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Anonymous gift? Be careful!
July 22, 2009
 Dorothy S. Ridings is retired president of the Council on Foundations and a longtime member of the board of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is also one of In Trust's Governance Mentors.
In May, the New York Times published a letter by Ridings warning of the possible dangers of nonprofit organizations accepting donations from completely anonymous donors. She understands the need for occasional public anonymity, but she feels the institution's board should always know who the donor is.
Read Dorothy S. Ridings' letter to the editor of the New York Times here.
Later in May, public radio host Dick Gordon interviewed Ridings on this topic on his radio program, The Story. Listen to the interview here. (To listen, go to the bottom of the page and click on the arrow below "Listen Now." The interview with Ridings begins just past the halfway mark.)
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Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: Fundraising
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New chapel coming to Baptist seminary
March 22, 2009
Chapels are a particular interest of mine, so I was pleased to see this good news from the Associated Baptist Press: "Gift of $2 million to fund new chapel on Central Seminary campus."
 Central Baptist Theological Seminary has turned itself around in recent years. The school left its longtime home in Kansas City, Kansas, and moved to a smaller, less expensive building in the suburbs -- thus reducing its expenses considerably. Now the school is building on that new campus.
In the Autumn 2005 issue of In Trust, I wrote on three other seminaries that had recently built new chapels. If you are affililated with a seminary that is a member of In Trust, you can read that article here. (You'll need to sign in first.) To check if your school is a member, view the list of member schools.
Read the article from the Associated Baptist Press here.
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: Campus | Fundraising
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More funders demand good governance, new study says
March 14, 2009
A new study finds that grant-makers are increasingly interested in the development of their grantees' governance structures, according to an article in the current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. BoardSource and FSG Social Impact Advisers jointly issued the report.
 The report's title is "Advancing Good Governance: How Grantmakers Invest in the Governance of Nonprofit Organizations." The authors interviewed people from 54 grant-making organizations, including foundations and corporations. The found that most granters are working at strengthening the boards of the organizations they fund.
Kathy K. Hedge, one of the report's authors, says that funders are aware of the "power dynamics" that exist between those who are giving the money and those who are receiving it. She believes funders try to mitigate this inevitability.
The Chronicle reports that Hedge believes granters are not just concerned about due diligence, but about real board education. "It's not just about, Is the board meeting their legal requirements, but going beyond that in the spirit of trying to be helpful."
You must be a subscriber to the Chronicle of Philanthropy to read the full text of the article.
The full text of the report is available in PDF form from BoardSource.
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Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: Fundraising | Governance Best Practices
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Grandma and grandpa are online
February 23, 2009
 The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently released a new report on "Generations Online in 2009." It's a nine-page PDF document that you can open in a new window here.
I'm particularly interested in knowing how many older people are surfing the Internet these days, so this caught my eye:
- Of all the people online these days, 24 percent are 55 or older.
- Of all the people ages 55 to 59, 71 percent are online. And of all the people 75 and older, 27 percent are online!
The report suggests something to me: As we plan our delivery systems (for fundraising and "friend-raising," for promotional materials, for church relations), we must take into account the power of the Web, even for the senior members of our constituency.
On the other hand, almost three quarters of the over-75 crowd are not yet online. And since everyone -- everyone! -- should be thinking about planned giving and the generosity and wisdom of our elders, it would be foolish to ignore old-fashioned print media and personal contacts in our rush to the Web.
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: Fundraising | Marketing | Technology
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