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Who Raises Contributions for America's Nonprofit Organizations?

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Who Raises Contributions for America's Nonprofit Organizations? nononpnprorofifitotovverherheadead costcost projectproject FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES BRIEF NO. 2 center on nonprofits and philanthropy, urban institute center on philanthropy, indiana university WHO RAISES CONTRIBUTIONS FOR AMERICA’S NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS? any nonprofit organizations provide services that are “Contributions are a major source of revenue public goods. These goods, such as child mentoring, for many nonprofits. How many charities have Menvironmental protection, and the performing arts, fundraising professionals on their staff? What roles benefit a large number of people and improve our quality of do executive directors or volunteers play in raising life. However, these kinds of goods usually do not generate contributions?” enough income to make them self-sustaining. Consequently, most of these organizations rely to some extent on some form variety of people inside a nonprofit organization, as well as peo- of public support, including donations from individuals or ple outside of it, play a role in raising contributions. However, businesses and grants from foundations or government. Public because of the lack of research on how fundraising gets done, the support represents about one in every five dollars that public field has little information on how nonprofit organizations actu- charities receive. When hospitals and higher education institu- ally bring in these dollars. The increasing number of fundraising tions are removed from the picture, public support represents professionals is a visible and identifiable trend, but how many about one in every three dollars.1 Contributions are a major charities employ such a professional? What roles do executive source of operating income and capital improvement, and directors or volunteers play in raising contributions? These and many nonprofit organizations live and die by whether they can related questions are the subject of this brief. raise these dollars each year. Our results come from our study of nonprofit fundraising Nonprofit organizations use a variety of strategies to raise con- and administrative costs. In the fall of 2001, we mailed and tributions, including mass mailing of solicitation letters, hosting received surveys from a representative sample of U.S. public special events, writing proposals to foundations and govern- charities with at least $100,000 in annual gross receipts. ment, and developing planned giving and bequests programs. A Roughly 1,500 charities told us about their formal fundraising Three Ways That Fundraising Gets Done I. Formal fundraising staff III. Partner organizations II. Others in nonprofit who Parent are involved with fundraising organizations Professional Executive Program solicitation firms director staff Community or civic associations Board Federated Volunteers members fundraisers July 2004 Number of Chapters and Individual Members of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, 1980–2000. Number of chapters 200 150 100 50 0 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Number of individual members 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Source: Association of Fundraising Professionals. operations, the roles that executive directors and program staff “Nearly two out of three nonprofits do not have play in fundraising, and the relationships they have with others, a staff member whose primary responsibility such as firms they contract with to conduct a fundraising drive. is fundraising. However, many have part-time We also asked how many donated dollars they raised in the past employees in this role or hire consultants to year, and we use this value to place the organizations into size do fundraising.” categories. Since the nonprofit organizations in the study are reasonably representative of all of the organizations in the sec- ing professionals have their own national meetings, publica- tor, our results can be used to make generalizations about how tions, codes of ethics, and salary scales. Although the profes- fundraising is carried out in the United States. sionalization of fundraising cannot be said to be at its full height, it is increasingly well-established in the United States. I. Fundraising by Fundraising Staff To document how widespread the professionalization of As nonprofit organizations become more specialized and for- fundraising has become among nonprofit organizations, we malized, specialists increasingly handle different organizational asked survey respondents how many staff members or consul- tasks. Program staff members focus on delivery of programs. tants their organization employs whose primary responsibility is Financial staff members focus on tracking revenues and paying development or fundraising. salaries and bills. In some nonprofit organizations, fundraising Despite our observations about the growing professional- (or “development”) professionals focus on raising contribu- ization of fundraising, many charities do not have such a tions. This area of specialization has seen steady growth over the professional. Nearly two out of three organizations in the past several decades. As illustrated in the charts above, the study have no full-time regular staff members whose primary Association of Fundraising Professionals claimed approximate- responsibility is fundraising. However, many organizations ly 2,500 members in 1980. By 2001, their membership had have part-time employees in this role or hire consultants to do grown ten-fold, to over 25,000 members. The number of local fundraising. About one in six nonprofits say they hire a con- chapters more than tripled during this same time period. In sultant for fundraising duties, and one in twenty say they hire addition to having their own professional association, fundrais- more than one. Use of consultants in fundraising is 2 Percentage of Charities with Full-Time, Part-Time, or Consultants as Fundraising Staff, by Categories of Grants/Contributions Categories of total grants/contributions $0 to $50,000 to $250,000 to More than All $50,000 $250,000 $1 million $1 million nonprofits No fundraising staff 66 % 49 % 36 % 17 % 45 % One fundraising staffer 24 34 30 24 28 More than one fundraising staffer 10 17 34 59 27 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 most likely among those charities with at least $250,000 in acterize their executive director as more involved with fund- contributions. raising than their fundraising staff ! Clearly, the professionaliza- The table above shows the percentage of nonprofit organiza- tion of fundraising has not removed the executive director tions with a full-time, part-time, or consultant employee dedi- from the limelight of fundraising duties in many nonprofit cated to fundraising, by categories of total grants and contribu- organizations. tions. It indicates that the majority of nonprofit organizations Nearly three out of four nonprofit organizations report using have one or more people in the fundraising role, although the volunteers for fundraising. We asked survey respondents what likelihood differs according to the amount of contributions the percentage of total contributions is raised through the efforts of organization brings in. While two-thirds of nonprofit organiza- volunteers. We learned that volunteers are not the primary tions with less than $50,000 in contributions have no fundrais- source of fundraising dollars in the nonprofit sector, but that ing staff, the majority with more than $1 million in contribu- their participation is noteworthy. The figure below illustrates tions has more than one fundraising staffer. Understandably, their levels of involvement in the organizations in the study. the employment of fundraising staff has gained its foothold While about one quarter do not use volunteers for fundraising, among the organizations that can afford to invest in these kinds another quarter say that volunteers are responsible for up to a of professionals. tenth of their total contributions. Yet another quarter say that volunteers are responsible for between one-tenth and half of the II. Fundraising by Non-Fundraising Staff funds raised. The final quarter is split between organizations Clearly, fundraising staffers do not do all the fundraising in where volunteers are responsible for more than half or all of the most nonprofit organizations. Executive directors frequently make appeals for support of their organization; board members serve as a conduit for major contributions; program officers What Proportion of Contributions Are Raised by Volunteers? write grant proposals; and volunteers knock on doors, run, swim, and bike for their neighbor’s pledges. How prevalent are All non-fundraising staffers in raising contributions for nonprofit contributions organizations? raised by volunteers We asked survey respondents how much executive directors, 11% None board members, volunteers, and other non-fundraising staff are 27% Half to nearly all involved with their organization’s fundraising efforts. We 12% expected to find some charities where fundraising gets done by fundraising staff, and other charities where others do what they can to raise contributions. We were surprised to find that char- One-tenth to half ities with professional fundraising staff have executive directors, 24% Less than one-tenth 26% board members, volunteers, and other staff who are more involved with fundraising than their counterparts in organiza- tions with no professional fundraising staff. In
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