MCF staff members at the 40th Anniversary and Annual Member Meeting

2009 was a great year for us with many notable highlights — among them celebrating the organization’s 40th Anniversary and a very successful MCN and MCF Joint Annual Conference. Thanks to all of you — members, nonprofit allies, and friends — who made this year such a success. Here’s to a Happy New Year to you and yours in 2010!

Before you uncork a bottle of bubbly on New Year's Eve, will you be making any last minute donations?

How is the tough year affecting your year-end giving? Do we choose to support nonprofits that address hunger and housing? How about organizations that are filling a need created by government budget cuts such as those providing education or medical care and support to those who struggle to afford it?

Or do we support those nonprofits that may have experienced a drop in giving this year (like arts groups, for example), because a good base of their support now is being directed toward basic needs and they are not perceived as such? Do we support dire needs in our own zip code, state, country or across the ocean?

In this economic climate, difficult choices are coupled with our own decisions about how much we’re capable of spending, giving away and saving.

Given the amount of mail I’ve received (via the regular postal service and via email) now is a time of great need for the causes I support (as well as for those for which I’m not sure how I got on their distribution list).

Working in the nonprofit field, I tend to view fundraising appeals through a somewhat more critical lens, thinking about messaging, impact and other nuances.

A couple of recent articles caught my attention. In his monthly e-newsletter free-range thinking, Andy Goodman recounts a study conducted in 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University in which researchers studied the giving of students who received appeals using data alone to illustrate need, a personal story alone outlining need, and data plus story. The results in a nutshell: Story alone is a more effective appeal than data alone and surprisingly, data plus story.

A New York Times article recently touted Dec. 31 as the “most lucrative” day of the year for many nonprofits, especially those that solicit online giving. Nonprofits, the article says, are increasingly using a last-minute email appeal to entice people to take advantage of any tax benefits for giving during the preceding year.

Join the conversation: Has your mailbox seen more, less or about the same amount of fundraising mail this season? Which appeals do you find most impactful? Any examples you’d like to share? What’s your experience with New Year’s Eve giving? How much giving do you do then? Or, if you’re a nonprofit, is that a “lucrative day” for you?

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Image CC Oskay

I volunteer for a local nonprofit (Pet Haven Minnesota) and they are participating in an event called Twice the Gift, sponsored by one of MCF’s members: The Pohlad Family Foundation.

Twice the Gift is a store located in the IDS building where 67 nonprofits showcase crafts and other items for sale, perfect little Christmas gifts that carry a message of giving to the greater good. The profit from the sales goes right back to the nonprofit thanks to the Pohlad Family Foundation, who provide the organizations with the retail space and store management.

This is the third year the fabulous event is going on. This year Partnership Resources, Inc. has taken over the operational management of the store with the Pohlad Family Foundation still supporting it.

One of the sales item ideas is a so called “share card”, which is a printed informational card about the organization of your choosing.  You donate a selected amount and give the share card as a gift. With the informational share cards the Twice the Gift store not only give the nonprofits a place to gain monetary support, but also provide them with a platform to spread the word about the work they do.

- Annette Lennartsson, MCF administrative assistant

Photo by *Micky

The choices are endless.

I could help the local girls softball association repair their catchers’ gear, the church youth group’s journey to New Orleans to rebuild houses, food shelf collections at my neighborhood grocery store, the picnic for families struggling with sarcoma, the small theater company’s edgy production of a work by an Asian American playwright.

Or I could support internationally renowned breast cancer researchers, a potter in South America via microfinancing, cleaner air worldwide, millions of the hungry and sick displaced by civil war or drought-ridden lands, or schooling for a youngster in Uganda.

Whether it’s across the street, across town or across the ocean, whether it’s one person or a multinational organization with hundreds of staff people, their passion to make the world a better place is what motivates them to pursue their mission and inspires us to give.

Among the freedoms we celebrate this weekend, let’s not forget that we Americans have the freedom to choose which of these passions we support and the extent to which we give.

Imagine how different our country would be if we could not freely and openly give.

In American Philanthropy Diversity: What It Means, Why It Matters, published March 2009 by The Philanthropy Roundtable, Naomi Schaefer Riley writes:

“The distinctive characteristic of American philanthropy is freedom. … However Americans want to help, they are at perfect liberty to do so. The result has been an awe-inspiring display of human ingenuity. The breadth, depth and variety of American charity has no historical precedent or contemporary parallel.

It addresses many thousands of causes, supported by many millions of donors, all of whom take it upon themselves to try to improve their communities in some small way. Such philanthropic diversity reflects the extraordinary creativity of free people deciding how best to give away their money.

It exists because countless individuals freely come together in pursuit of a vast variety of moral goods. Each of these associations has some charitable purpose; each has its own strategy. Each is unique, and each contributes to the rich mosaic of American philanthropy.”

So, choose to give a little or a lot, to some and not others, to give money or time. For me, the key is that I am choosing to give.

Happy Independence Day!

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF Communications Associate

• The General Mills Foundation once again sponsored the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast, “Because of His Dream, I Can… Lead, Grow, Inspire” this morning. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was scheduled to be the keynote speaker.
• John S. and James L. Knight Foundation gave $1 million to help build the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that a record number of volunteers are planning service projects today. A Star Tribune editorial argues that “if the unprecedented enthusiasm of last year’s campaign and election translates into higher levels of volunteerism and community service, all Americans will benefit.” Blogger Seth Godin agrees and wonders, “If every person in the US spent an hour doing something selfless, useful and leveraged, what would happen? What if you and your circle committed to doing it an hour a day for a year?”

Join the conversation: What can you, as an individual, do to answer Dr. King’s call to “make a better nation”?

• Trouble Ahead for Minnesota’s Nonprofits
• Charities’ Dilemma: More Need while Fewer Give
• Saving an Agency by Shrinking It

From one of the articles:

The recession of 2008 has hit nonprofits harder and faster than previous recessions. And because more than half of nonprofits get most of their individual donations in the fourth quarter, they are already seeing donations plummet.

So what are nonprofits to do in the face of smaller donations and potential government cuts? Here are some suggestions:

• Nonprofits Assistance Fund executive director Kate Barr says one response is to find creative ways to raise money online.
• A Star Tribune blogger says that nonprofits need to learn how to tell their stories, if they want to receive money from him.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy is tracking local newspapers that help readers give. For example, the Washington Post has an interactive map that shows charities in the D.C. area. Is anyone in Minnesota doing this?
• Nonprofit Communications blogger Kivi Leroux Miller says that nonprofits still have time for their even-more-important holiday fundraising e-mail appeal. Find an archived radio broadcast on this topic and many more resources about how to take advantage of end-of-year giving.

How can individuals help?

• New Voices of Philanthropy blogger Trista Harris is looking at you: “Foundations do not have the funds, expertise, or vast network needed to get us out of this mess but YOU do.” Read her suggestions for how to be proactive and get involved.
• The Pittsburgh Gazette says that Giving Cards May Be the Perfect Gift. The New York Times had a similar article last December. Update: The Washington Post and Associated Press also have articles about charity gift cards.
• For individuals looking for the perfect organization to support, Charities Review Council has a Holiday Giving Guide.
• Volunteer. Hands On Twin Cities has lots of local projects.

Join the conversation: How else can we all help nonprofits through the recession?

Allianz Life employees collected more than 25,000 pounds of food and 13,000 pounds of clothing for PRISM, a community-funded social service agency that serves local families in need. They also gathered more than 1,700 toys Toys for Tots.

Now in its ninth year, the Allianz Spirit of Giving Campaign helps its employees contribute to the Twin Cities communities during the holiday season. The employees exceeded their goal in all three categories despite the tough economic times.

Minnesota Twins mascot T.C. Bear and Minnesota Wild mascot Nordy were on hand to help the employees form a human chain to sort the donations and load the trucks.