TED KENNEDY SAILS ON

One of my favorite personal Ted Kennedy stories: Sen. Kennedy showed up unaccompanied at a reception my organization was hosting on Capitol Hill. As previous guests before him, Sen. Kennedy stepped to the registration table where our vigilant (and stunned) student interns wrote out his name tag. He made some polite chit chat with them before sticking the label on his suit and wading into the affair … as if anyone in Washington would mistake the man.

He carried out the Kennedy agenda his brothers were denied. He championed the rights of the poor, minorities and women; opposed any form of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age or sexual orientation. This extremely wealthy man sided with workers, immigrants and refugees. He expanded access to education and health care and fairness in the courts, administrative agencies, and the Justice Department. He opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. He supported every major gun-safety initiative since the Gun Control Act of 1968. He was hard-working and always gracious to me. As Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick acknowledged at his interment service, “[W]e always were touched by his passion for the underdog, for the rights of working people, for better education and for adequate health care for every American. His legacy will surely place him among the dozen or so greats in the history of the Senate of the United States."

May the wind be at your back….

MOZILLA SERVICE

The first annual Mozilla Service Week will match thousands of "techie" volunteers around the world with nonprofits in need of help with IT, web design, programming, blogging and more. Mozilla Service Week will take place September 14-21, 2009. Thousands of organizations have already posted their need for volunteers. If your group could use a hand or if you are a talented techie who would like to make a difference, please go to:http://mozillaservice.org

MAX-IMIZE BOARD EFFECTIVENESS

Reminiscent of ol’ Mother Hubbard, recently my cupboard was bare and Max was without dog chow. I dashed to the nearest grocery store without a coupon, foregoing the pet store farther away that regularly discounts provisions. Like some nonprofits, I was desperate!

Many groups are practicing time-is-of-the-essence fundraising. In a financial crisis, they are turning to their board members to bring in money hastily to cover a budget shortfall or major financial loss. By doing so, development professionals are setting Board members up for unpleasant (and very often unsuccessful) fundraising experiences. Fundraising is about building relationships, friend-raising. It can’t be done on the fly.

Our rule of thumb is usually seven touch points before a supporter is asked for a major gift. Use information beyond donations to personalize and improve relationships. Track events; newsletters; correspondence whether by mass or individual email, letter or phone calls; personal meetings; correspondence; surveys; birthday greetings; previous appeals. Integrating interest and capacity ratings into your tracking system clarifies readiness and will focus your Board member solicitation process and appeals. Board members, a precious commodity, will appreciate it.

THE DECIDER

A survey sponsored by Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund of 1,000 adults who had given $1,000+ to charity in 2007 — half of whom had donated $5,000 or more — found that more women than men act as primary decision-maker in determining how much to donate and which causes to support. Of the 11 percent of respondents who were women with household incomes of at least $150,000, these high-income women were more likely to make public gifts to charity, to use more complicated financial structures to make gifts, and to seek the guidance of financial advisors.