"Obscene Wealth and Philanthropy"

According to data published this month by the Internal Revenue Service, the richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record. The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, up from 19% in 2004. Aside from the fact that these figures would make Marie Antoinette blush, what are the implications for philanthropy? Putting aside the political implications of recently-passed tax laws (an interesting discussion but beyond our purview here), these figures tell us that there are individuals in our midst who have a jaw-dropping amount of money (read "major gift prospects"). If we can access these individuals appropriately, we can encourage them to use their resources to "invest" in our community benefit organization (i.e. - our nonprofit).

It is important not to draw the wrong lesson from this data. If the lion's share of the money rests with the super-rich, you might reason, our nonprofit should immediately concentrate all its firepower on this segment. The problem with this approach is that most nonprofits don't have access to the folks with the biggest bucks. Don't make the mistake of sending letters to well-heeled strangers in all the best zip codes with the aim of raising millions. While it is a laudable goal to pursue major donors, it is vitally important to till the soil of individual philanthropy by first embarking on campaigns to secure more modest gifts.

Why, for example, do nonprofits conduct direct mail campaigns? There are a host of reasons, but for our purposes, the most important is this: folks who make relatively large contributions repeatedly via direct mail (say $250 or whatever your largest category is) unquestionably have the ability to give you more money if you visit them at their homes or offices and ask for contributions face-to-face. Use "modest donor" campaigns (e.g. - direct mail, events, telephone solicitation, website campaigns) as entry points for future major gift asks.

A second point about the Great American Income Gap is that access to the super-rich is largely a function of your board members' relationships. Nothing in fundraising is more important than "who is putting the arm on whom;" access is the name of the game. Board members have a range of responsibilities, from advocacy and program oversight to financial oversight and evaluation of the executive director. One responsibility-not necessarily the most important one, but a serious responsibility nonetheless-is fundraising. When recruiting new board members, does your organization consider the ability of the prospective member to give and get money? At Zimmerman Lehman, we insist that our clients include the ability to help with fundraising as one of the factors when considering prospective board members. The willingness of board members to "work their rolodexes" often spells the difference between success and failure in fundraising.

A final lesson to be drawn from the fact that the super-rich are doing very well indeed is that every nonprofit should-sooner or later-make major donor solicitation a part of its annual fund campaign. Your nonprofit may not be ready to pursue major donors this year or next, but your written fundraising plan should indicate when you will be ready to begin soliciting big gifts. The people at the top of the U.S. economic heap have the ability-and the willingness-to make significant "investments" in organizations in all areas of nonprofit endeavor.

To re-cap: pursue modest individual gifts, use these modest campaigns as door-openers for future major gift solicitations, recruit folks to the board who will work their rolodexes, and sooner or later plan on initiating a major gift effort. Understand finally that major gift solicitation is not a one-time phenomenon. As Zimmerman Lehman teaches its clients, your major gift committee should meet every year at the same time of year to review prospective donors, match solicitors and donors, be trained in the art of big gift solicitation, and ask for the "investments." The money is there if you have the gumption and organization to pursue it!