The Philanthropy Network Blog

Is your organization ready for 5G?  Imagine extremely low latency full HD mobile video conferencing.  A series of connected devices streaming real-time impact data and stewardship information. Donor-to-Mission access that has been heretofore impossible.  Augmented reality technology for the most inspiring in-person presentations to your most capable donor audience. Imagine fully immersive experiences for prospective donors interested in proposed new (or renovated) facilities, conservation projects, or even medical research.  Preparing your organization for the 5G revolution will require an organization-wide commitment to Development Everywhere, which would start with an orientation to best practices in constituent management and donor engagement for every member of the organization.  Customer service and impact reporting will be required, perhaps even daily, as donors gain access to the work being done with their donor resources.  These daily metrics checki...

As a veteran fundraiser, I’ve lived through a fair share of disruption: The ‘98 Asian Financial Crisis, The 2000 Election, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina (my wife and I were living in New Orleans at the time), the 2008 Great Recession.  You’d think that  this uncertainty thing would be familiar territory by now.  And yet coronavirus has us drinking from uniquely powerful firehose of doubt.  And when there is so much doubt, it’s tempting to sit back and wait for something concrete, for the fog to lift, for the storm to lift before taking action in any direction. But for organizations that depend on philanthropy, we can’t sit still. And the ones who focus on creatively strengthening engagement and stewardship programs, sharpen and differentiate their storytelling, and boldly craft new initiatives can come out of the darkness stronger than ever, more engaged than ever, with a willing and capable body of enthusiastic supporters ready to build on your already bold vision. Even s...

Remember parties?   Seems like a distant memory right?  But at one time parties did actually exist, and when they did I would people would ask me what I do for a living. And when I answered “I’m a professional fundraiser” the conversation nearly always turned to crowdfunding:   Kickstarter .  GoFundMe .  IndieGoGo . These platforms have democratized fundraising in ways never before possible.  They’re intuitive, easy to use, but man is it a crowded space!  Fortunately, I had the thrilling chance to serve as an informal advisor in the early days of  GiveCorps , prior to their acquisition by The Network for Good . So when the party conversation turns to crowdfunding, my answer is always the same, and in the spirit of sharing (And in the absence of parties), welcome to  Seven Steps to Mastering your GoFundMe Campaign: Somebody is about to ask about Crowdfunding... 1. Do not be afraid! The feeling in the pit of your stomach?...

  The best part about working on the frontiers of scientific research is that you get to talk with donors about solutions.   Solutions to climate change. Solutions to cancer.  Solutions to water shortages.  Global WiFi provided by a network of low altitude geostationary satellites.  Being a fundraising professional for three global research powerhouses meant surfing the endless frontier of human progress.   But what I also loved most about working in scientific fundraising was that I got to make the case - day after day after day - for why donors should support projects and programs with current use dollars, rather than through endowments.  I would reason that the problems facing researchers today, from physicists and biologists to social scientists and even historians, are remarkably complex, requiring sustained, high intensity inputs to create the necessary escape velocity towards real solutions.  Besides, once a given problem is solved, the end...

When David and Jennifer Risher announced their decision to launch The #HalfmyDAF movement, I was immediately compelled to reach out to them to say thank you (and politely suggest that they didn't go far enough!).  Even without going The Full Monty , to me the Rishers and the #HalfmyDAF movement is the best thing to happen to philanthropy since on-line giving.   First, some context: The Donor Advised Fund was designed for donors who, for timing purposes, needed to make a tax-advantaged donation, but essentially did not know where to give the money and did not have a private foundation.  It has existed in some form since the 1930s, and over the ensuing decades, favorable legislation designed to prevent the proliferation of administratively expensive private foundations (which can be tracked via this handy dandy PDF at the Council of Foundations ) lead to the creation of the DAF, which by 2019 was the fastest-growing charitable vehicle in the US - an unintended consequ...

In 2007, I was the Regional Director for the MidAmerica Region in the Office of Leadership Giving at MIT when my wife accepted a job at a prestigious law firm in Portland, Maine. At the time I faced a choice: leave MIT, or pitch a "telecommuting" arrangement that would allow me to continue my career at the Institute. Rather than leave what at the time was my dream job, I started working with the MIT Office of Work & Family Life, the MIT Ombudsman's office, and my supervisor, I crafted a proposal to pilot a remote work arrangement. MIT agreed to a 6-month "trial".  A decade at MIT and 13 years as a remote advancement professional later, here we are - all working remotely together. I started my trial period at MIT as a single major gifts contributor and grew my responsibilities to include regional leadership and talent management, to eventually leading all capital fundraising for MIT.nano, then the largest basic research project in MIT History. At MIT I cultiv...

That's no moon. It's a space station. -Obi-wan Kenobi OK so you're about 14 days into your involuntary mobile worklife. If you're lucky, you've created a reasonably sound, functional work routine, connected with your staff, colleagues, bosses and friends, upgraded your at-home tech footprint, and found some continuity in terms of your own productivity. You have a strong sense of what to do when you start your day, a predictable re-entry plan for the end, and in between - well, you're figuring it out. Moreover, if you're like me, you're also grappling with the likely long-term reality of your kids on some distance learning platforms (mine are learning on BlueJeans, SplashMath, Duolingo, and Google Docs), a spouse or partner at home with you (my wife, a law partner, is working from an adjacent space), and your usually calm pets confined with the family, absorbing the stress in the house, feeling needy, and reacting to new family routines. So over...

Wondering how your organization can raise resources during this time of enormous uncertainty?  The answer might lie in the $121B Donor Advised Fund industry. For the uninitiated, Donor Advised Funds are monies donated by individuals for a specific tax benefit in a specific year, but instead of going to support the non-profit sector, those funds are managed by (and generate fees for) financial institutions for the future benefit of qualified charities. For those in the philanthropy industry, it has been long argued that DAFs are some of the most unproductive assets in our society – anywhere. In times of massive social disruption – like oh I don’t know, a pandemic – we should invite reflection about why these vehicles exist in the first place. $121B would do amazing work for the non-profit sector, guaranteeing ongoing services and support for teachers, nurses, conservation workers, homeless advocates, and the like – not to mention lightening the extraordinary mental load broug...

Welcome to the hustle. -Robin Arzon So suddenly you're a mobile philanthropy professional. Welcome to the club! For some of you this might be a finite journey, a month or two of rocking the virtual workplace. For others, as I've experienced over the past 15 years, mobile work could become the most exhilarating and fulfilling chapter of your life and career. Either way, week one can feel a bit like walking into a waterpark wearing jeans and a sweater. You're nervous and a little excited, but you're not exactly able to get the most out of the experience. Plus you may feel weird being at a waterpark in the first place, “out of sight” of your boss and colleagues. But don't pack up your gear and bolt just yet, it's just that you need to lock down the basics. Let me explain. First things first: Time for a quick tech assessment. It's nearly impossible to be effective in a mobile environment without reliable, accessible, and most importantly, dedicated t...

Today's COVID-19 epidemic offers nearly every worker in the philanthropy industry the chance to glimpse life as a mobile professional, experience increased workplace satisfaction and productivity, and engage with modern and inexpensive mobile technologies. Then there is the pure joy of not commuting to work, of never looking for parking, of never having countless interruptions during the work day (not to mention the benefits of avoiding The Vending Machine...p.s. when the hell did they start taking credit cards!). And for supervisors, it means no more tackling microissues of personal space in the office, administrivia related to who has the bigger window, or the newer desk chair. A frustration reduction smorgasbord. And after 14 years as a "mobile fundraiser" I've concluded that productivity is almost always enhanced - sometimes orders of magnitudes enhanced - when working, developing and supporting a culture of mobile work. My experience as a veritable remote-wo...