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Capital Campaigns
What do you think of when you hear the word “hack”? Maybe coughing, tree chopping? In this digital age, it’s likely the dreaded computer violation! Bloom Metz was recently hacked and while it was an inconvenience and a cause for concern, we wanted to share the experience – and some Internet safety tips –with you. Here’s what happened to us. If you did a search for: “Bloom Metz- fundraising”, ”Bloom Metz – capital campaign” or just plain ”Bloom Metz” one of the first results that would come up under the Bloom Metz Consulting header is “Buy Testosterone Online.” While we are proud to present ourselves as the go to firm for the nonprofit world, this is not what we had in mind. With a full team of virile men at Bloom Metz, there’s no need for any extra testosterone here! Bloom Metz Consulting is proud to say we have the stamina to offer full support to our clients! While our web site is fine now, this can happen to any web site and can risk your credibility. Here are a few quick reminders to help you ward off hackers and ensure your computer’s security. NO SPAM ALLOWED!
HACK THE OTHER WAY PLEASE! If you have a web site, here are some quick tips to help keep the integrity intact.
If you discover your website has been hacked, chances are you’re going to need the expertise of a computer techie to help – unfortunately, we now have the experience to help so give us a call. In spite of the many challenges facing nonprofit organizations, Seth Bloom, Jeff Metz, and our healthy team members are ready to go the distance with you. Keep the testosterone for the others who really need it! By Heidi Hauptschein, Associate, Bloom Metz Consulting. Stay tuned for next month’s blog…Why 2012 will be an ideal year for assessments, capital and endowment campaigns. Have you had experience with a similar situation? Share your story with us. We’d love to hear it! Philanthropy
by Heidi Sadowitz Hauptschein, Bloom Metz Consulting Bloom Metz partner, Seth Bloom, recently wrote an article titled, Endowments Now! which was published in the Summer 2011 edition of Partners for Sacred Places, (a nonprofit organization that helps to preserve the use of older sacred places). Many nonprofit organizations are feeling the pinch of the strained economy and we feel it personally as well. Although this seems counter intuitive, NOW is the best time to focus on building or establishing for the first time Planned Giving Programs. As baby boomers are aging they are speaking and working with financial advisers on how to maximize their estates. There are many ways donors can make planned gifts and get significant tax benefits. Here are some quick thoughts: 1. Endowment giving provides alternative to your loyal donors. – After all bequests, which are the most common form of planned giving, do not cost your donors anything in their lifetime. 2. Your prospect pool is right in front of you and prime for the conversation. – A little education about the simplicity of a bequests can go a long way. 3. If you’re not speaking with your donors, another organization will! The list of reasons can continue but for right now, this is the right time to start to focus on building or creating a Planned Giving program for your nonprofit organization. Visit our web site www.bloommetz.com We would love to get your thoughts! Leave a message and we will get back to you! Ethics
If you Google the phrase “nonprofit fraud prevention”, you will get thousands of articles and presentations, primarily from the accounting world, discussing the far too often occurrence of fraud or embezzlement in nonprofits of all sizes. These articles are full of excellent suggestions on how to prevent fraud, embezzlement, or theft by valued employees, yet there is no indication that there is any decline in the amount of fraud and embezzlement in the nonprofit world. While much of this type of fraud takes place in small nonprofits, with annual receipts of less $100,000.00, by no means are the examples limited to such small entities. For example according to an article published at Bloomberg on August 9, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-08-09/jpmorgan-chase-sued-by-ellis-institute-over-money-transfers.html, the chairman of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce resigned on August 9 amid allegations that he stole $2.5-million from an unrelated nonprofit organization whose board he headed. A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday by the Albert Ellis Institute, a psychotherapy charity, against JP Morgan Chase, alleges Jeffrey Bernstein shifted funds of the Institute into bank accounts he owns or controls while serving as director of administration of the Institute. Bernstein was appointed director of administration in early 2010 after serving for 3 1/2 years as president of the Institute’s board of trustees. Bernstein had told the Institute that he had closed a former operating account with JP Morgan Chase, right after he started as director of administration. Approximately one year later the Institute discovered the account had not been closed. The lawsuit alleges that Bernstein misappropriated the funds and used them for personal benefit. Bernstein had previously resigned from the Institute. While the Bloomberg article does not discuss any specifics of what took place, it certainly intimates a glaring lack of controls, where one employee, albeit the former chair of the board, alone had the responsibility to close an operating account. Some questions to ponder:
I welcome your thoughts and comments here or email: lewgrafman@bloommetz.com
Capital Campaigns
We hear it all the time, but we STILL find ourselves or our volunteers in that terrible quandary of “is it the right time?” Well friends, eventually, your prospects will wonder why you never brought up the subject. • Sophisticated donors understand the cultivation process, and if you haven’t moved the process forward, they will lose confidence in the organization’s ability to raise the money needed for the good work it seeks to do. • Newer donors may simply not know what’s expected next…they have given small amounts of money or generous amounts of time, but you must guide them to a higher level of connection with your organization. “Would you consider helping us with a special gift for this project? We think it’s one you would be pleased to see move forward. Wil Sherk is a Vice President at Bloom Metz Consulting. Capital Campaigns
Focusing on building – or establishing for the first time – your endowment fund is perhaps the best way to respond to the challenges presented by a strained economy. Given the recent challenges nonprofit organizations have been facing, focusing now on strengthening – or perhaps establishing for the first time – your endowment fund, may seem antithetical to how most organizations have been responding: working harder to raise more money today, or cutting back on expenses. Both strategies are reasonable and even advisable, yet putting your future on hold by not focusing on your endowment today is the opposite action to take at a time when opportunities are abundant and being missed every day.
This list of reasons could continue for why now is the right time to focus on building – or creating – your endowment program. Of course there are many strategies to consider but perhaps the best advice of all is reflected in the familiar message suggested by Nike: “Just Do It.” Seth Bloom is President of Bloom Metz Consulting Inc. Bloom Metz specializes in nonprofit fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and leadership development. www.BloomMetz.com
Donors
Securing the Future for Your Nonprofit OrganizationEspecially in our challenging economy, more and more nonprofit organizations are wishing their past leadership had established a stronger culture for planned giving in order to supplement operations with a reliable source of income through a permanent endowment fund. Understandably, organizations are trying harder than ever to sustain their operations so the focus for most remains closing cash gifts now. Ironically, many nonprofits are continuing the pattern of their predecessors, overlooking some of their most likely planned giving prospects. What is needed are visionary leaders looking ahead to 20+ years from now so their legacy to future generations is a steady flow of permanent gifts that will generate the operational support nonprofits are struggling today to secure. Ten Steps to consider for establishing a Golden Giver program:
Of course some supporters will never step forward in their lifetime with a financial commitment for the future commensurate with their capacity but as fundraisers know so well, if we don’t ask, we don’t get. Cultivating your long-term donors should be relatively easy since they’ve already demonstrated their support. Now is the time to acknowledge these donors and educate them about opportunities to perpetuate their support beyond their lifetime and for generations to come. Capital Campaigns
Am I the only one confused? On the evening of March 21, 2011, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, reporting from the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference in Chicago, released an article about one of the sessions at the conference, “Religious Fund-Raising Faces a ‘Crisis,’ Says Speaker” http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/religious-fund-raising-faces-a-crisis-says-speaker/29254?sid=&utm_source=&utm_medium=en.. The article begins by quoting one of the panel speakers that “[r]eligious fundraising is in a tailspin.” A few weak and not necessarily supportive examples are cited. Does it follow that there is a crisis, when several California evangelical churches, which overextended in the good times, are unable to manage their debt and are now forced to file for bankruptcy? Does the Catholic archdiocese elect to close a school simply for lack of fundraising, or because demographics have changed, and there are insufficient students in the neighborhood attending the school to justify the continued operation of the school. Specifically the study shows that at a macro level more religious organizations show an increase rather than a decrease in fundraising for last year [NRC study, p. 10]. These results for religious fundraising do not include organizations such as Jewish federations, which are considered public societal and not religious fundraising for purposes of the study. [NRC study p. 21]. It is not clear what the impact would be on religious fundraising if Jewish federations and similar organizations were moved to religious organizations. Can anyone who attended the panel discussion at the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference referenced in the first article above explain what actually was presented or have access to any other information from the presentation. Why are both the headline and opening sentence of the first article so totally different than what is presented in the NRC study. The article says so little about what else may have been presented during the session at the conference, that I am hesitant to draw any conclusions without more information. Can The Chronicle of Philanthropy provide any help? Capital Campaigns
Last month in this space Jeff Metz posted a wonderful blog titled Cultivating a Donor: Like Cultivating a Garden. http://www.nonprofitwatercooler.com/2011/02/cultivating-a-donor-like-cultivating-a-garden/ Too bad that NPR fundraising vice president Ron Schiller did not bother to visit the Nonprofit Water Cooler before he went to lunch with what he thought were representatives of the Muslim Education Action Center. As the whole world now knows, those at lunch were part of a sting operation run by conservative prankster/troublemaker James O’Keefe and his colleagues, aimed at embarrassing NPR as it struggles to maintain funding from Congress both for its member radio stations and its programming. During the luncheon Mr. O’Keefe made some inflammatory comments. (You can find the original video and quotes here http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/weigel/archive/2011/03/08/james-o-keefe-versus-npr.aspx). The hidden video from the luncheon ended up costing not only Mr. Schiller his job, but also that of NPR president Vivian Schiller (not related to Ron Schiller). The incident has added fuel to fire to cut federal funding for NPR. Most of the commentary since the video of Mr. Schiller was made public has been on the politics of NPR funding. Since this is the Nonprofit Water Cooler, let’s take a look at how Mr. Schiller failed to follow several of the simple straightforward fundraising suggestions made by Jeff Metz last month. Have a plan. The NPR mission, vision and goals are available for all at the NPR website. http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/mission.html NPR has a clear roadmap for its board and all of its employees, including specifically its development director. Yet as I watched the edited version of the video of the luncheon released by Mr. O’Keefe, it appeared to me that mission was irrelevant, or did not even exist, as Mr. Schiller chased what he thought would be a substantial donation from new donors. Personal criticism of the tea party or his personal views about continued Congressional funding had no place at the table. Mr. Schiller apparently was prepared to agree with just about any of the politically motivated comments the alleged donor suggested or made, no matter how far afield the comments were from NPR’s mission. Nothing is more basic to any nonprofit fundraising than to stay true to and be guided by the organization’s mission. Not all plantings require the same care. “You need to get to know your prospects.” How much due diligence could Mr. Schiller have performed to investigate the fictitious Muslim Education Action Center before he went to lunch with the alleged representatives of the group? Was the presence of what turned out to be a phony website sufficient cover for the group? Shouldn’t a reference to a relationship to the Muslim Brotherhood at the website have been enough to postpone the luncheon until more due diligence could be completed? Did anyone look at a form 990 for the Muslim Education Action Center, or attempt to find it, before the luncheon took place? The weather is not always predictable. New donors do come out of the blue from time to time, often driven by an opportunity to influence a cause. The very newness of the donor, though, means we should not fail to be prepared and do even more due diligence, before meeting with representatives of an organization which promises to be a substantial donor. The ability to adapt and change strategies with respect to a potential donor does not mean that mission is thrown out with the bathwater, or that due diligence should be secondary. Watch your plants for signs of good health. It is critical to listen to the donor. Sometimes what the potential donor says or suggests should not be acceptable to the nonprofit. Even aside from the red flags mentioned above, Mr. Schiller’s radar should have been up immediately, as he listened to those across the table from him. Instead he jumped right in, allowing himself to be used for political purposes. We do not know if Mr. Schiller was so driven by the amount of the alleged gift to lose sight of what was being said, but it is certainly a caution for anyone about to meet with a new potential substantial donor. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. As has become apparent since the ill fated luncheon and the departure of both Ron Schiller and Vivian Schiller, NPR did in fact perform appropriate due diligence, but only after the luncheon had taken place. NPR has gone out of its way to demonstrate that it never agreed to accept any gift from the Muslim Action Education Center. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2011/03/_national_public_radio_is.html Sometimes the board of directors and officers of the nonprofit cannot or should not enjoy the benefits of a potential donation, no matter how much work may have been done. Leadership always must exercise appropriate care in whether to pursue or accept any gift. Hindsight is not terribly helpful in this situation. The damage was done, whether or not the gift was accepted. For a similar yet different discussion, we recommend the Nonprofit University Blog, “Dirty Money” by Laura Otten, director of the Nonprofit Center at LaSalle University, posted March 11, 2011, on the importance of a “gift acceptance policy”. http://www.nonprofituniversityblog.org/ The full two hour video of the luncheon has been posted on the internet by Mr. O’Keefe http://www.nonprofituniversityblog.org/ For full disclosure, my daughter is employed by a public television station. |
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