eHartsook on Philanthropy
MARCH 2010

IN THIS ISSUE

image Consider This
image Client Victories
image Kudos
image Welcome Aboard!
image Giving Back
image Giving in Kansas City
image National Growing Philanthropy Conference
image International Conference on Fundraising
image Between the Lines
image From the Podium
image New Clients and Extensions


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"In this time of economic uncertainty, Hartsook Companies is pleased to announce yet another successful quarter in our company's history. Nonprofit institutions are understanding their heightened responsibility to focus their fundraising priorities and resources on experienced talent who can implement strategies that are research-based and proven. This is why we continue to lead the field."

Bob Hartsook,
Founder and CEO

Consider This

photoMillions are still being given away. Harder to find? Yes. More difficult to close? Darn right. Creativity required? Absolutely.

I recently participated in a live discussion sponsored by The Chronicle of Philanthropy on getting million dollar gifts in this economy. The information exchanged in this dialogue was inspiring. You can review the discussion at: http://philanthropy.com/article/Seeking-Big-Gifts-in-Tough/63880/

Readers of my blog will know that my company and I place much of the responsibility for fundraising success on the fundraiser's back.

I have written before about the research on million dollar gift lists; several organizations try to manage them. My mentor, Art Franzreb and I imparted his Million Dollar Gift List to Indiana University.

What does it take to find a million dollar gift today?

Persistence and tenacity, as always. But now - more than ever - there must be an intense interest in getting on the side of the donor. Here are five tips for you to take or leave. If I were you, I would take them.

  1. Listen for success. Fundraisers are like everyone else in that they can get sucked into a media-driven "everyone lost money and no one is giving away" mentality. "Nobody" and "everybody" don't do anything. But if we aren't listening, success will pass us by!

  2. Be aware. There is a sensitivity to making large gifts during a struggling economy. One million dollar donor didn't want his gift announced because he had laid off 10 percent of his work force. Even though this gift came from him personally, he was afraid of what his employees would think.

  3. Work with the donor. For a social service group, a campaign leader wanted to make a million dollar gift based on the sale of land. He was going to wait until it was sold. Instead, we created a contract pledge in which he gave the organization a pledge of $1 million or 10% of the sale - whichever was greater.

  4. Find out where the money is. Somebody's making money all the time. I know a residential apartment owner whose banker is telling him to raise his rents because his occupancy is too high. There is a medical building contractor who's never trusted the stock market and has invested exclusively in CD's. He pledged $18 million last October - a gift that is yet to be announced - to his favorite public service nonprofit through his own foundation, along with $80 million in gifts (unannounced) that benefit five charities.

  5. Make bequest giving a priority. Almost 96% of all planned gifts are bequests. Now is the time to tie them down. Earlier research clearly illustrated that 85% of all endowments were created when someone died. IRA's are not the best devices to transfer wealth to family.

Okay, now I have given you the ways to get million dollar gifts. Certainly, a nonprofit and a philanthropist must exist in order for these gifts to occur, but I will also share the three secrets of million dollar gifts that no one else will tell you:

  1. It is the fundraiser.
  2. It is the fundraiser.
  3. It is the fundraiser.

Fundraisers, the brokers of philanthropy, carry the responsibility for million dollar gifts on their backs. Which fundraisers among us will boldly carry that weight? And who will say it's too heavy and hand it back to the nonprofit, the philanthropist, or the economy?

Stories? Frustrations? Share them with me at http://hartsookcompanies.com/blog/

- Robert F. Hartsook, Chairman and CEO, Hartsook Companies

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