Fundraising Talks
News and updates from the USM Office of
Advancement Research
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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. 
 
(Deadline: October 1, 2021) 

(Deadline: October 12, 2021)

(No Deadline)
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Director of Advancement Research
301.445.2709

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Letter from the Director
Happy Fall! Welcome to the September edition of Fundraising Talks. As the weather turns cooler and the leaves turn brighter, fundraisers across the USM are facing new challenges and adjusting to new norms, thanks to the pandemic. In addition to navigating all of this, we hope you are getting ready to achieve successful year-end fundraising goals. In June, the Biden administration announced a bipartisan deal on infrastructure with tax proposals and changes that may effect high-net-worth donors. With this in mind, fundraisers can encourage these donors to utilize the existing tax provisions and rates while they last, which may be a useful year-end fundraising strategy.

"Six charitable giving opportunities to present to donors before the Biden administration’s tax changes take effect," a blog by GG&A outlines strategies that planned giving officers may use to increase year-end giving. The following are six steps mentioned in the article that you may find helpful when soliciting donors:

  1. Encourage donors to take advantage of the 100 percent charitable giving deduction for cash gifts in 2021. Donors are able to deduct 100 percent of cash donations to qualifying public charities. 
  2. This is an ideal time to take advantage of potential tax savings on a stock gift, as capital gains tax rates are expected to rise.
  3. Approach donors of at least 60 years old to make a charitable gift annuity, since this is the final year that the AGI limit for cash contributions is 100 percent.
  4. Use charitable remainder unitrusts, which enable donors to make a gift to a trust and receive variable income for life, with the remainder of the income going to the nonprofit(s).
  5. Donors can bunch charitable giving this year to maximize benefits by consolidating tax-deductible donations that would be normally be made over many years.
  6. Donors can take advantage of low interest rates by creating a charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT).

In addition to these strategies, there is also a new report on gender and crowdfunding, by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, about the impact of COVID-19 on giving by women. Although the pandemic negatively affected women and their overall giving, the study reveals that crowdfunding or collective giving was of particular appeal to women. The report provides some guidance to fundraisers on how to increase contributions from both men and women, especially in relation to crowdfunding. Even though women and men give to crowdfunding at similar rates, women tend to have different patterns of giving and opinions about crowdfunding. The data from this report validates that one-third of women, many of whom are younger and diverse, are already contributing to crowdfunding campaigns. When trying to connect with new potential donors, fundraisers may consider these key components of women’s philanthropy:

  • Depth: Provide opportunities for donors to learn about fundraising campaigns before they are asked to donate. This is especially important for women, who like to learn and investigate about recipient organizations before making their donations.
  • Trust: Fundraisers can utilize increased personalized communication with potential women donors to build understanding and trust for giving through crowdfunding sources.
  • Community: Since women enjoy giving with others in their community, crowdfunding platforms should provide the feeling of connection, rather than just a financial transaction.

I hope that the information provided in this newsletter helps you in devising new end-of-year giving opportunities to maximize giving through the end of 2021. 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.
This article from CASE addresses the new normal in higher education and touches on everything from navigating office re-entry, to finding a balance with remote working, to vaccine mandates on campuses, to the future of engagement, and more. Overall, CASE acknowledges that empathy from leaders is key, as well as realizing there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution as we emerge from the pandemic. Click here to read how other institutions around the country are tackling the new normal.
At the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, staff uses a tumbleweed approach to screening, which has been in place since 2017 and has led to enhanced capacity insights and better engagement of constituents. This article explains how the team at WFAA developed a method for timely, strategic screening. It also covers what the tumbleweed approach is, WFAA's initial results using the process, and how you can implement the process at your own institution.
During the pandemic, many donors gave as a positive way to make a difference when they felt helpless in other aspects of their lives. Liz FitzGerald, Director of Development at ACLU spoke to Giving USA about retaining donors who were emotional response givers. She suggests defining your retention goals - whether it is retaining donors from a specific geographical area or exceeding a historic first-time renewal rate; testing different aspects of your mission on these donors; taking risks with messaging, methods, and channels; using data to craft approaches; educating organizational partners on your goals; and showing the impact of the donor's dollar.
The Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum surveyed program leaders to understand how they’re adjusting their peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns as we continue to live with COVID-19 and how they're planning for 2022. The following five trends emerged:

  1. Hybrid is the new in person.
  2. Participants expect more from the event experience.
  3. Retention trumps acquisition.
  4. Campaigns are becoming year-round events.
  5. Equity is becoming a big priority.
Key metrics such as the number of donors, the number of gifts, donor retention percentage, and acquisition costs are always at the forefront of annual giving officer's minds. When driving growth with new donors, specifically donors that gave their first gift during the pandemic, GG+A suggests flagging these donors in your database with a solicitation code such as "COVID-19 donor." It's possible that these donors will not look or act the same as your other donors. These flags will help you quickly understand what kind of donor they are and help you craft messaging. GG+A suggests that after thanking these donors for their initial gift, send them a second appeal consistent with what the donor contributed to initially (for example, COVID relief.) Following that, an annual giving officer should send a newsletter-type mailing to the donor exposing them to the other types of work your organization does.