Why is there so little talk about social justice at major conferences on fund raising and philanthropy, asked Simone Joyaux, a Rhode Island fund-raising consultant who conducted a session on the topic Monday morning at the annual meeting of the Association of Fund-Raising Professionals meeting in San Diego.

She said fund raisers should think more deeply about how their practices go against efforts to promote equity among the poor, minorities, and other disenfranchised people. She said such conversations should not be relegated to social-justice causes but should be part of everyday conversations with fund-raising colleagues, board members, and others.

For instance, she urged fund raisers to talk about whether efforts to honor wealthy donors end up making people who cannot afford to give more feel that they are not part of a social cause.

“Their $25 gift could be the same as as a ...

As thousands of fund raisers gathered in the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday, Paulette Maehara, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals kicked off the organization’s annual meeting by urging fund raisers not to apologize for fund-raising costs.

“We need to stop apologizing and start educating the stakeholders in our communities about what it takes to support the causes we care about,” she said.

She also urged meeting participants to think hard about the next generation of fund raisers. As nonprofit groups have grown increasingly sophisticated in the United States and around the world, she said, “we don’t have enough people in the pipeline.”

“If we all tell our story, we can convince people to make this a career,” she urged those gathered at the conference.

She says she tells young people “become a fund raiser and see the world.” As a sign of global in...

Just because it is called an annual fund, that does not mean donors should be asked to give only once a year.

That is the lesson of a newly released survey of annual funds run by colleges.

Public institutions fared much better than private institutions in attracting donors who give year after year: The amount collected from donors who made repeat gifts rose by a median of 11.5 percent, while private colleges increased such donations by a median of 7.1 percent.

Shaun Keister, a fund raiser at the Iowa State University Foundation who wrote a report that accompanied the survey, thinks he knows why public universities are seeing better returns: Based on his experience consulting with other colleges and universities, he says, “ the publics have been quicker to adopt aggressive fund-raising tactics with their annual funds.”

Instead of seeking donations just one a year, many solicit a...

Blind dates are getting a new meaning at fund-raising galas across the country.

A charity that finances eye research has started holding its fund-raising dinners completely in the dark.

Blind or visually impaired volunteers serve as waiters at the events; plastic runners, ropes, and stanchions placed at regular intervals help waiters find their way.

Diners cope with the challenge of eating in different ways — some get nervous, others laugh, and a lot of food and silverware ends up falling in places they were not intended to land.

The events — called Dining in the Dark-- are run by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The first dinner was held in Irvine, Calif., where 380 people attended and $415,.000 was raised after expenses. The event will now be held in six cities nationwide; the next one is in San Francisco on April 15.

While the events are designed to raise money, the...