Community Fund Makes Gains by Appealing to a Sense of Kinship

Over the past two years, tough economic times haven’t stopped the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation from posting the kind of financial numbers most fund raisers would drool over.

In 2008, 158 families, businesses, and individuals opened donor accounts. In 2009, in the midst of one of the worst recessions in American history, that number climbed to 223, and total donations from private sources rose by more than 14 percent.

“Kansas City is an extremely giving environment,” says Laura McKnight, the foundation’s president. “The stats here just blow other places out of the water.”

The strong showing made the Missouri organization one of the more intriguing bright spots in this year’s Philanthropy 400, The Chronicle’s annual ranking of charities that raised the most money from private donations. The community fund ranked No. 83 on this year’s list, reporting that it garnered nearly $200.5-million in private support in 2009.

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is also the organization that has jumped the highest since the Philanthropy 400 was started, leaping 291 slots from its debut at No. 374 on The Chronicle’s first-ever list back in 1991.

The charity’s recent numbers raise an obvious question: How could such healthy increases show up in the midst of such a bleak economy?

Ms. McKnight credits the can-do philanthropic spirit of Kansas City’s residents as well as her organization’s zeal for continuous improvement. One of the smartest things the foundation has done in recent years—and a move she would recommend to others, she says—was to study its market for insight on what motivates the region’s residents to give.

A ‘Midwestern Ethic’

About a year or so ago, the organization asked Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy to analyze charitable giving in Kansas City. The results proved enlightening.

The center found that the region has long exceeded national norms in charitable giving. The growth rate in giving by individuals rose by 128 percent from 1997 to 2007, compared to a 30-percent increase nationally.

Individuals with incomes of $100,000 or more give almost twice the national average to charity each year, and the average annual household gift is 50 percent higher than the national average.

Why? Ms. McKnight says the center’s research suggested Midwesterners are more likely than people in any other region to give because they want to make the community better, as opposed to other common reasons for giving, such as earning tax breaks. “There’s something about this Midwestern ethic of taking care of your neighbor that plays into it,” says Anne St. Peter, chair of the foundation’s board of directors and founder of Global Prairie, a communications consulting firm. “They want to not only do well but to do good also.”

The foundation has reacted accordingly, emphasizing guilt-free, “feel good” giving experiences that capitalize on Kansas City residents’ already-strong inclination toward philanthropy. To pull in as many residents and as much of that community goodwill as possible, the foundation makes it clear that it welcomes all gifts, regardless of size. For example, the group encourages any person, business, or family to set up a donor-advised fund (in which donors can make a gift, reap tax benefits, and later decide which charities should receive their donation). The donor-advised funds require no minimum account balance and charge only a $250 annual administrative fee.

“We cast a very wide net about what it means to be charitable,” Ms. McKnight says. “We impose very few guilt-based limitations on the size of gifts. People writing the big checks are inspired by the people writing the small checks, and vice versa.”

Giving for All Ages

In the past couple of years, the foundation created several new projects to reinforce that notion and to give donors the kind of feel-good experiences that might entice them to give again, and perhaps even give more.

For example, Camp Charity gets kids ages 8 to 15 involved in giving; the four-hour camp gives kids and their parents or grandparents a chance to hear inspiring stories from teenagers who are involved in charitable giving and introduces participants to tools for evaluating charities.

The Teen Philanthropy Institute brings youngsters together to learn about charities and to award more than $10,000 (derived from $500 donations from the kids’ families) to nonprofits of their choice. And the community fund makes extensive use of giving cards that work like retail gift cards, except a payment is processed directly to the designated charity when the card is redeemed through the foundation’s Web site. The cards can be purchased for as little as $10.

“My company gives them every year as holiday gifts,” Ms. St. Peter says. “I give them to my kids’ teachers.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the organization still succeeds in getting high-dollar gifts from wealthy philanthropists and corporations. Its more than 3,000 donor accounts come from clients in 40 states, though most include Kansas City ties.

Ms. McKnight’s advice to other charities, she says, is to study local donors to understand what motivates them and what they want out of their giving. Looking ahead, she says the organization will focus on growing “both ‘wallet share’ and market share,” trying to get new donors and to increase giving from existing ones.

The group also plans to continue creating new donor-friendly products and services, including a “giving university” that will help adults learn more about philanthropy.

Public Information

Despite the generosity of Kansas City’s residents, many other charities in the region have been struggling in the past couple of years, notes Dalton Hermes, a former community foundation board member who is now a donor to the fund. He said the foundation’s rising revenues stand as a testament to the hard work of Ms. McKnight and her staff.

He and Ms. St. Peter both point to what they call the organization’s culture of continuous improvement and innovation. About eight years ago, for instance, it created a database that allows the public to search the group’s research and on-site evaluations of nonprofit organizations. Other foundations are beginning to adopt similar practices, says Ms. McKnight. (Notably, the Seattle Foundation announced in September the creation of a Web site that allows donors to learn about local charities and contribute to them.)

“That community foundation runs as much like a business as any nonprofit organization I’ve ever been associated with,” says Mr. Hermes, owner of a landscaping firm. “It’s not flawless execution, but it’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen.”