A charitable organization's purpose is more than words in a pretty brochure. It is the most influential factor in motivating donors to give. Gallup has found that 81% of donors -- U.S. adults who have donated to a charitable organization in the past 12 months -- say their belief in an organization's mission is a major reason why they donate to a charity. These individuals are also highly more likely to be fully engaged with an organization and are twice as likely to donate more to it in the next 12 months compared with those who say the mission is a minor reason or not a reason to donate. Though a compelling statement of purpose is important for motivating donations, knowing what an organization does and why is only one part of the donor equation. Donors must also believe a charity acts on its purpose. When potential or current donors see a disconnect between what an organization says it does and what it actually does, they are less likely to give to that organization. More than half of donors (57%) also say that wanting to make a difference is a major reason they choose to give money to charity. Donors want to know who or what their donation benefits and how their contribution positively affects someone's life or the world.

I just conducted a fundraising workshop for the board and senior staff of San Antonio Education Partnership. They have become a pillar organization in creating a "college-going culture" within the San Antonio community, and provide more than $2 million in needs-based scholarships and services to more than 30,000 students. We discussed the application of 10 common sense lessons of fundraising, practiced elevator pitches and how to tactfully bring up and talk about the non-profit at cocktail receptions and other social gatherings. Then we moved on to role-playing asks and handling varying responses such as, "Yes, but I will give only half the requested amount," and a flat "No." The pivotal exercise was identifying prospects each board member can introduce to the organization from their personal and professional networks. That doesn't necessarily mean they will be soliciting those prospects for gifts, but they take personal responsibility for breaking the ice and cultivating the prospects. Follow-up work on those prospects will begin right away.

Women's Philanthropy Institute research shows that high-net-worth women who give $1 million or larger gifts to causes that benefit women and girls share certain key characteristics:

* They engage in significant education and research before making their gifts;

* They make strategic funding decisions focused on driving systemic change; and

* They are willing to take risks with their philanthropy.

The study involved interviews with 23 high-net-worth women, all but one of whom was a current member of Women Moving Millions, an international philanthropic network of high-net-worth women established in 2007. Each of the participants in the qualitative study had given or pledged at least $1 million to causes for women and girls. As more women accumulate wealth, they are twice as likely as men to leverage their wealth for philanthropy, according to a 2013 U.S. Trust study of high-net-worth women. Research has found that life experiences often guide women's investment in causes for women and girls.

Approximately one-half of U.S. non-profits are operating on a financial precipice. "The Financial Health of the United States Non-profit Sector: Facts and Observations" by Oliver Wyman, SeaChange Capital Partners, and GuideStar examines the finances of more than 219,000 U.S. non-profits for fiscal years 2010-2014 The analysis was derived from GuideStar's proprietary archive of digitized IRS Form 990 data.

Sobering insights:

* 7% to 8% of non-profits have liabilities greater than assets, making them technically insolvent, and translating roughly into a $40-50 billion funding gap.

* 30% of organizations have negative 3-year net income margins (revenues are less than expenses).

* The majority of organizations have limited reserves to buffer against stress scenarios or invest for the future. Half of non-profits have less than one month of operating reserves and less than six months of cash. 

What do you do if you're born into privilege and your vision of a better world includes redistribution of wealth? Resource Generation provides a forum to push the envelope with such like-minded peers. It organizes young people with wealth and class privilege to become transformative leaders working towards the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power. Since 1998, Resource Generation has engaged over 2,000 young people with wealth across the U.S. Why the focus on young people ages 18 to 35? The organization maintains that young people have always played an important role in U.S. social movements. By organizing young people with wealth and class privilege, we're not only impacting current movements, we're also building leadership for tomorrow.

When you hear Thomas Bruner, president of  Bruner Strategies in Portland, Oregon, speak you are struck by his passion and energy. This makes sense. His life has been defined by a commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. More than just good social policy, Bruner approaches diversity as a business imperative in an increasingly diverse, multicultural world -- key to being relevant, effective and competitive. He went to grad school with the idea of becoming a child psychologist, but within a few years, he was on the non-profit administrative track. As a cause-related activist out to save the world, he quickly realized that he could do a lot more good if he learned how to raise money. He's had an amazing variety of jobs: CEO of an HIV/AIDS start-up in Texas, Vice President of the American Red Cross, CEO of a regional cancer foundation, capital campaign manager at a Buddhist temple. All told, he's raised over $300 million and counting. He says that in some ways, fundraising has become more sophisticated, complicated, and competitive. But in other ways, it's largely unchanged. "It's still predominantly about relationships, and helping people connect their interests and passions with organizations and programs that can change the world." Advice for those who want enter the development profession: Good strategy and systems are essential, but those things don't raise money. Make sure to spend most of your time asking -- not just getting ready to ask.

The Soul of Philanthropy exhibit is traveling around the country and celebrates African-American philanthropists who have decided to make their world a better place. The exhibit is inspired after creator Valaida Fullwood's book Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African-American Philanthropists. One of the main ideas is that a person doesn't necessarily have to give large amounts of money to be considered a philanthropist. It also speaks to the perception of philanthropy and African-Americans. Fullwood says when African-Americans were a part of the philanthropy story, they were often the people in need, the people receiving the check, the people receiving the handout, so she wanted to re-frame philanthropy and widen the lens. Fullwood partnered with photographer Charles Thomas.

Among her many achievements, philanthropist Melinda Gates was the first woman to have given away more than $40 billion. As co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -- alongside her husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill -- she has been part of a movement that has supported work in more than 100 countries that face challenges in education, poverty, hunger and health. In an interview with CNBC, Gates said she is particularly proud of what the private foundation had achieved in improving world health. "The work that we've done in vaccines, to really get vaccines out to hundreds of millions of children. There are 3 million children alive today because of those vaccines and when we started in this work, there was a 20- or 25-year lag between when a vaccine would come out in the U.S. and when it would get to the developing world. Even when it got there, it wasn't all the right strains that they needed."