Roundup: New Challenges and Opportunities in Raising Major Gifts
Creativity in approaching donors — and in finding the right people to make those personal appeals — can give charities an edge. The Chronicle offers a roundup of its top coverage of the quest to secure big gifts.
Businessman Gives $115 Million to Boston U. for Life Sciences and Engineering
Rajen Kilachand, an alumnus born in Mumbai, India, says he is inspired by U.S. higher education: “No place does it with such integrity and honesty.”
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Daily News Roundup: $14.5 Million Raised in Star-Studded Benefit for Hurricane Relief
Also, Caribbean survivors of Irma worry they will be forgotten. In other news, George Soros’s foundation has a new acting leader, a billionaire WhatsApp co-founder is starting a foundation, and the Obama Foundation has announced a summit and training sessions to get students and young adults more active in civic life.
Gates Report Stresses Need for Philanthropy Amid Aid Cuts
The nation’s largest grant-maker issues a report card meant to underscore deep worries that the world is in danger of backsliding on a broad range of international-development objectives.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Giving Big, Giving Early: How to Connect With Wealthy Young Donors
To inspire rich millennials to give, be prepared to listen and introduce them to philanthropic mentors.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: Irma Prompts Wave of Giving From Corporations
Also, donors have many ways to give to hurricane relief, and Puerto Ricans travel to the Virgin Islands to aid victims. In other news, nonprofits brace for possible changes to the tax code that they fear could reduce giving.
Major Gifts Follow When Fundraisers Adhere to a Research Plan Consistently, Study Says
Other tactics that work include seeking referrals from donors for other potential donors and tracking supporters’ online engagement with the charity.
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: Trump Tweets Support for Churches Seeking Disaster Aid
Also, some contributions for hurricane relief won’t be used until spring. In other news, nonprofits are seeking help from branding and marketing professionals to get their message out, and a philanthropist explains why she won’t be hosting events at Mar-a-Lago anymore.
Gifts Roundup: Trumps Announce Recipients of $1 Million for Hurricane Relief
The largest sums will go to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. Also, Babson College gets a $36 million donation for programs and a new building, and the University of Texas at Austin receives $25 million for the School of Social Work.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Daily News Roundup: Trump Inaugural Committee Still Hasn’t Donated Promised Millions
Also, the nonprofit My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, which grew out of an Obama program, is merging with the former president’s foundation. And food activist Michael Jacobson is stepping down from Center for Science in the Public Interest, which he co-founded and led for 46 years.
Improved Finances and Trump Spur Donors to Give More, Survey Finds
To attract more gifts from affluent donors, fundraisers should ask them to support specific projects and avoid asking for unrestricted dollars, says Penelope Burk, who conducted the study.
By Timothy Sandoval
Contributor
5 Smart Fundraising Tips From Wealthy Donors
Rich people are often bombarded with gift requests. The Chronicle mined its recent coverage for the best suggestions on how fundraisers can elevate their organization’s pitch above the din.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Daily News Roundup: Trump Names Recipients of $1 Million Harvey-Relief Donation
Also, the American Red Cross responds to a reporter who urged people not to give to the group, the Gates Foundation gives $120 million to a Seattle vaccine charity, and the co-chair of a think tank that fired a Google critic says the company played no role in his ouster.
Daily News Roundup: Advocates Press Congress on Dreamers Legislation
Also, Laurene Powell Jobs’s nonprofit cites Ronald Reagan in political ads denouncing the White House decision to end a program protecting undocumented immigrants who came to this country as children. And two decades of lobbying by conservative groups fueled Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate accords.
Raising Money From the 21st Century Family
Increasingly complex family structures and nontraditional households pose new challenges for nonprofit fundraising.
Nearly half of adults are not married, and charities are finding that their giving is anything but traditional.
By Eden Stiffman and Megan O’Neil