Looking at Giving in 2020
This was an absolute great article to read on the website “The Conversation”. The piece goes into a look into the Top 100 nonprofits that received funds last year and the trends that was seen in philanthropy. A few things came to the forefront in my mind:
Basic needs were huge - The nonprofit Feeding America brought in a cool $515 million; a 350%+ increase over 2019. The Salvation Army brought in over a $1 Billion, a 31% increase.
College donations are still big, but falling lower - Gifts to Yale fell by 15%. John Hopkins feel by 43%. Harvard by 12%.
Funds are flowing out of Donor Advised Funds
If I asked you what was the largest philanthropic donor in the United States last year, what would you say? United Way? Nope. Salvation Army? Wrong again. It’s the Fidelity Charitable Foundation, the Donor Advised Fund arm of Fidelity Investments.
Donor Advised Funds are basically investment funds where individuals can place their donations in investment vehicles and then distribute those donations to the non-profits that they would normally support. For disclosure, my family and I have a donor advised fund and it has been a wonderful tool to enhance our personal philanthropic giving.
The Philanthropy Roundtable put out this latest report on Donor Advised Funds and it is well worth a read. Last year, Donor Advised Funds distributed $34.67 BILLION in donations to nonprofit organizations an increase of 27% over 2019. If you are in the nonprofit world and you aren’t aware or aren’t thinking about Donor Advised Funds - you really need to. This article is a good start.
Local News You Can Use
Academy Registrations Still Open
Registration is STILL OPEN for the Paul G. Duke Academy for Community Leadership at Edison State Community College. For nineteen years, the program has been helping nonprofit leaders, both staff and board members, learn from other practitioners to help them serve their communities better.
This year’s program includes four sessions (January 19, February 16, March 16 and April 20) and concludes with the Mosaic of Community Leadership Conference on May 18th.
You can get more information by contacting Rick Hanes at Edison State Community College at 937.778.7806 or via email at foundation@edisonohio.edu.
Miami County Foundation Doles Out Dollars
Congratulations are in order to the Miami County Foundation and all the organizations that received support from the foundation. It was a great event held at the new addition at the Lincoln Community Center and it was an absolute blast to see fellow non-profit leaders (in many cases, for the first time in nearly two years!). You can learn more about the foundation here.
An Excerpt from the “Tools, Tips and Tricks” Newsletter
The Pinnacle Solutions, “Tips, Tools and Tricks” newsletter comes out every Tuesday and is available for a paid subscription for as little as $7/month. Here is an excerpt from our last version:
Well, you need bylaws, because generally, the state says you need to have them. Each nonprofit corporation is chartered and organized by the state in which they are organized in. If you dig around your state’s law code, you will find whole sections or chapters dedicated to Nonprofit Corporations, how they are established, the general rules which they need to operate under and how they are governed, etc.
In Ohio (where I am), Chapter 1702 of the Ohio Revised Code is entirely devoted to Nonprofit Corporations. In fact, Section 1702.10 of the Ohio Revised Code deals specifically with establishing bylaws (or Code of Regulations) and Section 1702.11 talks about the contents of what the bylaws should have. More than just the state, federal regulators (like the Internal Revenue Service) requires bylaws in order to have tax-exempt status. In other words, it’s a pretty important document.
So, what should they include?
Well, there is no one basic set of bylaws out there. Each one is a little different, but having a comprehensive template is always helpful. and as I have written more bylaws than I can shake a stick at, I’ll give you an idea of what a good outline of bylaws should look like.
If you are searching for good information that will help you manage and lead a non-profit agency, please subscribe to the “Tips, Tools and Tricks” newsletter! And of course, as a huge “thank you”, all of our paid subscribers will get a special gift.
What do you want to know?
One of the things I would like to add in these weekly emails is to take some time to answer YOUR questions about the non-profit world; fundraising, leadership, tools, whatever is on your mind, let me know. I’d love to dig into it! Send me an email to: pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are taking next week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, because let’s face it, between Black Friday, Turkey induced food comas and family fun, there just isn’t enough bandwidth for you to enjoy “The Rundown”.
So, to help make up the lack of content, take a moment and enjoy this holiday classic.
Other Ways to Connect
Did you can also be a paid subscriber to Pinnacle Strategies content on substack? Why would you want to? Through the paid newsletter, each week you will be given a tangible tool or deliverable that YOU can use to help you understand and serve your non-profit better. The first tool is about Giving Ladders. Huh? Well, become a paid subscriber for $7/month and you can learn more!
Also, our coaching practice has a few openings. 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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