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CCS turns insights into actions, challenges into opportunities, and fundraising goals into mission impact.
The Jewish Philanthropy Since October 7 report compiles and analyzes data from 73 Jewish organizations to capture how philanthropy in the Jewish sector was impacted since the events of October 7, 2023. This report offers key insights to support effective fundraising, including:
CCS Fundraising remains dedicated to understanding and sharing philanthropic trends – even during times of crisis.
South Florida is experiencing great philanthropic growth, and the momentum looks likely to continue well into the future. In this article, we help you understand the most important trends and components of the philanthropic landscape that will help you maximize fundraising opportunities in South Florida.
Seeking ideas for donor cultivation ahead of “the Great Wealth Transfer”? Learn how to establish and maintain an associate board to engage the next generation of donors.
The next generation is inheriting twice as much as a decade ago, which means that nonprofit organizations must learn to cultivate younger donors for successful fundraising in the short- and long-term. In fact, approximately $84 trillion is transferring from Baby Boomers to younger generations over the next several years. Engaging family foundations will ensure that your nonprofit is building relationships across generations as the Great Wealth Transfer takes place.
In this article, we help you understand how family foundations function and how to leverage them, among other methods of family philanthropy.
Families are reflecting on their purpose and practices. Many are now increasing their annual payout rates by making larger, long-term, and more flexible unrestricted gifts, predominantly through family foundations. Others are examining their family’s beliefs that have been upheld for generations in order to respond to a contemporary and ever-changing landscape.
Nonprofit organizations must cultivate this new wave of donors – a more diverse generation that is making their own wealth while inheriting significant assets and has already shown different interests than those that came before them. This shift in mentality can rock the boat of nonprofit relationships with these high-net-worth families.
Grounded in values and shared beliefs, families are coming together to make their mark – establishing a powerful legacy through family foundations and philanthropic impact made across the community and the world. The definition of a family foundation can look different from family to family, ranging from:
Every family is unique and should be treated distinctly from their peers. Through family foundations and philanthropy, families are bonded – they come together, learn from one another based on individual interests, and build a tradition of giving back to the causes that matter most. While family foundations usually start with a single vision, it grows over time to include the vision of not only family members, but also other community members.
Effective family foundations and philanthropy are informed by the following principals:
A family foundation is a private foundation set up by a family, funded with family assets and often run by family members who determine how assets will be used to meet their mission. A foundation has no required length of existence and can shift as the family’s composition and charitable focus changes. Each year, at least 5% of their net investment assets must be distributed to charity. About 50% of private foundations in the U.S. are family foundations.
Family foundations are not always simple. Parents, children, and their philanthropic institutions must address a number of challenges and reflect on key questions as they determine their purpose, strategy, legacy and operations for their collective philanthropy.
Families often face the following challenges while managing their foundations and philanthropic initiatives:
Families often consider questions like the below while managing their foundations:
Nonprofits have an opportunity to be proactive in building relationships with multigenerational families while leveraging relationships with family or community foundations and well-known wealth advisors to advocate for the organization and open the door to philanthropic families.
Six ways to prepare for engaging a family foundation:
Selecting a charitable vehicle or vehicles is one of the most important choices a family makes to support their philanthropic goals. If not a family foundation, the following vehicles are tools or entities established to manage a family’s philanthropic resources and achieve social impact.
Family Office
Family offices are private entities that manage the personal and financial affairs of wealthy individuals and families with assets at or above $100 million. Although philanthropy isn’t the primary focus of a family office, they can facilitate philanthropic decisions through outright gifts, grantmaking, impact investing, and other means. About 71% of family offices are engaged in philanthropy, but only 41% have a philanthropic strategy established.
Donor Advised Funds (DAF)
A low-cost opportunity to manage one’s philanthropy. This vehicle allows families to give anonymously if they choose. A sponsor organization, such as a community foundation, manages and administers DAFs, offering families expertise and guidance on which organizations to support. Families receive an immediate tax deduction for what they contribute to a DAF even if the gift comes at a later date. Grants from DAFs increased 9% ($52.16B) in 2022, a new high.
Individual Giving Across Generations
Some families value philanthropy and have yet to set up a formalized structure or have no interest in exploring complex giving vehicles. Multigenerational gifts can still be made outright to a nonprofit by having family members agree on a charity they care about and each making a separate contribution to it – these gifts can vary in size depending on the individual’s capacity.
Every family is unique. One’s financial and philanthropic goals will look different so we must enter every engagement with curiosity. Family philanthropy takes time and effectively engaging across generations can take years before seeing a significant gift come to light. We can control the experience we provide families and the relationship we offer them with the organization. Always lead with donor intent and remember to view yourself as a partner on a long journey of achieving transformational impact through philanthropy.
South Florida is experiencing great philanthropic growth, and the momentum looks likely to continue well into the future. In this article, we help you understand the most important trends and components of the philanthropic landscape that will help you maximize fundraising opportunities in South Florida.
Learn how to go from vision to strategy at your arts and culture institution with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, focusing on diversity, digital engagement, and unprecedented philanthropy.
If your nonprofit is global or pursuing donors in the UK, this article will highlight charitable giving in the UK and how geography impacts the structures and tools linked to fundraising success.
The US and UK are statistically among the most charitable countries in the world, operating as global financial centers in New York and London and home to populations with enormous wealth. However, while the US and UK both maintain extremely influential positions within the global philanthropic landscape, the differences between the two countries’ cultures of giving are as notable as their similarities.
Consider the following four factors that impact UK philanthropy to tailor your fundraising strategy.
While it’s true that the US and UK rank as some of the world’s wealthiest countries, the US has a much larger Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than the UK, and consequently, more money goes to philanthropy. As a percentage of the total GDP, US individual giving is more than double that of the UK at 1.37% to 0.52%. This difference reflects the wealth disparity between the two countries; people in the US have more money and thus give more to philanthropy.
However, it’s important to note that in terms of charitable giving as a population percentage, 71% of UK adults report donating annually to charity, compared to 61% in the US. This suggests that a larger proportion of individuals exhibit generosity in the UK by giving smaller amounts; conversely, fewer individuals in the US make larger gifts.
This divergence in donor behavior should inform your fundraising strategy accordingly—bigger gifts from a smaller group of donors are expected in the US; smaller gifts from a larger group of donors are more common in the UK.
At face value, social spending, or the measurement of how much a country spends to support the standard of living for vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, is similar in the US and UK. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as a percentage of GDP, the US and UK governments spend 22.7% and 21.1%, respectively, on health, education, family, unemployment, housing, and benefits for older adults or those with disabilities.
However, voluntary private social spending, or benefits offered by privately operated organizations, including most nonprofits, accounted for almost 13% of GDP in the US versus a mere 5.85% in the UK. This discrepancy suggests that, while the cultural expectation in the UK is that the government will meet (or highly subsidize) most social needs, the US population is far more accustomed to relying on support from other sources, including employers, insurance companies, and other privately supported entities, including nonprofits. The higher education sector illustrates this point—the British government standardizes, caps, and subsidizes university fees. In contrast, top-ranked colleges and universities in the US often have extremely high tuition fees (financial aid and scholarship opportunities notwithstanding).
These differences align with the popular, though perhaps not entirely accurate, assessment that American culture lends itself to smaller government and more individual responsibility compared to the higher taxes, stronger social safety net, and collectivism favored by European societies. Indeed, 13% of US donors cite inadequate government support as a motivation for philanthropic giving.
The US offers more donor tax benefits for charitable giving than the UK and encourages donors to give through various wealth vehicles, including their estate and noncash assets, like art and real estate. US taxpayers can also offset their annual tax bill through cash deductions from donations made throughout the year to registered nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organizations. US-based donors also receive the same tax benefits for giving to nonprofits abroad through equivalency determination, which is nonexistent in the UK.
The US offers donors more options to give to nonprofits and opportunities to reap the financial benefits. It is common in the US for the highest income earners to view donating to nonprofits as an annual necessity for tax purposes, which makes sense considering that a smaller percentage of donors gives more money in the US.
Meanwhile, the UK offers various tax benefits for UK donors giving in the UK, but these benefits do not apply when a UK donor gives outside of the UK.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the world’s strongest set of data protection rules. Implemented in the European Union (EU) in 2018 and retained in UK law following their departure from the EU, GDPR limits how US organizations and fundraisers can use personal data, creating a substantial difference in privacy and data-sharing norms in the UK compared to the US. While federal- and state-level privacy regulations exist in the US, they vary across states and do not offer the same level of data protection as GDPR.
While the benefits of GDPR for privacy are indisputable, GDPR does impact fundraising strategies by placing strict guardrails on publicly available information. You cannot use the prospect identification and fundraising research software nonprofits commonly employ in the US—such as Wealth Engine and iWave—for British donor research. Instead, you will need to rely on publicly available information from specific sources, including public registry data, the Charity Register, and the news media. Further, US fundraisers must comply with GDPR regulations, as its rules apply to any organization, regardless of location, that processes the personal data of individuals within the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the UK.
As the global philanthropic landscape continues to grow and change, now is the time for your nonprofit organization to consider where it is headquartered, where its donor constituencies are located (or could be located), and where its programs make an impact.
While there are pros and cons to US and UK fundraising, norms and circumstances in the US tend to foster more significant philanthropy than in the UK. Nevertheless, a larger percentage of the UK population participates in charitable giving than the American population. By leveraging this key distinction and the other influential factors we have identified, you can meet UK donors where they are and expand your fundraising.
South Florida is experiencing great philanthropic growth, and the momentum looks likely to continue well into the future. In this article, we help you understand the most important trends and components of the philanthropic landscape that will help you maximize fundraising opportunities in South Florida.
Learn how to go from vision to strategy at your arts and culture institution with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, focusing on diversity, digital engagement, and unprecedented philanthropy.
In this video, our keynote speaker, Dr. Una Osili, leading researcher and producer of the Giving USA report, presents the latest trends from the Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. Our esteemed panelists then examine the significance and implications of 2023’s trends for nonprofit organizations.
The culture of philanthropy remains strong, according to the new data released by Giving USA. Charitable giving reached over $557 billion across America in 2023, up 1.9% from 2022. Religion, human services, and education totaled over $322 billion, more than half of all gifts received. Giving by individuals totaled $374 billion, accounting for 67% of all contributions. Giving by bequests grew 4.8%, totaling about $43 billion, reflecting demographic shifts in donors. Four subsectors saw year-over-year double-digit growth, including education by 11.1% and arts, culture, and humanities by 11%. Additionally, the IRS reported 1.48 million 501(c)(3) charitable organizations in 2022, a 3.4% increase over 2021. This report should give nonprofits confidence in the future of philanthropy.
EVP, Chief Communications and Development Officer
Arkansas Children’s Health System
FAQ’s coming soon!
What 2023 trends stand out to you? Use #CCSGivingUSA to join the conversation on social media!
South Florida is experiencing great philanthropic growth, and the momentum looks likely to continue well into the future. In this article, we help you understand the most important trends and components of the philanthropic landscape that will help you maximize fundraising opportunities in South Florida.
This comprehensive survey report of stewardship and development practices across 75 Catholic dioceses and archdioceses in the United States was produced by CCS and ICSC.
Philanthropic support for the education sector has nearly doubled in the last ten years, and it is no surprise that the commitment of generous alumni serves an integral role in this significant increase. Wondering how to get alumni to donate to your institution?
As those responsible for the advancement operations of schools know, the engagement of alumni is essential for a healthy and robust donation pipeline. In fact, 15% of annual fund support at primary and secondary schools comes from alumni. Among colleges and universities, the top three alumni engagement strategies include alumni reunions/events (59%), annual giving campaigns (50%), and targeted digital communications (43%).
For many advancement shops, the role of alumni engagement and gift officer lies in separate silos; however, successful leaders in advancement understand the need for deep partnership in order to effectively build a comprehensive and dynamic alumni donor program.
In this article, we share three strategies to help create an aligned partnership between your alumni engagement and gift officer teams.
Where there is a disconnection between alumni engagement and gift officer teams, miscommunication and information gaps can arise and be detrimental to the larger goal. To create a robust alumni donor pipeline, leadership must be intentional about including alumni engagement team members in donor strategy conversations.
As the advancement team looks at the philanthropic goal for the institution, we encourage you to include the alumni engagement teams in early prospecting work to help inform gift officer portfolios. The alumni engagement team has a working knowledge of alumni prospects that may lie outside of traditional data analytics results such as an RFM analysis. This information can be invaluable to adding a personal approach when developing gift request strategies. Coach alumni engagement team members by reminding them that they are just as much responsible for revenue-generating goals throughout the years as their gift officer counterparts.
It is beneficial to create a fundraising workshop for the entirety of your advancement team to share best practices in fundraising and alumni conversation cues and ensure your alumni engagement staff members feel confident with your fundraising goals. Gift officers should also make it a practice to include alumni engagement team members in gift request meetings to cultivate a working partnership.
When developing the activities calendar for alumni engagement, team members should actively review gift officer pipelines to understand which prospects could be invited to serve as volunteer leaders, thus deepening their engagement with the school. Gift officers should advocate within alumni engagement team meetings for opportunities for their prospects and ensure activities align with the overall philanthropic goal for that year.
As the team assesses each gift officer’s portfolio, it is essential to highlight the status of each prospect and dive deeper into how to move them along the moves management cycle. When reviewing the advancement pipeline, ensure all team members understand the importance of serving the school’s donor pipeline and how each activity moves alumni closer to that end goal. Alumni engagement team members must understand that their activities, which at the surface focus on engagement and stewardship, deepen their engagement and provide opportunities for future financial investment.
When we look at our prospects in relation to their moves management status, I coach my team to understand that we play a role in every stage—with a particular emphasis on discovery, cultivation, and stewardship.
Heidi Bruce, Assistant Vice President, Alumni Relations & Strategic Engagement, Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD
As events near, alumni engagement and gift officer teams should strategically plot the tactical steps of identifying volunteers, recruiting attendees, having event conversations, and following up. This partnership allows for a comprehensive approach to event engagement and provides gift officers the support they need.
In many cases, alumni engagement and gift officer teams are aligned in strategy but fall short on results because the operational structures are not established to serve their partnership. Advancement leadership should ensure the following operations items are established:
When teams operate out of several databases or user interfaces, information continues to be lost, and an unintentional divide is created. Operating out of one streamlined system allows for teams to communicate seamlessly, pull reports with meaningful datapoints, and develop aligned strategies with accountability metrics.
When reviewing prospects, identifying volunteers, or establishing strategy, all members of the team should feel involved in this work. Alumni engagement team members can inform gift officers of donor historical context and involvement, notable updates, and nuanced information. Gift officers should engage alumni engagement team members in initial meetings, briefing or visioning sessions with donors, and, where appropriate, gift request meetings.
Just as alumni engagement and gift officer teams should collaborate to develop strategies for prospective projects, it is important that both present plans to institutional leadership for how to get alumni to donate. This will provide the president or head of school with a high-level perspective on alumni and create a comprehensive view of alumni involvement and how best to request their financial support.
Engaging your alumni is essential to the development of a robust donor pipeline and to ensure the sustainability of your institution. Strengthening the partnership between alumni engagement and gift officers will ensure a comprehensive approach to alumni engagement, resulting in more meaningful relationships and deeper, lasting support.
South Florida is experiencing great philanthropic growth, and the momentum looks likely to continue well into the future. In this article, we help you understand the most important trends and components of the philanthropic landscape that will help you maximize fundraising opportunities in South Florida.
Seeking ideas for donor cultivation ahead of “the Great Wealth Transfer”? Learn how to establish and maintain an associate board to engage the next generation of donors.
In an era where personalization and efficiency are paramount, artificial intelligence (AI) in fundraising opens novel avenues for your organization to enhance its outreach and engagement strategies.
At the heart of this revolution lies the potential of Custom Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPTs), a cutting-edge no-code AI feature allowing users to create customized chatbots. This unlocks incredible potential for nonprofits, including tailoring donor communications, proposal writing, and processes to unprecedented specificity, efficiency, and relevance. However, “with great power comes great responsibility.” The landscape of AI tools, like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini, is rapidly evolving and reshaping the sector’s ethical boundaries and operational norms. Knowing how to adapt and evolve with these changes is equally as important as understanding what AI can do for you.
At its core, AI is the digital simulation of human intelligence programmed to think and learn—a digital brain that can process information, make decisions, and even predict outcomes based on data.
Generative AI platforms play a crucial role for nonprofits by creating text, images, and ideas from large data sets. ChatGPT, for example, excels in understanding and interacting in human language, making it invaluable for creating personalized communications. The landscape of generative AI is dynamic and other platforms like Copilot and Gemini are gaining relevance as well. Viewing ChatGPT as the initial benchmark rather than the ultimate solution acknowledges the rapidly evolving nature of the field.
The latest advancement to ChatGPT and Copilot suites for nonprofits is Custom Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPTs). These tailored, no-code user-created versions of ChatGPT carry out specific tasks or purposes aligning with an organization’s specific needs. Among other applications, Custom GPT models can be trained to match your nonprofit’s voice, values, and fundraising goals. It can act as an efficient assistant who understands your organization and provides insights and creativity to support your mission.
Custom GPTs allow fundraisers to automate and personalize donor communications and create compelling fundraising campaigns. They can also handle repetitive tasks, freeing your team to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of fundraising—they enhance, rather than replace, human effort.
Imagine moving out on your own and receiving a toolbox as a housewarming gift. Inside, you find various tools: screwdrivers, a hammer, pliers, and some unfamiliar tools. Initially, you might only use those you recognize, like the screwdriver and hammer. However, you learn about the other tools over time and discover their unique purposes, realizing the toolbox’s full potential.
In the context of nonprofits, ChatGPT and other generative AI models are like this toolbox. Many organizations already use basic AI tools (e.g., the screwdriver and hammer) for tasks like writing an email or a thank you note. But just like the unused tools, there is untapped potential in the less familiar tools hidden in AI technologies. Custom GPT models may seem complex at first, but hold immense potential for those who take the time to understand and utilize them.
For example, a standard AI tool might help you draft a generic thank-you letter to donors. In contrast, a Custom GPT can be trained to write personalized messages tailored to each donor’s interests and history with your organization. This shift moves from generic, one-size-fits-all solutions to bespoke communication strategies that significantly enhance donor engagement and fundraising effectiveness.
The key message is that AI’s potential is vast and largely untapped. Just as you wouldn’t use a hammer for every household task, it’s essential to understand the various AI tools available and strategically apply them to maximize impact.
In our experience, the main benefits of Custom GPTs for nonprofits include the following.
One of Custom GPTs standout benefits is their ability to adapt to and replicate your organization’s specific brand voice. This ensures that all communication—whether donor outreach, campaign materials, or social media content—consistently reflects your organization’s values and tone. For example, if your nonprofit has a compassionate and empathetic voice, you can train a Custom GPT to mirror this style so that your messaging resonates deeply and authentically with your audience.
Custom GPTs can revolutionize how you conceptualize and execute campaigns. They can assist you in drafting personalized proposals, creating dynamic content for different donor segments, and suggesting ideas based on data trends. This customization makes your campaigns more engaging and likely to succeed.
We cannot overstate the way Custom GPTs enable efficiency. They can streamline routine tasks like donor communication and report generation, freeing up valuable time. Your team will be able to focus on more strategic and creative projects to help your nonprofit grow.
As your nonprofit grows and evolves, so can your suite of Custom GPTs. They are designed to learn and adapt, ensuring they remain an asset regardless of your organization’s needs changing over time. This adaptability is crucial in the nonprofit sector, where shifts in donor interests and giving trends are common based on the season and year-over-year.
Imagine a scenario at a large university where the development team plans to approach a donor interested in supporting a specific program and associated research lab. The team utilizes a Custom GPT trained with the university’s customized endowment language and giving opportunities. The AI helps draft a proposal aligning with the donor’s interests, incorporating the latest research initiatives and potential impacts of their contribution. It also suggests a tailored ask level based on the donor’s previous giving history, wealth capacity rating, and engagement, resulting in a highly personalized and compelling proposal, significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful endowment.
In these fundraising applications, Custom GPTs enhance human creativity and strategic thinking, acting as a force multiplier and enabling teams to achieve more with less in a way deeply aligned with their organization’s mission and values.
Ethical AI use in fundraising revolves around transparency and respect for donor privacy. Verifying that your organization conducts all AI-driven communications and analyses with the donor’s knowledge and consent is paramount—it’s how you maintain donor data integrity and confidentiality. AI is a tool for your organization to enhance human connection, not replace it. Custom GPTs personalize communications, but the human element’s authenticity and sincerity must remain at the forefront.
While ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini can process and generate information based on data, they lack the innate human ability to fully understand complex emotional nuances and ethical considerations. This limitation is particularly evident in sensitive situations, such as communicating with a donor who recently experienced a personal loss or during crisis communications. In these cases, a human fundraiser’s nuanced understanding and empathy are irreplaceable and crucial for reviewing all AI-generated communications.
It’s also important to recognize that AI is a tool, not an end-state solution. Relying solely on AI for all fundraising aspects can lead to a lack of personal touch and potentially overlook unique opportunities only identifiable to humans. We recommend that you take a balanced approach, with AI complementing your human skills and intuition.
AI is rapidly evolving, as are its ethical considerations and best practices. Regularly updating and monitoring the AI systems for biases, inaccuracies, or ethical concerns is crucial to ensure the technology aligns with your organization’s values and current standards and continues to serve your mission effectively and ethically.
Another Custom GPT consideration is that you cannot rely on the output as-is. For example, ChatGPT has been known to write untrue or exceptionally biased statements. Similarly, the dangers of making a custom GPT include misuse, users getting access to proprietary data, and harm to an organization’s brand. Do not use any document or data that you do not want to become public in these custom GPTs.
The fundraising opportunities offered by ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are not without any ethical and legal concerns. ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini are open-knowledge AI models, meaning all the information they gather comes from what is publicly available on the internet (although ChatGPT and Copilot lag a couple of months behind in their respective knowledge bases), as well as any data they collect from users. This can cause apprehension: how can we use AI models while ensuring data safety? How can we adhere to data and research policies so that we can be proud of the work we do through AI? How do we ensure that the work remains ours?
Generative AI models use all the prompts, responses, and information fed into them as additional training material. This feature is a crucial part of machine learning, but providing a chatbot with confidential information may, unfortunately, also breach data privacy policies.
What are your options for maintaining data privacy?
Regardless of your approach, it is important to confirm your AI engagement aligns with your institution’s risk and data protection policies.
Another concern is regarding ownership. How can you feel that AI-produced work—even a rough draft—is still the result of your efforts? While generative AI chatbots appear capable of creating individualized content out of thin air, this is not entirely the case. Generative AI cannot generate anything nonexistent; it mimics reality but does not create novelty. Ultimately, we must curate accurate, well-developed prompts if we want ChatGPT or other models to create a useful draft document.
To address ethical concerns, fundraisers using AI chatbots must be extremely conscious of how they craft their initial prompts and follow-ups, as well as how they review, fact-check, and work from any of their responses. Take the steps to transform the AI model’s writing into your final deliverable, a process requiring time and effective planning.
While AI’s efficient, customizable generation is not without drawbacks, knowing what to be vigilant of is the best way to maximize what generative AI can do for you.
As we look to the future, one thing is clear: integrating AI in nonprofit fundraising is not an option but a necessity for those looking to stay relevant and effective in a rapidly changing world. Embracing AI with a thoughtful, strategic approach will enhance your fundraising efforts and assure that your organization continues to make a meaningful impact in the communities you serve.
However, the journey to effectively integrating AI into your fundraising strategy requires a deep understanding of the technology, a commitment to ethical practices, and a readiness to adapt to continually evolving tools. We encourage you to continue educating yourself with our growing library of AI resources and reach out to CCS Fundraising if you need a customized partnership.
Explore the transformational potential of artificial intelligence in modern fundraising practices in this video featuring leading experts and practitioners in the field.
Major gift portfolios determine where relationship managers will spend their time and energy. So, how can nonprofits ensure they’re focusing on the right donors?
You may already know that predictive AI can unearth new major gift prospects. But how can predictive modeling help you optimize major gift portfolios that are already assigned?
Predictive modeling evaluates two critical factors for fundraising success:
At CCS Fundraising, we leverage these factors to evaluate and optimize our clients’ major gift portfolios.
A quality major gift portfolio includes prospects with both capacity and affinity, meaning they have the financial means to donate and an interest in supporting your organization.
To estimate capacity, we perform external wealth screening research, analyzing assets, real estate, income, and public giving data to estimate how much a household can donate to all charities over five years.
Nonprofit CRM data provides valuable insights into donor affinity. CCS uses this internal data to create predictive models that score the likelihood of each donor contributing to your organization.
CCS visualizes portfolio quality by combining affinity and capacity data into a quadrant chart. Prospects scoring high on predictive models and showing significant gift capacity fall in the upper right quadrant.
Key questions arise from this visualization:
Beyond assessing portfolio quality, it’s crucial to evaluate portfolio performance. Even with ideal prospects, a portfolio might not reach its full fundraising potential.
We estimate portfolio performance using the capacity capture rate metric, the ratio of a prospect’s last five years of giving to the minimum value of their estimated gift capacity range. Essentially, the capacity capture rate measures the percentage of a donor’s total giving capacity directed to your organization.
A client example shows how outliers can skew the average capacity capture rate. When the average rate significantly differs from the median, outliers likely influence the data. Removing these outliers clarifies the underlying capture rate for the entire portfolio.
CCS typically sees an average capacity capture rate of 10% and a median of 1%. Higher values indicate strong portfolio performance. However, even if overall numbers are positive, deeper analysis can uncover valuable insights.
The capacity capture rate graph reveals key data for portfolio segmentation and prioritization, including:
In the case of the client example above, we know there are outliers who unduly influence the average. When the average capacity capture rate is meaningfully different than the median capture rate, there is a good chance that there are some outliers. Removing the outliers can help us get a better sense of the underlying capture rate for the portfolio as a whole.
CCS typically sees an average capacity capture rate of 10% and a median capture rate of 1%. Values greater than that indicate a portfolio that is performing well. However, even if the overall numbers indicate good portfolio performance, digging a bit deeper can uncover more valuable information.
The chart above illustrates the capture rate ranges. This graph shows some key pieces of data that can help inform the segmentation and prioritization of the portfolio, including:
The chart below shows a segmentation we recommended to a client considering their major gift portfolio’s quality and performance data.
Combining quality and performance data provides a comprehensive view of your portfolio. This approach helps make data-driven decisions to optimize your portfolio, identifying prospects for removal, further research, or new engagement strategies while confirming successful current strategies.
Fundraising teams that optimize major gift portfolios with predictive modeling ensure their limited time and resources yield the best possible results.
Learn more from our team of data analytics experts.
CCS’s Senior Data Scientist John Sammis explains how your nonprofit can use predictive AI to unearth new major giving potential in your donor database.
Learn how to perform an RFM analysis, the simplest tool to start narrowing your prospect list to your most impactful donors. This article contains background information and a video to lead you step-by-step into meaningful engagement.
Is your nonprofit acquiring new donors but finding it challenging to keep them? If so, you’re not alone. The 2024 CCS Philanthropy Pulse report reveals that donor retention remains a top challenge, as only 48% of nonprofit organizations reported keeping over half their new donors from the previous 12 months.
Successful stewardship builds trust and loyalty. Further, donors who feel appreciated and connected are likelier to become repeat contributors, increase their giving over time, fulfill multi-year pledges, and even advocate for your organization among their networks.
Stewardship is a relationship-building process requiring the strategic management of donors through consistent communication, personalized engagement, and demonstrated impact.
A successful stewardship program:
A positive stewardship experience has the power to turn a one-time donor into a longstanding partner of your organization.
Promptly thank a donor for their contribution—ideally within 24 to 48 hours. Express sincere gratitude and mention how their support will make an impact. Acknowledgment should be tiered based on the donor relationship, with some donors receiving standardized, personalized, letters while major donors should receive phone calls and hand-written notes. For transformational gifts, senior leadership should make personal, immediate outreach to the donor.
Utilize data analytics to understand donors’ preferences, interests, giving history, and communication styles. Tailoring communication based on a donor’s preferences and interests will foster a stronger connection. Use existing touchpoints and think outside the box to maintain donor engagement, such as events, volunteer opportunities, or guided tours. Provide updates on the organization’s programs, achievements, and impact—ensure you are connecting with the donor throughout the year in ways beyond solicitation.
Engage donors beyond financial support and let donors experience your nonprofit’s mission in action. This could include engaging them as volunteers, event attendees, committee advisors, or key stakeholders or having them share their expertise with your organization.
Discuss recognition or naming opportunities with the donor to identify what would be most meaningful, depending upon the size of their gift. These opportunities should be customized for each prospect—many donors are not looking for public recognition, so it’s important to know their preferences.
Show donors the tangible impact their support has made on the organization through individual impact reports, newsletters, annual reports, or other creative storytelling opportunities. Use data to quantify the outcomes of their support as much as possible. Visual representations such as infographics or success stories can make donors feel closer to the mission and see the impact they make with their gifts.
Solicit donor input via surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations to understand their preferences, satisfaction levels, and suggestions for improvement. With so many organizations making timely donor stewardship a standard practice, creativity can make all the difference in retaining strong donor relationships.
Think outside the box to create memorable and meaningful donor interactions. Innovation can look like sending a personalized video message from beneficiaries expressing gratitude, an invitation to insider events, or behind-the-scenes access to the organization’s work. Creative stewardship approaches leave a remarkable impression and deepen the donors’ emotional connection to the cause.
Maximize your capacity—effective stewardship does not necessarily require additional resources. Organizations should leverage existing resources such as volunteer networks, social media platforms, and current staffing infrastructure to enhance a donor’s experience. For example, volunteers can write personalized thank-you notes, or donors can be invited to a behind-the-scenes day in the office.
Stewardship and fundraising should be viewed as the same: a continuous journey of nurturing relationships, building trust, and inspiring generosity. Organizations can cultivate an engaged and committed loyal donor base by prioritizing donor relationships and implementing best practices. We repeatedly see that effective stewardship drives donor retention and increased giving.
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New York, NY – CCS Fundraising, a leader in nonprofit fundraising and strategic consulting, proudly announces the release of their latest position paper, AI in Fundraising. This comprehensive report examines the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the nonprofit sector.
In the dynamic and ever-changing philanthropic landscape of today’s nonprofit sector, harnessing the power of AI is paramount to enhancing operational efficiency and fundraising impact. This paper – researched, written, and produced by CCS’s Data Analytics team – explores how AI enables nonprofits to leverage data, automation, and personalized communication to engage prospects and donors effectively, ultimately advancing their mission and achieving financial goals.
“As the nonprofit sector continues to evolve, it’s essential for organizations to embrace the innovative applications of AI to achieve fundraising efficiency, increased generosity, and more impactful philanthropy,” stated Greg Hagin, Principal and Managing Director at CCS Fundraising. “I’m excited to share this research by CCS to leaders in the nonprofit industry, as it provides invaluable guidance on leveraging AI to drive meaningful impact and achieve long-term success.”
The AI in Fundraising position paper comprises five insightful themes for nonprofits to study:
Ashutosh Nandeshwar, Senior Vice President and Head of CCS Data Analytics, emphasized the practical applications of AI highlighted in the report, saying, “AI offers unparalleled opportunities for nonprofits to optimize fundraising efforts, from predictive modeling to personalized communication. By integrating AI into their strategies, organizations can enhance donor engagement and streamline operations.”
What industry leaders are saying about AI in Fundraising:
“Traditional AI and generative AI are moving the efficiency frontier in many industries, fundraising included. With these technologies, organizations will be able to create more personalized and deeper donor relationships while being able to use their resources more effectively.” ~Nicolaj Siggelkow, David M. Knott Professor, Vice Dean MBA Program, and Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and co-author of Connected Strategy
“It’s a very thorough and easy to understand overview of how AI can be used in the fundraising space. I imagine many nonprofits are overwhelmed with where to start, and this can serve as a useful roadmap.” ~Jeff Kula, Senior Vice Chair, Philanthropy, Cleveland Clinic
“Elevate your nonprofit’s potential with AI in Fundraising. This insightful guide examines how AI technologies, from predictive modeling to generative AI, can be implemented to boost fundraising efforts, enhance donor satisfaction, and secure a sustainable future for nonprofits.”
~Max S. Bennett, co-founder of multiple AI companies, author of A Brief History of Intelligence
For further information on AI in Fundraising and to download the report, visit CCS Fundraising Data Analytics.
About CCS Fundraising
CCS Fundraising is a strategic consulting firm that has partnered with nonprofits for transformational change for more than 75 years. CCS provides various services to support and strengthen nonprofit fundraising programs, including campaign management, strategic planning, data analytics, gift planning, systems and change management, and major gift strategy. The firm’s expert consultants, skilled in campaign and development strategy, work closely with organizations of all sizes across nonprofit sectors and geographies.
For more information on CCS Fundraising, please visit www.ccsfundraising.com.
