Fresh Research, a NonProfit Times Podcast

“Employees are the most important thing to the success of our business so if allocating resources there is going to make a difference in achieving our mission and achieving our  goals, we're going to allocate resources there,” Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro, CEO of the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section (USTA-MAS), said. Last year, the USTA-MAS hired a… Continue reading Episode 50: Best Nonprofits To Work For 2022

“Employees are the most important thing to the success of our business so if allocating resources there is going to make a difference in achieving our mission and achieving our  goals, we're going to allocate resources there,” Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro, CEO of the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section (USTA-MAS), said. Last year, the USTA-MAS hired a … Episode 50: Best Nonprofits To Work For 2022 Read More »

A woman builds a business empire and then goes on to give away millions of dollars to charity. It's not an unusual story, at least not today — but if the woman was an African-American during the Jim Crow era? Madam C.J. Walker is considered America's first self-made, female millionaire. We'll learn more about her … Episode 49: Dan David Prize Winner Tyrone Freeman Read More »

A woman builds a business empire and then goes on to give away millions of dollars to charity. It's not an unusual story, at least not today — but if the woman was an African-American during the Jim Crow era? Madam C.J. Walker is considered America's first self-made, female millionaire. We'll learn more about her… Continue reading Episode 49: Dan David Prize Winner Tyrone Freeman

Endowments are a common form of giving to higher education, arts , and medical research organizations. William Foster, managing partner, and Darren Isom, partner, of The Bridgespan Group, analyzed the investment income of 56 nonprofits dedicated to social change. Between 2000 and 2013, only 5% of philanthropic gifts of $10 million or more were deployed … Episode 48: Endowing Black-Led Nonprofits Read More »

Endowments are a common form of giving to higher education, arts , and medical research organizations. William Foster, managing partner, and Darren Isom, partner, of The Bridgespan Group, analyzed the investment income of 56 nonprofits dedicated to social change. Between 2000 and 2013, only 5% of philanthropic gifts of $10 million or more were deployed… Continue reading Episode 48: Endowing Black-Led Nonprofits

An increase from 3 to 4 stars on Charity Navigator can be associated with a 6% rise in contributions. For smaller charities, the impact can be as much as 11%. That's not too surprising but what about when ratings drop? According to new research, there's no impact on contributions. “There seems to be this asymmetric … Episode 47: Navigating the Notches Read More »

An increase from 3 to 4 stars on Charity Navigator can be associated with a 6% rise in contributions. For smaller charities, the impact can be as much as 11%. That's not too surprising but what about when ratings drop? According to new research, there's no impact on contributions. “There seems to be this asymmetric […]

#GivingTuesday in 2020 raised an estimated $2.47 billion both online and offline, which was up 25% from $1.97 billion in 2019. Almost 35 million people participated in 2020. What’s on tap for 2021? According to Woodrow Rosenbaum, that’s up to nonprofits. “We've been handed an opportunity. It's not often that you have an industry that's … Bonus Episode: #GivingTuesday 2021 Read More »

#GivingTuesday in 2020 raised an estimated $2.47 billion both online and offline, which was up 25% from $1.97 billion in 2019. Almost 35 million people participated in 2020. What’s on tap for 2021? According to Woodrow Rosenbaum, that’s up to nonprofits. “We've been handed an opportunity. It's not often that you have an industry that's […]

MacKenzie Scott’s billions of dollars in mega gifts and American donors’ response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) fueled the largest charities in the United States last year. The 2021 NPT 100 ranks the largest nonprofits in the U.S. that derive at least 10% of total revenue from public support. Colleges and universities are not included … Episode 46: The 2021 NPT 100 Read More »

MacKenzie Scott’s billions of dollars in mega gifts and American donors’ response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) fueled the largest charities in the United States last year. The 2021 NPT 100 ranks the largest nonprofits in the U.S. that derive at least 10% of total revenue from public support. Colleges and universities are not included […]

Nonprofits have been pushing for a universal charitable deduction for years. The CARES Act created a temporary tax deduction for charitable gifts up to $300 for single or married filers in 2020. Congress extended that into 2021 and increased the deduction to $600 for married couples. Two professors at the University of Virginia proposed a … Episode 45: The Charitable Tax Deduction & Civic Engagement Read More »

Nonprofits have been pushing for a universal charitable deduction for years. The CARES Act created a temporary tax deduction for charitable gifts up to $300 for single or married filers in 2020. Congress extended that into 2021 and increased the deduction to $600 for married couples. Two professors at the University of Virginia proposed a […]

When the Nonprofit Revitalization Act passed in 2013, it was the first major overhaul of nonprofit regulations in New York State in 40 years. The legislation modernized rules around nonprofit boards and committees and, among other things, prohibited nonprofit officers from being present at meetings where their pay is discussed. In the years since, a … Episode 44: Regulating CEO Pay Read More »

When the Nonprofit Revitalization Act passed in 2013, it was the first major overhaul of nonprofit regulations in New York State in 40 years. The legislation modernized rules around nonprofit boards and committees and, among other things, prohibited nonprofit officers from being present at meetings where their pay is discussed. In the years since, a […]

You finish up your shopping and the cashier asks, “Would you like to donate to a local charity?” Do you give? If you do, how much? Or maybe they ask you, would you like to round up your total to donate the difference? Those are some of the scenarios in a recent experiment. Results of … Episode 43: Checking Out Charity Read More »

You finish up your shopping and the cashier asks, “Would you like to donate to a local charity?” Do you give? If you do, how much? Or maybe they ask you, would you like to round up your total to donate the difference? Those are some of the scenarios in a recent experiment. Results of […]

The American Cancer Society aims to raise $1 million exclusively through cryptocurrency. Its Cancer Crypto Fund will be renamed in honor of the first donor to contribute $250,000 and donations of $10,000 or more will appear on the Cancer Crypto Fund Wall of Honor. The Salvation Army launched a cryptocurrency option the week before Christmas […]

Research shows that multi-channel donors can be worth more than donors who give only online or only offline. But do nonprofits treat multi-channel donors like they’re worth two or three times more to their organization? A recent experiment looked at how nonprofits respond after a gift and the results could surprise you. Gabe Cooper,  CEO […]

Donor-advised funds (DAF) have dominated philanthropy in any number of ways over the past decade, whether it’s increasing charitable contributions, boosting assets, or simply garnering attention within the public square. That could be why it takes a super sized episode of Fresh Research tackle the topic. This episode diverges from the usual format; instead of […]

Even for the Best Nonprofits To Work For, 2020 was a difficult year. The United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section (USTA MAS) rarely has any voluntary turnover among its 21 employees. But like at many nonprofits, the pandemic forced difficult decisions. The organization laid off about one-third of its staff in July. It was among […]

For a lot of nonprofits, it’s been a year of working remotely, replacing in-person events with virtual events and trying to make it through the next quarter. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Pam Keough would have described herself as one of those bosses who believes everyone needs to be in the office. Now, it’s not so […]

Early indicators show that charitable giving was up in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Projections for giving in 2021 and 2022 are even rosier. Charitable giving is expected to increase 4.1% this year, buoyed by individual giving (+6%), and another 5.7% in 2022 on the strength of increased giving via foundations (+8.8%) and […]

Overall giving rose 2% in 2020 compared to 2019 while online donations grew 21%, according to the Blackbaud Institute Charitable Giving Report. Steve MacLaughlin, vice president, production management, at Blackbaud, visits this episode of the Fresh Research podcast to break down the data and what you need to know about 2020 giving. The report is […]

Donor-advised funds (DAF) in 2019 continued their meteoric growth over the past decade and in the first half of 2020 — amidst the coronavirus pandemic — grantmaking by DAFs increased by almost 30 percent. The 2020 Donor-Advised Fund Report is the most comprehensive data on donor-advised funds (DAFs) in the United States. The latest report, […]

Since 1.6 million nonprofit jobs were lost in the three months after the pandemic was declared, steady growth in nonprofit jobs each month was derailed in December, wiping out nearly two months of gains. It’s projected to take 1.5 years for the sector to recover entirely but within most fields it could be a year […]

If there was a list of dirty words for the nonprofit sector, overhead would likely be number one on the list. In spite of efforts like The Overhead Myth, it can still be a source of frustration for nonprofit employees and executives yet donors still seem to be hung up on the phrase. Ellie Heng […]

The nation’s largest nonprofits reported aggregate revenue of $86.4 billion in 2019, which is up 1 percent over the previous year. Those figures come from The NonProfit Times‘ 2020 NPT 100 report, a study of the largest nonprofits in the United States. Jacob Harold, executive vice president at Candid, shares his insights during a discussion about […]

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exploding and the next few years will be huge for nonprofits in adopting the technology as a strategic tool, from the program side to the fundraising side. Authors Beth Kanter and Allison Fine join this episode of The NonProfit Times‘ Fresh Research podcast to discuss their paper, “Unlocking […]

It’s nothing new to fundraisers and planned gift officers that women and childless couples are the prime prospects for bequests and other estate gifts. New research suggests that those are still huge factors in the process but timing your nonprofit’s communication based on recency of gifts might be exactly the wrong way to go. Russell […]

Charity Navigator this month unveiled the first pillar of its new rating system. Years in the making, the Encompass Rating System (ERS) expands the number of charities rated from 9,000 to almost 160,000. President and CEO Michael Thatcher joins the Fresh Research podcast to explain the four “beacons” that will comprise the 100-point rating system: […]

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the nonprofit sector in a number of ways. What effect COVID-19 might have on charitable behavior, like volunteering, remains to be seen. In this episode, we talk to Nathan Dietz, associate research scholar at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and a senior researcher at its Do Good […]

The percentage of household income given to charity each year generally runs about 2 percent across most income levels, but goes up with wealth, according to a new research paper. Benjamin Priday, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University, joined the Fresh Research podcast to discuss, “Generosity Across Income and Wealth […]

“I feel I am valued in this organization.” “I can trust what this organization tells me.” “Most days, I feel I have made progress at work.” Those are three of the top 10 drivers identified in the 2020 Best Nonprofits To Work For. The special report appears annually in the April edition of The NonProfit […]

Regular programming for the Fresh Research podcast has been pre-empted this month to tackle the the issue that has impacted life worldwide the past few weeks: the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The NonProfit Times recently hosted a webinar on mail and digital messaging to donors during COVID-19, which has led to widespread shutdowns of non-essential business […]

This episode of Fresh Research tackles the options when it comes to donors appeals. Should your appeal take aim at the donor and benefits to them, or instead remind them how their gift would benefit the community? John List, the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago collaborated with  James J. Murphy […]

Thanking donors for their gifts may be the right thing to do but does it lead to more gifts or bigger donations in the future? A thank you call to a donor for their gift may be just polite and considered the right thing to do but a recent study suggests that they won’t impact […]

About $1.60 of every $100 in charitable giving in the United States goes to an organization exclusively dedicated to women and girls. A new report estimates that more than 45,000 nonprofit organizations are dedicated to women and girls and receive about $6.3 billion in charitable contributions. That makes up about 3.3 percent of all charities […]

#GivingTuesday will be here before you know it. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving — this year, Dec. 3 — is when the charitable sector has come together to help offset the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. #GivingTuesday last year was responsible for raising an estimated $400 million. That figure has grown each year since […]

The number of taxpayers who itemized last year has been in steep decline, according to the latest Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data. Why? And why is that important? Well, most charitable giving in the U.S. comes from itemizers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled the standard deduction. Fewer than 1 in […]

Giving USA estimated that charitable giving in the United States was $427.71 billion overall in 2018, a less-than-1-percent increase over the $424.74 billion for 2017, according to preliminary estimates from “Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018,” released last month. Adjusted for inflation, giving was actually down 1.7 percent over the […]

Millennials often get blamed for killing entire industries, from cars and diamonds to malls, fast casual restaurants and cable television. Apparently, they spend so much on avocado toast that they can’t afford a mortgage (or that could be the result of their crushing college debt and coming of age in the Great Recession). But Millennials […]