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April 8, 2021 By Helen Brown

Don’t miss these 3 things – International Research, Justice, and Seismic Fundraising Shifts

Hi there! Thanks for coming by the blog today. There are three really interesting and important things that I’d like to amplify this week because I really didn’t want you to miss them.

New newsletter!

The first is a brand-new newsletter by a prospect development colleague I recently met, Nan Nielsen Zhang. Nan is a due diligence / prospect research expert building a relatively new consulting business called Astra Due Diligence focusing on Asian individuals, companies, trusts, and foundations. Nan speaks Chinese (Mandarin and Wu dialect), Japanese, and Korean, (as well as English, Russian, and Spanish) and has built a thriving business because of her talent and unique access to due diligence/research resources in those languages. You can sign up for her free bi-weekly newsletter, China Philanthropy News, at the bottom of her company’s web page.

Bold article

Veteran fundraiser Armando Zumaya has written an important op-ed that was published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy last month. The article, To Achieve Racial Justice in Philanthropy, We Must Invest in Fundraising and Make It Inclusive, provides a roadmap with 5 key on-ramps of action, including making a long-term and deep investment in fundraising, and working to build diversity in the whole nonprofit ecosystem: staff, board, and donor base. In the article, Zumayo boldly and publicly poses a question that many in our sector have been reluctant to ask because of the power differential between donors and recipients: Why don’t foundations make grants that support a nonprofit’s infrastructure – including fundraising?

Seismic shifts

It’s a question that’s critical to the long-term… well, not even growth, but viability of our sector, and that Ford Foundation head Darren Walker is actually doing something about. In this 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl, Walker makes a statement that probably wouldn’t have been uttered 5 or 10 years ago, and even now has not bubbled up into the consciousness of many foundations:

“It is both arrogant and ignorant to believe that you can give money to an organization for your project, and not be concerned about the infrastructure that makes your project possible.”

As a self-described capitalist and former bond trader, Walker views philanthropy from a business perspective, but he is also philosophical about philanthropy’s role in inequity, politics, and ultimately in the future of our country. But it’s not all talk – the Ford Foundation has made bold, extraordinary changes in the past few years to try and change that power differential between the foundation and the nonprofits it supports. Don’t miss the interview – it’s worth your time.

Thanks for letting me share those important and helpful voices with you today – please do check them out. Have a great rest-of-the-week!

Filed Under: Due Diligence, News, Non-profit trends Tagged With: Armando Zumaya, Darren Walker, Nan Zhang

April 1, 2021 By Helen Brown

Philanthropy and prospect research in an (almost) post-Covid world

Happy April! Spring is in the air, vaccines are on the way for those of us in the last tiers, and I’m feeling optimistic about the months ahead for our sector. I’m not alone, because this week, my colleague Michele Borucki, who has been thinking about what a post-COVID nonprofit sector might look like, walks us through some practical steps to take over the next few months to help us emerge strong. ~Helen


Michele Borucki

Michele Borucki

COVID-19 has changed the world in ways no one could have predicted. All industries, including and perhaps even especially philanthropy, have had to make giant shifts in the way they do business and adapt their culture to support, accommodate, and retain employees. Some of the shifts may prove temporary in a post-Covid world, but it’s pretty safe to expect that nothing will have come out of this period entirely unchanged.

While we are still nowhere near “post-Covid”, there seems to be a widening light at the end of the tunnel. In anticipation of better and brighter days, let’s discuss a few ways we can support gift officers (and our beloved research colleagues) as we move into the next phase of pandemic fundraising.

Dig into the data. Now is the perfect time to look at who is giving and at what level.  Pulling reports to track new major gift donors, recent calls, and most recent gifts will allow you to prioritize which donors or prospects your fundraisers should focus on first. Once armed with the data, gift officers can work their networks and schedule stewardship and cultivation meetings with some of our newest donors.

Be proactive. This is a great time to update board bios and re-rate top major gift donors to see whether their wealth has been affected this year, and whether they’re giving somewhere else—and, if so, at what level. Let’s make sure our fundraisers are ready to go the minute they get those meetings scheduled. The research may need a quick refresh before the actual meeting happens, but at least the leg work is done.

Remember that life has changed for many of us, including donors. In the process of updating profiles, we may, sadly, come across a beloved donor or board member who has experienced the loss of family or friends to COVID-19. Make sure to flag this information for the gift officer so they can send condolences. Our donors do so much for our organizations and have been there for us during this difficult time. Let’s return that support. It’s not a jovial stewardship opportunity, but it’s something we can do to show how much we care.

Go (or stay) digital! So many of the adjustments our development shops have made over the past year have worked! We’ve engaged old and new donors, volunteers, and people within our communities by making sure we are visible on social media or local/national/industry news. As prospect researchers, we can use that engagement data to help gift officers focus and prioritize which programs have garnered the most attention. Investing in outreach that we normally wouldn’t have has put our organizations and mission in the spotlight. People have taken notice when they normally may not have known about what we do. When that big gift comes in, shout to the rooftops! Share on all your own platforms and let’s get all the re-shares, likes, hearts, and “care” reactions; it’s the recognition the donors and gift officers deserve for helping us reach our goals and enact tangible change. Your nonprofit may even see new gifts or interest come in from the visibility of these posts. In this new digital/virtual philanthropy era, never underestimate how impactful a shout-out on social media can be.

Follow the donor’s lead. The weather is finally warming up, businesses are starting to reopen for in-person patronage, and every adult in the United States may be eligible for a vaccine by May 1st. While many of us may be more than ready to get back to in-person meetings with our donors and prospects, not all of them may be ready for us. Every person has experienced their own level of trauma during the pandemic, and we will all have a different level of comfort when it comes to face-to-face socializing. Follow your donor’s lead by offering socially distant and/or masked meetings outdoors, or continue to offer a virtual or telephone meet if there is any indication they may not be ready yet.

As prospect researchers, we can dig a bit through news or social media to see how particular donors or prospects have coped with the pandemic and if they’ve aligned with CDC guidelines on social distancing. We also want to make sure they will adhere to our organizational requirements before the gift officer reaches out; our priority is to keep our development team safe and healthy.

Remember that “the new normal” is still being defined. It’s safe to say that though things are starting to look a little brighter, we are still in a global crisis. Our organizations won’t be going back to business as usual for a while, and that’s ok! We’ve adjusted to this “new normal” even if it’s not going to be our permanent situation. Domestic and international travel may still be far off for many of us, but prospect researchers and fundraisers have come up with creative solutions to keep our donors close, and we’ve set our organizations up for success.

Know you’re not alone! It’s perfectly ok to still feel a bit overwhelmed and worried about your present and future. You may still have hungry and loud babies or toddlers in the background of Zoom meetings; school children needing supervision or help while trying to learn virtually; pets demanding ear scratches at inopportune times; and so many other scenarios that would have seemed so unusual just one year ago.

There are so many scenarios that have challenged us, hardships we are working through personally and professionally, and tremendous loss we’ve all felt. We hope that you come here to the HBG blog for a sense of community, understanding, and empathy. We are all in this together and we will continue to stick together when we finally do enter that post-Covid era.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Filed Under: Campaign Success, Career development Tagged With: covid, Michele Borucki, post-covid, stress management, workplace

March 26, 2021 By Helen Brown

Fundraising data privacy goes before the Supreme Court next month

Photo of a square boulder leaning on another on Stanage Edge.

Stanage Edge boulder. Photo by Julie Kahn

Maybe you already knew about this but it was a total surprise to me this week: Right now at this very moment there’s a case in front of the US Supreme Court that directly impacts the amount of information – private information about our major donors – that nonprofits may have to share in order to be able to raise money in the state of California.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), four of its chapters, and more than 120 nonprofits have filed an amicus brief in the case to prevent this from happening, and there are at least 35 other amicus briefs filed on behalf of 275 more nonprofits country-wide.

If that weren’t enough action, 22 state attorneys general, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the U.S. Solicitor General have also filed briefs in support of the petitioners.

So yeah, this is kind of a big deal. Here’s what’s at stake:

The background

As you probably know, nonprofits have to file an audited income tax form called a Form 990 each year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which outlines (among other things) that nonprofit’s mission, its board members, and its income and expenses. This form becomes part of the public record about the nonprofit so that the government (and any potential supporters) are provided transparency into the nonprofit’s finances.

What you may not know is that one part of the form is the “Schedule B,” on which the nonprofit is required to share the names and addresses of all of its donors who have given more than $5,000 or 2% of that nonprofit’s income over the year. This information is usually redacted from the public record when it’s shared with searchable sources like the Foundation Directory Online or ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, which is why it’s generally not seen.

The hitch

Nonprofits are required to register in every state where they raise money. In 2013, the California Attorney General’s office ruled that every nonprofit from that moment forward would have to share their Schedule B (in confidence) as part of their registration process.

There are at least three problems with this:

1) By sharing confidential information about supporters with their contact information, nonprofits could potentially subject their donors to political reprisal based on the change of political opinion and/or incumbent attorney general. Before the middle of the last decade we might not have thought too much about this, but since then nonprofits and causes previously thought of as relatively apolitical suddenly became so.

2) Data gets hacked. Even if it’s kept in confidence, there’s no guarantee that information stored electronically by the California AG’s office won’t be accessed illegally by bad actors and published (or used for other nefarious purposes).

3) Accidents happen. The state of California has already disclosed more than 1800 donor names accidentally from Schedule Bs that it published on its website. Once it’s out, you can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube.

California has no logical reason to need this information, particularly for nonprofits outside of its legal jurisdiction. And as AFP president and CEO Mike Geiger has said, there’s a real fear that major supporters won’t want their home addresses and gift amounts shared electronically, so they could stop giving. (Or, alternatively, it could push them toward making gifts through donor advised funds).

These cases, called Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra and Thomas More Law Center v. Becerra, have made their way to the U.S. Supreme Court and very soon we’ll see what the Supremes have to say about nonprofits, politics, and donor privacy because it’s going to be argued a month from now – April 26th.

Stay tuned and watch this space (Scotus blog) and the AFP website for more information.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: AFP, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra, Association of Fundraising Professionals, ethics, fundraising, fundraising ethics, privacy, prospect research, Supreme Court, Thomas More Law Center v. Becerra

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David’s career in prospect research began in 2009, as a graduate research assistant at the Shippensburg University Foundation. In 2011, He became a development researcher for the University of Virginia. In 2015, David became assistant director of prospect research at the University of Baltimore, serving for 3 years. Recently, he was the director of development for Trees Forever. David Joined the Helen Brown Group as a research assistant in January 2020. He earned a B.A. in Theater at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Applied History at Shippensburg University. David is a member of APRA and APRA Great Plains.

Kenny has worked in development since 1999 and has been involved in prospect research since 2002.

Prior to joining The Helen Brown Group, he was the director of donor and prospect research at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Kenny is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Tara first began her career in development in 2002 supporting the Major Gifts department at Simmons College, and ultimately went on to serve as Assistant Director of Prospect Research. Since that time, she has also worked as a Senior Research Analyst at MIT, as Associate Director of Prospect Management and Research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and as Director of Development Research at Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP).

Tara originally joined the Helen Brown Group team in 2007 and served as a Research Associate and ShareTraining coordinator until 2008 – she rejoined the company as a Senior Researcher in 2013 and was promoted to her current role in 2018.

She has been an active volunteer with NEDRA for many years and served on the board of directors from 2010-2016. During her time on the NEDRA board, she served in many different roles, including terms as Vice President, Secretary, Chair of the Website and Technology Committee, Chair of the Volunteer Committee, and as Chair and Editor of NEDRA News. She is currently a member of the NEDRA Bootcamp faculty. In addition, Tara has also been involved as a volunteer with Apra, serving stints on the Membership Committee, Chapters Committee, and Bylaws Task Force.

Angie began her career in development in 1999 at Virginia Tech in Corporate and Foundation Relations and later in prospect research at the University of Connecticut Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, her experience includes grants management at the University of South Carolina, program evaluation for South Carolina Research Authority and human resources analysis for Nissan North America.

She returned to development in 2007 and worked in various prospect research positions at Vanderbilt University, including Associate Director. She was named Director for Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s research office in 2015, and joined The Helen Brown Group in 2016.

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Josh began his career in development as the Phonathon Coordinator at Keene State College. He then worked at non-profit consulting firm Schultz & Williams in Philadelphia.

He started his research career at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Assistant in 2005. He then moved over to the Wharton School of Business, where he became the Associate Director, Research and Prospect Management. Josh joined the Helen Brown Group in 2016.

Josh is also a Colorado licensed Realtor and graduate of Lehigh University.

In March 2017, Kristina joined the Helen Brown Group as a Research Associate. Before joining HBG, she was the Research Manager at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an Associate Manager of Prospect Research at City Harvest, a food rescue organization. Kristina started her non-profit career as a legal assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004.  She is a member of Apra and Apra Greater New York. She was Apra Greater New York’s Director of Programming from June 2014 to May 2016. Kristina graduated from The University of Chicago and the Bard Graduate Center.

Grace began her career in development in 2001 as Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a Harvard Medical School-affiliated academic medical center.

In 2003, she became a prospect researcher for the BWH principal and major gifts team and spent the next 11 years in various research positions with BWH, culminating as Assistant Director of Prospect Research. She has been affiliated with The Helen Brown Group since January 2014.

Heather began her career in 2002 as a prospect research coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and then moved to Carroll College in 2004.

In 2005, Heather began working on her own as a freelancer and eventually started her own consulting firm, Willis Research Services, in 2007. She joined The Helen Brown Group in 2012.

Heather is a member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and the Montana Nonprofit Association.

Jennifer began her career in development at her alma mater, Wheaton College, where she was an administrative assistant for the major gifts department.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in March 2008. She earned a master’s degree in library science from the Southern Connecticut State University in May 2009. Jennifer is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Rick has been a member of the Helen Brown Group team since 2005. Prior to joining HBG, Rick was director of research at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Rick has worked in development since 1996, both in prospect research and major gifts fund raising. His experience includes the University of Vermont, Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul’s School.

Rick is past president of NEDRA and is a member of and frequent volunteer for APRA.

Josh began his career in development as the Phonathon Coordinator at Keene State College. He then worked at non-profit consulting firm Schultz & Williams in Philadelphia.

He started his research career at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Assistant in 2005. He then moved over to the Wharton School of Business, where he became the Associate Director, Research and Prospect Management. Josh joined the Helen Brown Group in 2016.

Josh is also a Colorado licensed Realtor and graduate of Lehigh University.

Mandi has worked in prospect research and management since 2006. She began her development career as a research analyst in development research at City of Hope, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles. From there, she became the manager of prospect development at Huntington Memorial Hospital, a community hospital in Pasadena, CA. Most recently, she was the associate director of prospect research and management at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college in LA.

Mandi has a BA degree in print journalism from Southern Methodist University and a master’s degree of library and information science from UCLA.

She joined the Helen Brown Group in May 2019.

Kelly began her career in development in 2008 as an administrative assistant in Major Gifts at Wheaton College.

In 2010, she became a research analyst at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Division of Development & Jimmy Fund as part of the prospect identification team. Kelly joined The Helen Brown Group in 2013.

She is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Jayme began her career in development in 2008 at the Rutgers University Foundation, where she spent the next seven years, first in prospect management and then prospect research. She spent several years at Monmouth University as their senior prospect research analyst, working with the fundraising staff, university president, and top leadership. She has worked as both a volunteer and consultant for non-profits in the areas of research and writing.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Drew University and a master of communication and information sciences from Rutgers University. She is a member of APRA.

Jayme joined The Helen Brown Group in April 2019.

Julie has managed finances for The Helen Brown Group since its founding.

In her spare time, she is an editor for the PBS series Masterpiece at WGBH. Julie was nominated twice for an Emmy award for her work on the PBS show Zoom.

Heather began her career in development in 2001 as a prospect researcher for National Wildlife Federation (NWF). She was with NWF for more than thirteen years, including nearly five years as director of research and analytics. Heather is a former secretary of the board of directors of APRA-Metro DC.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in October 2014.

David began his career in development at The Gunnery school in northwest Connecticut in 2011, where he worked in database management and prospect research. Subsequently, he joined the College of Saint Rose as a development research analyst before leading Albany Medical Center Foundation’s prospect research efforts as Associate Director of Prospect Research. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Siena College and is a member of APRA and CASE.

Michele began her career in development in 2012 when she joined the UC Berkeley corporate and foundation relations team as a development analyst. She spent a year and a half at Cal before returning to UC Davis as a prospect analyst. She was with the prospect management and relations team at UC Davis for almost three years prior to joining the research and relationship management team at George Washington University as a Senior Prospect Analyst in 2016.

Michele received her BA in creative writing from Florida State University and her MA in higher education leadership from CSU Sacramento. She currently resides in Northern Virginia, is a member of Apra International, and serves as the social media chair for Apra Metro DC. Michele joined The Helen Brown Group in July 2018.

Angie has worked in development since 2002, partnering with a wide range of nonprofit institutions. She began her professional career at Vanderbilt University in research and prospect development.

She has also worked with a number of community nonprofits in front-line fundraising, grant-writing, and event management. Angie holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a BS in Journalism from Middle Tennessee State University. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a member of AFP Nashville and APRA MidSouth, where she has been active on the executive team.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in October 2015.

Maureen has been a part of the non-profit world since 1991. She started out in annual giving at Harvard Law School and continued her career as director of annual/special gifts at UC Santa Cruz.

In 1999 she made the switch from front-line fundraising to serve as director of prospect research/management at Bentley University and in 2001 began her role as administrator for the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester. She became part of the HBG team in September of 2011.

Helen has been a development professional since 1987. Her previous experience includes The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Albert Einstein Institution, Boston College, the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University.

Currently she works with a variety of clients to establish, benchmark and re-align research departments; identify major gift prospects; and train researchers and other fundraisers through on-site and web-based training services.Helen is a former member of the board of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) and is past president of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA). In 2006 she received the NEDRA Ann Castle Award for service to the prospect research community.

Helen is Special Advisor on Fundraising to the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester and is a member of the board of directors of Factary Ltd. (Bristol, UK). She is a member of NEDRA, APRA, the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP), Women In Development, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and Researchers in Fundraising (UK).

Helen is a frequent speaker and has led seminars for a number of professional associations, including Action Planning, AFP, APRA, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), NEDRA, RIF, the Planned Giving Council of Central Massachusetts, the Georgia Center on Nonprofits, the International Fundraising Congress and Resource Alliance.

Helen is also co-author (with Jen Filla) of the book, Prospect Research for Fundraisers (Wiley & Sons, 2013).

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