If you haven’t already read our blog post about the highlights of the 2023 Giving USA report on philanthropy in the United States, consider clicking here to read it.
“But,” you may be asking yourself, “how can I use this information with my board or key donors?”
One of our favorite tactics in leveraging the findings of the annual Giving USA report is to picture the report as a conversation-starter. Perhaps, especially a conversation starter with your board chair, your development committee chair, and with your board of directors en masse.
Organizations face multiple important discussion topics at board meetings: programmatic evaluation, governance, preparation for the audit, budgeting, staff transition.
Oh. And development. We should talk about development at a board meeting also, shouldn’t we?
All too-often relegated to the bottom of the priority list of topics, development is vital to the continued vibrancy of most nonprofits. We would suggest the chief development officer present a high-level summary of the Giving USA 2023 findings to your board of directors at an upcoming meeting.
Perhaps you have identified one way you’d like the board to better plug-in with philanthropy, and a conversation can then follow at your board meeting to collectively identify one or two other ways the board can step-up to grow your organization’s philanthropy program. It's all about engaging the board in development!
Use this simple infographic from Giving USA to inspire conversation, to elevate the importance of growing your organization’s development plan.
After all, there are quite literally billions of dollars out there being donated to nonprofits around the country. Why shouldn’t at least a portion of it be going to your organization?
Michael Pettry, Principal
Cape Fletcher Associates