Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter: August 2008

		August 2008

	President’s Message:
	Welcome to our Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter

Fundraising in an Economic Downturn
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE

Many people have been talking about how hard it is to raise money with a struggling economy. The pure fact of the matter—it’s just “ain’t” so!




	Five-Year Dow Jones Industrial Average



Charitable Giving for same Five-Year Period

Consider the past five years of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Now look at philanthropic giving over the past five years. What does this tell us? Philanthropy is alive and well, despite a slow economy. But, how do we convince our boards and even staff that we CAN raise money now?

A few helpful hints:

Make sure board members (and your CEO) understand the facts of philanthropic giving trends. You might want to send them some relevant articles, or have someone come in to speak at a board meeting about this issue.
Understand that one area of fundraising that might suffer is special event fundraising. In an economic downturn, maybe people may not want to spend extra money going out to dinners and auctions, etc.
Remember that major donors may not be as affected by the economy as middle class individuals will be.
Investigate the businesses in your community. Many are not affected by the economy as much as others. For example, a utility or insurance company probably isn't feeling the pain as much as a developer is. Some companies may even benefit from a slow economy.
Be sure you have a strong case for support.
Some nonprofits actually do better in a poor economy because the need for their services is even clearer to the community when times are tough.
Talk to your donors. If you are contemplating a capital campaign, don't make the assumption that your donors won't give now. Do a planning study and have the consultant ask them directly if their giving would be affected by the economy. (You might be surprised to find out that a poor economy may not make that much difference to your donors).
Don't drastically change your approach if it has been working, people are looking for stability, be sure your organization appears strong.
Do not panic, and lay off development staff; you need them more than ever now.
Don't be afraid to make the "ask," Again, don't make assumptions about your donors. Give them the opportunity to say, "Yes!"

CAPITAL VENTURE 15^th Anniversary Celebration

Special thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our 15^th anniversary at the three free workshops in Pennsylvania, Lake Taho and Las Vegas. 100 people attended those sessions, and the celebration continues, so watch future newsletters for more special offers this year! For example, our Board Boot Camp is being offered at a 15% discount for a limited time. Click here to download the Board Boot Camp flyer with the details.

Stay Connected with Your Colleagues — Bookmark our Blog

We all want to hear from you. Visit our blog, the Fundraiser's Coffee Break, and share what is working and not working for you in your development career.

Technology Corner — Easy Backup

If you're guilty of never backing up important information, Google has an easy solution for you — "Send to Gmail." Google offers a generous 6 GB of email storage with their free email accounts.

After you've signed up for one, you can visit SourceForge.net for the email backup software. This nifty tool comes in very handy if you'd like to backup critical files, but you can also use it to send a file to pick up from another computer without fumbling for a flash drive. It's extremely simple you install and use.

Once you've run the easy installer, you can go to Windows Explorer, right-click on a file name, and you'll find a new option: "Backup to Gmail." When you select it, the file is delivered to your gmail address as a file attachment where it will safely remain until you need it. You can log into your gmail account from anywhere to get it. Very slick... and so fast, it offers no excuse for NOT backing up critical files, even for those of us who seem to never have enough time to reach for a backup drive.

Consultant Profile: Yvonne Frey Oppenheimer, MBA

Yvonne holds an MBA focused on nonprofit administration and community development leadership. Her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Communications from Alvernia College was awarded magna cum laude in 1995. Yvonne draws from an extensive background and lengthy experience in business as an administrative assistant reporting to senior executives of medium to large accounting firms in New York City, and for a major commercial construction firm, and The World Bank in Washington, DC. Yvonne served as Director of Social Work Services before her efforts were redirected towards development and fundraising. Yvonne is an active community volunteer and advocate and completed a work-study tour of Cuba in 2001 to study and compare the monopolistic economy with a free open market system. She is experienced in cross-cultural sensitivity training specific to ethnic, religious, physical challenges, racial as well as gender, gender identity and sexual orientation issues.

Special thanks to Yvonne for her dedication and commitment
to the success of CAPITAL VENTURE clients!

We will be featuring each of our consultants in upcoming issues of Ventures in Philanthropy.

To read more about our other nationally based consultants on our website, please click here.

Useful Resources

You may order The Development Plan, Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers and other books recommended by Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, and learn more about our recommended fundraising books by visiting our website: www.cvfundraising.com/resources/cvbooks. CAPITAL VENTURE has updated our Training Catalogue, which is available by email. We offer a wide variety of workshops for groups such as AFP chapters, statewide associations, national organizations, Dioceses, United Ways and Centers for Nonprofits. If you would like to receive a copy of our offerings, please contact cvlinda@cox.net.

An Exciting Opportunity for Organizations That Cannot Afford Traditional Consulting Services

Last year, we introduced a new, innovative service, Consultant on Call, designed for organizations that need occasional consulting help, but have limited budgets for consulting services. In our Consultant in Call program, these organizations can have a consultant as close as their computer and/or telephone at a reasonable fee. Watch future newsletters for more on this program and a special 15th Anniversary offer.

Training Opportunities

Pressed for time? Travel budget limited? Check out our website for the great webinars presented by Affinity Seminars on various topics of interest to development professionals.

Another excellent resource for nonprofit webinars is Charity University. You'll find six sessions I've recorded there that are now available on demand, along with the presentations of some of the most respected fundraisers in our profession.

This fall, CAPITAL VENTURE will be launching our own special training videos, so be sure to check next month’s newsletter for more information.

UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
August 22 , 2008 AFP Las Vegas Chapter The Development Plan Las Vegas, NV Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, CAPITAL VENTURE Click here for details	September 19, 2008 AFP North Central Ohio Keynote Address & The Development Plan Akron, Ohio Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
September 8 , 2008 AFP Fort Worth The Development Plan & Involving Board, Staff & Volunteers Fort Worth, TX Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
	September 22, 2008 PANO The Development Plan & Involving Board, Staff & Volunteers Harrisburg, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
September 15, 2008 Charity Channel The Development Plan: Foundation for Success Live Teleclass Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
	September 23, 2008 PANO The Development Plan & Involving Board, Staff & Volunteers Bethlehem , PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
September 16, 2008 PANO The Development Plan & Involving Board, Staff & Volunteers Scranton, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
	September 26, 2008 AFP Las Vegas Essentials of Fundraising Course: Major Gifts Las Vegas, NV Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
September 17, 2008 Central PA Planned Giving Roundtable Developing Boards & Volunteers Lewisburg , PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Email Linda for details
	September 29, 2008 Charity Channel Building a Board of Extraordinary Fundraisers Audio Conference Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Email Linda for details
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CONTACT U S
CAPITAL VENTURE
Advancing Philanthropy through Consulting and Training for Nonprofits
Offices throughout the United States
		Administrative Office: P O Box 731 Reading, PA 19607	Executive Office: 10245 S. Maryland Pkwy., Ste. 1188 Las Vegas, NV 89183 866-539-9990 toll free 702-892-0955 voice 702-892-0655 fax

	CAPITAL VENTURE Associates are located throughout the United States. Call to find the one closest to you. (866) 539-9990 toll free

Email: info@cvfundraising.com Website: www.cvfundraising.com

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