This week Axios published an article saying in summary there has been an ongoing decline of charitable giving in the last decade or so making 501(c)3 charitable organizations more vulnerable to being manipulated by "the wealthy". Here are Skyler's (CEO of Confidant Co.) thoughts on sustainable giving based on the article:
Read this interesting article from Axios called The Long Decline of Charity with data from the last decade showing giving as a whole in the United States has been declining is something that all charitable donors have felt to some degree or another. This is actually one of the reasons why Confidant started, to provide alternative solutions towards those funding problems. Therefore, by leading a network of freelance creatives that want to give their time to helping grassroots organizations do digital marketing and fundraising I see every day how giving has a direct impact for charitable organizations' causes. What we are seeing in the social impact world is this:
in order for a healthy and sustainable nonprofit organization to exist, there needs to be both major donors and an active monthly donor base.
Major donors and grants play a pivotal role. They provide a lot of the majority of the resources for a program budget while providing resources that are catalytic in organizational growth. However, most major donors and grant-giving institutions want to give directly to one-time projects or be a part of extending new elements of programming such as a building project or additional staff. They are not too excited about filling in a deficit or financial gap. New major donors are also often not attracted to giving toward the average annual budget unless they have been involved long-term. This requires an active internal staff (executive director or a director of development) to have a full-time focus on cultivating major donors and grant opportunities to ensure the organization is always having the resources to grow and move forward. However, you also need to focus on the ongoing cultivation of current programming, which is why your monthly giving program is so essential.
Smaller donors are also essential. They play a pivotal part in sustainable and reoccurring month-to-month giving. Monthly giving programs are often made up of a group of individuals that are giving around $30-$50 a month, because they believe in the founder or the cause. These individuals want to be a part of something bigger themselves and they want to know what they are giving to is making a difference in the world. This requires consistent communication with this support base to let them know their giving impact and share new ways for them to get involved or volunteer.
The issue with this is that most executive directors & social impact entrepreneurs are often limited due to budget, staff, and time. This can leave organizational leadership stress and burnout because there is always more to be done. That is where Confidant Co. comes in.
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