June 2007 No. 26Table of ContentsPhilanthropy |
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Far more Americans today think the “state of moral values in the country as a whole” is getting worse than thought so five years ago, according to Gallup pollsters. In mid-2002, 67% said it was getting worse; today that is 82%. The percent of pessimists has grown, especially among women, blacks, Republicans, self-described conservatives, Protestants, weekly church attenders, and Americans age 65+. This pessimist-optimist gap has not widened so much for those in their 20s, or with post-graduate degrees or incomes of $75,000+ or without a religious preference.
An Internet software company says online giving rose from $250M in 2000 to $5B in 2006. In 1999, less than 15% of nonprofits had Web sites. Half of the top 400 fund-raising groups in the USA now receive money from Internet-based Web sites, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy. It totaled $1.2 Billion last year for those that were in the 2005 list—a 375% increase. No United Ways reported their online donations, but United Way of America notched $240M. Others in double-digit millions online are:
Personal Web site fund-raising. The American Heart Association in Dallas added a “memorial page” option to its Web site, to honor those who had died from heart disease. Some charities offer their supporters charity “badges” or “widgets” that they can put on their own blogs or social networking pages.
But many charities are wary of letting their fund-raising business get out of their direct control. One instance of fraud tied to a charity’s name could ruin its good reputation and credibility. It’s a debate that’s likely to go on until Web “police” become a reality.
The Baby-Boomers who are beginning to retire from nonprofits are likely to create challenges in staffing, leadership, and succession, a new Conference Board report spells out. “Talent shortages are already affecting critical service sectors, including healthcare and social services,” and smaller nonprofits “lack the bench strength for staffing depth, as well as the time and money to develop younger leaders coming up in the organization.”
Yet, with these problems come opportunities. “Baby boomers…are healthier, more educated, and wealthier than any previous generation, and more inclined to stay in the workforce.” Many private sector “retirees” will be willing to relocate into nonprofits where they can tap into their 1960s social roots and focus on societal change. But “non-profits are seriously lagging behind the government and private sectors in efforts to both retain highly skilled potential retirees…and actively recruit older hires from other industry sectors.”
Civic Ventures and MetLife foundation created Break-Through Awards to highlight groups creatively tapping the skills and experience of new retirees. Its Marc Freedman wrote Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life.
The National Council on Aging also gave 2-year $40,000 grants to a dozen nonprofits for demonstration projects to attract 55+year-olds to their leadership. For more details, see www.conference-board.org.
Is charity the place for Generation Y? A new report says many young Americans in their 20s and 30s want neither the low pay nor long hours typical in many nonprofits. Nearly 3/4ths of them don’t expect to end up as charity CEOs, and 45% told pollsters that their next job would not be in the nonprofit world.
That was the news at the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network conference in March. And the young people faulted nonprofits for not making themselves seem like appealing places to work. Busy executives and organizational hierarchies were not welcoming.
Low pay put off men and minority groups in disproportionate numbers, the study found, contributing to a lack of diversity within nonprofit professional ranks. Young applicants also complained about “ageism,” often hearing “I could apply for more money and do better if I were older.” For more info, see www.ynpn.org.
In 1998, actor-philanthropist Paul Newman asked Peter Malkin—son-in-law of Lawrence Wien, a stockholder in 300 companies that he pushed to increase their corporate giving—whether charitable contributions from companies had kept pace with business profits in the 1990s. Wein said “no!” Thus began the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) with Newman, Malkin, and others. The group now has 150 CEOs, with 45 of the Fortune 100 firms, including IN-based Eli Lilly & Co. and WellPoint. In 2005, CECP companies gave $10.5+Billion in total contributions. For the lowdown, see www.corporatephilanthropy.org.
As businesses “benchmark” each other on profit making, CECP produced benchmarks on corporate philanthropy. In 2005, CECP firms ranged in revenue from $100+Billion (5) to under $5B (15), with one-third between $10B and $25B. Nearly half of the firms had 50,000+ employees, with 15 under 10,000. Here are the overall targets for 2005 corporate giving that CECP challenges others to meet.
| Benchmarks for Corporate Giving |
Median Total Giving |
As % of revenue |
As % Pre-Tax Profit |
Per Employee |
*Staff $$ for corporate philanthropy |
| All Companies (N=102) | $28.9M |
0.14% |
0.86% |
$636 |
$2.8M |
| Consumer Discretionary (15) | $69.2M |
0.14% |
0.79% |
$670 |
$4.1M |
| Fortune 100 (40) | $29.2M |
0.30% |
3.25% |
$437 |
$2.3M |
| Consumer Stapes (9) | $46.1M |
0.10% |
1.18% |
$267 |
$4.3M |
| Financials (32) | $30.4M |
0.17% |
0.64% |
$700 |
$2.4M |
| Health Care (12) | $546.8M |
1.67% |
9.60% |
$6,203 |
$42.2M |
| Industrials (9) | $13.0M |
0.10% |
0.60% |
$196 |
$4.0M |
| Information Technology (10) | $8.1M |
0.11% |
1.70% |
$295 |
$1.5M |
| Utilities (6) | $10.9M |
0.10% |
0.74% |
$678 |
$1.5M |
*The median staff spending on their corporate philanthropy included aggregated time of employees who directly ran or supervised one of these initiatives or programs— corporate or foundation giving (workplace, matching, in-kind); volunteering; nonprofit-community roles; community & economic development; public relations focused on community affairs, contributions, and volunteering; and sponsorships related to corporate giving.
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