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November 10, 2008

Independent Sector
Fund Raisers 'Don't Whine' in a Tough Economy

“Great fund raisers don’t whine about the economy,” Reynold Levy, president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, told participants at the annual Independent Sector meeting here. “They believe in Noah’s principle: No more credit for predicting rain. Credit only for building arks.”

Among the types of arks Mr. Levy suggested charities build: a larger, more engaged governing board. Trustees, he said, want to do more than just see their name on a letterhead, and charity leaders ought to raise expectations for how much trustees should give and how much they ought to raise.

He also said that charities ought not be shy about how often they make solicitations – “fund raising is like baseball,” he said, where one hit for every two outs makes for a superstar — and should choose carefully who does the asking.

“Donors give to people they admire, not just to causes and organizations they respect,” Mr. Levy said.

And plenty of people, he said, still do have money to give, mostly from gains over the past couple decades, even though they have seen their assets drop recently.

“It’s like taking a 20 percent haircut after 300 percent gains,” Mr. Levy said of the downturn.

He also offered an optimistic take on the hit many professional-services firms are experiencing in this tough economy. As more clients cut back on using their services, Mr. Levy said, more lawyers, accountants, and consultants may be available for pro-bono work.

Charities, he said, should take advantage.

At the meeting here, as in his new book, Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management, Mr. Levy compared being a fund raiser to being a salesman. And, he told participants here who wondered if any of the advice in his book needed updating to fit the new financial realities that, in general, the same rules apply.

“There‚s never a bad season, or year, or day, or economic climate for soliciting donations for a worthy cause,” he said.

— Debra E. Blum

Monday November 10, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. What a terrific perspective on fundraising!

   — Marc A. Pitman    Nov 11, 01:19 PM    #

2. Enough with the problem we all have it lets work with what we have and get the job done.We find recycling a good start in tough times

   — larry0928    Nov 11, 01:50 PM    #

3. Kudos Mr. Levy!
   Regardless of the country’s current economic situation, our mission and purpose marches on. No doubt for most of us the numbers of those in need whom we serve continues to increase. No donor in the world wants to hear more negative news – especially right now. It’s always about what we can make happen . . . working together. . . in all manner of relationships/partnerships. If the current billion dollar cosmetics industry was born out of the Great Depression, just imagine what creativity is on our horizon?

   — Gail Wright    Nov 11, 02:14 PM    #

4. The Lincoln Center may be quite different from the average nonprofit. Therefore what Mr. Levy is proposing is crock! What else would a president say about fund development. Maybe we should solicit the comments of Joe the development director who must raise funds in a tight financial market and has a product less high profile as the Lincoln Center.

   — Lenny    Nov 12, 04:00 PM    #

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