Fundraising Talks News and updates from the USM Office of Advancement Research

Upcoming Events Best Practice Webinar: Mapping Strategies for Inclusive Prospect Development - PART I When: April 28 Partner Webinar: How Big Data Changed Your Donors’ Expectations, And What You Need To Do Now When: May 5 Mapping Strategies for Inclusive Prospect Development - PART II When: May 12 Best Practice Webinar: Understanding the Impact of Prospect Development When: May 19 Tell Me More... Looking for funding opportunities? We've identified a few funds that might be useful to you. Visit the links below to learn more about the requirements and deadlines for these opportunities.    Simons Foundation (Deadline: May 14, 2021) The Transformational Partnerships Fund Challenge Opportunity (Deadline: Rolling) William T. Grant Foundation (Deadline: July 7, 2021) Charles Koch Foundation (no deadline) The Abell Foundation Education Workforce Development (Deadlines: May 3, July 1, October 15) Useful Links Research Resources  Office of Advancement  University System of Maryland   Contact Us Sapna Varghese Director of Advancement Research 301.445.2709 Sandra Nicholes Prospect Researcher 301.445.1952 Bethany Jones Office Clerk 301.445.1950 Letter from the Director Dear Colleagues, April brings joy to many of us as we see more sunshine and the emergence of beautiful flowers and blooming trees, and perhaps a sense of optimism about a return to normal life. Last month, we shared some insights from a survey by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. As you may have noticed, many of the predictions outlined in the report were dependent on favorable future economic factors. We remain optimistic about the future as more and more vaccines roll out. We hope that activities will resume in the coming months, despite not knowing what the new normal may look like. It is certainly exciting to hear about the re-opening plans at many organizations and higher education institutions.   The Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) 2019-2020 Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) annual survey findings show a slight decline in charitable giving to U.S. higher education institutions - but the total figure is almost unchanged from the previous year’s findings. Giving to U.S. higher education institutions totaled roughly $49.50 billion from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. An interesting finding to note is that giving from “other organizations” exceeded support from corporations. This category of “other organizations” indicates an increase in charitable giving through the use of donor advised funds (DAFs). Giving from DAFs accounted for nearly three-quarters of the category’s $6.74 billion total. The findings also confirm that over half (55.5 percent) of all voluntary support came from alumni ($11.06 billion) and foundation ($16.44 billion) giving. There was a four percent increase in giving from non-alumni individuals in 2020. Giving to operations that felt most compelling to donors and that would have an impact on immediate needs such as student emergency funds, research dollars, and relief efforts saw an increase.  The VSE report findings reveal that there has been an increase in giving by DAFs. This means that institutions should have processes in place to identify, research, and accept these types of gifts so that they may continue to cultivate and steward DAF donors. Online and mobile giving has also seen growth in recent months, which points to the need for institutions to examine their online and mobile engagement strategies. Based on these findings, we hope you are able to adopt and implement fundraising strategies that will improve fundraising goals. As always, feel free to reach out us with questions, comments or any assistance with prospect research! Best Regards, Sapna and USM Advancement Research Team Did you know? The University System of Maryland Foundation has access to a library of recorded webinars from the Annual Giving Network (AGN) that you may watch at any time from your computer. While we cannot currently gather in person for professional development events, this work from home period provides a great opportunity for you to learn on your own time! Please click here to see what webinars are available from AGN.   If you are interested, please email Linda Bowman (lbowman@usmd.edu) and she will help you access these webinars for free. Please do not try to access these webinars on your own, as you will be charged a fee. Please also note that the Foundation only has access to free AGN webinars, not workshops. Workshops are available at a marginally discounted rate.

COVID-19 Research: What We Found and Why It Matters

In May 2020, the Lily School of Philanthropy fielded a survey asking households how the pandemic impacted their philanthropic activities. This article takes a deep dive into the findings of the survey and why they matter. The main finding was that while a majority of Americans engaged in some kind of philanthropic activity in the spring of 2020, households were more likely to report their charitable giving had decreased rather than increased. Click here to read more.

Engaging the Next Generation of Philanthropists

Engaging the next generation of donors is essential to the longevity of fundraising at your organization. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to cultivating Millennial and Gen Z donors: everyone is different. Get to know your donors on an individual level and understand their motivations and passions. On a whole, Gen Z is more spontaneous with their giving and they look to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Gen Z donors are more interested on public recognition for their actions, especially online. Similar to Gen Z, Millennials are closest to organizations that directly reflect their values. Millennials will research a nonprofit or make a connection with an organization before making a gift. Click here to read more. This article features an in-depth chart on how to engage Gen Z and Millennials from communication methods to preferred involvement opportunities.

Four Trends To Expect For Spring 2021 Fundraising Campaigns

GivingMail expects to see organizations do the following in their spring fundraising campaigns: Emphasize mobile giving. Appeal to younger donors. Revisit corporate partnerships. Invest in AI-powered solutions. GivingMail encourages organizations to integrate these elements into their fundraising campaigns, noting that organizations that do not keep up with the latest developments and trends risk falling out of touch with their donors. Read more about how your institution can implement these trends here.

How To Avoid Security Breaches In The Nonprofit Sector

With many fundraising offices working from home and accessing data systems from personal computers, there is a higher risk of data breaches. Taking precautionary steps to protect your organization's data can help defend against potential breaches. Forbes suggests doing the following at your organization: Form a data and cybersecurity governance committee. Consider a move to the cloud. Educate your employees on data security. Establish a culture of protection. Read more here.

Deepening Donor Relationships and Doubling Down on Mission Leads to Fundraising Success

This article comes from a series on how fundraisers have responded to the challenges of the pandemic. This particular article discusses how fundraisers have stayed connected with donors throughout the pandemic. Development Officer Rebecca Dutton at Memorial University of Newfoundland conducted conversations with donors via email, virtual meetings, and phone calls, as well as socially distanced meetings in a botanical garden. Other fundraisers found that the pandemic provided a good opportunity to get to know donors on a deeper level, as they were isolated and hungry for conversation. Like many USM institutions, student emergency funds were an important part of fundraising strategies. Furthermore, many institutions used stories about alumni working on the front lines. Click here to read more.