Who Gives?

Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your spring so far.  
Spring is always an exciting time for me as I enjoy getting out into nature and it's a wonderful blossoming that begins occurring.  It is also the second-best quarter of the year for giving. You want to be sure that you're doing good relational solicitation work this quarter. Remember that the three key functions for fundraising programs are:

1. Cultivation - learning about those who care
2. Stewardship - affirming those who care
3. Solicitation - Inviting those who care into opportunities

If we're not doing good cultivation and stewardship work, solicitation just becomes transactional. That good work or poor work (depending on what you are doing) will show up now and in the future based on how donors care for your organization.
90% of fundraising is cultivation and 10% of stewardship is solicitation. Unfortunately, many organizations have that reversed and then they're left wondering why people aren't supporting them at deeper levels.  

As you think about the process it is also good to think about who gives.   In a compilation of various research from the IU Lilly School of Philanthropy, Stanford Social Innovations, Gallop, Max Moser, etc, I have listed below a few things you may find of interest. 

1. The vast majority of individual donors in the US are volunteers
2. The vast majority of donors in the US are people of faith - they don't track what faith, but faith is important to them
3. Women give more than men do on an individual comparison - 156% more
4. 60% of donors in the US are women
5. Families give about 120% more than single individuals
6. 70% of giving comes from baby boomers

Take from this what you want, but it’s often good to have context.  

This month's podcast is on board governance with one of the country's leading experts on nonprofit board governance.  I hope you enjoy it and you have a successful May!  

Jamie