I imagine that if you’re reading this you probably know what a giving circle is, but let me just make sure. A giving circle is a group of individuals who pool their money and, collectively, decide where to donate that money.

Giving circles have been around for generations, and they are now becoming much more popular. Even I belong to a very loosely organized circle with some friends who support a couple of causes. We got together because we thought if we combined our money and made one larger gift to a nonprofit it would certainly make more of a difference. Have we made more of a difference? Dunno. Maybe I’ll do some analysis and make a future posting about that.

Touted as a way for people to get more involved in the fundraising process and to make a bigger impact with their donated dollars, giving circles make it hard for nonprofits to get access to individuals, where connections and real relationships are built. It’s through these personal relationships we build with volunteers and donors that our organizations grow, and how we “move” donors through a variety of stages, ultimately to a place where they are sincerely engaged in what we do. Giving circles take away our access to the individual and limit the interactions we can have at a one-to-one level. And, as giving circles grow and their interests change, it’s difficult for nonprofits to find funding for multiyear projects.

And, larger, more organized giving circles can require significant accountability reporting about the impact their contribution has made. While larger nonprofits may have the staff to fulfill these requirements, my friends at smaller organizations tell me they are hesitant to go to giving circles because of the reporting burden. Says a friend, “Going to our regional giving circle is like going to a major foundation. There are just too many hoops to go through, and I don’t have the staff to do this.” At the same time, she has found that several of her “rising donors” now give exclusively through the circle, effectively eliminating her access to them directly.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Fundraising!

Here’s the story. Over the past several months I have made small gifts ($25) to a number of CLIENT organizations that I worked with during the same period. To be exact, I made 10 gifts of $25 each: seven made online, two sent by mail, and one handed to someone at the organization while I was onsite. These gifts represented my first donations to these particular organizations, and were undesignated so that the money could be used where it was most needed.

So far, so good, right? Here is where it gets interesting. Take a guess at how many acknowledgments I received for the 10 gifts I made. It’s less than half – actually, it’s way less than half. TWO! Two thank yous out of 10 gifts made! One from an online gift, and one from a mailed gift. And, yes, every organization had my mailing address and I did not indicate anywhere that I did not want to be acknowledged for my gift. Don’t blame this on me!

Here’s a little more insight into my experiment. I have followed up with most of these organizations over the past month, starting with the two that did send me thank yous. Both of these organizations were a little surprised when I called to thank for thanking me. Most of my contacts at organizations that didn’t thank me were themselves surprised that I had not received a thank you, and promised to follow up and to be sure that I was thanked (and still not one thank you as of January 22 – so now they have had TWO opportunities to thank me and have failed to do so both times…) And, keep in mind – these were all Raiser’s Edge clients. There is absolutely no excuse for not acknowledging donors.

What surprised me most, however, was a comment my contact from one of these organizations made in regards to why I had not received an acknowledgment. She said, “It’s our policy to not acknowledge gifts under $250. We only acknowledge gifts that are over $250.” She did go on to say more, but I honestly didn’t hear a thing she said after that. They really have a policy about NOT thanking some donors?!?

This whole thing has me very puzzled. I would have understood if one or two organizations had neglected to thank me, but eight out of ten? Was my sample not representative of the industry? Plus, these were Raiser’s Edge clients, so I know they have the infrastructure to efficiently acknowledge gifts – it’s just as easy to run 100 thank yous as it is to run 10, right? Did they think I didn’t need an acknowledgment because I work for a company that is one of their vendors? Or, are these organizations just out of touch with their missions?

I didn’t make these gifts just as an experiment. I also genuinely believe in what these organizations do (I would share with you what these orgs do, but it would be too easy to figure out who they are). And, to be honest, yes, I was personally testing them. How they handle a small gift tells me a lot about how accountable they are as an organization. Can I trust them to use my money in the way I intended? If I worry about what they did with my $25, I surely am not willing to give them more money.

Loyalty is a two-way street to me. I want to give to an organization that I know cares deeply about the mission they serve, and also about me as a supporter of their mission. I get asked for money all the time, and I have my own rules about who I give to: your mission has to touch me personally, you have to show me that my dollars (no matter how big or small) can make a difference, and you have to treat me like I am part of the team. What are you doing with my (and everyone else’s) money? How is this helping you accomplish your mission? Loyalty is a two-way street to me.

So, am I expecting too much? Was this homemade experiment skewed in some way? Should I be as puzzled about the outcome as I am? Or, should I accept this as the state of fundraising today? I would love to hear your thoughts!

When I was asked to become a blogger, I was a bit surprised. Someone thought you might be interested in what I have to say. Believe me, I have a lot to say - just not sure others wanted to hear it. So, you be the judge. I hope you’ll give me lots of feedback, disagree with me when you think I am crazy, share this with your friends and colleagues, and teach me lots of new stuff.

That’s it for now - I plan to post at least a couple of times this coming week. Some of the topics flowing through my mind are centered around the care and feeding of donors - old and new, especially as we begin a new year. I’ll put my thoughts into whole sentences and post them right here.

Until then, happy fundraising!

Jim