Blueprint Fundraising

The Assocation of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has issued a reaction to the CRTC’s July 3 decision not to follow Parliament’s recommendation that registered charities be exempted from a future national do-not-call registry. This appears to be a huge blow to the charitable sector, or at least to the many organizations that raise money through phone campaigns.

Here’s AFP’s statement in full:

On July 3, 2007, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set out rules (Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-48) for the creation and operation of a National Do Not Call List, as well as rules regarding telemarketing and automatic dialing-answering devices.

The Commission determined that it would seek out an independent operator for the list and issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) later this month to solicit bids for operation of the list. Once an operator has been selected and has taken the necessary steps to put the list into operation, Canadians who prefer not to receive unsolicited calls will be able to add, at no charge, their numbers to the database. Telemarketers will be prohibited from calling individuals who are registered on the list.

Parliament expressly exempted registered charities from the National Do Not Call List.

However, the CRTC decided not to extend such an exemption in its Telemarketing Rules. In fact, the CRTC stated that “the Telemarketing Rules will continue to apply to all telemarketers and all types of telemarketing telecommunications made to residential and business consumers, including those exempt from the National DNCL Rules.”

The CRTC added that its “definition of solicitation has always specifically included charities that solicit via telemarketing telecommunications for cash donations (i.e. money), donations of goods (i.e. money’s worth) and volunteer time (i.e. money’s worth) as this form of unsolicited telecommunications falls within section 41 of the Act.”

Indeed, the decision set forth the following statement: “The Commission considers that consumers do not consider telemarketing made by or on behalf of charities to cause any less undue inconvenience and nuisance, or to be less of an invasion of privacy, than telemarketing made by or on behalf of for-profit organizations.”

Finally, as part of this process, in Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-48, the CRTC expressly denied AFP’s request for variance that had been submitted in September 2004, requesting that charities be exempt from the telemarketing rules.

AFP is disappointed in the CRTC’s decision not to exempt charities from its telemarketing rules but looks forward to working with the CRTC to ensure that the proposed telemarketing rules will not impede the charitable sector’s vital, philanthropic efforts.

It looks like Keep A Child Alive is going to do VERY well on their iPhone auction (which I posted about a few days ago). There are just 10 hours left in the online auction and high bid right now is $100,000 US. Wow! The high bidder will also get a few other goodies: round trip air tickets, passes to a swanky celebrity ball and a voicemail message recorded by Alicia Keyes.

Even though it won’t be available in Canada for who-knows-how-many months (much to my partner Andrew’s deep deep sorrow), you have no doubt heard that today’s the big launch of Apple’s iPhone. Some people have been lining up for days (literally, like since June 25) to be the first to get their hands on the phones. And a few of these crazy people have managed to turn it into a smart fundraising idea.

Via Boing Boing and The Unofficial Apple Weblog:

Johnny Vulkan of NYC ad agency Anomaly is first in line at the Apple Store SoHo, and has special plans for his iPhone. Instead of coveting his precious new toy like the rest of us, his iPhone will go right up on eBay where all proceeds from its sale will go to AIDS charity Keep a Child Alive. If game console launches like that of the Wii and PS3 are any indication, early iPhone sellers on eBay stand to make a killing, and it’s nice to see that some of that money will be going to an organization working to stop a nasty virus from doing the same.

Keep a Child Alive has also sold sponsorships on some of the people standing in the line with Johnny. You can read more about how others are using the iPhone mania for good.

I can’t wait to see how much they get for the phone. And I hope Andrew stays away from eBay for the next little while.

Arts Now had been on hiatus while conducting a review of their granting programs. They’re back and the next deadline for applications is July 11. The program guidelines have been revised. I’m happy to see that the Catalyst program is still there, with a new element: Learning Connections. The Innovations program is also continuing (deadline is September 18), but with two new areas of focus: Creative Ventures and Engaging Communities. Letters of intent for their other program, Arts Partners in Creative Development, are due on September 4.

I am sad to write that Glen Davis, 66, one of Canada’s most generous environmental philanthropists, was shot to death in Toronto this weekend.

Davis’ name is not well known — he was a quiet donor who nonetheless had a massive impact on Canada’s green movement. He will be so deeply missed by the many organizations who sought his help for their campaigns. I met him once, at an environmental planning meeting held at his home. I was working for Sierra Legal Defence Fund at the time and was quite honoured to participate in an event that brought together environmental leaders from around the country.

He was shot in a parking garage on Friday afternoon. Police have released images of a “person of interest.” Police are wondering if the murder may be connected to an assault that Davis suffered in 2005, where he was beaten with a baseball bat outside his office. The attacker was never found.

Davis inherited his fortune from his father, Nelson M. Davis, who was chairman of Argus Corporation and president of N. M. Davis Corp. Ltd.

You can read more about Glen Davis (pictured below) in the Toronto Star.

This week the Vancouver Parks Board approved a new naming policy for community centres and parks board facilities. From what I have seen, the policy is the same as the draft naming rights policy circulated by the City of Vancouver last year. It allows community centres to give very limited recognition to corporate donors, with Parks Board approval.

No corporate names will be allowed on the outside (and whole buildings can’t be named), no logos or advertising will be allowed anywhere. Interior elements, exterior elements and whole buildings can be named or re-named for individuals. Community associations will have to submit comprehensive fundraising plans and an application to the Parks Board for final approval.

The vote was 4-1 in favour. Loretta Woodcock, who voted against it, was quoted as saying “You betcha there’ll be a lot of companies lined up to put their names in these buildings.” I laughed when I read this — I doubt any companies are lining up. This will help community centres recognize donors who are already supportive and it might open the doors so that they can try to woo others, but the process is going to be exhausting and the recognition is quite meager. Anyone who thinks that all you have to do to get a corporate gift is offer to put their name (and not even a logo or wordmark!) on a little plaque hasn’t done very much fundraising.

Here’s a better plan: fund civic facilities properly so that they don’t need to rely on private sector donations.

Corporations have a lot of choice when it comes to naming opportunities. A great example: Scotiabank has just bought the naming rights to five Cineplex Paramount movie theatres for the next five years. You’ll notice an enormous Scotiabank banner on the corner of Burrard and Smithe. All references to “Paramount” are gone. The re-branding is tied to a new loyalty program.

Some other recent naming deals (from the Vancouver Sun):

• Vancouver landmarks renamed in recent years include Telus Science World, for $9 million over 15 years.
• The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage reaped $1.5 million over a 20-year term.
• The most well-known corporate naming deal is General Motors Place, worth about $20 million over 20 years.
• In Calgary, the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts added $2.6 million to city coffers over 10 years.
• Hawking naming rights to the Hummingbird Centre bagged $5 million for the City of Toronto.

Photo by Marc Lostracco.

A preview of the annual AFP Compensation and Benefits Study was released today.

The average salary for a Canadian fundraiser increased by 9.2 percent from 2005 to 2006, to $71,827. There’s a significant gender gap: male fundraisers reported an average salary of $85,362 in 2006 while women earned $67,286, in spite of the fact that fundraising is a female-dominated profession.

Detailed survey results will be available to AFP members in May.

Although fundraising costs are just one way (and not always a good one) of measuring the effectiveness of a nonprofit, it is nonetheless interesting to see stats on the issue. Intelligent Giving, a UK site devoted to helping donors make best use of their philanthropic dollars, has done a comparison. The numbers come from the 1,300 charities in the Intelligent Giving database.

I’m surprised that they have found fundraising costs to be so low. My experience and gut tells me that costs for Canadian organizations would be higher.

I really really wanted to blog about something positive and uplifting for Earth Day.

After all, I know that many environmental nonprofits were doing great things yesterday. Probably raising money and supporting all kinds of positive (albeit small) changes. But I just can’t seem to muster optimism when it comes to the state of the environment. Even if being green is cool and Knut the polar bear and Leonardo are on the cover of Vanity Fair (click for very cute but sort of sad video of Knut), it really doesn’t seem that the influential people of the world care enough to make a difference.

Here’s an artist whose work evokes my feelings on Earth Day. Chris Jordan is a photographer and his show Running the Numbers explores the statistics of American life. It’s an illuminating look at the pace and scale of consumption.

Paper Bags, 2007, depicts 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags, the number used in the US every hour. (Thanks to Bonnie Fenton for pointing me to the show.)

There was one thing that made me happy: Tides Canada is donating An Inconvenient Truth DVD to every high school and school board in British Columbia. Yay Tides!

I’ve changed the way comments are screened here on the fundit and it will now be much easier to comment. You used to have to log in — but no more. If you want to respond to a posting, just click on the “comments” button at the bottom of the post. I’d love to hear what you think.

Unusual sign photo from Flickr: “sorry” by mofo.

Apologies if you’ve noticed some odd things in this RSS feed or on the blog in the last few days. Whilst trying to upgrade to the new version of Wordpress, something went a bit haywire. We’re cleaning up and everything will be back to normal soon.

This is an interesting story — last year Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto invited low-income Hawaiian families to write to him and apply to live in one of his Honolulu mansions for rent of $150 per month. Three thousand people applied.

Last week Kawamoto selected four families and will choose another four next month. The families are ecstatic — some have been homeless, living on the beach. He decided to give the first two years completely rent-free with an option for families to stay on at a low rent until their last child graduates from high school.

Reviews from the neighbours are mixed… some have been unhappy that his unkempt properties are bringing down values and they suspect ulterior motives. Kawamoto said he wants to transform Kahala from an exclusive neighborhood to a more open community reflecting Hawaii and that his action “shows more dedication to helping Hawaii’s homeless than just handing out wads of cash.”

I love these stories of unusual giving. Some have criticized him, saying he could have helped more people by selling the multi-million homes and giving the money to charity. Probably true. But so what? From reading about how he selected the families, he wants a connection with the people his is helping and I don’t think you can really get that by giving at arms length. Here’s the letter he sent the lucky families.

You can expect giving to private foundations to increase because of new rules announced in the federal budget yesterday. Many charities and donors benefit from the capital gains exemption on donations of publicly traded securities to public charities. Now donors will enjoy the same tax savings when they donate stock to private foundations (such as a family or corporate foundation). For more detail, check out this Globe and Mail article.

If you live in the Lower Mainland or ever plan to visit Vancouver you must spend a few hours at the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. It’s an amazing place. My partner Andrew Hill is a horticulturist there and he’s recently started blogging about the goings on in the garden.

The Garden’s extensive website has incredible resources for gardeners and cool things for plant lovers such as the Botany Photo of the Day. The photo above was taken by Daniel Mosquin at the entrance to the Garden.

Wells Fargo is piloting a new way to give to charity, using their ATMs. I hope we’ll see this in Canada sometime soon (maybe through an innovator like Vancity?).

The bank’s San Francisco-area customers have the option to donate to one of six charities through ATMs. Donors can give up to $250. All gifts go to the charities anonymously.

Imagine being able to have an “option to donate” on the many electronic financial transactions we make every day. Adding a gift for the food bank when you pay for groceries by debit card or sending a donation to the United Way when you sign a credit card receipt would be so convenient. It’s not possilbe yet but maybe one day it will be.

Hey everyone, Blueprint Fundraising and Communications has a new address. Phone and fax remain the same.

400 - 21 Water Street
Vancouver BC V6B 1A1