Wordle Version of Last Post

Friends:

I thought it would be fun to see what my last post looked like as a "wordle" cloud. Here's the result.

Click Here.

Talk to you soon!

Bob

Remainderman of the Day

Friends,

Amidst the roller-coaster ride of the stock market, along with great skepticism and uncertainty about the federal government's bailout of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banks, homeowners--you name it--philanthropy seems to be holding its own for the time being. On the MajorGiving.com listserv this past week we've been discussing the fact that many nonprofits are leaving money on the table by not having in place at least a rudimentary planned giving program in place.

I find this not only shocking, but reckless.

In a recent posting on the Planned Giving Design Center website, Robert F. Sharpe, Jr. discusses the economic impact on giving and advises us that right now donors--particularly older people--might be looking for gifts that provide income to themselves or to loved ones in the present or near future (charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities) or that provide future income benefits and security to a loved one (charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts with wealth replacement). Sharpe further tells us that "all roads now seem to lead to gift plans [that] ... should be structured so as to possess as many of the following attributes as possible:

• enables a client to make a large gift in relation to his means in a way that addresses a personal financial or economic challenge that would otherwise preclude the gift;

• provides maximum benefits to the charitable recipient within a reasonable period of time;

• places no undue investment risk on either the donor or the charitable recipient; and

• affords the donor with maximum tax savings and other economic benefits.
  

The not-for-profits and advisors who master the incredible flexibility and power of these planning tools, as well as the tax savings, asset management, predictability and other advantages they bring, will find no shortage of eager donors and clients.

The impulse towards a bunker mentality right now is understandable among nonprofit managers who fear the unknown and are risk-averse (and wary of making a financial investment). And, while it would have been better for most of them to have launched planned giving programs when times were good, it's still not too late. With donors now keeping an ever more watchful eye on how their philanthropic dollars are being spent and on ways for their dollars to have maximum value for both the institutions they support and for their own economic well-being, it seems unconscionable not to roll out or expand your planned giving program now.

Talk to you soon!

Bob

False Dichotomy

Friends,

I was listening to one of several local public radio stations yesterday morning, and I was struck by the urgent tone of their fund drive. Shades of the old days...when on-air fundraising constituted begging and haranguing and creating the false dichotomy of "send us money or we'll shut down this station." It always reminded me of this great National Lampoon cover (believe it or not, I recently mentioned it to a bright, young professional, and she said, "I didn't know that National Lampoon had a magazine").

Fundraisers are more than ever being swept up into the urgency of meeting financial goals, so much so that good principals are being ignored. The desperation I heard yesterday as this station was struggling half-way into an hour of Morning Edition and needed to raise $800 to meet a $1300 goal made me shudder and switch over to music on my i pod. While I don't think that anyone could have forecast the current state of our economy at the beginning of the year, the hopeless frenzy of their tone led me to doubt the fiscal soundness of their organization.

While we're all watching the stock market in disbelief, and while this may be the most dire financial crisis we've seen in a long time, philanthropy should hold its own--historically it has during other major financial setbacks. The last thing nonprofits should do is suggest that their own financial underpinnings are too weak to hold. Why would any donor invest in a sinking ship?

I certainly wouldn't sugar-coat the messages; being clear about your need for financial support in order to provide your service to the community can be a powerful and compelling message in itself without the histrionics and hand-wringing.

I'm a fan of marketing whiz Seth Godin, who recently posted in his blog:

Inc. magazine reports that a huge percentage of companies in this year's Inc. 500 were founded within months of 9/11. Talk about uncertain times.

But uncertain times, frozen liquidity, political change and poor astrological forecasts (not to mention chicken entrails) all lead to less competition, more available talent and a do-or-die attitude that causes real change to happen.

If I wasn't already running my own business, today is the day I'd start one.

Challenging times require innovation and an eye towards opportunity. This applies equally to the nonprofit sector as it does to for-profits.

Talk to you soon!

Bob