From Jim Eskin, External Relations Councel ....................... ................ August 2009

Many thanks for responding to last month's newly designed and formatted issue. I enjoyed hearing from all those who sent their suggestions and ideas on the future direction of this newsletter. Please keep it coming. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Compassion Boom      
More Americans are engaged in their communities, according to the Volunteering in America report. The number of volunteers increased 2% from 60.8 million in 2007 to 61.8 million in 2008. On average, 26% of Americans continued to donate their time.
 
Instead of people worrying about their own problems, they're thinking of others. This is the American spirit of community at its finest.

Giving Remains Strong 
Encouraging news from across the big pond: A Barclays Wealth survey of 500 wealthy individuals in Great Britain and the U.S. revealed that around 75% had not reduced their contributions to charity, while more than one in four had increased their giving in the last 18 months.
 
The report stresses that now that governments are overburdened with debt, the rich feel it more important than ever that wealthy individuals do their bit for charity. When asked where they would make cuts if the downturn continued, respondents say they would be more likely to hold back on luxury goods, holidays and eating out than curb their donations to charity.

Non-Profit Cuts           
Signs of pain and  sacrifice do persist. Half of non-profit organizations surveyed by Campbell & Company indicate they are freezing salaries to contain human resources costs, and nearly half (47.4% ) have instituted layoffs. 
 
Fewer organizations (43.5% ) reported layoffs among the fundraising ranks than across all staff, indicating that those with responsibility for revenue generation have been spared a bit more from staff cuts.  Indeed, 13% of respondents have increased their fundraising staff this fiscal year, citing the need to continue to diversify their revenue sources and increase private donations to the organization.

Hope Champions         
Business leaders must embrace hope, especially when the going gets tough, according to Shane  Lopez, Ph.D., Gallup senior scientist in residence and research director of the Clifton Strengths School in Omaha, Neb. That's because hope serves a fundamental business purpose. Hope is defined as the energy and ideas that drive people to change their circumstances. So without hope, there would be no goals, no motivation, and no improvement. Without hope, work has no point. Hope has the power to make bad times temporary.

Foundation Endowments          
As U.S. foundations watched the value of their investments plummet by an average of 26% in 2008 due to the recession and stock market collapse, they awarded an average of 5.8% of their assets in 2008, compared with 5.5% in 2007.
 
The Commonfund Institute surveyed 290 private and community foundations and found that, while nearly half the foundations reported increasing their spending by an average of 20.4% , 31% decreased spending by nearly a third. However, because the value of their assets continued to fall, many foundations announced at the end of last year that they would cut their donations to charitable causes in 2009.

Recession or No Recession?    
The Kiplinger Business Resource Center has created an Economic Recovery Index to signal when the recession is finally ending.

Kiplinger's financial editors are monitoring six key economic indicators as information is released: monthly index of consumer confidence, monthly sales data for existing home sales, weekly jobless claims, monthly orders for durable goods, monthly retail sales, and the interest-rate spread, which reflects banks' calculation of lending risk.
 
When Kiplinger editors give at least three of the six indicators a positive rating, it's more than likely the recession has ended. So far, Kiplinger has given only one economic indicator -- the interest-rate spread -- a positive rating.

Since it takes the National Association of Business Economists months to determine when a recession officially begins and ends, the Kiplinger index could be a useful tool.

Thank You, 'Anonymous'         
At a time when many charities are desperately looking for new donors, more donors seem to be trying just as hard not to be found. Data compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and anecdotal reports from fund raisers and advisers to donors, suggest that a rising number of people are choosing to give anonymously.
 
During the past 10 months, a period that included a steep plunge in the stock market, the proportion of gifts worth over $1 million that have been made anonymously far exceeds historic patterns. Eighty gifts worth over $1 million were made anonymously from June 2008 to April 2009, nearly 19% of the 422 total during that period.

Board Size Matters      
More than 80% of foundations that lost between 30 to 100% of their assets to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme had fewer than five trustees serving on their boards. This was one of the principal findings in "Learning from Madoff: Lessons for Foundation Boards," a white paper by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
 
Warning: The small size and homogenous composition of many boards of trustees may be a vulnerable spot among a majority of our country's foundations. A more diverse board of at least five individuals is less likely to make poor investment decisions.

Getting Boards into Fundraising            
It's fairly typical to find board members and lay leaders relunctant to solicit gifts, especially from friends. A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy Webinar addressed the subject and highlighted several practical ways for board members to support the development process without asking for the gift.
 
A good way to get started is by simply having Board members phone current donors and say "thank-you." Another is having them host a reception or other gathering in their home to introduce the non-profit or cause to their friends, neighbors and other contacts -- with no solicitations made at the event.

Calling All Non-Profits 
White House officials will be traveling across the country to find "the most promising nonprofits in America" as the administration decides how to spend a new $50-million fund to help charities expand innovative social projects. A top priority is finding hidden gems that haven't yet gotten the attention they deserve.
 
The $50-million Social Innovation Fund, managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service, was created by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act that was signed into law this spring. (It is still waiting a formal Congressional decision to appropriate the money.)

No Laughing Matter    
Mophe (rhymes with loaf) the Clown is unicycling 1,000 miles around the country to raise awareness for a new program where folks can donate gift cards to charities on www.GiftCardDonor.com. The rides are to help support charities like the March of Dimes Foundation, Operation Smile Inc., Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, PomonaValley Workshop, and many more listed.

Watergate Anyone?     
When I lived in Washington, D.C. for 11 years, one of my favorite places was the Watergate Hotel and complex. I was amazed that the landmark hotel failed to attract bidders at a recent auction.

The 251-room, 12-story hotel went up for sale with a starting price of $25 million put forward by the current owner's lender, but there were no higher offers despite 10 registered bidders.

I'm convinced there is great potential here.

On Old Cape Cod       
To beat the heat, we just visited Boston for a family reunion and then Falmouth, situated on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod. Falmouth is home to several prestigious scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It is also the birthplace in 1859 of Katharine Lee Bates, author, poet, and lyricist of "America the Beautiful."

Quiz: Most Generous States     
The Fraser Institute Generosity Index measures private monetary generosity using two indicators: the percentage of tax filers who donated to charities (extent of generosity), and the percentage of aggregate personal incomes donated to charity (depth of generosity). Match the following states with their scaled ratings, with 10 representing the most generous. Answers are in the last block in the left-hand column. See you next month.

	Jim Eskin External Relations Counsel 10410 Pelican Oak Drive San Antonio, TX 78254 210-523-8499 (H) | 210-415-3748 (C) jeskin@aol.com
Stratagems is a copyright-free publication. Readers may duplicate and/or redistribute the information in each issue. Comments and suggestions are welcome! Send your feedback to: jeskin@aol.com

Answers: 1=c, 2=d, 3=b, 4=e, 5=a.

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