Columbia Care’s Post

While philanthropic pluralism sounds like a benign and worthy goal, an op-ed by several philanthropic leaders last year gave many of us cause for concern. Adding to a range of critics, PRE joined our partners at CHANGE Philanthropy cautioning that the call for pluralism in philanthropy as stated was a diversion and risked undermining or chilling rightful calls for greater racial and social justice and the investments needed to advance those goals. We’re increasingly hearing this call & related fears of polarization lifted up directly in contrast to approaches that support those most impacted to build power & frame their own solutions. We know some well-intended funders & allies are among those leading the charge, but hoping they can hear & not simply dismiss the informed critiques of many. (& yes, the irony of calling for pluralism & yet minimizing the voices of those who are expressing doubts/fears as overreacting or foolish is kind of classic arrogance of those less threatened by the status quo or rollback of justice.) Next week, I will join a panel with authors and other leaders in the sector as we seek to deepen the debate & discussion as part of the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy and the Chronicle of Philanthropy for the 2024 Giving Innovation Summit on April 29th at 2-3:30 EST. We recognize the relationship of this conversation to PRE’s recent op-ed, which addressed how the danger of both accommodationist practices and misuse of terms can fuel efforts to squelch dissent or challenges to the status quo – while under the guise of seeming to call for higher principles. See added details & registration below-

I have been Protect the West Coast's Fundraising Manager for a year now. With no real prior hands-on NGO fundraising experience, apart from my Communications Manager role with PTWC, I was dropped in the deep end. Of course, I immediately discovered that raising sufficient funds for a non-profit to keep the lights on is an enormous challenge. On one hand the 'ask' is easier as you are asking people to support a good cause. But on the other, you are competing with a cacophony of other similar causes, as well as the fact that times are tough and people don't have a lot of money to throw around. While my media, marketing and sales experience in the private sector has naturally been of huge benefit and there is a strong overlap between comms and fundraising, non-profit fundraising is a different animal to commercial marketing, requiring fresh creative thinking to stand out from the crowd and solicit sufficient, ongoing support. Our team have come up with a couple of new fundraising concepts that we will be testing in the coming weeks and months. I am gravitating towards and enjoying email as a communications and fundraising tool, so my focus will be on that aspect, but of course, we will also be promoting our campaigns on social media etc. What do you think? Do you think this is a good approach or are there better ways to raise funds from the public? Any further advice would be much appreciated. This stuff is hard, but we are getting there!

In 2024, the KFC Foundation will award $10,000 to up to 100 nonprofits "to make their Kentucky Fried Wishes come true." From the Foundation's website: > "We’re looking for tangible, actionable projects that are feasible to accomplish with the $10,000 grant and will make an immediate impact in your community." > If you have a larger project (i.e., 100-mile trail restoration), break it down into something that $10,000 could cover in full (i.e., 10-mile trail restoration out of our 100-mile project). If additional funding is needed, detailed plans for securing additional resources must be provided in the Project Budget.

The holidays are the most important time of the year for fundraising when nonprofits raise the majority of their annual operating revenue. At Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, financial donations are down about 20% from where we were at this time last year, and the food bank is receiving donations from fewer donors. As we move into the final days of December, Second Harvest still needs to raise $4M by 12/31 to stay on track with its annual goal. A staggering 1 in 6 people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties are turning to Second Harvest for support. That equates to Second Harvest providing food to an average of 500,000 people every month. Last month we served 520,000 people. It’s critical we make our goal and we are asking our community to donate what they can to help at https://shfb.online/hm2023 —every $1 can help provide enough food for 4 nutritious meals with our current match. #FeedingSiliconValley

Unrestricted funding really is the best! Now, I can't remember who suggested I read this report, but it's a must-read for everyone in the sector (and tag your funders). A study of large unrestricted grants from McKenzie Scott to charities in the US found: 1. The charities invested in their own organisational effectiveness and development - highlighting how traditional, project-based grant giving deprives charities of this kind of support. 2. Lifted leaders out of burnout and towards an 'abundance mindset'. It also increased the diversity of CEOs across the charities concerned. 3. Without externally-imposed frameworks, leaders established their own plans for spending the funds - there was no rush to spend or irresponsibility. Instead, plans were informed by sector expertise. Great to see this research back up what we all know to be true. https://lnkd.in/efNwRDVn

The super benefits of unrestricted funding-This is spot on!!! For charity and non-profit leaders there is constant burn out and stress from having to produce and retrofit projects for small amounts of reserved funds. Often those projects steer you away from your core operations and stifle growth. The constant need to restructure your work to accommodate the requirement of funders is a drain on time, energy, resources. On the flip side if funders were more prepared to trust organisations (particularly smaller ones and those from the black and brown communities) with large unrestricted funding imagine all the good we could be doing. Focusing on the areas we work in best, creating the teams that we need and embedding a sustainable foundation for growth. Don’t just take my word for it, please read the report. Thank you so much Felicia Willow for sharing. If any funders would like to discuss any of the points raised in my post or the report with me or other community leaders I know pls send me a message! Change is required but you need to understand how it impacts charity and community leaders before adapting that change.

Have you read our latest annual report? Not only did our fundholders contribute to their Foundation accounts in record numbers, but they also significantly outperformed national averages in charitable giving, as highlighted in Giving USA 2023. This unprecedented year of giving reflects our community's deep commitment to making a difference. Read more by visiting: https://ow.ly/ebFE50QsiK5

Are you in camp "Yes!" or "Yikes!" that Idaho Gives is only a few weeks away? 🌱 Have you identified and shaped your campaign message? 🌱 Is your giving page done? 🌱 Have you outlined your campaign plan? 🌱 Have you drafted emails, social media posts, etc. to support that campaign plan? DM or comment "Yikes" and we'll share a plug-and-play fundraising campaign template. -- 👋 Hi, I'm Alexis. I help purpose-driven brands and organizations turn big, complex ideas into digestible content. #IdahoNonprofit #CampaignMessage #FundraisingCampaign #NonprofitCommunication #NonprofitMarketing

#Nonprofit leaders check this out!