A Month of Giving Thanks

	November 2014 A Month of Giving Thanks  There's always a lot of talk about how our culture has lost sight of the true meaning of the holidays. With one of our favorite, Thanksgiving, approaching fast, we wanted to take the opportunity to list some of the things we're thankful for. Of course that list includes all the donors and funders that pump life into the sector. But we know firsthand that nonprofit work can be hectic and tiring, and rarely glamorous. We get to spend our days helping nonprofits achieve their goals, reach their constituents, and make the world a better place--as a result, we get to see up close all the work that each of you does, and to be inspired by it.  So, to each of you who has chosen to work for a nonprofit, who has plugged names into a database, stayed late to post event photos to your organization's Facebook page, or spent hours crafting an email that perfectly encapsulated your mission, thank you. Thanks for all the work you do. And we're especially thankful for every chance we get to help you with that work... back to top Upcoming Trainings FREE! Five Data Don'ts for Nonprofits November 13, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Eastern.Program data can be very useful--from being able to prove the effectiveness of your programs to providing information to funders. However, there are a few missteps it is important to avoid. In this free class, we will go over five data don'ts that will help you make the most of your information while avoiding common pitfalls. Read more or register >> Visualizing Your Data Through Dashboards November 20, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern. $40.00  Your senior staff and board of directors can benefit from the ability to view high level metrics for your organization, but it’s not obvious how to easily pull such a thing together. We'll outline what has worked for other organizations to define the metrics that should be tracked, strategies for compiling data from different systems, and then possibilities for putting it all together into a visual dashboard. Read more or register >> Digging Into Program DataWednesdays, December 3 - 17, 1:00 - 2:30pmEastern. $95.00 In our increasingly data-driven world, nonprofits need to be able to measure and monitor the effectiveness of their programs more than ever. It’s difficult to improve program services or reach without first understanding what's working and what isn't. Gathering the right data is key.  From how many meals served at your soup kitchen or the number of students in a mentoring program who graduate high school to the percent of your target population without access to affordable housing, being able to track such numbers can help you identify the improvement or impact of your programs or organization. Read more or register >> You received this email because you signed up for Idealware updates. If you are no longer interested in hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe. Idealware | One Pleasant Street, Suite 4E | Portland ME | 04101			SUBSCRIBE If you have received this email second-hand, you can subscribe on the Idealware website. Subscribe Now » DONATE TO IDEALWARE Have Idealware reports and articles saved you time? Money? Allowed you to make better decisions? If so, please donate what they are worth to you and help keep these resources coming. Donate Now » CONNECT WITH US Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get more software resources, links, and news about Idealware.

Company news: Dunkin Donuts donates $500,000 to Central New York nonprofits

• Dunkin' Donuts announced it has donated more than $500,000 to Central New York nonprofits in partnership with its guests through the "Spare Change" program.

• Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes received the 2013 Retail Leader of the Year Award, which was awarded by CSP Business Media Group in Atlanta.

• Glenora Wine Cellars announce that their 2012 Gewürztraminer was awarded a gold medal by The Beverage Testing Institute during the 2013 World Value Wine Challenge.

• Tilson, in Clay, was one of a group of vendors awarded the Navy's $5.3B Seaport-e contract.

• Geddes Federal Savings and Loan Association was ranked 1st in New York state and 6th overall on the list of community banks with the largest first mortgage loan portfolio by American Banker.

• McClurg Remodeling & Construction Services has been named 2013 list of America's top remodelers by Professional Remodeler magazine.

• PB&H Moulding Corporation and Syracuse Sales, has reopened with new owners Doug Badger and Dave Chapman at 124 Pickard Drive, East Syracuse.

• Dannible & McKee, LLP partners will be speaking at the firm's annual construction conference on Tuesday, December 3rd at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool.

182 Nonprofits Partake in Buffalo’s 24-Hour Online Giving Event

WRITTEN BY AINE CREEDON

From Alabama to Minnesota and Austin, Texas to Seattle, Wash., many states and cities are experimenting with time-condensed online giving events. One of the latest entrants in this field comes in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, where the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County (with support from the United Way of Greater Niagara) organized a “Spring It On” online giving event to raise awareness of—and contributions for—Western New York nonprofits. On March 1st, the 24-hour give-a-thon raised $72,549 for the 182 nonprofits that participated throughout Erie and Niagara Counties. A total of 1,307 donors took part in the give-a-thon during this first stab at the Spring It On event.

You can view the statistics of total donations raised here. Although only nine nonprofits attained their fundraising goal during the event, several organizations raised thousands of dollars, including the International Institute of Buffalo ($4,830), the Elmwood Village Charter School ($2,535), the BISON Scholarship Fund ($2,260), Harvest House of South Buffalo ($2,235), Lockport CARES Homeless Shelter ($2,220), Jewish Family Service of Buffalo & Erie County ($2,197) and others.

Beyond fundraising, the event also focused on bringing a large base of nonprofit supporters from throughout the area together and generating some buzz for the work these nonprofits are doing. The event also encouraged nonprofits that may not normally use social networking to tap into social media to reach potential online donors. As United Way of Buffalo & Erie County CEO Michael Weiner put it, “In addition to financial support, we believe Spring It On helped to educate local citizens about the tremendous contributions made by the nonprofit community every day.” The local United Way saw enough promise in the inaugural event that it plans to make it an annual occurrence.

Is there such a time-condensed online giving initiative in your community? If so, we’d love to hear how it went. If not, should there be? –Aine Creedon

To see the online article click here.

Commentary: Through microgiving, you can make more than a dime's worth of difference

Great editorial offered by J. Naples, M&T Bank's Syracuse regional president, chairman of the Onondaga Community College Foundation and chairman of the board of directors of CenterState CEO:

Syracuse, it’s time for a paradigm change in the way we give. Syracuse and Onondaga County’s arts and sciences, educational programs and nonprofits rely on us to survive. Times are tough, though. And some of these organizations, as well as the donors they count on, are coming up short. Some organizations have failed.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a group of local business leaders to head the Onondaga Community College Capital Campaign. We raised several million dollars over a year and a half, exceeding our initial monetary goal and beating our targeted deadline date by over four months.

The people — whom our team knew personally and professionally — were asked to give, and they gave generously. But a campaign like ours cannot be repeated easily over and over again without a change. Like many campaigns, we focused a lot of our attention on a small number of individuals and corporations. As you know, in small cities like Syracuse there are a limited number of large donors to reach out to.

Therefore, we fundraisers and donors must think differently.

First, our civic organizations and nonprofits should engage us with clear-cut goals and concise statements of how donations will positively impact their strategic well-being. Donors need to feel as if they’re investing in something that makes a difference, rather than simply writing a check to keep a nonprofit afloat. Receiving regular, coordinated messages from an organization about how it puts contributions to work makes donors feel like their investments are paying off. Keeping people informed via various media (including emails, letters or social media sites) about the way donor dollars are being used for the success of the organization can help spur more giving.

In a business book called “The Dragonfly Effect,” the co-authors describe how a young South Asian student at Stanford University in need of a bone marrow transplant was given a one-in-20,000 chance of finding a donor. His friends, undaunted by such odds, put in place a plan using social media tools to register 24,611 donors in a matter of weeks. A clear-cut goal plus a compelling story brought people from all over the world together to solve this problem.

Second, Syracuse’s nonprofits need to “democratize” their relationship with the community. More specifically, they need to understand that communications are a two-way street. In addition to dollars, organizations should also solicit ideas from the greater community. For example, what if a local museum reached out to local schools for suggestions and ideas on how best to tailor an exhibit for children? By seeking “personal” involvement from people, one often finds that they will be more likely to contribute their time and also their money.

My employer, M&T Bank, regularly sponsors local events and programs like New York’s Creative Core Emerging Business Competition, as well as On Point for College, which opens doors to higher education for inner city youth. In the past year, our company has given to hundreds of organizations both within and outside of Upstate New York. By participating with these organizations, we have seen firsthand how they improve the community and impact the lives of individuals. We are compelled to give because we understand the mission and see the “return.”

This brings me to my last point. Corporate giving is not enough. Each and every Syracusan must think about personal giving. According to the U.S. Census, there are 111,737 people 18 or older in Syracuse, another 248,034 people in the surrounding areas of Onondaga County.

Given the current economic times, people often don’t feel they are in a position to “write a check” for a good cause. Therefore, I propose we begin to focus on the importance of “microgiving,” or small donations from everyone. If each of those 359,771 adults gave just 10 cents a day ($36.50 per year) to one of Syracuse’s nonprofits, collectively they would raise more than $12.5 million. Ten cents often represents the change one puts on the counter after grabbing a cup of coffee or a burger. What a difference this would make!

In that same light, there are about 35,000 businesses in Onondaga County. If each just gave $100 to a cause, we could raise another $3.5 million. “Microgiving” works, and every small donation helps.

In fact, small donations continue to play an increasing role in all campaigns. For OCC, the Reach Beyond campaign would not have been as successful without the small contributions from close to 1,000 donors who collectively contributed upwards of $500,000. There is no gift too small.

I hope everyone in Central New York makes it their New Year’s resolution to begin the practice of “microgiving” for the “macrobenefit” of our greater community.

Charities get last-minute boost from donors

CNNMoney report -- Chalk it up to the holiday spirit -- or just smart tax planning -- but charitable giving is looking up this month.

Giving in December is already up 15% from 2010, according to the latest tally by Network for Good, a site that enables donors to contribute to more than 10,000 charities across the country. In November, donations rose 20% over the same month last year.

"This year looks a little better, but not back to pre-recession levels yet," said Katya Andresen, Network for Good's chief strategy officer.

But the best is yet to come. While one-third of all online giving for the year occurs in December, a whopping 22% happens in the last two days of the year, according to Network for Good's online giving study. That end-of-year rush can mainly be attributed to donors looking for some last-minute tax savings.

"It's traditional to think about charity in December and of course, it's the end of the tax year," Andresen said.

Still, with less than 48 hours left in the calendar year, it's unlikely this will be a substantially better year for charities after three years in a row of lackluster giving.

Largest donations of 2011
After sinking in 2008 and 2009, donations still lag far behind pre-recession levels. Total charitable contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations increased slightly in 2010 to $290.9 billion -- but remained below 2007's $310.6 billion, according to Giving USA, a foundation that tracks charitable contributions.

Although Geoffrey Brown, executive director of the organization, says it's still too early to say how 2011 will fare in comparison to last year, "giving is probably going to be flat, if anything," he noted.

Stagnant wage growth, high unemployment, Europe's debt crisis and uncertainty about the economy have weighed on donors, while the government has drawn down support substantially, explained Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

"This year was a little better than last year, but, of course, last year wasn't so good," he said.

In a survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 54% of 152 organizations said they raised more money in November and during the first part of December than they had at the same time last year. Nearly 60% of charities predicted they would have an overall gain in donations in 2011, while 28% said donations would fall this year.

"This was a year in which there were certainly disasters both at home and abroad, but not at the scale that we have seen in the past," explained Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

"Even Japan giving was small, it was nothing like the crisis in Haiti," she said referring to the earthquake and tsunami that rocked the Asian nation in March.

CNY Community Foundation sees spike in contributions as economy, stock market improve

Donations to the Central New York Community Foundation nearly tripled in the last three months of 2010, reflecting an increase in economic optimism, according to a foundation official.

The foundation collected $5.17 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from $1.95 million received in the same period of 2009. The final three months of the year, especially December, is often the busiest time of the year for charities.

“There is some more economic optimism,” said Peter Dunn, president and CEO of the foundation.

Many gifts of stock, real estate and other assets to the foundation are motivated by capital gains. People had more capital gains in 2010 because investment markets improved, Dunn said. The foundation received significant gifts of stock in the fourth quarter, he said. Stock gifts had dried up during 2009, he said.

During the fourth quarter the foundation received 800 individual gifts of cash and stock, up from 570 during the same quarter in 2009 and established 19 new donor-advised, field-of-interest and scholarship funds. The foundation has more than 500 funds that are pooled and invested to grow over time. It is the region’s largest endowed philanthropic foundation.

The foundation’s fiscal year ends March 31. It has collected about $7 million so far this fiscal year, about $1 million more than it collected in the last fiscal year.

“It’s a reminder that people here are charitable,” Dunn said. “That will have an impact on the community as a whole.”

The foundation awards about $5 million a year in grants to nonprofit organizations involved in human services, arts and culture, education, environment, health, economic development and civic affairs. “Our grants budget has been stable over the last several years at a time when a lot of other sources of funding have declined or been under pressure,” Dunn said.

The foundation has given more than $100 million to nonprofits since it was established in 1927. At the same time it manages about $110 million in assets.

Dunn said the foundation’s returns on those assets have improved as investment markets have stabilized.

Original article from syracuse.com

Central New Yorkers pledge nearly $6 million to United Way of Central New York

From the Post Standard.com

The United Way of Central New York has raised nearly $6 million toward its 2010 fundraising goal of $8.2 million.

Frank Lazarski, United Way president, said some area companies that have completed their workplace campaigns raised more money than last year. “On balance we are in a pretty good position to come close or surpass our $8.2 million goal,” he said.

The campaign ends April 13.

The annual campaign has fallen short of its goal for the past two years because of the weak economy. Money raised is used to help nonprofits shelter the homeless, feed the hungry and provide other human services in Onondaga County.

“The need in the community is high,” Lazarski said. “The food pantries and soup kitchens are reporting more people are seeking help, many of them unemployed or underemployed and having trouble making ends meet.”

Friday was the deadline for 42 nonprofits to submit applications for the next three-year United Way funding cycle that begins July 1. Those agencies have already passed a fiscal and management review by the United Way.

The United Way received requests of about $9 million, twice as much money as it will have to give out annually. That means the application process will be very competitive. Some agencies asking for money to fund programs will be rejected or get less money than requested, Lazarski said.

The minimum annual grant is $12,500. Some big agencies get about $200,000 a year.

More than 100 volunteers will review the applications. The United Way will make a decision on the applications in April.

“The process is challenging and rigorous and it needs to be,” said Michael Melara, executive director of Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, a United Way agency. “Those dollars come from generous donors and we want to assure donors they have made a good investment.”

Last year the United Way provided $4.4 million to 39 agencies, $2.7 million to nonprofits designated by donors, about $300,000 to Success By 6 and volunteer programs, and spent about $658,000 on administration and financial management.