Be one of the first ten people to respond to this month’s question and your name will be entered in the drawing for this month’s prize, the Valentine Cookie Tower!
Question: Heritage is nearing a milestone anniversary—have we been in operation for nearly 30, 40, or 50 years?
Critics of joint allocations for combined fundraising and public awareness campaigns have held that this accounting practice lacks legitimacy, claiming that it is an artificial effort to reduce cost of fundraising percentages. The results of Heritage campaigns say otherwise, and in dramatic terms. For one Special Olympics campaign in 2006, Heritage calls produced 145 new athletes, 42 new coaches, 425 attendees at events, 306 volunteers, 8 planned gifts, 3 inclusions in wills, and 73 new families involved in the program. Clearly, there is a tremendous public awareness value to the organization from these outreach campaigns.
In December, our Question of the Month asked our readers for their thoughts on this newsletter. We appreciate the many responses we received, and will be incorporating some of the great suggestions we received. Some of the feedback included:
- I love the new format. It looks friendly and cheerful. It also gets my eye and makes me want to read the article attached to each picture or headline.
- I find the newsletter to be very informative. I enjoy reading about what other Special Olympics are up to and doing.
- I love getting it - the information is always insightful and helpful!
Thank you for reading, and if you have other feedback on how we can make The Heritage Advantage more meaningful to you, please let us know by clicking here.
With any direct marketing campaign, there will always be complaints—for example, residential donors sometimes complain that we called them during their dinnertime. (We would be glad to avoid that if we had the dinner plans for 100 million households!) However, some of the feedback we receive is quite different, such as the message below:
"I just wanted to say thank you! I was contacted the other night by [a Heritage partner]. I became emotional and explained that I had recently lost a loved one because of a drunk driver. I also told this representative that I just couldn't talk…right now. The person said OK and gave me the space I needed. THANK YOU for respecting my feelings!"
Our representatives are trained to handle these situations with tact and care, and we are grateful that it was meaningful to this donor.
In an effort to reach victims of multiple sclerosis who speak Spanish as their primary language, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America has launched a Hispanic Outreach program. That program includes Spanish assistance and information on their website. This resource provides access to information from a neurologist and a nurse coordinator who specialize in dealing with MS.
The VFW of California was pleased to hear Governor Schwarzenegger’s announcement in his State of the State address regarding the Veterans Home of California. The home, located in Yountville, received a $500,000 grant to study what needed to be upgraded and repaired in 2006. Now, if the governor’s proposal is accepted by the General Assembly, the home will receive $100 million. What an amazing opportunity for the California veterans who have served our country!
The waning hours of the 109th Congress saw the passage and presidential approval of a long-awaited postal reform law. This act will modernize the US Postal Service, alleviate its obligations to its retired military employees, and peg rate increases to inflation. It will also have the effect of making rate increases smaller and more predictable, helping direct marketing efforts for nonprofits in particular. This act was the first major legislation dealing with the USPS since 1970.
The "Kiplinger Newsletter" recently reported that the IRS will be revising the Form 990 regarding executive compensation from related organizations. However, there will still be a "tough stance on executive pay practices," and there will be additional examinations for the 2007 tax year. Watch this space for more information.
Charities with $10 or more in assets must now file their Form 990 online, according to the IRS. This rule was first applied for the 2005 tax year for charities with over $100 million in assets. Charities lacking the resources to file online may seek a waiver, though there are inexpensive software tools available to assist with this process. More information is available on the IRS website.
The more contact a donor has with your organization, the stronger will be his or her connection with it. For that reason, Heritage has established full-service contact centers. We contact current and prospective donors through outbound phone campaigns, inbound phone banks, inbound and outbound faxes, and two-way Internet communications through email and the web. The more avenues we have to speak with, to write, to touch your donors, the better we are able to strengthen the connection they feel with your organization. We are searching for even more, creative ways to serve your donors’ needs, and look forward to sharing those with you in the future.