#PHILANTHROPY: #Sundance & A3 Foundation Extend Cooperation for Asian-American Artists
Shot from a film sponsored by the A3 Foundation
Though the Initial Public Offering of Facebook devolved into comic fodder last May, the fact remains that it made many people quite wealthy − especially those who had been working with Zuckerberg’s company from the early days. A number of those who cashed out their stocks and jobs at the social-network giant have since turned toward philanthropic efforts, and we would like to highlight one of those concerns that also is having a big impact on this week’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
The A3 Foundation was founded in 2012 by Philip Fung, Julia Lam, and Franklyn Chien, who were early Facebook employees, and who wanted to encourage both Asian-American artists (thus the ‘A3′) and those working on projects pertinent to the larger Asian-American community. According to their own site, “The A3 Fellows Program is the inaugural program for the foundation placing emerging artists with seasoned artists to learn and grow. The fellowship consists of $10,000-$20,000 in funding, as well as mentorship from more established artists, and the opportunity to build your skillset and network.” A large presence at the Sundance Festival is only the beginning of what they hope to accomplish.
| Category Advocacy, Civics, Community, Cross-Post, Education: General, Events, Facebook, Film Festival, Grants, Grants and Funding, Planned Giving, Politics, Public Media, Social Networks | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#INTERVIEW: Paul Jolly of Jump Start Growth Helps Us Plan for the 2013 ‘Ask’
Paul Jolly, President of Jump Start Growth, Inc.
This past December, Paul Jolly, President of Jump Start Growth, Inc., talked about the spiritual side of fundraising, and how he works with nonprofits to help them appreciate the motives and desires of big donors. Paul’s company has many years of experience to bring to organizations that are trying to improve their success rates with big donors.
Today we are excited to bring you part two of our interview with Paul. We shift directions just a bit in this conversation to talk about the near future of fundraising. What seems to be the lay-of-the-land for 2013? What technological/communications developments should we keep our eye on? What is developing on the Jump Start Growth website for the new year?
| Category Advocacy, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Cross-Post, Donor Acquisition, Education: General, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Interview, Major Gifts, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Public Relations, Storytelling, Video, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#INTERVIEW: Paul Jolly of Jump Start Growth Explores The Spiritual Side Of Donors
The soul of fundraising
Raising money for a nonprofit or charity is tough work. With the focus of the organization on fundraising, it is not surprising that outreach tends to focus on the numbers (the thousands who benefit from the nonprofit’s work, the millions required to keep such work going, the hundreds of people asked to give…). In this first part of our video interview with Paul Jolly, Founder and President of Jump Start Growth Incorporated, we learn that the numbers really should be the last concern of a nonprofit or charity, not the first. For Paul and Jump Start Growth, the first concern is the personal, the spiritual, connection between the donor and the cause she or he wants to support. Where is your organization’s focus?
| Category Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Development, Donor Acquisition, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Interview, Major Gifts, Marketing, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Storytelling, Technology for Nonprofits, Video, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#PHILANTHROPY: Evidence Of ‘Emerging Charitable Markets’ & How To Tap Into Them
An article on yesterday’s E-Jewish Philanthropy caught our eye because the authors did a really interesting bit of research into the top givers in US in this calendar year. The study by Robert I. Evans and Avrum D. Lapin demonstrates how useful a careful parsing of statistics can be for fundraisers, and how that parsing can uncover shifting trends in the philanthropic world.
The ostensible foundation of their work was to try to explain why some 130 of the wealthiest Americans on the famed Forbes 400 list are Jewish, yet only about thirty of them have given gifts that break into the list of top donors as compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. They have discovered not so much a shift in the habits of giving among Jewish donors but demographic and economic shifts that are opening what they call ‘emerging charitable markets.’ Who is participating in these markets?
| Category Banking & Finance, Cause Marketing, Civics, Community, Development, Donor Acquisition, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Major Gifts, Measurement, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Report, Resource | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#FUNDRAISING: Paul Jolly Inspires The Big Ask To Raise Big Money
If you ask for less, you'll get less (and work harder on fundraising than on your projects)
We welcome back Paul Jolly, Director of Jump Start Growth, Inc., a nonprofit fundraising and consulting firm in Washington DC. Today, Paul tells about the importance of breaking the sound barrier.
Many good therapists will tell you your achievements are limited only by your attitude. Organizations, as well as individuals, may have a mindset that limits what they can accomplish. Which means they work harder for less.
| Category Advocacy, Cause Marketing, Crowdfunding, Development, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Major Gifts, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Public Relations, Storytelling | | 0 Comments
Written by: Paul Jolly
#FUNDRAISING: Consider Moving Online Donors To Direct Mail Giving
Tap into a steady growth of new online giving
Social networks can be so important for communicating with folks who support (or will support) your cause. The high speed and low cost of such outreach can offer huge dividends, but mostly those dividends are paid in good will and spurring interest. Online donations are certainly growing, but as a recent report from Blackbaud demonstrates, long-term support and larger donations still mostly come from responses to direct mail, even if initial support comes online. The effort for any nonprofit, therefore, should be to develop interests and first donations online, yet also to strive to engage those donors with direct-mail appeals to keep the support coming. What are the numbers to back up this strategy?
| Category Cause Marketing, Community, Development, Donor Acquisition, Fundraising, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Mobile, Mobile, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Report, Resource, Social Marketing | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#FUNDRAISING: The Holiday Season For Donations Begins Now. Ready?
The pools are open and busy. The grill has cooled down since the July-4th Picnic. The MLB All-Star Game is tonight. It’s July. One of the traditional/old-fashioned ways to disrupt the heat is to hold a “Christmas in July” party, and your nonprofit or charity should be having one. Why? To celebrate the good work you have been doing for the last six months, and to energize yourselves for the critical holiday season of solicitation and fundraising that should hit its peak in mid-November and continue right through the new year. Yep, the groundwork for a successful holiday season needs to start soon, like tomorrow.
| Category Advice, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Crowdfunding, Development, Donor Acquisition, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Major Gifts, Marketing, Newsletter, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Public Relations, Publications, Report, Resource, Social Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Volunteerism | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#FUNDRAISING: Maximizing Your Organization’s Return on Fundraising Events
We are pleased to welcome back Susan Emfinger of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. For her previous posts on institutional fundraising, please click here.
In today’s post, I ask readers to imagine a world in which fundraising staff and programmatic work closely together with a variety of “programmatic” events in order to expose the organization to those very individuals who have the financial capacity to enhance and/or to ensure the organizations’ future. My prediction: your fundraising results will surprise you.
Given how much time, energy and effort tends to go into organizing fundraising events, I thought we might start with one question: Just what is a “fundraising” event?
| Category Advocacy, Campaigns, Communications, Community, Conference/Congress, Development, Events, Fundraising, Gala, How-to, Marketing, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Public Relations, Resource, Sustainability | | Comments Off
Written by: Susan Emfinger
#INTERVIEW: Phyllis Freedman, President of SmartGiving and Author of The Planned Giving Blogger
Phyllis Freedman is President of SmartGiving and author of The Planned Giving Blogger. For the past eight years her consulting practice has focused exclusively on planned giving. She previously has held senior management positions in fundraising for several large organizations. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: How long have you been blogging?
PHYLLIS: May will be three years.
MKC: What was your thinking on why to blog?
PHYLLIS: I’ve always had strong opinions – about everything, not just fundraising – and especially in planned giving, there had been some long-held views about how planned giving should be marketed and talked about and how donors should be stewarded, that I didn’t necessarily agree with and that my work with clients suggested might not still be valid. So I thought, why shouldn’t I start communicating my views more widely? As I traveled around in my consulting role, it became increasingly clear to me that planned giving practitioners were looking for a new point of view.
| Category Blogs, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Fundraising, Interview, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Special Series | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin