News

More than 36,500 supporters are acknowledged publicly by arts organisations in the UK, according to new research by Factary. And most of the donated income is from people (not from companies or trusts, as you might have expected.)

A summary research note is available for download here.

The research is based on data from Factary Phi, the database of donations and donors reported in the public domain. Factary Phi currently contains more than 160,000 records of donors and supporters to UK nonprofits who have been publicly thanked or reported.

Factary’s research shows that while only one in three publicly-acknowledged donors is an individual, almost three-quarters of publicly-acknowledged donated £s are from people as donors.

Our research seems to show that grant-making trusts and foundations are shy of public acknowledgement – with few arts organisations listing the donation value of their trust supporters. By contrast, companies seem more willing to allow their arts organisation partners to report donation values on arts websites.

To build Factary Phi, Factary researched donors by name from public domain sources, and Factary Phi shows the organisation they donated to with that organisation’s location and the web address of the source we used to find this data. Almost half of the records show either the amount of the donation or a gift band, and we are currently reporting on more than £13 billion in known donations to UK nonprofits, from 161,896 donors and supporters.

For further information contact Laurie Krohn, Editor of Factary Phi.

Download the research summary.

© Factary 2010

There is good news for donors who want to make gifts across borders in the EU. The European Court of Justice, in a judgement dated 27th January 2009 has found in favour of a German citizen who wanted to make a gift to a Portuguese charity. Mr Hein Persche wanted to make a gift in kind valued at about €18,180, to the Centro Popular da Lagoa, in Portugal (a retirement home to which a children’s home is attached). The Finanzamt (District Tax Office) refused the deduction sought on the grounds that the beneficiary of the gift was not established in Germany and that Mr Persche had not provided a donation certificate in proper form.

The Court ruled that such gifts come within the compass of the Treaty provisions on the free movement of capital, even if they are made in kind in the form of everyday consumer goods. The free movement of capital precludes legislation of a Member State by virtue of which, as regards gifts made to bodies recognised as having charitable status, the benefit of a deduction for tax purposes is allowed only in respect of gifts made to bodies established in that Member State.

The ruling means that if the German government, and presumably other national governments, do not change their national laws, the European Commission could bring an action for breach of Community law and, eventually, that Germany could be fined for this breach.

For the press release on the ruling, click here.
For the original ruling, click here
For the European Court of Justice home page click here.
For contact details of the Centre Popular da Lagoa, click here.

This is an important ruling for all philanthropists who wish to give cross-border, and for fundraising organisations who are working with donors outside their own country.

Retrouvez un article de Chris Carnie sur le sujet de la recherche prospect sur www.fundraisers.fr, rubrique Fundraizine.

Chris Carnie has a new article on prospect research, with special reference to France at the Association Française des Fundraisers’ website. Download the article here.

A new report on funding for environmental organisations in the UK has just been published by the Environmental Funders Network. The report analyses grants data from 176 UK trusts and foundations, and the £33.6m in grants made by these organisations to environmental and conservation work. The report is available for download here.

Cultural Giving: Successful donor development for arts and heritage organisations, the new book by Theresa Lloyd, author of Why Rich People Give and Founder Director of Philanthropy UK, is published in October 2006. It includes articles by Chris Carnie and Elizabeth Dixon.

Cultural Giving draws on her own expertise and experiences as well as those of leading development directors and consultants from a wide range of art forms, size of organisation and geographical spread. The book is also based on Theresa Lloyd’s profound understanding of the attitudes and aspirations of donors. It offers practical advice and ideas for improving fundraising from individual donors.

Cultural Giving uses a case study format to illustrate how the techniques described have worked for a range of different organisations, giving plenty of realistic models to follow. There are also vivid examples of how not to do it and specialist advice on a number of topics, including board development, data protection, research, tax and wealth screening.

Cultural Giving is particularly timely; the level of public funding of the arts is unlikely to increase materially, and there is every chance that funding levels will decline in the face of a general squeeze on government budgets and the pressure of the Olympics. Furthermore the future for corporate sponsorship is uncertain, although some companies are interested in wider support that combines elements of employee engagement and corporate responsibility.

So, as Vernon Ellis says in his foreword, what is needed most is a quantum leap in the ability of organisations to tap into the potential that is offered by the new wealth structure in the UK. While there a broad base of enthusiastic support for many cultural organisations, too many institutions are just not effective enough at initiating engagement and then translating a personal passion into higher level financial support.

Cultural Giving provides a clear and compelling guide to how to do that. The book is the first in the UK to focus on individual giving for the arts and heritage and is aimed as much at trustees and chief executives as the fundraising staff of cultural organisations, although many of the issues and solutions could be applied to charities across all sectors. The book examines topics in detail, but its main message is simple: put relationships with donors at the centre of your funding strategy, and treat them as full partners and investors in the delivery of your mission.

Vernon Ellis, Chairman of English National Opera and of Mission, Models, Money says

“There are many lessons in the book for all of us who care about the future of cultural organisations and want to secure the future for the artistic endeavours we love, whether as artists, managers, trustees or supporters.”

Theresa Lloyd has experience as a trustee of several organisations and in her consultancy role has first hand experience of the challenges faced by those needing to raise funds. She says:

“I have recognised for a long time that the arts needs a ‘how to’ guide to successful fundraising, particularly from individual donors. The key to encouraging philanthropy is to make the experience as enjoyable as possible, and to ensure that donors understand how their support makes a real difference. I hope that all those who need to raise money in the UK will welcome Cultural Giving. We have been fortunate to receive support from Arts and Business, the Institute of Fundraising, The Monument Trust and anonymous donors to write and publish Cultural Giving. The richness of the book lies in the range of contributors, including donors who told us of their experiences, good and bad, the experts who helped to write it and the many and various cultural organisations who shared their stories with us.”

Published by the Directory of Social Change, October 2006. Copies can be obtained, price £15, from their website. For a review copy please contact Claire Cohen on 020 7391 4873.

Factary has just completed the first published study of large-scale personal philanthropy in the Netherlands.

“A Study of Major Gift Potential in the Netherlands” shows that philanthropists are making very large gifts (we identified philanthropic gifts from living individuals of up to €2.2m.) The report also highlights the differing expectations of philanthropists and non-profit organizations (NPOs); NPOs are reluctant to provide the levels of service and involvement demanded by the philanthropists.

The report won substantial press coverage, with Trouw, FM, Vakblad Fondsenwerving, Site Telegraaf, Metro and others covering the news. Download the press release here, or contact Martine Godefroid, Managing Director Europe for further information.

Factary speakers are making presentations at the following events;

16 August 2006, APRA Conference, Florida, USA
Chris Carnie is giving workshops and presentations on fundraising research in Europe. For details see www.aprahome.org.

06 September 2006, CASE Europe, Nottingham, UK
Chris Carnie and Helen E Brown are giving presentations on prospect research techniques in the UK, Europe and the US. For details see http://www.case.org/conferences/ceac/default.cfm

18 September 2006, Asociación de Profesionales del Fundraising, Barcelona, Spain
Chris Carnie will be discussing recent legacies research in Spain. For details see http://www.profesionalesfundraising.org/

16 October 2006, International Fundraising Conference, Nordwijkerhout, Netherlands
Chris Carnie and Martine Godefroid will be giving a Master Class and workshops with leading experts on major donor philanthropy and investment. For details see http://www.resourcealliance.org/

1 November 2006, Institute of Fundraising Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland
Chris Carnie will be discussing research techniques and sources. For details see http://www.bigbrightstar.com/currentevents/iof

14 November 2006, Directory of Social Change, London, UK
Chris Carnie will be leading a workshop on “Fundraising from Europe.” For details see www.dsc.org.uk

Martine Godefroid, Managing Director Europe, spoke at the EU conference on funding for academic and social research, “Giving More for Research in Europe.”

The conference, held in Brussels, March 27th/28th, attracted foundation and university managers. Martine’s presentation, “Strategic Philanthropic Funding Sources for University Research - How to find them?” is available here.

Major Donors: Finding Big Gifts in Your Database and Online shows you the Internet and database-mining strategies and techniques that are now making it possible for nonprofits to target their efforts on the best donors.

Due for publication on 21st April 2006, the book can be pre-ordered at Amazon.

Chris’ previous books, “Fundraising from Europe” and “Find the Funds” are available from the Directory of Social Change.

Alliance Magazine, a recommended read for anyone involved in international philanthopy, carries a series of articles in its December 2005 edition on diaspora giving, now reckoned to be worth US$100 billion per annum, (twice the level of official development aid.) A research report by the International Network on Strategic Philanthropy estimates future potential. Diaspora groups have potential as partners for philanthropists who seek gearing for their philanthropic gifts, and the kind of networking that reaches right into the grass roots.

The size of this funding market was underlined in March 2006 by the most recent Inter-American Development Bank report on remittances to Latin America. Migrant workers from Latin American and the Caribbean sent home US$53.6bn in 2005, up 17% on 2004. These remittances total more than most countries receive in official development aid plus direct foreign investment. Latin America is the fastest growing and highest volume remittance market in the world.

Factary has carried out a number of research projects involving diasporas, most recently researching migrants from Poland for a UK NGO with a project in that country. For more details contact Elizabeth Dixon (elizabeth@factary.com)