Trends in fundraising and non-profit management: More restricted funding, consolidation of giving and rapid growth in employee-matching programs. Arcus interviewed 85 Chairs of non-profit boards and CEOs to identify the top trends in fundraising and management of non-profit organizations. Below are six trends identified by respondents. these trends are expected to accelerate over the next five years.
The Arcus Study of High Net-Worth Philanthropy has also identified some interesting trends on attitudes and giving behaviors of high net-worth donors, including reasons they give or stop giving.
Trends in fundraising and non-profit management
More restricted funding for specific projects: In the past, non-profit organizations strategic planning process was driven by engagement strategies to target many types of organizations and programs. partners. The model is less relevant today, because corporations have moved away from the model of unrestricted allocation of donations to offerings such as ads, to project specific work that results in tangible change.
Consolidation of giving within companies. Managers responsible for giving in a corporation communicate more often with each other on giving.In the past investments were compartmentalized into areas such as marketing or business expenses. These investments are more likely to be consolidated today into one philanthropic fund for the entire company. Challenging economic conditions has accelerated the consolidation of philanthropic funding.
Increasing engagement of employees in philanthropic projects. Philanthropic giving in often tied to tangible activities that employees can participate in such as habitat restoration, cleaning of rivers or trails. The activities are also often coordinated by the company. For example, the National Wildlife Federation has a strong school yard and community habitat program. Employees are trained to visit to schools and create habitats.
Employee matching programs are growing rapidly. As employees learn more about corporate philanthropy investments in a program, they tend to give more to the program. Corporate giving is increasingly linked to the expectations of employees regarding types of philanthropic initiatives that are funded by the organization.
Fewer grants to fewer organizations. The process of grant allocations is often depend on the depth of a relationship between a non-profit organization and the corporation. Grants tend to be larger where relationships are deeper. The move from many small unrestricted grants to fewer restricted grants is a result of higher expectations for tangible returns from investments that are tied to business strategies.
Donor centric programs are growing: Increasingly, companies are involved in creation and customization of programs that are funded by their organizations. For example, Bank of America was closely involved in the development of the National Wildlife Federation’s program to create green jobs at community colleges.
Contact Arcus for a presentation of a synopsis of the report to your Management Team and Board at your next meeting. If you are interested in retaining our services for non-profit performance improvement, please contact Merril Mascarenhas, Managing Partner, by phone at +1 (416) 710-2727 or Email.
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Strategic Planning Processes
Concepts and strategy: Our approach is to first use our collective experience to come up with 15-20 provocative concepts for a strategy. These are based on a series of questions that probe various topics and drivers of change. The outcome of the process is used to build several strategic maps to define and strengthen each hypothesis for a strategy.
Corporate and Business Unit Strategy: We apply proven methodologies and best practices that are based on a scan of how successful companies worldwide have approached similar problems and opportunities. The process minimizes risk and ensures strategic options are arrived with a fact based methodology.
Competitive Dimension: Integrating diverse products, services, consumers, vendors, partners, R&D and product support services can be daunting.But a great strategy is an aggregation of numerous compartmentalized strategies that are scalable and ladder up to a broader corporate and business strategy. The corporate mission is a critical influencer of all strategies across levels and functional areas.