Be one of the first ten people to answer this question correctly to be entered in the drawing for this month’s prize, the Godiva Chocolate Basket!
Question: Where was the Slate 60 Philanthropy Conference held this year?
As readers of THA know, Heritage is celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. Reflecting on how far we have come over that time is amazing. Being a pioneer of telefundraising was not easy, nor is serving over 180 of America’s greatest charities today. We have been very blessed in our 5 decades of service, and in the holiday season, we want to extend our best wishes to our partners who do such great work serving those in need.
For the US delegation to the World Special Olympics Games in Shanghai, the experience was like nothing they had ever known. In the words of one observer, “It is fun to see the athletes doing well, but more enjoyable to watch their interactions with the extremely large crowds…and the expressions on their faces.” Congratulations to our US teams on making it to the World Games, and welcome home!
A Heritage team member calling for one of our charity partners reached a previous donor who had made six previous gifts, with an average gift of $37.50. The call resulted in a gift of $100,000. The lessons from this wonderful event include the importance of treating every donor as if they could be a six-figure giver, as well as the value of penetrating lapsed files appropriately.
The Slate 60 Philanthropy Conference, held at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, featured the recognition of some of the world’s greatest nonprofit supporters. The event featured panel discussions with an emphasis on education, and included a presentation from former President Clinton. The full Slate 60 list of the top philanthropists will be published in February. Attendees included nonprofit leaders and spokespersons, such as actor Michael J. Fox.
A recent fundraising article gave a number of common mistakes that charities make in their fundraising efforts. Do any of these describe your campaigns? If so, contact your account executive to see how Heritage can help!
- Believing a great cause equals great donations.
- Not evaluating major gift prospects.
- Inadequately thanking past donors.
While some nonprofits have benefited greatly from their direct mail campaigns, Steve Hitchcock has noted that others have seen the benefits of using the phone in their efforts as well. The “silo” phenomenon of keeping these two campaigns separate can prevent a charity from knowing the benefits of a coordinated campaign. The exchange of data between these two campaigns can serve to help nonprofits contact their donors in the way—or multiple ways—they prefer, and the multi-media approach allows the donor to get to know the organization better and have more opportunities to give.
Three recent court cases involving donor intent have been heard, and can have significant ramifications for nonprofits. These cases involved gifts to Randolph-Macon College, Tulane University, and Princeton University. These gifts involved endowments set up for specific uses by these institutions, and the case law they create may have impacts on many nonprofits and how they may use restricted gifts. Watch this space for more details as these cases unfold.
Nonprofit web-based fundraiser Convio has been the victim of computer hacking into their database. Since this system tracks personal information email address and passwords, the ramifications of such a breach could be far-reaching. While small in stature compared to some commercial data security breaches involving credit card data, this instance is the first time that nonprofits have been involved in such an issue. Heritage is extraordinarily cautious with such data and uses sophisticated encryption systems to combat this threat, which becomes more real daily.
The 2008 Smokin’ Blues and BBQ Challenge in Hammond, Louisiana will have as its featured beneficiary Special Olympics Louisiana. The event will be the largest barbecue festival in the state for the fifth year in a row, and will have over 60 teams competing. What a great (and tasty) way to raise support and awareness for Special Olympics!
We have a new website! Its fresh, airy look and feel is part of our efforts to communicate with our charity partners about what we can do for you. Check it out at www.theheritagecompany.com!
One of our own was honored to have a piece on teleservices published in a leading industry publication, DMNews recently.
Donors to our charity partners sometimes have questions—sometimes, LOTS of questions. In fact, our Donor Services team answered over 26,000 calls from donors last year. This team is led by two of our most experienced team members, and is trained to handle every question your supporters have. Some of the issues they address include legitimacy, the location of events, and fulfillment questions—and they even process gifts via credit card! This service is just one more way we help our charity partners serve their donors in an effective, meaningful way.