Have some extra stuff, want to help?

Now and again, you likely say to yourself, "I don't have cash right now to give, but I do have this extra thingamajig that is perfectly useful and I wish someone could use it."  Or perhaps you would prefer to give a very specific thing to a non-profit instead of money?

For those of you of that ilk, we would like to let you know to whom you might be able to give in that way. This post's target?  The needs of Life's Kitchen.

The mission of Life's Kitchen is to transform the lives of at-risk young adults by building self-sufficiency and independent living through comprehensive food service and life skills training and placement in the food service industry.  They run a pretty amazing eatery on Capitol Blvd., where you can grab lunch Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and know that you are not only partaking of a thoroughly yummy lunch, but you are also helping a great organization and some pretty fabulous young adults.

Their menu changes weekly, and you might want to sign up to get it emailed to you. They also cater events, and we have to say that it's generally always of darn good quality.

The young adults in the program go through a 16-week training, and, as you might gather, cooking is something that needs ... stuff.  Here are some of the items that Life's Kitchen has recently indicated would be welcome:

A Diamond elliptical steel commercial blender
New (2 yrs old or less) scanner
Black "Dickies" pants (32 x 32, 36x34, 36x30, 34x36)
Deodorant
White t-shirts (all sizes except small)
Female black pants sizes 7-12
Combination Locks

If you might be so inclined as to donate any of the items noted above, please call Kathy or Erin at 208-331-0199.

TrICA - Annual Spring Fundraiser and Auction

Are the wiggleworms getting to your child this spring?  Does he have a good case of the fidgets?  We might have just the cure for you – the Treasure Valley Institute for Children’s Arts (TrICA).

TrICA provides a variety of programs that give children an outlet for their energy and creativity, from dance to drumming, painting to plucking guitar strings.  It looks like the kids are having a whole lot of fun, but it really is more than that.  They are exercising developing parts of their brain and creating a foundation for learning.  Studies show again and again that children who are exposed to and participate in artistic endeavors perform better in school and are more likely to achieve academic success.

You can support TrICA’s programs and its efforts to build its permanent home at its upcoming Annual Spring Fundraiser.  On Thursday, May 28 from 6:30-9:00 pm, enjoy the beautiful setting at the Barber Park Event Center and help bring more joy, laughter and learning to our children.  You can bid on amazing experiences while savoring a delicious dinner, all to benefit TrICA.

Tickets are $75 each ($600 for a table for eight).  For information or to purchase tickets, call 484-0142 or email Nellie@tricarts.org.

Make Your Fundraiser Work With These 5 Tips

The start of a new year is typically a time of reflection on what works and what needs to be changed in order to continue. Fundraising events are no exception. While we love traditions, this is a good time to assess whether those traditions are still relevant or a fresh perspective is needed.

This year more than ever, innovation will be required to be able to meet fundraising goals. In a year of change and of new thinking, it is time to see if a boost of vitality is required for your fundraising events.

It seems to us that every organization thinks it has to have an annual fundraising "gala" on a weekend night, with a silent and live auction being the highlights of the event. Maybe this is a good time to see whether a new twist is needed in that formula. Here are a few of our suggestions:

1 Forego the auction, or, at least, don't assume you have to have one
Consider whether the time and effort is worth the funds generated. Is there another element you could use that would utilize less volunteer and staff time, to allow them to concentrate on other aspects of your organization?

2 If you do have an auction, make it reflect your organization's mission
You want your event to stand out in your attendees' memories. If they see the same items as in other auctions, the auction itself will not be memorable nor will guests associate your organization with that item afterwards.

Tailoring the auction to a theme that imparts your organization's mission is a relatively easy way to make your event stand out. The Learning Lab's auction of books and the Humane Society's pet-themed silent auction are great examples of this approach.

3 Consider changing the day or time your event is held
Having an event on a weeknight, or during breakfast or lunch can mix things up a bit. There are a couple of months each year that are packed with fundraising events, so take a look at the calendar to see what else might be competing for attention that day.

4 Make conveying your mission the priority for the event
Too many fundraising events have little to no connection with the cause. If your charity focuses on education, for example, is there a way you can incorporate that into the event?

It might be as simple as having live auction items that have some educational piece and labeling them like you would classrooms or grades. Every touch you have that can remind the audience of the cause and why they are there will encourage their generosity and keep your cause in their mind for a long time afterward.

5 Make the event fun!
There are many venues and ways to make your event sparkle and stand out. There are benefits to keeping your usual venue and maintaining consistency, but a well-hatched plan to change things up can also reinvigorate the event and your donors' passion for the cause.

Brainstorm a fun raffle you can add that maintains some excitement throughout the evening and helps raise funds. Look at adding some inexpensive decorations that can reinforce your theme and remind donors of the cause. Hire one of the local bands to play before or after the event for dancing or just making the mood more festive.

Many thanks to all of the terrific nonprofit organizations in our community that help so many of our neighbors! We wish everyone a very happy, healthy and generous 2009!

Idaho Community Foundation – Giving in Idaho

Last week we talked about considering making a charitable contribution as a method for holiday gift-giving.  Whether through a national online service or through a specific nonprofit, giving a donation is a way of ensuring that your gift is returned to the global or local community, never to a store.

Another way of giving is to focus on the needs of Idaho.  An organization that provides both broad and specific support throughout the state is the Idaho Community Foundation.  Whether as a charitable holiday gift or as part of your own year-end giving, ICF can help provide good stewardship and allocation of resources with an eye on the needs of our state.

The Idaho Community Foundation is a statewide nonprofit organization composed of over 370 individual funds, pooled together for efficient management. To achieve its mission of enriching the quality of life throughout Idaho, ICF accepts and invests funds from donors and grants the funds for a broad variety of philanthropic projects statewide.

Since its inception in 1988, ICF has made charitable distributions in Idaho totaling more than $31 million.  In the last calendar year alone, the Foundation awarded grants totaling $4.5 million to nonprofit groups in all of Idaho’s 44 counties.

You can choose to donate to one of the hundreds of existing funds, a list of which is available on ICF’s website.  Such funds include scholarships for particular areas of study, support of regional area or local needs, assisting in statewide conservation, and others. 

You can also choose to establish your own fund and determine its objectives and guidelines.  The kinds of such funds, as well as information on initial monetary requirements, are available on ICF’s website.

If you don’t have a specific philanthropy in mind, you can make a donation to one of the “Greatest Need” funds which address the ever-changing needs throughout Idaho, including regional needs.

For more information on the Idaho Community Foundation, go to www.idcomfdn.org or call 342.3535. 

Giving Significant Gifts to Loved Ones

We all want to give gifts of significance to our loved ones, reflecting the interests of gift recipients over our own. One of the most genuine and generous expressions of this is to give a donation to one of their favorite charities.

In these lean times, when we are all assessing our need for consumption, making a donation to a charity is a wonderful way to make a difference with your gift-giving while telling the gift recipient that you respect the issues that matter to him or her.

There are many options available for charitable gift-giving. Online services offer a single place to access a variety of charities. Each online service has a service fee that is included in the transaction. Check the terms and conditions on each Web site.

Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org) and JustGive (www.justgive.org) are two of the largest online services. They offer access to more than 1.7 million local, national and international charities through their interface with GuideStar.

There are several ways that a donation can be made. Some online services offer electronic gift cards or gift certificates that can be redeemed by recipients at the charities of their choice. Many offer the ability for a person to set up an online wish list of favorite charities. You can then search for that person's list either by his or her e-mail address or by name, and donate directly to a selected charity.

You also can contact a nonprofit organization directly, if you know the person's favorite charities, thus eliminating the fees charged by the online service. Many nonprofit organizations, both locally and nationally, offer the option of sending a gift card in someone's name for a donation.

Tune in next week to find out about Idaho Community Foundation's options for giving to the funds within the foundation.

Check out Charitable Gift Cards for more information about these services, including a sample e-mail requesting friends and family to consider donating to charities as a gift option.

Idaho Community Foundation - 20th Annual Luncheon

Looking for a great way to support many organizations and thousands of your neighbors at one time?  Then check out the Idaho Community Foundation.

The Idaho Community Foundation is a public charity made up of hundreds of individual funds that are accounted for separately but whose monies are pooled for more efficient and cost effective management.  It can be a great way for a nonprofit to establish its endowment or general fund and save on costs, so more money may be available to go to those in need.

There are literally hundreds of funds with the ICF, from funds that are to be distributed to organizations in certain parts of Idaho to those that are to be distributed for certain causes or issues.  If you have a favorite charity, cause or area you would like to help, you need to check out the ICF’s website at www.idcomfdn.org.

You can support your favorite organization or cause by donating to its fund, and you can support the ICF by becoming one of its members.  The ICF provides valuable information to any donor about giving choices and your impact on an organization.

You can also support the ICF and help them continue to offer these much-needed services by attending their 20th annual luncheon on May 21, 2008 at the Boise Centre on the Grove from 12- 1:30 p.m.  As a special treat, you will have an opportunity to hear from one of our country’s top experts in giving, Steve Gunderson, President and CEO on the Council on Foundations.

Mr. Gunderson will share his perspective on how organized giving presents a multitude of opportunities and how your gift, when paired with another, can actually be multiplied in its effect.  Tickets are $50, and may be obtained by calling 342-3535.

Celebrate the Art of Wine with Beaux Arts Society

When you think of art institutions that have shaped Idaho, the Boise Art Museum is pre-eminent in that list. From highlighting Idaho artists in its collection to providing art education to students all over, BAM is top-notch. You can find paintings, sculptures, drawings, and multi-media presentations that challenge you and calm you here. 

To help build on the collection and support its exhibits, the Beaux Arts Societe is hosting its 21^st Annual Wine Festival with so many ways you can participate to ensure education and the arts continue in Boise. 

From April 20-24, you can attend an exquisite dinner where each course is paired with a perfect wine at a different restaurant around the Treasure Valley. SixOneSix, 8^th Street Wine Co., Berryhill & Co., and Chandlers have each provided their talents for this endeavor. Tickets are $125 per person, per dinner. Call 345-8330 x. 26 for reservations.

On Friday, April 25 at the Centre on the Grove, you can sample the best of 250 wineries and enjoy live music, appetizers and a great silent auction. Tickets are $50 beforehand or $55 at the door. Contact www.idahotickets.com or 424-1494 for reservations.

Last (but certainly NOT least), the Wine Festival Gala will take place on Saturday, April 26 at the Arid Club, with wine tasting, dinner, and dancing to the always fabulous Sally Tibbs and Kevin Krik Jazz Band. Tickets are $125 per person. Call 345-8330 x. 26 for reservations.

Do You Maximize Your Online Donations?

Do you make it easy for donors to give to you online?  Do you use email, your website and other electronic technology to reach out to donors?  A new study by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research will give many nonprofits food for thought in how they can increase major donations through more strategic use of technology.   

You can download the study through this webpage (free registration is required). It's a fairly quick read, but contains a wealth (ha!) of information.

The researchers looked at 23 "major nonprofit organizations" and their donors, receiving over 3,400 responses from those they call the "Wired Wealthy" - those who had given at least $1000 cumulatively to an organization in the prior year, and the median gift was $4,500.

The median age of the respondents was 50, and 63% of them were under 55 years old. What I love is that they note that 90% of the respondents make purchases online, 65% read the news online, and 52% if them regularly visit YouTube.  So why wouldn't they also give online if they are used to conducting transactions and getting information online?

There seemed to be 3 primary personality groupings for the respondents: the Relationship Seekers (29%) who want to connect emotionally with the cause, All Business (30%) who would visit your website only to donate as they are not looking for the heartstring stories but just a well-run organization, and the Casual Connectors (41%) who are in between the other two and like getting a little of the warm fuzzies and a little of the financials.

On average, 80% of these donors had donated online in the last year.  46% of the respondents said that they are going to increase the donations they make online within the next 5 years, and 51% say they prefer to give online rather than through postal mail.  That would make you think "hey, then what's the problem? The donors are finding us, they're giving ... it's all good, right?" Wrong. Because donors might like your cause, but with people spending more and more time online and less time sifting through their mail, if they find it hard to get the information they are looking for from your website, you might fall off their radar as they get frustrated or are just uninspired. 

Only 40% of the donors said that the websites of organizations they support were actually inspiring or made them feel connected, and only 48% said that most charities' website are well-designed. This clearly shows some room for improvement to help increase your donations.  Make your website clear, organized and easy to find information on what you are doing, how you make an impact and (most importantly!) how someone can give.  I know, easier said than done.  Few nonprofits can keep a fulltime webmaster around. Remember, though - these donors aren't asking for your website to have whiz-bang things flying around on the page, ultracool music playing in the background and  graphics that rival some top European designer's website - they want to be able to easily find out what you are doing and how you are spending their money.

This might be an interesting experiment ... ask a couple friends if they can find three different pieces of information about your organization in just 5 minutes on your website. Pick things that you would want any donor to know about you - find a story that inspires them, find the date of an upcoming fundraiser, and find the page where they can donate. These are three basic things that any visitor to your website really should be able to find in about 30 seconds, but give them 5 minutes. If they can't find the information that quickly, it might be time to get a couple Board members, volunteers or staff members to help in re-organizing your website. This will take some time, and hopefully won't be a drain, but it's sort of like spring cleaning - it can occupy your whole weekend but at the end, your home is more ... homey and organized.

Another topic that was discussed was the use of email by nonprofits.  The study quotes marketing guru Seth Godin's book, Permission Marketing, which recommends that any email an organization sends be "anticipated, personal, and relevant."  The study respondents indicated that they don't feel that most nonprofits really meet this standard. They get plenty of emails from the nonprofits they support, but a lot goes unread and most of it is not inspiring.  This might seem discouraging, but it actually isn't that bad - you can already see the solution, and it actually could result in slightly less work for your organization with higher returns ... fewer email messages with concise stories that demonstrate your organization's impact should have a much stronger impression on these donors.

What information do they want?  A majority in each of the personality groups said they would appreciate a tax receipt at the end of the year (71%) and they want to know whether their donation was put to good use. How simple is that?  The Relationship Seekers and Casual Connectors also like action alerts and success stories.  The study didn't ask what would be an acceptable frequency of getting emails, which would have been interesting to hear.

All in all, the study has some great little nuggets of information and the recommendations at the end are worth looking through to find out how your organization can take advantage of technology to improve your donations and please your supporters.

Upcoming INDC Training: Keys to Successful Organizational Evaluation & Performance Measurement

Just a quick reminder that the Idaho Nonprofit Development Center is holding what looks to be another great training session: Keys to Successful Organizational Evaluation & Performance Measurement.  For only  $15, you can gain valuable insight into how to gauge the performance of your organizations. This can be so vital not only to fundraising efforts, but also to just lowering your own stress and making your organization even more efficient and productive!

To register, visit the INDC website here.

Is it Time to Get Rid of Your Fundraising Committee?

Does this sound like your Board at all:  You have a fundraising committee with 4 Board members, 3 staff members, and you cannot understand why the Board isn't more active in the events and asks for your organization?  Your committee has a clear objective, after all, but the results aren't showing up.

At the annual conference for the Association of Fundraising Professionals held this past week, one speaker suggested getting rid of your fundraising committee.  Why?  With such committees, the Board gets used to the fund raising being handled by those on the committee ("that's their responsibility, not mine!"), and the Board members on the committee end up expecting the staff members to do the heavy lifting for events and such, and so it's no wonder that you might not be seeing the results you're expecting.

I agree with Jan Brazell, the speaker, that giving the Board members meaningful work helps tremendously (though I'm not sure I'm on board - ha! - with her idea of inviting other nonprofit leaders or government officials to each Board meeting to discuss local issues ... ).  When I'm given a specific task to do - call Joe Smith about this, check with Acme Corp. about sponsoring this event - I'm far more likely to actually get something accomplished than when I'm asked to do something broader and less-defined such as just think about how the organization might be able to increase its revenue this year.

Throwing out the committee entirely, though, may not be the best idea for many organizations. If you can put together a committee of interested Board members who then go to the rest of the Board and give each other Board member something to do, it might be far more effective than having the fundraising discussions during the Board meeting. Some Board members just aren't as interested in brainstorming the topics that are brought up in fundraising discussions, but if someone else does the thinking and asks them to do a discrete task, they're happy to step up to the plate. So long as the whole Board is told that there is an expectation that they will help with fundraising, it seems like there is little harm in pooling together those who enjoy it to come up with the big plan and then involve the Board in the activities to complete the plan.

Sometimes it just takes having the conversation with the Board and asking them why they are not more involved in fundraising to see what you need to do. The answers might really surprise you.