sunnier and warmer days are ahead. For those in the game, every team starts out at 0-0 and they all have the drive and energy to believe that they can win it all!
Do Nonprofits Need To Work Harder in Social Responsibility?
The Nonprofit Times recently issued this report on a survey from PNC Institutional Asset Management entitled Emerging Trends in Social Responsibility. I’ll admit, when I read the article I chuckled when I came across this line from a representative of the report’s owner.
“By the nature of who they are, the reason a nonprofit exists is generally somehow tied to social responsibility,” Amy Kuntz, head of PNC Institutional Asset Management’s West Region wrote in an email to The NonProfit Times. “They may be thinking of it differently (such as, ‘we run a food bank, and we’re busy focused on that mission.’) However, we also know by that these organizations are only naturally making a significant impact in society by, again, focusing on their own mission.”
Maybe it’s too broad, but nonprofits are in the business in social responsibility. I can’t think of any nonprofit that has been established that at it’s core does not think about how it can serve others.
What the survey was able to determine is that the nonprofit field is very diverse in what these organizations want to accomplish. For example, the report states that for-profit shops were more generally concerned with environmental sustainability and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
This isn’t to say work in environmental sustainability and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are not important - they most certainly are.
But, I would dare say that many nonprofits were already attuned to many of these issues before they were universally adopted by their for-profit brethren; for years, senior level staff at nonprofit organizations have been encouraged (and many have) opened board and leadership opportunities to underserved groups.
Likewise, you will never find a more scrappy shop than a nonprofit agency that works hard to get every usable hour out of every asset it comes across. Right now, I am staring at my accountant’s HP printer that is at least 10 years old and still running strong.
What I learned from this article is not that the for-profit world is better at social responsibility than non-profits; rather, our definitions of social responsibility vary greatly between the two sectors.
Forbes Looks At New Trends on Philanthropy in 2022
Karla D’Alleva Valas, a fundraising professional at Fidelity Charitable, offers this piece on the Forbes website on some new trends she sees in 2022 in philanthropy. Ms. Valas referenced the Giving Report put out by Fidelity Charitable that looked into their donors and their donations to their Donor Advised Fund product (Full disclosure: I have a Donor Advised Fund with Fidelity Charitable).
The report found that in 2021 giving through Fidelity Charitable rose 13% over 2020; an impressive total of $10.3 Billion (which equates to roughly 2.3% of all philanthropic giving in the United States). Last year, our country was still battling the Covid-19 pandemic and other economic challenges (inflation was certainly beginning to show itself), yet Americans remained amazingly generous with their funds to help a full array of nonprofit organizations.
The report also found that donors are becoming more comfortable using Donor Advised Funds. The numbers of individuals that use there tools have nearly tripled from 2016 to 2020; there are currently over 1 million active Donor Advised Funds in the United States today. These tools have become easier to use, easier to fund and remarkably easy to start.
Finally, the report found that attitudes on philanthropy are changing. Roughly 35% of Baby Boomers consider themselves “philanthropists” while 74% of Millennials view themselves as such. This is of course the same generation that is saddled with large student debts and have come of age facing two large economic challenges (the Great Recession and the Covid-19 Pandemic). It’s remarkably positive to see how this generation sees philanthropy not so much based on the size of the gift, but rather in the act of giving itself. Clearly the interconnected world that we now live in help promote giving opportunities like never before and younger generations see opportunities to make a difference in the world by giving.
Those in philanthropy also know that as the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers start passing on, Gen Xers and Millennials will find themselves on the receiving end of possibly one of the greatest generational wealth transfers in history. With a new positive outlook on philanthropy, it can be reasonably assumed that brighter days in giving are ahead. It’s a refreshing take for a much maligned generation.
Is Cryptocurrency Changing the Face of Philanthropy?
This opinion piece showed up on the CoinDesk website. CoinDesk provides news, information and analysis in cryptocurrency. The piece begins by reporting something that is terribly obvious to those in the philanthropic world; the amount given to nonprofits through cryptocurrency is skyrocketing. In 2020, Fidelity Charitable received around $331 million in cryptocurrency; nearly a 10X increase over 2019. Giving Block, a crypto donation platform, saw a 15X spike in donations from 2019 to 2020. Of note, Fidelity Charitable also noted that 45% of cryptocurrency investors made a charitable donation, compared to only 33% of general investors. Are cryptocurrency holders more charitable? Perhaps.
The one major difference between those in the crypto world and those that aren’t seems to be age and gender. Cryptocurrency donors are generally more male and younger. The average age of a donor to the United Way is between 45 and 65 and 80% female; the average age of a cryptocurrency donor to the United Way is between 25 and 35 and 80% male.
One of the advantages to cryptocurrency for the donor, ends up being one of the largest drawbacks for the charity; the anonymity that can come with transactions. It’s no surprise that most professionals in fundraising know that it is easier to retain and grow a donor than to attract new donors to your cause. However, when individuals give via cryptocurrency, there can literally be no trace of that donation.
Not only does this hurt donor retention, but it also hurts when these nonprofits want to build relationships with their donors to report back efforts that are made through the donation. As someone in the nonprofit field, I want to know my donors, I want to know how they perceive the work we are doing in the community. Missing that piece of information on who our donors are makes our work much more difficult.
Cryptocurrency donations also tend to be made to those efforts that have a better online presence, which also tend to be larger, more well-known causes. While driving donations through headlines can be extremely helpful. It ends up taking the grinding work from nonprofits that are serving localities, day after day, out of the equation.
Cryptocurrency is certainly a relatively new mode on the philanthropic scene and it is more than just a flash in the pan fad. Philanthropic professionals are going to have to adapt and change to some of the new realities that cryptocurrency has brought. But, it would still be wise to adhere to some of the tried and true approaches to fundraising.
As some of my friends at The Fund Raising School say, “Giving moves at the speed of trust!” And that trust goes both ways, not only do our donors need to trust us, we need to trust our donors that they are giving the right amount, at the right time and for the right reason.
Cryptocurrency will change somethings about our work, but it will not change everything.
Is This Event On Your Calendar?
The Mosaic of Community Leadership Conference, hosted by the Paul G. Duke Academy for Community Leadership and the Edison State Center for Leadership Development is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 18th at Edison State Community College in Piqua, Ohio. This is a wonderful one-day conference that will feature Dr. Karen Townsend of KTownsend Consulting and multiple breakout sessions.
Check out more at this link!
Now A Word From Our Sponsors….
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Interested in sponsoring “The Rundown”? Shoot us an email at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com to start that conversation!
What Can We Work on Together?
Did you know that Pinnacle Strategies works individually with nonprofit and public sector leaders to help them solve problems, achieve goals and gain confidence in their roles?
Why?
Because, this work is hard and it’s often a lonely road. Our nonprofit and public sector leaders need people that they can talk to to get solid advice and encouragement to do the work that is in front of them. If you feel that this can be of value to you, or a member of your team, please reach out to pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com and let’s talk.
A Quick Note of Thanks!
Thank you all for subscribing to this newsletter. The subscription numbers continue to grow and from what I am learning, this side job seems like it has “sticking power”; six months in and this is still going strong. By this point, many newsletters have faded away. This is only possible through your support - thank you!
I know many of you have shared this with your friends and colleagues and I am very grateful. Thank you! If you haven’t share it yet…..well, here is your chance….
Ready to Learn Something New?
Spring is a wonderful time to visit Indianapolis and it opens a perfect opportunity to sharpen your skills and meet new professionals in the field. I would encourage you to look at some of the offerings of The Fund Raising School at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University’s campus in Indianapolis. The professional development school has great programming both on-line and in-person both in Indianapolis and at other sites across the country. Take a look at their course offerings here!
Other Ways to Connect
Our coaching practice has openings starting here in 2022. If you are interested in working with me to get your nonprofit organization on a track to achieve the big missions you have for your organization, please reach out to me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
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