March 6, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Jeff Brooks, who writes the Donor Power Blog, says charities need to take donor-advised funds very seriously.
There is a lot of money flowing into them — several sit at the top of The Chronicle Philanthropy 400 list and others are sprinkled throughout — and, from a donor’s perspective, they’re “darn cool,” he says. (Mr. Brooks says he recently started a donor-advised fund). People who start such funds donate money, get an immediate tax charity break, and then can decide over time how much to give to specific causes.
So how can charities win more money from these funds?
Among his tips:
- Make sure the name that people know your charity by is the same name it is registered by. If not, donors will have a difficult time finding your group.
- Ensure that your tax identification number is easy to locate.
- On your Web site, direct donors to how they can give through a donor-advised fund.
- Acknowledge donors if they choose not to be anonymous. (According to Mr. Brooks, it’s easy to give anonymously through a donor-advised fund. So if donors don’t give anonymously, they want to be acknowledged).
- Don’t send a receipt, because the donor was already sent one when they deposited their money through the fund.
- Send a nice letter. If the gift was large enough, assign a representative to do more to develop a relationship with a donor.
- Give the donor choices. Does the donor want to be added to your mailing list, and how often — or how little — does that person want to be contacted?
Do you have other advice for raising money through donor-advised funds?
