smART talk 03 | Wrap Up

Kia ora koutou... Thanks for your contributions, questions and sharing your ideas on the smART talk 03 | Philanthropy forum with special guest Margaret Belich.

What I’ve loved about this forum series is how it has opened up the possibilities of new pathways for arts support. Go try some of them. Good luck and remember Pareto: ‘Give me a fruitful error full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself.’ - Margaret Belich

Here’s a wrap up of advice and resources from the forum on fundraising and philanthropy in New Zealand's arts and cultural sector.  Follow the links to find out more.

TOPIC ONE | Arts Fundraising

The context for arts fundraising, principles of good fundraising, putting together a solid case, responsibility for fundraising, online tools and research on philanthropic giving in New Zealand.

“Philanthropy (from ‘philanthropia'– 'loving what it is to be human’) has been around forever.  And so have the arts. But how do we bring those human, historical propensities together into the ‘here and now’ of our busy lives.”

Context for arts fundraising

The capacity, confidence and trust we need to fundraise.
Capacity - the requisite ingredients in place for its success. Confidence - the case is compelling, justify your need for funds. Trust of your donors is the foundation of your ability to attract philanthropy.

Principles of good fundraising

Right time, place, person asking, people being asked, right amount and the right need, and most of all, a bedrock of relationships.

Ask yourself if you are ready to go fundraising - Is my cause understandable? Who would ‘get’ or share a passion for what I do? Why I need the resources? Have I engaged and empowered the people who might help me find those resources and be part of the cause, because the case is compelling and they trust the need will be met?  Have I made it easy for them to donate and have I made it clear what their gift will be used for. Lastly, have I thanked them and am I ready to nurture their engagement?

Resource - Report from Melissa Smith, a 2007 Australian Churchill Fellow, comparing the experience of arts organizations, in the UK and US, to find best practices in philanthropy.

Fundraising Strategy

Fundraising strategy is built on mission, leadership, goals and opportunity. There are handy vehicles (symbolic strategies) to help organize your thinking (annual giving, direct mail, online, special events, capital campaigns, major gifts, project or planned giving) but the strategy right for you has to match where you want to go and deep exploration of your means to get there.

Resources
* Creative New Zealand 21st Century Arts Conference
* FINZ list of fundraising consultants and educational platform
* Mal Warwick fundraising strategy

Putting together a solid case

Your cause and mission, where you want to go and why, how you are going to get there, how you are organized to get there, who is in charge, who’s on the job (paid or volunteer) to deliver, your facilities, how you plan or measure your outcome, your history and your connections/communities.

Key questions to ask yourself include - What is the need and who will benefit when the need is met? How to demonstrate the need is important? How are you uniquely qualified to do the job? What markers are significant for knowing that what needs to be done has actually been done? What can we guarantee and what will the outcome look like? What are the consequences if we fail?

Responsibility for fundraising

Fundraising isn’t just about asking for the money. Which makes the question of responsibility a little more complex.   Read more about putting the right ingredients in place, barriers, governance and good management, legal and moral responsibilities of boards, expectations, capacity to fundraise and matching skills, confidence and knowledge.

Resource - See a similar discussion on State of the Art.

Online tools

Anchor online fundraising in a robust strategy and think "relationships, relationships, relationships".

Resource - Foundation Center report on the giving and engagement habits of Americans show they prefer email for their communications, but only 9 per cent will respond to an email “ask” and they put the highest value on face-to-face.

Research on philanthropic giving

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage research report Cultural Organisations: Giving and Sponsorship.   Philanthropy New Zealand, Giving New Zealand, Office of the Community and Voluntary Sector and the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand. See details of the research and links here.

TOPIC TWO | Attracting Philanthropy

Fundraising events, tools to become more donor-centric, how to handle ‘no’, donee status, individual support and payroll giving.

“Don't try and deliver an event better than Ben Hur when for your targeted group, a nice cup of tea, a talk about a new project from someone influential with that group and a clear reminder of why and for what you need support, is sufficient.”

Fundraising events and tools

Special events - are like any other fundraising vehicle you choose. Make sure you know why you are doing it. It needs to deliver on those fundraising fundamentals -  the right people are being asked for the right gift at the right time by the right people.

Tools - For a fundraiser to become more donor-centric it is important to have some means of capturing detailed information about your donors centrally.

How to handle 'no'

Preparation and a motto: ‘Pass it On’. Preparation includes discipline and head space, confidence and inner calm to help work out what kind of ‘no’ it is. Having forethought for these possibilities extends the probabilities of dialogue and the chances of a ‘yes’ sooner rather than never. “If you never ask the question, the answer is always no.” 

MCH report on giving and sponsorship found that, of those respondents that did not receive any cash or non-cash support from individuals, 78 percent had not sought it.  87 percent of those without corporate support had not sought it. See more key points here.

Resource - The Influential Fundraiser by Bernard Ross and Clare Segal (of =mc in the UK)

Donee status 

The MCH survey shows that many cultural organisations may not even be fully geared up to attract a wealthy benefactor. Without donee status, individuals or companies can’t claim tax relief on donations. 

Resource - IRD: Organisations with donee status

Individual support

MCH survey shows largest type of support was memberships or friends’ schemes. Less than 1 percent of the total support from individuals was from payroll giving.

Payroll giving

Payroll Giving enables donations to go directly from a person's pay to a charitable or not-for-profit organisation (with ‘donee status’)

Resources
* Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector overview
* Generosity Hub's payroll giving website
* Charities Commission forum
* United Way New Zealand payroll scheme

TOPIC THREE | Working With Fundraisers

Role and potential of volunteers and finding, retaining and supporting volunteers

Bring on the first line of our supporters in the arts – the volunteers!

Volunteers are an essential part of philanthropy (givers of money as well as time) and fundraising (where every textbook will tell you to get them involved, early, in your fundraising campaign).

Recent research estimated there were 1,241,000 volunteers aged 10 and over in 2008 (34% of the population for those 10 and over) and about 4% indicated they volunteered in the arts and culture sector ie about 50,000 people.

Resources
* Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS)
* Independent Sector report on the estimated value of volunteer hours in the US
* Volunteering New Zealand

Topic Four | Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce

Margaret Belich is a member of the Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce.  Late last year the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon Christopher Finlayson established the taskforce to investigate ways to improve levels of philanthropic giving in New Zealand.

Should we care about growing philanthropy in the arts sector in New Zealand?  I think the answer is yes. The question is how we might do it.

The Taskforce is looking at some of the big levers – the fiscal, legal and cultural environments, the interesting questions around the culture of giving here compared with elsewhere, for example. We’re looking at social and institutional trends and research.

What will work to support arts philanthropy?  Is it about simplifying or extending or better communicating government policy?  Is it about finding better ways to lift the awareness of the impact of arts and cultural sector and does this change the confidence people have giving to the arts?  What about on the “supply side” – should it be that organizations have a better chance at becoming good fundraisers, being more attractive to philanthropists?

Send your suggestions to the Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce - email | philanthropy@mch.govt.nz

smART talk 03 | Philanthropy: Getting Enough?

smART talk 03 was the last in a series of three online forums run by Creative New Zealand and The Big Idea – Te Aria Nui.  smART talk was hosted by The Big Idea and aimed at arts & creative sector professionals in any creative field.