Entries by Columns Fundraising

Welcoming John Floyd

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John joins the Columns Fundraising team with over 30 years of experience serving nonprofits as an advocate, volunteer and professional. Holding both an MBA from Harvard Business school and a CAP (Certified Advisor in Philanthropy) from the American College, John’s education and professional experience will be an asset to our team.

His past roles – including director of development at the Marcus Autism Center, head of foundation relations at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and planned giving officer at the Carter Center – all provide him with a wealth of knowledge that will better support our clients.

Can You Hear Me Now?

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A valid criticism leveled at nonprofit organizations is their inability to keep professional staff. Indeed, development officers come and go so quickly, it’s difficult to establish meaningful relationships with a nonprofit when the faces are constantly changing.

Why Your Board Members Don’t Show Up

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When our firm begins a relationship with a new or prospective client, we often hear the same things over and over again from the staff of a non-profit organization. These include: “Our board members don’t attend meetings. Our board members are not engaged. Our board members don’t give to the organization. “ Conversely, from Board members we often hear: “I love the organization, but I’m not sure what they expect of me.” And, “I don’t know my terms of service. I don’t know how many times I can be (or have been) re-elected. I was asked to join the board, but no one told us how long we’d be on it.” A mutually enjoyable board-level relationship begins in the very first conversation about service. Here are five simple items the potential Board nominee and staff should discuss:

Philanthropy & Charity: What’s the Difference?

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Ira Glass of National Public Radio’s This American Life said it best: supporters of public radio love it so much they actually listen to the pledge drives. Glass spoke these words during a pledge drive, and the effect was not only comic, but also spot-on, placing listeners’ passionate loyalty at the center of the fundraising conversation in a humorous way.

By its very definition, and as even the most casual listener knows, NPR is a publicly supported enterprise, but their income is not derived solely from tax revenues. In fact, private support accounts for a much larger portion of funding, and it requires regular, at times seemingly endless, solicitations each year to keep the whole thing running.

This is just one example of charitable giving. While different from the charity that pours forth when a tornado, earthquake or other natural disaster strikes, it springs from a similar spirit and mindset. People care. And they are willing, even eager, to put their money to work in helping to ameliorate other people’s suffering, and to do their part to meet others’ immediate or short-term needs. In 2018, Americans gave an estimated $427 billion to charities, disaster relief, and other benevolent causes. Individual giving accounted for approximately 68 percent of that, or about $292 billion, according to the Giving USA Foundation.

Northeast GA Health System Foundation

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Just as its name implies, the Northeast Georgia Health System Foundation supports the work of a vast healthcare system across many counties of northeast Georgia. Led by Mr. Chris Bray and a small dedicated staff, the NGHS Foundation received three grants in the past year with help from the Columns Fundraising team: $796,000 from USDA, $100,000 from the Dobbs Foundation and $84,000 from Cigna.

The Business of Non-Profit Organizations In the Age of the Coronavirus

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Our Message: Don’t Stop Fundraising // If you’re over 60 years old, you’ve lived and worked through five economic recessions, Black Friday in 1987, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the sub-prime mortgage real estate crash and the subsequent Great Recession of 2007-2009. Yet, most of our workforce in Georgia, and throughout the nation, is under 50 years old and they have only experienced 9/11 and the Great Recession.

Welcoming Mike Sophir

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Meet Mike Sophir, the newest Columns consultant! He’s bringing more than 30 years of experience in organizational and business leadership in both the public and private sectors with him. Most recently, he served as the CEO of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. We’re excited to share his skills in strategic planning, communication, fundraising development, and more with our clients. Welcome to the team, Mike!

Facing Coronavirus Together

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Whether you are a board member, executive director, staff member, or volunteer at a nonprofit organization, you know that your work must go on regardless of the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Two of the obvious hurdles we in the non-profit world face because of this virus are:

Gift Planning: Critical Concerns in a Changing Landscape

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The landscape for non-profit fundraising is ever-changing. This is true for capital development campaigns that include: annual operating support, program-specific, capital for buildings, endowments (building maintenance, program or operating support), or comprehensive of all types. This landscape is influenced by social media, the economy, tax legislation, technological advancements, board and staff leadership, development team staffing, and marketing efforts to reach out to potential donors.

Early in my career, Peter Buchanan, former vice president for development at Columbia University, shared six crucial criteria critical for the success of a nonprofit organization’s advancement program. By paying attention to these areas of concern, a reasonable review and audit of the development effort can be assessed:

When Politics & Philanthropy Collide on Campus

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In an era of heightened political divide, leaders in the higher education profession find themselves walking a fine line in attempting to remain apolitical. The political divide continues to widen between many of those who make large contributions to their favorite schools, and those voices of public opinion emanating from the ranks of academe and the student body.

It struck me during my own twenty-year tenure in higher education how some university administrators willingly condoned a restriction of free speech. Some public speakers were approved, because their political views were closely related to those among the faculty and student activists. However, other speakers were banned, boycotted, harassed, or cancelled if their views weren’t in sync with the same groups.

Higher Education should be a forum where differing opinions are welcomed, debated, and yet respected. Not vilified or restricted.