NonProfit Pro

A proposal by Gov. Paul LePage to end property tax exemptions for many nonprofit organizations in Maine has raised deep concern among leaders at southern York County institutions including York Hospital, Berwick Academy and the Museums of Old York. And for good reason. According to assessing records, York Hospital has tax-exempt property valued at $22 million and Berwick Academy, $14 million. The Museums of Old York has property valued at more than $5 million.

This old dog knows that there is much we can't control as fundraisers — but having "Plan B" in place can save the day, or at least make it less devastating for our fundraising.

Recent tweets on grants (#grants).

In communicating with your donors, whether it be a website or mailing — electronic or physical — focus on the relationships. Risk a little. Risk looking foolish. Make your investors smile. They'll love you for it. When you ask them to step up their support, they'll sense the human connection and respond.

UBS is rolling out a new philanthropic offering to its U.S. wealth-management clients, and it has committed to match, in some cases, their entire donations. The Swiss firm announced the expansion of its 16-year-old UBS Optimus Foundation to U.S. investors at an event for clients in New York last week.

UBS Americas Chief Executive Robert “Bob” McCann says the rollout fills a void as customers look to the firm to help them with more than just investments.

Huge gifts to universities continued to grow for the second year in a row in 2014, with 43 donations of more than $50 million, according to an annual study. Those mega-gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations reached their highest level in the 16 years that Marts & Lundy, a philanthropy consultant, has tracked large donations to higher education. The study includes contributions to university hospitals and medical centers and exclude bequests.

Many organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) get themselves into trouble, legally and by reputation, for abusing email. Whether it’s a solicitation or an innocuous organization update, many emails and newsletters can find themselves in a spam folder faster than you can hit send.

These issues typically stem from a misunderstanding in who and how you can and cannot email, even after procuring an email address.

Be a worthy cause, and be a group that people want to be associated with — from your mission to how you fulfill it to how you fundraise. And be sure that your donors, at every level, know that they are appreciated.  

(Press release, Feb. 18, 2015) — CrowdDefend, a crowdfunding platform for the legal space, launches its service to the public this week. The platform seeks to expand access to justice for individuals, organizations and businesses that can't otherwise afford to pay for legal representation, court fees and associated trial costs. CrowdDefend can be accessed at www.crowddefend.com.

Today I'm sharing with you the three most overused, most boring and least useful words ever to be used in fundraising appeals.