Blueprint Fundraising

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

This is a reminder of some upcoming deadlines for the POD (Partners in Organizational Development) program:

• March 2, 2007 for ArtsPOD
• April 27, 2007 for Social ServicesPOD and EnviroPOD

If you are a BC nonprofit in the social services, environment or arts sectors, a POD grant could help you strengthen your organization or adapt to challenges. POD grants can be used to hire a consultant or resource person to help you work through your issues (some of them anyhow!). You can find out more at the Centre for Sustainability website.

Kevin Bacon has teamed up with Network for Good to launch an interesting project that plays on the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” phenomenon from the 1990s. Back then, the idea was that in six steps or less, any film actor in history could be linked through their roles or relationships to Kevin Bacon.

Building on this meme, Bacon started SixDegrees.org, a portal where you can view the favourite charitable causes of various celebrities and support them through online giving. You can also start your own project and become your own “celebrity for a cause.” The idea is that the world is small and we’re all connected — Bacon’s video on the home page explains it well. Except for the celebrities, it reminds me a little of GiveMeaning.org — in that you can start your own projects, fundraise for them, and track progress through the site.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reported on new research that celebrities are not a big draw for donors (although they undoubtedly help to draw attention to important issues). Here are the basics of some research conducted by Cone Inc.:

• 15% of Americans said they would be influenced by celebrities in deciding whether to support a charity
• That is far less than the percentage of respondents who said they would be influenced to support a cause by family members (77%), friends (64%), their place of worship (60%), co-workers (40%), or companies (30%)
• 76% of Americans said that word-of-mouth requests from family or friends were the most effective way for a charity to reach them — followed by newspaper and magazine articles (56%), events (51%), and advertising (50%)

Read the press release and more details here.

The photo above is from one of my favourite Kevin Bacon films: The Woodsman.

I have a long list of topics that I have been meaning to write about for MONTHS. I pledge to be a better blogger in 2007. Here are some random tidbits you might enjoy.

• BC women honoured for their quiet giving (featuring Marjorie Anne Sauder, Martha Lou Henley and Carol Newell).
• Record levels of Canadian giving in 2005 (7.9 billion!).
• The BC Society Act is under review, with consultations to take place this spring and summer. You can read about in the October 2006 issue of Miller Thomson’s Charities Newsletter (a great resource by the way).
• More than 24 countries have approved an International Statement of Ethical Principles for fundraising.
• Forbes magazine philanthropy section rates US charities and profiles billionaires.
• Research shows that the act of charitable giving releases dopamine in the brain.
• Interesting article on the challenge of fundraising for the arts, when other social problems are so urgent.
• Provocative LA Times editorial urging you not to waste your charitable giving on rich universities.

The topic on Sunday’s Cross Country Checkup call-in on CBC Radio was “What motivates you to give to charity? What puts you off.”

Required listening for all fundraising types!

I was busy during the show and only heard one call. It was about (surprise surprise) the unacceptably high cost of administration and fundraising. If you missed it too, you can listen online or download the show. I’m really looking forward to listening to the whole thing. But I’m anticipating sky high blood pressure as I yell back at callers who know nothing about how well most nonprofits work.

The drama continues… MADD’s national board is fighting back with a detailed response to the Toronto Star articles and a clarification that they have not suspended their fundraising. MADD says that that have been using the word-count allocation of fundraising expenses on the advice of a Canada Revenue Agency auditor. Meanwhile, a CRA spokesperson denies that CRA approves of this method of allocation…

Today MADD Canada announced that it will suspend fundraising pending an internal review of fundraising practices.

The dramatic announcement comes in response to allegations made in a Toronto Star article that says MADD spends only 19 cents of every dollar raised on its charitable purposes. The rest goes to fundraising and administration.

On the weekend, Andrew Murie, MADD Canada’s CEO said “the article’s claims of misspending and high fundraising costs are absolutely false. The Star’s investigation smacks of ‘gotcha journalism.’ It is unfair and obviously very hurtful to the many thousands of volunteers who put their heart and soul into the organization.â€?

But coverage since the weekend shows a major rift between MADD’s head office and its local chapters, where board members and volunteers have been requesting transparency on this issue for a long time.

The way that MADD counts its fundraising costs would probably rile many donors if they understood it (but is a common practice in direct mail and telemarketing programs). It comes down to a loose interpretation of “fundraising” and “education.” If your direct mail, telemarketing and door-to-door canvassing raises awareness for your cause, can’t you count some of those expenses as furthering your mission? That’s how MADD justifies the claim that 83.6% of the funds they raise goes to programs and mission.

I believe that there probably is some educational value to their fundraising programs, but there has to be a way to prove this and communicate it to donors so they know that their donations are being spent this way. Otherwise, the practice just does further damage to donor trust in charities. MADD is only promising an internal investigation– they won’t be opening the books for independent scrutiny. Stay tuned for more on this one…

Here’s a beautifully executed website, Light to Unite, that raises awareness and money in honour of World AIDS Day (December 1). If you light a candle for AIDS/HIV, Bristol-Myers Squibb will donate $1 to the National AIDS Fund. One of the nicest parts of the site is how each candle represents a short story that someone has submitted.

I was disappointed to read the fine print… the maximum donation BMS will make is $100,000. When I went to light a candle there were already 213,000 others lit and it isn’t even December 1 yet! It looks a little uncharitable to spend so much on a great viral campaign and then cap the donations at a fairly low amount.

Just in the time that I was visiting the site, another 1,000 candles were lit. If they missed the fine print, those people probably thought they were actually doing something for the National AIDS Fund (and not just reading BMS advertising).

Here’s a story in honour of Remembrance Day, via Trent Stamp’s Take.

This scammer has spent the last 25 years cultivating a phone list and stealing money from thousands of people through telephone fundraising, claiming to be from various veteran’s organizations.

I agree with Trent and Charity Navigator. I don’t think anyone should make donations on the phone and charities shouldn’t fundraise by phone either. Telephone fundraising is a big reason that people hate the fundraising business.

This is why people give me funny looks when I introduce myself as a fundraiser at dinner parties. Isn’t it?

Some people get their kicks in the strangest ways…

Since the summer, someone has been calling US development officers and posing as a dying, wealthy individual ready to make a major donation. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has been receiving letters to the editor from some of the institutions. The fraudster sometimes uses the last name Bolyer and his story is quickly debunked by an internet search for phone numbers, zip codes etc.

Here are a few of the groups he has contacted:

“…my guy promised to die within four months and leave my agency $154-million in liquid assets plus another $100-million to $200-million in his estate after the sale of his Hilton stock and his antique-car collection.” – Mississippi Children’s Home Services

“…he kept her on the line for an hour… he said his daughter (who he said had died three weeks earlier) had met one of our students on a plane and that had made her life a joy for the duration of it. In this case he was going to give us $40-million for a capital project and $5-million for an endowed scholarship in his daughter’s memory.” – North Park University

“…saying he was prepared to give the institution some $26-million. He even said he’d be flying from his Santa Barbara, Calif., home to Iowa on his private jet the following week to discuss his gift.” – Drake University

“In terms of savviness, he seemed as though he was someone who had made previous gifts to other organizations…” – Riley Children’s Foundation

My guess is that the fraudster is a very bitter development professional. Only they would understand the suffering and disappointment that these calls would cause!

The makers of Wife Swap have a new show airing in Britain next month: Secret Millionaire.

Here’s the premise (from The Guardian Unlimited): The show will take five millionaire, would-be philanthropists and force them to live undercover for 10 days on the equivalent of state benefit or doing a menial job for the minimum wage in some of the most deprived areas of Britain. At the end of the period, during which they are expected to get out and about in the community under the guise of appearing in a TV show that swaps the rural poor for the city poor, they decide which individuals deserve their money.

At the end, the millionaire gives away ₤50,000 of their own money. There is something slightly offensive about the concept (poverty tourism, as the article suggests). But then again, those who watch are likely to gain an understanding of what it means to live in poverty and those who give away such a tidy sum are to be commended. You can certainly do worse in the reality TV genre!! I really really hope we can see this show in Canada.

How sick are you of pink-tinged fundraising? I have to confess that I’ve had enough already! There seems to be no end to it (weekends, walks, clothing, every kind of food, appliances, and even Canadian currency). I don’t know how much it is really helping to prevent breast cancer. It is definitely selling a lot of products (see this blog posting about Campbell’s Soup seeing double sales for its pink ribbon soup cans).

Red is attempting to become pink for the next generation. (Product)RED offers red GAP clothes, iPods, Converse shoes, Motorola cell phones, Armani accessories and American Express credit cards, in support of the elimination of AIDS in Africa. Flipping through The New Yorker a few weeks ago I saw that (Product)RED purchased just about every ad space in the magazine. It’s a massive marketing campaign and I’m sure it will be wildly successful.

Here’s what they say about themselves:

(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)^RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)^RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

What’s the meaning of the parentheses or brackets? Well, we call them “the embrace.” Each company that becomes (RED) places its logo in this embrace and is then elevated to the power of red. Thus the name — (PRODUCT)^RED.

You, the consumer, can take your purchase to the power of (RED) simply by upgrading your choice. Thus the proposition: (YOU)^RED. Be embraced, take your own fine self to the power of (RED). What better way to become a good-looking samaritan?!

Churches have been leading the pack when it comes to fundraising for a long long time. Pastor Marty Baker is going to keep them there with these “ATMs for Jesus” — touchscreen giving kiosks where donors can donate to the church using their credit or debit cards. When the collection plate comes around, people just put their ATM receipts in the basket!

If you can stomach the ridiculous level of spin in all the writing, take a look at the full list of cuts that “Canada’s New Government” announced on Monday.

The tone is maddening and paints the nonprofit sector and some very important government programs as irresponsible, ineffective, wasteful, and superfluous.

For nomadic boards and those working in cramped spaces…

The Canada Line is offering their Community Information Centre boardroom to non-profits in need of meeting space. The office is at Cambie and 16th Ave and there is some parking available. Contact them at 604-639-8720 or info@canadaline.ca.

If only there were more business leaders with the vision of Sir Richard Branson.

Yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative he pledged to spend up to $3 billion over the next 10 years on projects aimed at tackling the global warming. The money is not a donation. He’ll be re-investing all the profits from Virgin’s train and five airline businesses in renewable energy initiatives.

He was asked about his motivation: self-interest or altruism? When it comes to global warming, the two motivations overlap:

“I was bequeathed a beautiful world from my parents and grandparents, and I want to bequeath the same world to my children and their children. And I think unless I can use my business skills to tackle issues like this, then the world that our children and grandchildren inherit will not be a pleasant world at all, and therefore it’s partly selfish, it’s partly, whatever, altruistic, but the important thing is that it is a gesture and I think things like this need to be done if we are going to tackle global warming.”

The Vancouver chapter of AFP is holding an information session for anyone thinking about writing the CFRE exam this fall. I’m sure this will be well worth attending. Even if you have been fundraising successfully for many years, this exam is rather quirky!

Preparing for the CFRE Exam
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Michitsch Systems Inc.
Suite 200, 1037 West Broadway, Vancouver
Free for AFP members, $35 for non-members

RSVP by calling AFP Vancouver at 604-736-1010.

When Kyle Paxman found out that her rotten fiancée was cheating on her, she dumped him. But what to do with the 180 guests coming to her dream wedding? With only six weeks notice, some elements of the event couldn’t be cancelled without penalty.

So, Kyle decided to throw the party anyhow and turn it into a fundraiser for CARE USA and the Vermont Children’s Aid Society. The event was a celebration of “beautiful, powerful, charismatic, and charitable women.” She is taking her mom on her Tahitian honeymoon (pictured below)!

What a way to turn heartbreak into something positive! You can read the whole story in the New York Times.

Hi everyone

Please take a moment to read this boring but important technical information…

Over the next 48 hours this blog will be moving from TypePad to WordPress. I’ve been working with a great designer (Isabelle from Seven25.com) on a new design for my two sites, Blueprint Fundraising and Communications and the fundit, and they are almost ready for your viewing pleasure.

This will impact you if you use a news reader to subscribe to the fundit’s feed — if you do, please delete my old feed and use this new one:

http://www.blueprintfundraising.com/the-fundit/feed/

Also, if you get to the fundit through a bookmark in your web browser, delete the old one (http://blueprint.typepad.com/) and bookmark this instead: http://www.thefundit.com

If you are having any trouble subscribing or seeing things properly please get in touch with me. Your feedback would be great!

The move will start tonight and I hope that everything will be up and running smoothly over the weekend.