Posted by Ruzanna Tantushyan on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 @ 09:36 AM
Campbell & Company is excited to announce five different events to discuss the implications of the Giving USA 2012 report for nonprofits in all fields.
Giving USA 2012 series of events will give you a powerful tool for understanding and navigating the current philanthropic environment. You will learn about broad and sector-specific philanthropic trends, potential opportunities and challenges going forward, and implications for your fundraising goals and strategies.
We have a truly exciting lineup of panelists and industry leaders, so familiarize yourself with our program and register for an event of your preference:
You can follow and join in the conversation on Twitter using the tag #GivingUSA2012.
Giving USA 2012, the report on sources and uses of philanthropy in the United States for the 2011 calendar year, was compiled by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University for the Giving USA Foundation. The national results from Giving USA reflect all charitable giving to all charitable organizations in the United States. The study provides information to help nonprofit organizations understand factors that affect fundraising success. Public release of the study throughout the U.S. is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19.
Posted by Ruzanna Tantushyan on Wed, Apr 11, 2012 @ 11:34 AM
Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) recently announced that charitable giving is up for the first time since the recent economic crisis struck in 2007. Reasons vary from rising stock market indices, positive outlook on declining rates of unemployment to an overall positive trend in different economy sectors around the world.
According to the latest report by NRC 53 percent of the organizations saw an increase in contributions in 2011, compared with 2010.
A closer look at the NRC’s latest report shows that:
• In addition to raising more funds in 2011, 59 percent of the organizations met their fundraising goal in 2011.
• Just 16 percent saw charitable receipts remained flat in 2011, compared with 24 percent a year ago.
• Less than a third saw contributions fall in 2011. A big change from the 46 percent in 2009 that experienced a decline.
• Organizations in the international subsector were more likely to report an increase in charitable receipts for all of 2011.
• Most charities used a range of fundraising methods. On average, respondents used 8 of 10 different fundraising techniques.
• Board members—especially in organizations with $1 million or more in expenditures—were likely to be involved in fundraising in a combination of ways.
• Larger organizations (based on expenditures) were more likely to see growth in charitable receipts than were smaller organizations.
Expectations in 2012
Positive changes at the end of 2010, the latest performance of the stock market as well as the indicators of the Gross Domestic Product paint a predominantly positive outlook for 2012. More than 70 percent of organizations anticipate increases in charitable contributions. However, in spite of a more stable landscape, about a third of the surveyed said that the economy, both nationally and globally, is the greatest challenge to fundraising this year.
For NRC’s complete report please click here.
Posted by Sarah Barnes on Wed, Apr 04, 2012 @ 01:39 PM
What are the rules your organization lives by? Submit your nonprofit rule and become eligible to win an iPod Nano.
To give you an idea of other nonprofit rules, we've listed some examples below:
Rule #1
WORRYING IS NOT A FUNDRAISING STRATEGY.
Rule #20
FUNDRAISING IS A TEAM SPORT.
Rule #2
COPERNICUS WAS WRONG. THE EARTH REVOLVES AROUND YOUR DONORS.
Rule #3
“IT’S COMPLICATED” IS A STATUS FOR FACEBOOK, NOT DONOR RELATIONSHIPS.
Contest Rules
1. Rules must be the original work of the participant.
2. Rules must be in English.
3. Rules must not exceed over 65 characters (with spaces).
4. Participants can enter in as many nonprofit rules as they wish.
5. Best rules will be selected by a committee selected by Campbell & Company.
6. If your rule is chosen to be in the 2013 Nonprofit Rules Ad Campaign, your name and organization will be listed within the campaign ad (pending your permission).
7. The 2012 "submit your rule" contest runs from February 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
Think you've got a good rule? Submit Your Rule Here.
Posted by Sarah Barnes on Wed, Feb 15, 2012 @ 04:15 PM
Campbell & Company congratulates Alverno College!
As of December 31, 2011, six months into the fiscal year, the Alverno College Annual Fund is tracking 40% ahead of results from the previous year. Alverno College's success has been achieved through a dedicated and talented team focused on new and increased gifts.
For each segment of the campaign - Individuals, Corporations, Foundations, Trustees - a goal was set for new / increased dollars to be raised. Strategies were put in place to reach those specific dollar goals. Strategies underway that are contributing to the 40% increase to date are:
- Board of Trustees Challenge Grant: The Board of Trustees were asked to increase their personal gifts to create a challenge pool for the new / increased dollar goal set for individuals. Not only did the Trustees beat their division goal, but to date $141,000 of this $200,000 Trustee challenge pool has been matched by other alumni and friends.
- Requests of $1,000+ to Individuals: The staff made a chart to show donors how many new gifts were needed at levels of $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000 to meet the increased Annual Fund goal. The chart, used at all donor cultivation events and in one-on-one meetings, showed prospective donors how many others have increased their giving and how many more people were needed to give in order to meet students’ increased scholarship need.
In addition to these strategies, two other efforts have contributed to the team’s success:
- The telefunding program was moved in-house this fiscal year to use student callers instead of a contracted firm. Telefunding results are up 22%.
- Donor cultivation events and alumnae relations events were expanded dramatically a year ago, giving gift officers more ways to reach out to their prospects. This increased the number of donors the Advancement Team knows personally and increased donors’ contacts with the College, helping to build greater affinity and better understanding of need.
Posted by Sarah Barnes on Sun, Feb 05, 2012 @ 06:49 PM
February 4, 2012: Campbell & Company's Peter Fissinger, President, and Julia McGuire, Vice President, recently led a pre-conference session at the 2012 CASE-NAIS conference. Lucinda Lee Katz, Head of School for Marin Country Day School, and Kim Roberts, Director of Advancement for Castilleja School, joined Peter and Julia for an interactive presentation.
The conference session, "Planning Makes Perfect," included important pre-campaign planning strategies for independent schools. The session also covered characteristics of effective fundraising and how to create a culture of philanthropy.
To view the presentation PDF, please click here.
About Campbell & Company
Campbell & Company is a national consulting firm offering advancement planning, fundraising, marketing communications and executive search for nonprofit organizations in education, health and medicine, arts and culture, environment, social service, and professional societies.
Through thirty-five years and thousands of engagements, Campbell & Company has helped nonprofit organizations anticipate and manage the challenges of the philanthropic marketplace. Campbell & Company’s offices are located in Chicago, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC. For more information, please telephone (877) 957-0000 toll‑free, email info@campbellcompany.com or visit www.campbellcompany.com.
Posted by Rebecca Gschwend on Thu, Jan 19, 2012 @ 10:40 AM
By Lisa Chiu
A study released today from a foundation watchdog group says that advocacy efforts by charities can pay off, to the tune of billions of dollars to communities.
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy study examined 110 charities in 13 states and found that work such as pushing for more aid to schools and housing for the poor resulted in $26.6-billion in benefits to communities over five years. Money for the campaigns came from foundations and other donors.
The study comes as the watchdog group is urging foundations to step up their spending on efforts to influence public policy and running a campaign called Philanthropy’s Promise, which asks grant makers to commit to devoting at least 25 percent of their grants each year to advocacy.
Altogether, the report said, the charities spent $231-million on efforts to influence policy makers and the public, meaning every $1 spent led to a $115 benefit to communities, the report says.
Some philanthropy experts say the estimates are not a reliable measure of what charities can achieve. William Schambra, director of the Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal at the Hudson Institute says it’s too hard to say that it was precisely the work of the charities that led to the policy changes.
“Any time you try to relate a very specific cause to a very large effect, you’re running into trouble,” Mr. Schambra says. “The notion that a foundation investing X amount of dollars led to this incredible piece of legislation overlooks a few other things, like most of politics, most of economics, and most of culture.”
The report combines the findings of seven studies by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. The three-year project was paid for by $1-million in grants provided by many foundations.
Posted by Sarah Barnes on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 02:05 PM
Campbell & Company, a leading national nonprofit fundraising consulting and executive search firm headquartered in Chicago, expands its D.C. office with the addition of Dirk Sellers, Vice President.
The addition of Dirk Sellers is part of Campbell & Company’s long-range strategic plan to strengthen its ability to deliver quality fundraising, communications and executive search services nationwide.
“Dirk’s wealth of management and fundraising experience as a consultant and practitioner further strengthens our ability to provide valuable services to the nonprofits we serve,” says Peter Fissinger, President of Campbell & Company. “With our commitment to providing the deepest insights and strongest solutions for our clients, we are delighted to welcome him to our team.”
About Dirk Sellers
Dirk Sellers brings more than 20 years of professional experience in nonprofit management and fundraising in international development, health and human services, education, national associations, and religious institutions to Campbell & Company. Dirk has hands-on experience in developing and implementing successful fundraising strategies, board, staff and leadership relations, and volunteer engagements.
Prior to joining Campbell & Company, Dirk was Executive Director and President of the GAVI Fund, the U.S. arm of the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunization). GAVI aims to improve health in the developing world by accelerating access to vaccines and strengthening health systems. Dirk oversaw a complex reorganization that led to a refocusing of the U.S. entity on private philanthropy and advocacy. He secured many of GAVI’s first lead investments from the private sector, including six- and seven-figure gifts from individuals and corporate partners.
Dirk also served as an executive at a national consulting firm, where he collaborated with a range of clients including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB United Nations Foundation; Gonzaga College High School in Washington; White Plains Hospital Center; and the Diocese of Raleigh. He helped design and implement a professional development and training program for the firm’s client services team and received award recognition for customer service, development of collateral materials, and innovative work across a number of engagements.
Dirk is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is also a certified commercial pilot and has completed coursework toward a Master’s degree in community leadership.
About Campbell & Company
Campbell & Company is a national consulting firm offering advancement planning, fundraising, marketing communications and executive search for nonprofit organizations in education, health and medicine, arts and culture, environment, social service, and professional societies.
Through thirty-five years and thousands of engagements, Campbell & Company has helped nonprofit organizations anticipate and manage the challenges of the philanthropic marketplace. Campbell & Company’s offices are located in Chicago, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC. For more information, please telephone (877) 957-0000 toll‑free, email info@campbellcompany.com or visit www.campbellcompany.com.
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Posted by Sarah Barnes on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 09:40 AM
Campbell & Company, a leading national nonprofit fundraising consulting and executive search firm headquartered in Chicago, kicks off the new year with a fresh rebranding, celebrating its 36th year of partnering with more than 1500 clients.
Since 1976, Campbell & Company has helped nonprofits achieve their fundraising and staffing goals. The new visual representation of the company appears in the company’s new advertising campaign, collateral and website.
“When we started the rebranding process, we went straight to our clients and asked them what they thought about us. Organizations see us as true partners who carefully listen to their needs and develop sound, tailored strategies for their fundraising programs. The new Campbell & Company brand features clearer, more refined messaging that not only captures our accomplishments to date, but also shows where we will be as we continue to enhance our service offerings,” states Sarah Barnes, Director of Marketing & Communications for Campbell & Company.
About Campbell & Company
Campbell & Company is a national consulting firm offering advancement planning, fundraising, communications and executive search for nonprofit organizations in education, health and medicine, arts and culture, environment, social service, and professional societies.
Through thirty-five years and thousands of engagements, Campbell & Company has helped nonprofit organizations anticipate and manage the challenges of the philanthropic marketplace. Campbell & Company’s offices are located in Chicago, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC. For more information, please telephone (877) 957-0000 toll‑free, email info@campbellcompany.com or visit www.campbellcompany.com.
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Posted by Sarah Barnes on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 @ 03:41 PM
CHICAGO, January 2012 - Campbell & Company, a leading nonprofit national consulting and executive search firm headquartered in Chicago, is excited to announce the addition of Molly Stack, Associate Consultant, San Francisco Bay Area office.
“We are excited to welcome Molly Stack in our San Francisco Bay Area office. Having over 10 years of fundraising management experience from a variety of institutions, Molly will enhance Campbell & Company’s capacity to serve its clients on the west coast,” states Peter Fissinger, President, Campbell & Company.
About Molly Stack:
Molly Stack’s career in fundraising management for community development, education and human service organizations spans a decade. She brings a commitment to mission fulfillment to each engagement, encouraging big-picture thinking to transform organizations.
Molly joins Campbell & Company from Architecture for Humanity, where she served for three years. As Development Director, and during her tenure, Molly facilitated major donor solicitation, supported the Board of Directors, and initiated and managed corporate promotions and sponsorships. In response to the March 11, 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, she drove a rebuilding fundraising program that secured $1.4 million in private, corporate and foundation support combined.
Prior to this, Molly served as Campaign Associate at the Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, where she worked closely with Board Members, staff leaders and colleagues in securing more than $9 million in capital campaign gifts and multi-year commitments.
Molly’s professional experience includes serving as Development Associate for the ALS Association, Greater Bay Area Chapter, where her careful segmentation of the donor pool was integral to substantial Annual Fund growth. Molly started her development career at FUND Consulting in Chicago, IL and as a development intern at the Chicago Children’s Museum.
Molly graduated from DePaul University in Chicago’s Honors Program with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in communications. She serves on the Development Committee of the Daraja Academy in Kenya, Africa.
About Campbell & Company
Campbell & Company is a national consulting firm offering advancement planning, fundraising, communications and executive search for nonprofit organizations in education, health and medicine, arts and culture, environment, social service, and professional societies.
Through thirty-five years and thousands of engagements, Campbell & Company has helped nonprofit organizations anticipate and manage the challenges of the philanthropic marketplace. Campbell & Company’s offices are located in Chicago, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC. For more information, please telephone (877) 957-0000 toll‑free, email info@campbellcompany.com or visit www.campbellcompany.com.
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Posted by Rebecca Gschwend on Wed, Dec 07, 2011 @ 09:45 AM
Written by Holly Hall
This fall, the Jewelers’ Building, an imposing Art Deco building here, was bathed in orange light to mark Hunger Action Month and call attention to the mission of one of its tenants, a national network of more than 200 food banks.
For Feeding America, the umbrella group that represents food banks, the first-time display of color was a coming-out party of sorts, as the once-quiet organization has transformed itself into a fund-raising powerhouse.
Behind those efforts is a new leader, Vickie B. Escarra, who left the top marketing job at Delta Airlines to take over the charity in 2006.
Food-bank leaders nationwide say Ms. Escarra’s leadership is a key reason that even amid the economic downturn, Feeding America will manage to increase contributions to nearly $115-million in the fiscal year that ends in June, compared with $33-million in her first year.
What’s more, the group has raised nearly half of the $500-million it hopes to garner in a five-year drive that started in 2009.
The organization has also increased pounds of donated food by 57 percent.
Such gains enabled food banks to aid 37 million people last year, a number that has grown by 46 percent in the past five years.
To be sure, the economic turmoil the nation has endured during Ms. Escarra’s tenure has made it easier for groups that provide basic necessities to make their case for donations.
But food-bank veterans say her decisions to transform the charity’s image, restructure its fund-raising staff, and make other changes has enabled the nonprofit organization to reach out to a broad range of national companies and wealthy Americans who had never previously paid much attention to food banks.
A Better Name
One of Ms. Escarra’s first and boldest moves was to champion a name change at the group, which had been known by some variation of the name Second Harvest for more than 30 years.
Anne Goodman, president of the Cleveland Foodbank, says that Ms. Escarra realized right away that Second Harvest’s name was a stumbling block to fund raising because it doesn’t say what the group does.
“It takes guts to say, 'I’m going to invest the assets of a charity in marketing,’ but she had the vision to do it, and it paid off,” Ms. Goodman says.
The new name helped persuade many companies that they wanted to be associated with an organization providing relief from the growing hunger problem in the United States.
More than 70 companies now give at least $150,000 annually in cash support, up from 31 before the name change. Today companies donate more than $33-million in cash annually, up from nearly $7-million.
Expanded Services
Beyond promoting the new name, Ms. Escarra has worked to help food banks become more efficient and expand their services to vulnerable Americans.
Many of those efforts have been underwritten by big corporate gifts, including a five-year pledge by Wal-Mart last year to provide 1.1 billion pounds of donated food.
Wal-Mart has also given $20-million this year to pay for refrigerated trucks and other efforts to help food banks better distribute products.
The retail giant Target is another big supporter, providing millions of pounds of food and $4.5-million to help local food banks feed children.
The Maryland Food Bank, in Baltimore, has received three Target grants totaling $200,000 to expand the food pantries it operates in public schools, where needy parents can choose grocery items when they pick up their children.
“As parents come to access food, they are also connecting with their kids’ education,” says Deborah Flateman, chief executive of the Maryland Food Bank.
With the Target grants, the food bank now operates pantries in 140 schools, up from 40. The expansion has helped persuade other donors to give because they like the combination of pushing education and nutrition, says Ms. Flateman.
Nontraditional Donors
While Wal-Mart, Target, and other companies that sell food have long supported food banks, Ms. Escarra has managed to greatly expand donations from other types of businesses, including pharmaceutical, insurance, and financial-services companies.
She helped persuade Morgan Stanley last year to commit more than $5-million in support over two years to expand a Feeding America program that fills the backpacks of needy kids with nutritious food before they leave school and return home for the weekend.
Morgan Stanley also helped Feeding America raise its profile by paying $1.2-million for a series of advertisements that appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal during the last three months of 2010.
“We wanted to bring attention to this issue among an audience where Feeding America traditionally has not had an opportunity to promote its work,” says Joan Steinberg, president of the Morgan Stanley Foundation.
Fund-Raising Powerhouse
Ms. Escarra also actively helps food banks raise money from local donors.
She says she spends nearly 70 percent of her working hours traveling outside Chicago, largely to work on fund raising. For instance, she hopped a flight to Tulsa last month to attend a dinner to honor Sara Waggoner, the outgoing chief executive at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
In her two hours in Tulsa, Ms. Escarra spent half the time doing interviews with local reporters and the rest of the evening wooing donors at the dinner.
Just before the event, the food bank had raised $167,000, says Ms. Waggoner. “Vicki asked folks to make an additional gift, and we raised $223,000, the biggest amount we’ve ever raised with a single event.”
Ms. Escarra has also worked with local food banks to identify donors who might be interested in supporting national hunger-fighting efforts.
For example, the charity successfully appealed to Dennis L. Jilot, chairman of STR Holdings, an Enfield, Conn., company that makes solar products, for a $2.5-million gift to be split among Feeding America and food banks in Nevada and Wisconsin, where his family has roots.
Corporate Satisfaction
One reason Feeding America has been able to pull off such big increases in corporate gifts and donations from wealthy people is that it is spending a lot more money to seek donations than ever before.
Soon after Ms. Escarra’s arrival, a board member was so impressed, he mentioned the new chief executive’s work to the Lincy Foundation, the billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s philanthropy.
One day Ms. Escarra received a call from three Lincy officials who invited her to submit a multimillion-dollar proposal to improve the food-bank network over the next five years.
Since then, Feeding America has gotten $62-million from Lincy, some of which has been used to hire more fund raisers.
After getting the infusion, Ms. Escarra says, “we began a strategy of fund raising rather than it being an afterthought.”
A key change was reorganizing the way Feeding America seeks corporate support.
The charity previously assigned one group of staff members to seek outright corporate gifts and another to handle marketing deals with businesses that wanted to tie donations to product sales. But that “drove companies crazy,” says Amy Franze, Feeding America’s chief philanthropy officer.
Ms. Franze combined the two corporate divisions into one and assigned several fund raisers to serve as the primary contact for a handful of corporate supporters. As a result, Ms. Franze says, “corporate satisfaction is now much higher.”
Feeding America has expanded the overall fund-raising staff from five to 30, including several new major gift officers, one person to focus on bequests, and three to conduct research on potential donors, a job that had been handled by one person in the past.
With help from a fund-raising consultant, Feeding America has also started a new project to help fund raisers form personal contacts with donors who give $1,000 or more.
Worries About Cuts
While Feeding America has achieved record increases in private donations in the past five years, Ms. Escarra and other food-bank leaders worry about cuts in government support.
Food banks get about a quarter of their fruits, vegetables, and other items through a federal program that buys excess goods from farmers and manufacturers, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the program isn’t needed now to meet its original purpose: making up for low food prices.
The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which has received more than 30 percent of its food from the federal program in recent years, is already feeling the pinch.
“We are down right now by about 40 percent in commodities, and we are working twice as hard because demand is still high,” says Bill Bolling, the executive director. “It’s harder now than it was early in the recession.”
To Ms. Escarra, such challenges are just one more illustration of how complicated it is to run Feeding America.
At Delta, she says, she faced many big challenges, especially after the 2001 terrorist attacks, when a third of the company’s planes were grounded and “we were bleeding money.” But this job is tougher.
“It is a misnomer that the nonprofit sector is easier,” says Ms. Escarra. “It’s more rewarding than the corporate sector but every bit as challenging.”
Click here to view the article.