At a recent conference, we had the privilege of presenting the advanced session on endowment development. The session was for staff and volunteers with 15+ years of financial development experience and for those who knew the basics of endowment development.
In preparation for the session, we reviewed endowment statistics and trends, and checked in with successful endowment practitioners to determine what kind of ‘advanced strategies’ they had been using to create successful endowment programs.
What we found was that organizations with a healthy endowment fund tend to have acquired it in one of two ways.
The Surprise Party
Many organizations have had the wonderful – and slightly discombobulating – experience of receiving an incredibly generous gift entirely out of the blue. While these gifts are always welcome, many times the staff and board were caught off-guard and didn’t have a concrete plan for what to do with the gift. Even worse, nothing has been done since to grow that gift by combining it with other gifts to the endowment.In other words, the organization is waiting for someone else to throw them another surprise party.
The Celebration
Other organizations have been very deliberate about building their endowment fund. They have cultivated relationships over time as part of an endowment-building program. They celebrate regularly through heritage society events and special recognition. Their experience is one of continual gratitude and sharing, not surprises.
In other words, they’re hosting their own parties, not waiting for someone else to throw them one!
As we compared notes and finalized preparations for our session, two things became very obvious:
- No advanced strategies are required to conduct a successful endowment development program. Rather, successful endowment development is directly related to faithfully and consistently implementing simple endowment development program strategies.
- The biggest challenges to a successful endowment development program are making the decision to get a program started and making the commitment to conduct the program year after year after year.
Implementing the basics turns out to be the advanced strategy!
Endowment development programs are perhaps the best source of additional contributed income available to nonprofits, one that allows their best supporters to make estate-planning decisions that are in the donor’s interests and benefits the organization as well.
For our YMCA friends: we’ve published a “red paper” outlining the consequences of inaction, and the opportunities available for those willing to commit to an ongoing program. Interested in reading it? Send us a note and we’ll be happy to email you a copy.
Today is a great time to get started. Contact a long-time friend of your organization and invite them to sit down over a cup of coffee. Your agenda is simply to hear their story and share your vision. Commit to having these wonderful conversations regularly, and you’ll be well on your way to establishing your own successful endowment program!
Need further help to get your endowment development program rolling? Contact mike@donorbydesign.com for more information on building your own endowment program. Contact lora@donorbydesign.com for more help on developing your endowment case for support for your donors and community.
