Giving USA and the New Age of Philanthropy in the Pacific Northwest

GIVING USA PRESENTATION:
Karen Rotko-Wynn, CFRE, Executive Vice President & West Division Manager

MODERATOR:
Brenda B. Asare, President and CEO, Alford Group

EXPERT PANEL:
Robin Callahan, CFRE, Vice President of Philanthropic Services, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation

Elena Fracchia, CWS, AVP, Wealth and Philanthropic Advisor, Columbia Bank

Dana Miller, Senior Program Director – Grants, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

Anjana Pandey, Vice President of Strategy, Philanthropy Northwest

Slide Deck:Giving USA 2020 Summary Slides

Infographic: Giving USA 2020 Infographic

Celebrating Black Philanthropy

By Brenda B. Asare, President and CEO, Alford Group

Featuring:

Liz Thompson, President and Office Director, Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The CAFE)

Don Thompson, CEO and Founder, Cleveland Avenue, LLC

 

With the current events of the past five months, the world is learning how to overcome the discomfort of talking about race and are having some real courageous conversations on how we can move forward together to create lasting change for people of color. This change will create a ripple effect where others who have been marginalized will benefit and increase their ability to thrive as well – no one is left behind.

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Giving USA: The Next Normal and a New Age of Philanthropy

By Alexis Cooke, Consultant, Alford Group

On Wednesday, June 17, Alford Group hosted a panel of national experts and funders to discuss Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy in 2019 in light of current realities, new opportunities and our future as non-profit staff, funders and philanthropists. The full discussion, along with Alford Group’s Giving USA report, may be found here.

As Brenda Asare, Alford Group’s President and CEO, noted as she opened the panel discussion, we all had high hopes for 2020 – momentum within the sector was strong and anticipated to continue at the close of 2019 and through 2020. Of course, no one knew what was coming nor how incredibly important that cushion would be to the survival of many nonprofits. As leaders representing funders and philanthropists across the country, Laura, Marguerite, Steve and Beth offered critical insights into philanthropy today and provided some hope as Brenda said “we must look up and ahead, as that is where we are all going.”

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Giving USA 2020 By the Numbers and Beyond

By Alexis Cooke, Consultant, Alford Group

On Wednesday, June 17, Alford Group’s Karen Rotko-Wynn, Executive Vice President, shared highlights, trends and key takeaways from Giving USA 2020: The Annual Report on Philanthropy in 2019. Karen’s full presentation, along with a panel discussion with national experts and funders discussing the next normal and the future of philanthropy may be found here.

To be at this moment – mid-June 2020, reflecting on last year’s philanthropy during these challenging and volatile times – well, it feels a bit disconnected. It is hard not to ask why these data points matter; it is difficult to receive this report without wondering what this year’s annual report on philanthropy will say.

However, as the longest running, most comprehensive and most authoritative report on charitable giving in the United States – representing 128 million households, 600,000 nonprofits and 80,000 foundations and businesses – the information reported through Giving USA is deeply relevant. As leaders and staff of nonprofits, it is important to understand data trends and to know where to focus efforts; it is important to know where your organization fits within this data; and it is important to understand this data in relation to navigating our current, very difficult year.

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Giving USA and the New Age of Philanthropy

MODERATOR: Brenda B. Asare, President and CEO, Alford Group

GIVING USA PRESENTATION: Karen Rotko-Wynn, CFRE, Executive Vice President, Alford Group

PANELISTS:

  • Laura Coy, Director of Philanthropy Strategy, William Blair; Vice President of the William Blair & Company Foundation
  • Marguerite H. Griffin, Senior Vice President; Director of Philanthropic Advisory Services, Northern Trust
  • Stephen Maislin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Greater Houston Community Foundation
  • Beth McCaw, President & CEO, Washington Women’s Foundation

Slide Deck: GUSA 2020 Summary Slides

Infographic: GUSA2020_Infographic

Blog Recap: Giving USA Numbers

Blog Recap: Panel Discussion

Creating a Culture of Equity: Taking Action

By Brenda B. Asare, President and CEO, Alford Group

How long can you hold your breath without passing out? A man with strong willpower can hold his breath for two to three minutes. You don’t need me to tell you what happens after eight minutes and 46 seconds of someone holding his knee on your neck.

As people across the world decry the dehumanizing death of George Floyd, it is not lost on me that African Americans have been holding their breath for over 400 years.

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Uncharted Waters: Simple Steps for Strategic Planning

By Sharon Tiknis, Executive Vice President & East Division Manager and Lieve Buzard, Senior Client Service Associate

“The only thing that is constant is change.”

― Heraclitus.

Today organizations face new challenges posed by technology, economic trends and uncertain regulatory environments. How can nonprofit leadership rise to meet these demands? Just as the captain of a ship doesn’t look to the waves in order to navigate, your organization is well-steered by strategic thinking.

A strategic plan can transform your organization from surviving to thriving under the guiding star of a strategic plan. Without a clear vision or strategic objective, it will be difficult to generate volunteer enthusiasm and energy for the work necessary to make the weeks, months and years ahead a success.

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Now What? 4 Must-Dos for Your 90-Day COVID-19 Recovery Plan

Mary Kaufman-Cranney, CFRE, Vice President

Every organization is approaching and responding to COVID-19 differently, but regardless of the approach – certainly, all have been considering what fundraising will look like in the coming months and year. We know a rough road lies ahead and no one can predict what this recovery will look like; however, there is some good news.

The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy tracks giving during disasters, and what they’ve seen so far with COVID-19 is record levels of seven-figure gifts being made to organizations. America is being more generous than ever.

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Nonprofit Board Members: The dos and don’ts in a time of crisis

By Molly Hansen, Vice President

Dear Board Members,

The initial shock and fear– or denial – of the Coronavirus outbreak has shifted into, “How long can this possibly go on?”

Just like every person, institution, business and organization, the nonprofit community has never been through anything like this. As a board member of a nonprofit organization, are you wondering how you can help during this time of crisis? Or perhaps you’ve already jumped into the deep end of daily tasks and are trying to help the staff do their jobs?

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Keeping Fundraising Campaigns on Track During COVID-19

By Wendy Hatch, CFRE, Vice President and Michelle Bibbs, Associate Senior Consultant

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”  – Mr.Fred Rogers

Our country is facing challenging times as never before due to COVID-19. Fortunately, our nonprofit sector is rising to the occasion by responding in innovative ways to meet unprecedented demand for services. Less visible, but no less critical, is the rapid adoption of technologies for delivering programs, and quickly pivoting fundraising strategies to mitigate revenue loses.

Many organizations are also engaged in major campaigns to address important needs in their communities. Some have hit – or are considering hitting – the pause button, while others are modifying campaign plans and moving forward in new and creative ways.

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Four digital tools to better connect with your donors in a virtual world

By Lieve Buzard, Senior Client Service Associate

In this time of quarantine, social distancing and wide-spread uncertainty, connecting with donors over virtual channels is more necessary than ever before. Across the country Americans are living in isolation, looking for opportunities to connect with others and give back to those communities being impacted by disruptions related to COVID-19.

Read more about how to navigate confidently through COVID-19.

As a nonprofit, now is the time to find creative solutions to effectively communicate with your current donors and grow your donor base for the future.

Thankfully, new technologies make online connection easier than ever. There are many digital tools out there. This blog post will highlight a few that we have recently used with our clients and would like to share with you!

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Effective Donor Communication Strategies During COVID-19

Moderator: Brenda B. Asare, President and CEO, Alford Group

Panelists:

  • Alyssa Conrardy, President and Co-founder, Prosper Strategies
  • Cara Gosse, Vice President of Communications and Development, Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin
  • Kathy Schaeffer, Kathy Schaeffer Consulting, LLC