Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta

Upcoming Special Classes and Events at the Foundation Center-Atlanta

Coming in April and May, we have a number of special classes and events scheduled:

Database Treasures
Tuesday, April 14, 11:15am
Are you looking for ways to perform a more comprehensive search for funding prospects? Want to supplement your Foundation Directory Online search with results from other databases? Come see a demonstration of these additional resources available in our library/learning center:

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Guide to Grants
• Wealth Engine
• Corporate Affiliations

Click here to register.

You Have Your 501(c)(3), Now What?
Thursday, April 23
Following our Grantseeking Basics class on April 23, join us for an informative workshop on business planning for nonprofits. In this workshop, you will learn how to develop a blueprint for your organization. Topics to be covered include:

• Operations management strategies (fiscal and outcomes management)
• Human Resource management (volunteer recruitment and management)
• Organizational leadership (governance)
• Resource Development (fundraising)

Presenter: Chataun R. Denis, President/CEO of Grant Source

Click here to register.

How to Transition into the Nonprofit Sector
Tuesday, April 28, 2:00pm
Are you looking for fulfillment in a second or third career? After years of working in the private sector, are you considering exploring a career within a nonprofit? What are you passionate about? What is your search strategy? Do you have the right temperament? What transferable skills will you bring with you on your new journey?

We will explore these and other “sector switcher” questions with Michael Haynes, Principal of the Senyah Group, LLC. Mr. Haynes will lead us in a lively and engaging discussion on approaches and techniques that will help you best leverage your corporate skills and experience in the nonprofit arena.

Click here to register.

Building Capacity for Program Evaluation
Thursday, May 7, 10:00am
In this workshop, you will learn:

• how to build capacity to evaluate your organization’s programs
• what is necessary to have your programs evaluated
• how to make small investments in the evaluation process and save resources in the long term
• how to engage in group activities that will enable networking and peer learning
• how to find and select an evaluator for your organization

Presenter: Sal Alaimo (Ph.D.), Assistant Professor in the School of Public and Nonprofit Administration at Grand Valley State University

Click here to register.

How to Use Research to Get Noticed by Funders
Wednesday, May 27, 2:00pm
In this workshop, you will learn:

• how to convert intangible or abstract concepts of your program into variables that can be measured and presented clearly to potential funders
• how to create a logic model that provides an 'at a glance' perspective of your program or organization
• why research is critical to separate your organization from others competing for the same funding

Presenter: Melanie Sloan Edwards, President/CEO, Camel Consulting

Click here to register.

The classes and events above are free to attend, but registration is required. For programs offered over the next three months, please see our Events Calendar.

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Next Week at the Foundation Center-Atlanta: March 30 - April 3

We invite you to our classes this upcoming week:

Wednesday, April 1, 10:00-11:30am
Before You Seek a Grant: A Checklist for New Nonprofits

The classes above are free to attend, but registration is required. For programs offered over the next three months, please see our Events Calendar.

Can't visit the Foundation Center this week? Check out our webinars.

Use our library:

• Search Foundation Directory Online Professional and other research tools for free


• Borrow books about nonprofit management and fundraising


• Ask our staff of experts for information assistance

We're open to the public Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm (first Tuesdays of each month, 10am-8pm). No appointment is necessary. See our web site for directions and parking information.

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Philanthropy Annual: 2008 Review Now Available

The Foundation Center has just released Philanthropy Annual: 2008 Review, the second edition of its annual compendium highlighting the news, issues, people, organizations, and giving trends shaping the field of philanthropy.

The publication provides a full overview of the year in philanthropy, with articles summarizing major events, interviews and profiles of key individuals, reviews of new books and other media, and statistics outlining the current state of philanthropy. Contents are drawn in part from Philanthropy News Digest, the Center's daily online news service, as well as from the annual Foundations Today Series and other Foundation Center resources. To see more specific information on what's covered in this year's edition, download the table of contents (PDF).

Philanthropy Annual: 2008 Review is available for free download (PDF) at the Foundation Center web site, and print copies can be purchased through the Center's online Marketplace ($19.95).

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Scholarships Available for Grantseeker Training Seminars

Attention:  Nonprofit Organizations in the Southeast!

Scholarships are now available to help representatives of under-resourced nonprofits in the southeast attend our upcoming full-day training seminars.   If you represent a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina or Tennessee with a budget under $500,000, you are eligible to apply. Simply go to our web site to fill out the online application and to see the schedule of courses being offered in Atlanta.

Joanne Kepics, Regional Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Staying Legal While Watching Your Pennies

The economic crisis is affecting everyone.  All of us, individuals and nonprofits alike, are looking for ways to cut costs and save money. 

But you don’t want to do that at the expense of the tax-exempt status of your organization. Rachel Spears, executive director of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, has put together a great list of tips for nonprofit organizations about “Staying Legal in Tough Economic Times”.  These tips were recently posted in the Georgia Center for Nonprofits newsletter CenterView.

The ten suggestions on the article’s list include advice such as:

• Don’t stop paying your taxes even if revenues are down.
• If you must reduce salaries for employees, make sure you are still paying minimum wage and overtime as required by federal and state wage and hour laws.
• Keep your insurance premiums up-to-date. It’s costly but you need it more than ever when times are tough.

Read the full article for all ten tips.

For additional resources about the economic crisis and its effect on nonprofit organizations, visit these web sites:

• Foundation Center - Focus on the Economic Crisis
• Georgia Center for Nonprofits - Tools for Managing & Governing Through Tough Times
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy - How Charities Cope With a Troubled Economy
• The National Council on Nonprofits - Nonprofit Economic Vitality Center

What is your organization doing to weather the economic downturn? Share your tips.

Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Pulse Check: How Are Nonprofits Doing?

A slew of surveys and studies have been conducted recently by a number of different organizations and agencies throughout the U.S. I offer selected information from a few of them to provide some insight into how nonprofits are doing.

Snapshot of Issues Facing Nonprofits: Fundraising Outlook for Fiscal Year 2009: [pdf] Prepared in March 2009 by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, this report finds:

• Nonprofits are increasingly concerned about massive cutbacks from traditional government funding sources and the reduced level of services to those in living in poverty.
• There is increased client need over last year.
• A serious concern about layoffs and staff downsizing in the nonprofit sector is prevalent.
• The overall number of individual donors has increased over last year.
• Corporate giving is drastically down from last year and is expected to continue downward well into next year due to the downsizing of many of our local corporations.
• Increased foundation giving seems to have had the greatest impact on emergency assistance such as food, clothing, and housing assistance agencies.

The Quiet Crisis: The Impact of the Economic Downturn on the Nonprofit Sector [pdf]. Released in March 2009 by Civic Enterprises and Democratic Leadership Council, this report says:
Reversing the nonprofit plunge is a matter of jobs, not just charity. With 9.4 million employees and 4.7 million full-time volunteers nationwide, nonprofits constitute 11 percent of the American workforce -- greater than the auto and financial industries combined. If the nonprofit sector were a country, it would have the seventh largest economy in the world. We cannot afford for it to go the way of Iceland, whose financial system collapsed.

Nonprofit Fundraising Trends 2009 [pdf]. Released 2/25/09 by Retriever Development Counsel, LLC, this report says:
Organizations that are doing well are not necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the ones that had the best fundraising year in 2008. Hallmarks of these organizations include:

• Diversified revenue streams and a variety of ways to give;
• Engaged leadership (executive, development/fundraising, and board) that is prepared to address the changes in the coming year;
• More effort expended into donor outreach and cultivating relationships;
• Investment in development staff, resources, and/or activities; and
• Proactive planning. They are looking to do more, not less.

Nonprofit Mergers and Acquisitions: More Than A Tool for Tough Times. Issued in February 2009 by Bridgespan Group, which states:
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are much more common in the nonprofit world than most would think, as our study of 3,300 deals across four states over 11 years shows. But nonprofit mergers often come about through default—due to financial distress or leadership vacuums. At the same time, relatively few nonprofits are using M&A strategically, as a way to strengthen organizations' effectiveness, spread best practices, expand reach, and to do all of this more cost-effectively. Yet the potential for M&A to create real value in the nonprofit sector exists, particularly if more philanthropists take on the mantle of matchmaker and help nonprofits explore and evaluate M&A opportunities. This article discusses research conducted by the Bridgespan Group on nonprofit M&A; explores the Child and Family Services (CFS) field, where "market" conditions are especially favorable to combinations; and profiles two nonprofits making the most of acquisitions. It also issues a call to action to philanthropists to further strategic, social sector M&A.

A Snapshot of the Effects of the Economic Downturn on Nonprofits [pdf]. Issued by Management Consulting Services in January 2009, this white paper attempts to gauge the impact of the economy on Massachusetts nonprofits. Here's a sampling of findings:

• While organizations of all budget sizes anticipate the economic downturn impacting their organization, organizations with smaller budgets indicate that the impact will be greater compared to organizations with larger budgets.
• More than half the respondents reported that their organizations will see a decrease in revenue during the current fiscal year. About one-third of the respondents feel that the revenues would decrease more than 10% during the current fiscal year at their organizations. About one-third of the respondents also feel their organizations will experience a decline in revenues during the next fiscal year.
• There were no significant trends related to decrease in revenue across organizations with different operating budgets or across program areas, suggesting that organizations across all program areas and operating budgets are seeing similar changes.
• While the respondents felt that the revenues were decreasing, many (40.5%) felt that the demand for the services of their organization had increased in the past 3 months.
• While there were no significant trends related to changes in demand over the past 3 months across organizations with different operating budgets, significantly greater percentage of respondents from organizations providing human services reported more than 10% increase in demand during the past 3 months.

Do you know of other reports, studies, findings? Share!!

(Thanks to Cindy Bailie, director, Foundation Center - Cleveland, for sharing this post.)

Key Facts on Georgia Community Foundations

Did you know that Georgia's 13 community foundations held assets of more than $1.1 billion in 2007 and gave over $104 million? You can find this and other fascinating facts in Key Facts on Georgia Community Foundations, a report released a few weeks ago by the Foundation Center. The
report presents a snapshot of growth and giving trends of Georgia's community foundations.

Between 2002 and 2007, there was a 202 percent increase in new gifts into community foundations,
indicating the growing popularity of these institutions as a vehicle for charitable giving.
Other key facts highlighted in the report include:

• The largest Georgia community foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, had more than $770 million in assets and gave more than $74 million in grants in 2007.

• Georgia community foundation giving represented more than 13 percent of giving by all Georgia foundations in 2007.

• Almost half of the state's community foundations were established in the 1990s.

• All but 30 of Georgia’s 159 counties (82 percent of the state) are being served by at least one community foundation.

Key Facts on Georgia Community Foundations was prepared by the Foundation Center and the  Nonprofit Studies Program of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University at the request of the Georgia Council of Community Foundations.

Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Next Week at the Foundation Center-Atlanta: March 23-27

Evening hours next week! We will be open until 8:00pm on Thursday, March 26.

We invite you to our classes this upcoming week:

Wednesday, March 25, 1:00-4:00pm & Thursday, March 26, 9:00am-4:00pm
Foundation Funding Research
($295)

Thursday, March 26, 5:15-6:45pm
Proposal Writing Basics

Thursday, March 26, 7:00-8:00pm
Proposal Budgeting Basics

Unless otherwise noted, the classes above are free to attend, but registration is required. For programs offered over the next three months, please see our Events Calendar.

Can't visit the Foundation Center this week? Check out our webinars.

Use our library:

• Search Foundation Directory Online Professional and other research tools for free


• Borrow books about nonprofit management and fundraising


• Ask our staff of experts for information assistance

We're open to the public Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm (first Tuesdays of each month, 10am-8pm). No appointment is necessary. See our web site for directions and parking information.

Stephen Sherman, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Georgia Gives 2008

This fall 2008 study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a recent addition to our collection at the Foundation Center-Atlanta library, found that Georgia households, foundations, and corporations gave an estimated $6.67 billion to charity in 2007.

Georgia Gives 2008 provides a comparative look at regional differences in charitable giving between the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and other parts of Georgia as well as to national benchmarks.  While 54 percent of the state’s population lives in the Atlanta MSA, Atlanta-area households gave 60 percent of the $5.58 billion donated to charitable organizations by Georgia households ($3.35 billion). Atlanta-area donors also gave more to charity on average ($2,492) than donors in other parts of the state ($2,225) or donors nationally ($2,247).

Georgia’s independent, operating, and community foundations granted an estimated $615.8 million in 2006. More than one third of grant dollars went to educational organizations (35 percent compared to 23 percent nationally). Corporate giving in Georgia is an estimated $503 million, based on a survey of Georgia charities that includes $144 million in grantmaking from corporate foundations.

The study, funded by the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, is available at the Center of Philanthropy web site.  Local fundraising firm Alexander Haas assisted in the coordination of the research project.

For additional information about giving in Georgia, check out the FC Stats area of our web site.  There you can find statistical data on U.S. private and community foundations and their funding patterns, including tables listing number of foundations, total giving, and total assets by state and top funders by state. 

Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Don’t Forget Small Businesses

When they think of raising money from the business community, most fundraisers think of the large national companies that are household names, such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Home Depot, American Express. I want to encourage you to remember the smaller, local companies in your area.

In October of last year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ran an article entitled “Making a Big Difference” that reviewed the results of a survey of more than 1000 small business owners in Madison, Wisconsin, about their charitable giving. The survey findings for this particular city indicated that most giving by small businesses goes to social service organizations, and these organizations are chosen through personal relationships between the business owners and the nonprofit.

I don’t know whether these findings would hold up nationwide, but they are certainly fodder for thought. The basic message is don’t forget smaller, local companies. I’d go a step further by suggesting that you might want to start with in-kind gifts. Such gifts are easier and less expensive, especially in the current economic climate, for the company to provide. A relationship that begins with an in-kind gift may ultimately produce monetary support as well. 

So what kind of gifts am I talking about? Meeting space, a gift certificate for employee or volunteer incentives, a product or service for your silent auction, and expertise of the company’s staff to name a few. 

Some nonprofits are looking for sponsorships from the corporate world. Unless your nonprofit is sufficiently large and well-known to provide significant publicity, most of the “household name” companies will not be interested. But a small, local company might be interested in a sponsorship.  For instance, a local restaurant might be willing to donate profits from the sale of a particular entrée to your organization one week. A supermarket might set aside a specific day of the week where a percentage of profits will be donated to your organization. You, of course, would want to encourage your constituency to visit the restaurant and order that entrée and to do their grocery shopping on the day that would benefit your charity. 

Let me offer one caution here. Companies, large and small, usually want publicity for their support.  Understand all expectations before entering into an agreement with a local business or a large national company. Also, be very aware of the public perception of your organization if it is affiliated with a specific company. Would your reputation be damaged by affiliating yourselves with a particular company? Your organization’s reputation is one of its key assets and should not be compromised for a donation. 

If you would like to learn more about corporate giving in general, you might want to consider the Foundation Center’s classes covering this topic on the web and on-site. The Foundation Center – Atlanta offers a free class on-site about once per month called Introduction to Corporate Giving. Check the Atlanta calendar for exact dates and to register.  

The Center also offers a free 60-minute webinar with the same title about once per month. Check the webinar calendar for times and registration. 

There are a number of articles and books on the topic of giving by companies. You can find them in the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature at the Center’s website using the search term "Corporate philanthropy".

 What experience have you had with fundraising among smaller and medium-sized companies? Any tips to share with your colleagues? What experience have you had with in-kind gifts? How has the economic downturn affected your donations from businesses?

Pattie Johnson, Director, Foundation Center – Atlanta