Not-for-Profit Quarterly Newsbits: May 2017

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High net worth donors: Generous with their money and time

Donors from households with net assets of $1 million or more — or those that bring home at least $200,000 annually — on average made donations totaling $25,509 in 2015 compared to an average of $2,124 from the general population, according to the 2016 U.S. Trust® Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy. And, on average, these high net worth households gave to eight different nonprofits. Also, wealthy donors who volunteered gave 56% more, on average, than those who didn’t volunteer. And 83% of wealthy donors plan to give as much or more in the next three years.

 

Legacy not-for-profits go digital to attract Millennial donors

Large organizations such as United Way and the American Red Cross are turning to online appeals to reach Millennial donors who are “rewriting the rules of fundraising,” Adweek reports. One of the biggest challenges is engaging these donors through new fundraising channels. The not-for-profits are responding by ramping up efforts in crowdfunding, mobile and other digital modes of giving. United Way, for example, raised $570,000 for its “Restore Baltimore” campaign via crowdfunding.

 

Survey sheds light on hiring challenges

According to this year’s Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey™ from Nonprofit HR and GuideStar, the ability to pay competitive wages ranks as the top staffing challenge faced by nonprofits for the fifth consecutive year. Since 2014, the second largest challenge has been finding qualified staff.

Organizations have the most trouble retaining employees in direct services (positions that work directly with clients), followed by fundraising development. And these are areas where the most job growth is expected in the coming year, suggesting the possibility of more staffing problems going forward. The survey report asserts that the increasing number of “entities that are blending purpose and profit” (for example, Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia) means job seekers have more opportunities to engage in mission-driven work than ever before.

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