Something to Think About - Summer 2003
Ann Cohen & Debra Fried Levin
Our goal:To create strategic frameworks that bring business principles to philanthropy and nonprofit management. Something to Think About is a periodic highlight of current trends and ideas in philanthropy.
What's new:
Ann has been working with several national nonprofits bringing business solutions to strategic and management issues. This past year she has been working with the National Osteoporosis Foundation, the American Cancer Society, United Jewish Communities, the Credit Union National Association and others. Her practice focuses on connecting people, institutions and businesses with effective strategies and then channeling the strategies into deliberate action. As for Debra, she appeared on several panels presenting strategic philanthropy concepts and practice. The engagements included a national conference sponsored by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers' New Ventures in Philanthropy Initiative and the National Capital Gift Planning Council conference.
The thought question:
The featured articles that follow highlight giving trends among all Americans including the wealthiest donors. In general, donors tend to give to the most established, well-known organizations such as educational and health related institutions, which, without question do good work. Just as financial portfolios are diversified to include higher risk investments where the impact is not yet known but where the potential is anticipated, so too should giving be diversified. How does your current philanthropic portfolio break out? Is it time to think about diversifying and supporting other organizations? Imagine the impact, if for every $10 million gift that goes into a major educational institution's endowment, $1 million was allocated to support community organizations, expanded social services or public advocacy. Imagine the satisfaction of having made a difference with fewer dollars.
Articles:
1) Americans gave an estimated $240.92 billion in 2002 to charitable causes in spite of an uncertain economy and international turmoil. While giving was significant, it fell by .5 percent when adjusted for inflation. The big winners were religious and educational institutions and those that lost the most were human services. As in prior years, individuals are the largest segment of donors, giving over 75% of the donations, with corporate and foundations gifts making up the balance.
Giving in 2002 Didn't Outpace Inflation, Report Says, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Harvy Lipman, June 26, 2003 (See Article)
2) Mega-gifts, donations of $10 million or more, tend to be given to institutions that are already well-funded and have the most resources to spend on fund-raising such as educational institutions. Gary Tobin, a leading researcher in the field of philanthropy and author of the study mentioned in the article, notes that many donors of big gifts are entrepreneurs, and even though many spent their lives taking risks in business, they appear to be risk averse in their giving, shying away from the smaller, less known, and often the most needy organizations. The trend to shy away from front-line entrepreneurial nonprofits is evident in the data reported in the Giving USA report that reflects giving among all Americans.
Getting Megagifts to the Neediest Causes, Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Gary A. Tobin, May 1, 2003. (See Article)
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