Hello Nonprofit Leaders and Supporters, | |
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The blooming Oregon Grape, Balsamroot, Indian paints and Lilacs of course signal that Spring is finally here... but it also heralds the release of last year’s charitable giving statistics! (You didn’t think I was only going to talk about our beautiful flowers, did you?) The Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) released their cumulative Q4 report for 2022 and, well, it’s not good people. Before I jump into some of the stats, a quick intro to the FEP and what it is:
The FEP is a project run by the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy and it collects fundraising data from nonprofit organizations and has been doing so since 2004. It reports Year-to-Date nonprofit sector giving trends through the Fundraising Effectiveness Survey. The FEP enables participating groups to measure and compare their fundraising gain and loss ratios to those of similar-sized organizations. What the report shows for 2022 only continues a downward trend in giving that started a few years ago.
- Dollars from large donors significantly weakened, leading to a decrease in money raised.
- 2022 saw a small increase in dollars from recaptured donors, while funding through retention and acquisition remains a challenge.
- Many acquired donors in 2021 did not return in 2022
- The majority of all donors (83.1%) consist of those contributing less than $500, representing the most substantial donor group.
- Almost all of the decrease in donors, roughly 90%, is attributable to losses of donors of $500 and below.
- The number of Major and Supersize donors decreased the least, but they are also the smallest categories of donors.
Most interestingly is the information that across the board, every type of donor (micro, small, midsized, major and super-sized), gave less in 2022 than they did in 2021. So, while there is still a lot of money with the government working its way through the system, there is less money being donated to help sustain programs and organizations. This is especially important when you consider that the government at every level RELIES on nonprofits to “float their programs” until they send money to reimburse them for their costs. They also expect nonprofits to implement these programs with little to no administrative costs.
Those of you that regularly read these updates know that we are working to pass SB 606 to try to relieve some of these problems with the government paying on time and bearing the full costs of programs. What we need to take away from the FEP is that not only the work of those nonprofits that rely on contributed donations is going to shrink, but so will the capacity of nonprofits to implement government programs due to their reliance on charitable donations as well.
The work of planning for fundraising is not just an Executive Director or Development Director's problem. Board members also need to be paying attention and actively supporting a changing funding scene.
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Stay healthy and be safe,
Jim White
NAO Executive Director
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Phil and Penny Knight Pledge $400 Million for Portland’s Historically Black Neighborhood
We were thrilled to see this huge investment into NE Portland through an effort spearheaded by Albina Vision Trust and Self Enhancement, Inc. NAO is proud to have both organizations as members and have Carla Penn-Hopson of SEI on our Board of Directors. The work they are doing is critical to their communities and it is incredible to see this funding come through to support them.
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100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon: Survey is NOW OPEN! | |
NAO has partnered with Oregon Business to launch the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey for 2023. Oregon Business’ 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey is used to find out how satisfied your employees are and what their concerns might be – taking time to listen to your employees will set you up to be an even stronger organization. | |
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Join our effort to support strong workplace culture and celebrate successful employers by participating in the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey. As always, participation is at no cost to you. Participating organizations must have a minimum of 10 Oregon-based employees and volunteers who work at least 20 hours per month. Registration to participate ends on July 13. Click here to register.
Do you want to target survey questions toward your specific organization? Is there a new policy or procedure on which you want employee feedback? Customized supplemental survey questions may be right for you. Click here to learn about customized, supplemental 100 Best survey questions.
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ACTION ALERT: OREGON NONPROFIT MODERNIZATION ACT
With the Oregon Senate Human Services Committee passing SB 606 to the Joint Ways & Means Committee, we are one step closer to passing the Oregon Nonprofit Modernization Act! We need a hearing in the Joint Ways & Means Committee. Without a hearing, SB 606 will die for the session. Getting a hearing is not guaranteed. There have been concerns from legislative leadership about the cost of SB 606.
There are two months left in the legislative session. We need nonprofits to email Oregon’s legislative leadership asap, asking them to schedule a hearing for SB 606. We created a sample email template for your convenience. You can find contact information, instructions and a sample template here.
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Debt Limit and Nonprofits
Yesterday, the House passed the “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023” which Politico is summarizing as a “symbolic victory” since this bill is unlikely to be successful in the Senate. Our colleagues at the National Council of Nonprofits dug deeper into Speaker McCarthy’s debt limit bill (H.R. 1) and found that it is seeking to impose Mandatory Volunteerism on charitable organizations. That’s the term we use to refer to proposals to require individuals receiving public support to perform “community service” at charitable nonprofits or governments to “work off” their benefits. The House bill, at pages 94-94, would impose on individuals receiving Medicaid a “Community Engagement Requirement” that entails working 80 hours a month, performing 80 hours of community service, participating in a work program, or completing 80 hours in any combination of the foregoing.
NAO agrees with the position that the National Council of Nonprofits and others have taken that Mandatory Volunteerism is harmful to the people who are eligible for assistance. It shames and coerces them and imposes increased costs, burdens, and liabilities on nonprofits by an influx of coerced individuals. We oppose proposals to condition receipt of government-provided benefits on requirements that individuals volunteer at nonprofit organizations. Few if any of the mandatory volunteerism bill sponsors ever ask whether nonprofits in their communities can handle an onslaught of hundreds or thousands of individuals showing up on nonprofit doorsteps for the purpose of doing time rather than doing good.
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NAO's Upcoming Learning and Convening Opportunities | |
Please note that the Spring Regional Network season is winding down. Most networks have only one more session before the summer break. | | | |
Nonprofit Learning Cohort (Five Weekly Sessions via Zoom) | |
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Building a Culture of Racial Justice: Strategies for Creating an Equitable Workplace
May 4, 11, 18, and 25 and June 1, 4 – 5:15 a.m. | Facilitator: Jamila Dozier, MA, New Theory Consulting LLC
This interactive cohort is designed to help organizations build a culture of racial justice by equipping leaders and employees with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to create an inclusive and equitable workplace. Each cohort session will focus on a specific aspect of building a culture of racial justice. We will begin by understanding the concept of racial justice, exploring its historical and contemporary roots, and discussing its relevance to modern workplaces. We will explore strategies for building an organizational culture of racial justice from recruitment and retention practices to policy development. Participants will leave with a deepened understanding of racial justice and clear strategies for operationalizing justice in their organizations. More details and registration information here.
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Embracing a Courageous Workplace of Collaborative Feedback and Supportive Conflict (Portland)
May 16, 10 – 3 p.m. | Facilitator: Kris McRea, McRea Coaching & Consulting
Do you avoid conflict or feedback? Does your team shy away from challenging conversations? More than ever, we need to have messy conversations in our workplace to lean into tough topics; especially around diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging. Feedback and collaborative conflict can be a bridge to trust building, innovation and collaboration when delivered with empathy, support and respect. The key is courage, vulnerability, and emotional literacy. Together we’ll explore how our mythology of vulnerability gets in the way and how our emotions can be a powerful signpost to more connection and collaboration. With tactical tools from Dare to Lead, Crucial Conversations, Emotional Agility and other resources, participants will leave this workshop with stronger muscles for approaching conflict and feedback and tangible tools to support a more innovative workplace. More details and registration information here.
Agile Engagement: Strategies for Building Lasting Donor Relationships (Portland)
May 31, 9 – 2 p.m. | Presenter: Matt Lehrman, Social Prosperity Partners
As nonprofits adjust to the "new normal," building and maintaining lasting donor relationships in times of change and uncertainty is critical. This highly interactive workshop offers a practical and innovative framework for emphasizing adaptability in donor relationships. Discover practical tools and techniques grounded in tenacity, agility, and humanity that will help you build strong donor relationships designed to endure whatever the future holds. This workshop culminates in attendees participating in a live donor focus group—a thought-provoking and entirely unscripted conversation with real individual donors from our community. More details and registration information here.
Effective Supervision (Portland)
June 27, 9:30 – 2 p.m. | Presenter: Cliff Jones, Capacity Building Partnerships
Employees are your organization’s greatest resource. Effective support and direction for your staff, as well as understanding ways to work across differences will help create an environment where people can fully contribute and advance your organization’s mission and goals. In this workshop, we will explore the most essential elements of a supervisor’s role with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. We will offer insight into the specific challenges of supervision in the nonprofit environment to help you identify concrete goals and changes that you can implement with individual staff and teams. We will examine strategies to address unclear expectations between staff and supervisor, ambivalence about authority, low pay, and heavy workloads. More details and registration information here.
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NAO Webinars
The Neurodiverse Workplace: Overcoming the Neurodivide
May 3, 12 – 1 p.m. | Presenter: Jessica Michaels, The Neurodiverse Workplace, LLC
What is neurodiversity? Are you or others you work with neurodivergent? How does this affect you, and how does it affect your organization? Neurodiversity expert and corporate trainer Jessica Michaels answers these questions and more. By sharing her experiences as a late-in-life diagnosed neurodivergent with Autism and ADHD, Jessica will deliver an inspiring session to motivate participants to drive neuroinclusion through no-cost actions easily added to their daily conversations. More details and registration here.
Layered Security for Nonprofits
May 10, 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. | Presenter: Ron Rothstein, SMB Technologies
Nonprofit organizations hold a lot of sensitive information – including financial records – that they need to keep safe and secure. Cyberattacks and breaches happen every day and nonprofits need to be prepared to apply the multi-layered security needed in order to prevent these events. In this session, you will learn about layered security, which is a network security approach that deploys multiple security controls to protect the most vulnerable areas of your technology environment where a breach or cyberattack could occur. More details and registration information here.
The Future of Nonprofit Leadership: Trends to Track and Actions to Take Now
May 11, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenter: Kari Anderson, Incite! Consulting
As a new generation of employees makes decisions about the type of work they want to engage in, we have an obligation in the nonprofit sector to assess how business gets done. Now’s the time to look at what’s working—and what’s not—at your shop. Join Kari Anderson with Incite! Consulting to learn more about (not so) unique leadership structures, including co-directorship, flat hierarchies, and different ways to provide governance via your board. We’ll discuss the future of leadership structures and how a person can flex leadership when not in a leadership role. Kari has some immediate takeaways for you as a manager or director—regardless of your career ambitions. All employees and board members can lead in their roles—Kari will share how to do it! More details and registration information here.
So Are You Latinx?: The Complexity of Language and How It Impacts Identity
May 17, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenter: Cinthia Manuel, Autentica Consulting LLC
In this session, participants will learn the historical evolution of the terms Hispanics, Latin@s, Latinx, Latine, Chican@. In addition, this session will provide an opportunity to reflect on the various terms and how their evolution is related to oppression among individuals who identify as part of this historically underrepresented group. This training is open to people of all backgrounds who want to learn the historical background and build new vocabulary to have deeper conversations with the communities you serve, including your staff. More details and registration here.
State Legislative Briefing (2)
May 19, 12 – 1 p.m. | Presenter: Phillip Kennedy-Wong, NAO
Get the latest inside scoop on the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session from NAO’s Public Policy Director Phillip Kennedy-Wong. Bring your questions about the legislature. No question off limits! Topics covered include the state budget, the most recent revenue forecast, the Oregon Nonprofit Modernization Act, bills of interest to the nonprofit sector, political rumors and whole much more. This session is available to NAO members only. More details and registration information here.
Board Bright: Governance Roles & Responsibilities
July 11, 3 – 4:30 p.m. | Presenter: Jenn Clemo, NAO
In this 90-minute webinar, participants will learn about the fundamentals of nonprofit governance and gain an understanding of the board’s role in the management of the organization. This webinar is part of NAO’s Board Bright Series – a quarterly board training designed for emerging and seasoned board members alike, and anyone else looking for a governance refresh. Free to NAO members! More details and registration information here.
Board Bright: Finance Fundamentals
August 15, 3 – 4:30 p.m. | Presenter: Jenn Clemo, NAO
Join us for an overview of basic financial principles including board member responsibilities, understanding restrictions, reviewing your statements for key financial indicators, and internal controls. Please note that this webinar provides fundamentals-level overview that is most appropriate for new board members, emerging nonprofit leaders, or those looking for a refresh of the basics. Free to NAO members! More details and registration information here.
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Learning Opportunities for Rural Nonprofit (In-person)
Nonprofit Town Hall (Baker City)
April 28, 9 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenters: Jim White and Grady Goodall, NAO
This Nonprofit Town Hall is a learning and networking opportunity convened by the Nonprofit Association of Oregon for nonprofit staff, board, and volunteers to connect, meet each other and public officials. NAO will share some opportunities and challenges before the nonprofit and public sector and bring attention to the policy work that is being done to make community-led work easier. This session is designed specifically for nonprofits and public sector officials looking to build relations for greater impact. No cost to participate, but registration is required. More details and registration information here.
Nonprofit Resource Roundups
Nonprofit Resource Roundups are in-person learning and networking opportunities convened by the NAO of Oregon for nonprofit staff, board, and volunteers to connect, meet funders, and learn about valuable tools and resources designed specifically for nonprofits. During this session, we’ll also explore how nonprofits can calculate their ROI and ROM and structure conversations with board and staff about the effectiveness of each event. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required.
Springboard: Practical Tools to Keep Your Board Moving Forward
This three-part interactive series goes beyond the basics to explore the nuances of nonprofit board management, helps nonprofits create and execute their annual fundraising calendar, and provides tools to better manage cash flow. Designed specifically with rural nonprofits in mind, these sessions are applicable to both nonprofit staff and board members.
Session 1: Effective Board Management for Meaningful Engagement
Session 2: Creating an Annual Fundraising Plan (That You Can Actually Stick To!)
Session 3: Functional Forecasting: Taking Control of Cash Flow
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NAO Conference (In-person) | |
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Guiding More Good Conference (Corvallis)
June 24, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Guiding More Good (GMG) is a one-day conference in Corvallis that brings together nonprofit board members and leaders from organizations around the state to learn together and share their stories and experiences of volunteering and working for nonprofit organizations. Each year, GMG inspires attendees with expert speakers, robust conversations, practical resources, and cross-sector networking opportunities. This jam-packed conference is the perfect opportunity to re-connect with your peers, learn about how to navigate current issues that are top-of-mind today, and create new relationships with other nonprofits. More details and registration information here.
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NAO Regional Networks (In-person*) | |
If you have any questions or difficulties registering, contact NAO's Training team at [email protected]. | |
Thank you to the following FUNDERS and SPONSORS who are supporting NAO’s online events and communications during these challenging times. Their support is vital in helping NAO to bring much-needed resources and information to Oregon’s nonprofits – thank you. | |
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