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Housing deadline is March 17 for the AFP International Conference - Don't miss out on great rates at great locations!

Be where the action is by staying at a hotel that is part of the official AFP hotel block. These hotels, some offering special discounts, have been chosen for their quality of accommodations as well as for their convenient close proximity to the conference events. Booking your hotel room as part of your conference registration process will give you a great opportunity to network with fellow conference attendees. Register today for the 47th AFP International Conference on Fundraising by going to http://conference.afpnet.org/.

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Board Members Want to Lead-Then Give

Board members want to give more than just dollars. They want to give input, guidance and direction. If you don't let them lead, they won't want to give.

June Bradham, CFRE, author of The Truth About What Nonprofit Boards Want, told AFP eWire this week that board members are looking to have an enjoyable and rewarding experience. She says ensuring that good experience should be the first goal for their cultivation-not making the "ask" on day one.

"So often fundraisers do not give board members enough time and opportunities to engage before asking them for money," says Bradham. "Board members want to use their skill set, they want to use their brain. Why ask them to support an organization that they have not built a connection with? Let them help make the organization better-let it become their organization. It's at that point that they are going to be interested in leaving their mark with philanthropy."

In her book, she lays out nine myths and nine corresponding truths about what board members really want from their board experience. Here's a hint: Their top answers do not include giving money.

What Boards Want

Board members want to work with people who are as passionate and excited about the organization's cause as they are. They want to work with a sharp and results-driven CEO. Board members want to know what exactly they are getting into from the beginning. And, of course, they want to have fun.

Myth 7 in Bradham's book applies specifically to fundraisers: "Great board members = big check writers. That's all." The TRUTH, she says, is that board giving is directly correlated to the board experience. That's why understanding what board members really desire from their time on the board matters. That's why their feeling of satisfaction about what they can accomplish is so important.

Bradham says we've been missing the human element of what is needed for a board to succeed. "The best board member wants things like a human connection and personal enrichment," she writes. "The best board member wants to use his or her wisdom and skills to help the organization think and then act."

When a board member gets what he or she wants, the organization benefits, getting what it truly needs-direction and support (including monetary support). As Bradham writes, "Philanthropy is practiced by those who trust the organizations in which they are fully engaged."

Hear actual board member feedback and get valuable tips on board engagement by registering for June Bradham's two-part AFP Web/Audioconference session titled: "The Truth About What Nonprofit Boards Want." She will share stories and insights from her research into nonprofit boards and offer advice on turning your board members into your strongest advocates and supporters. To register go to http://www.afpnet.org/ and click on Professional Development.

June Bradham is president of Corporate DevelopMint, a fundraising and strategic planning consulting firm for nonprofits located in Charleston, S.C.

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Thon Fundraising Tops $1.6 billion in 2009

Exercising for a good cause retained its popularity in 2009, but the amount raised by people running, walking or cycling in "thons" fell by 7.6 percent due to the economic downturn, according to the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.

The top thirty "thon" fundraising programs generated more than $1.62 billion in gross revenue for charity last year, down from $1.76 billion in 2008, the council's fourth annual "Run Walk Ride Thirty" study reports. The collective $133.9 million drop was the first overall decrease in revenue ever recorded by the company.

"Getting people to take part in fundraising runs, walks and rides was not a major problem in 2009, but many participants found it more difficult to raise as much as they had in the past," said RWRFC president David Hessekiel. "Due to the economic downturn many people had to reduce the amount they gave to friends or colleagues participating in thons," he said. Nearly 11.3 million people participated in the top thirty programs last year.

Twenty of the top thirty programs experienced lower revenue in 2009, according to the survey, a summary of which can be found on http://www.runwalkride.com/.

The top five programs by total revenue in 2009 were:

• $405.0 million (-5.8%) - Relay for Life (American Cancer Society*)
• $120.3 million (+6.3%) - Race for the Cure (Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
• $100.0 million (-13.0%) - March for Babies (March of Dimes)
• $100.0 million (-6.5%) - Start! Heart Walk  (American Heart Association)
• $98.9 million (-21.1%) - Team in Training (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)

*RWRFC estimate. American Cancer Society did not release 2009 data for Relay for Life.

It took gross revenue of $7.2 million for The Rodman Ride for Kids to snag the 30th spot on the 2009 list, a position the Massachusetts-based bicycle ride held in 2008 with $6.3 million in revenue. "Most of the growth we saw in 2009 occurred among smaller programs that either adopted enhanced marketing and management techniques or expanded to new markets," said Hessekiel.

Projections solicited from program leaders indicate that most expect their revenue to be flat or slightly up in 2010.

The Run Walk Ride Thirty is based on survey responses from the professionals who manage major athletic event fundraising programs. If a nonprofit does not participate, the council seeks out public information to obtain key statistics. If public information is not available, the group estimates performance by applying the median gross revenue growth figure among reporting groups.

A study summary is available at http://www.runwalkride.com/.

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AFP Applauds Elimination of Charitable Disbursement Quota in Canadian Budget

The Canadian federal government included in its 2010 proposed budget a provision to eliminate the disbursement quota for charitable organizations, a decision supported by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and charities across the country.

The disbursement quota was intended to help ensure that charities spent a significant amount of their budget on their mission and services. However, as the budget noted, in practice, the quota disproportionately burdened smaller and rural charities, while larger charities with a wide range of revenue streams had a much easier time meeting the requirement.

Budget 2010 proposes to reform the disbursement quota for fiscal years that end on or after March 4, 2010. Specifically, Budget 2010 proposes to:

• repeal the charitable expenditure rule;
• modify the capital accumulation rule; and
• strengthen related anti-avoidance rules for charities.

In its discussion of the disbursement quota, the government also noted that it will monitor the effectiveness of the Canada Revenue Agency's guidance on "Fundraising by Registered Charities", and take action if needed to ensure its stated objectives are achieved.

"It, of course, is vitally important that charities adequately fund and budget for their missions and services," said Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, CAE, president and CEO. "However, the disbursement quota was simply not fair to smaller organizations, and in addition, the issue that the quota seeks to address-ensuring that charities focus on their missions-isn't a significant problem. The quota had become an administrative burden that was hurting charities, and AFP applauds the government for taking this action. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the government on this issue and others. AFP is very fortunate to have a strong and effective group of Canadian volunteers helping us in this work and are always interested in hearing from any members who would like to join our efforts."

AFP, along with Imagine Canada and other fundraising and charity organizations, have supported the elimination of the disbursement quota for several years. AFP's comments and position regarding the disbursement quota can be found in its brief to the Standing Committee on Finance's Pre-Budget Consultations (see link in electronic version of this eWire article).

In its brief, AFP also supported the creation of a stretch tax credit for charitable giving and the elimination of the capital gains tax on gifts of land and real estate, which were not included in the budget. The proposed stretch credit would be based on an individual tax payer's best previous year of giving using 2008 as a baseline. It would provide a stretch tax credit of 39 per cent on these new donations - 10 percentage points higher than the current level of tax credit on donations above $200. To continue benefitting from the stretch tax credit in subsequent years, tax payers would need to continue to increase their levels of giving over their 2008 and previous year's baselines.

The elimination of the capital gains tax on gifts of land and real estate was proposed because these contributions are currently stymied by a tax system that makes such giving too burdensome and not attractive to most donors. Eliminating the capital gains tax would remove a huge barrier to these types of gifts and make it far more likely and appealing for donors to give land and real estate to charity.

"AFP will continue to work to educate Members of Parliament about the importance of the stretch tax credit and the elimination of the capital gains tax on gifts of land and real estate," said Maehara. "The government has been incredibly responsive to the charitable sector over the past several years, and we are so appreciative of their support and understanding. We look forward to working with the government to develop new innovative and cost-efficient proposals that will help the sector improve the quality of life for all Canadians."

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Special Notice: Make Sure You Receive All AFP Emails!

One unfortunate side effect of Spam-protection filters is that they may block some AFP member communications and benefits. We are taking steps to make sure our important member messages are not mislabeled as Spam. In addition to our efforts, we ask you to help keep the communication channel between you and AFP open by taking steps to ensure that AFP email messages are delivered to your inbox.

To do so, please forward the following list of AFP email domains to your IT department or email service and ask that they be added to your email "safelist" or "whitelist" (the list of emails addresses you have indicated are valid and not Spam). This will guarantee that you all of the communications from AFP that you have elected to receive.

Please add the following domains to your e-mail safelist/whitelist:

afpnet.org
www.afpnet.org
news.afpnet.org
cvent.com
cvent-planner.com 

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AFP and HEP Partner to Provide Matching Gift Tools to Fundraisers

Products, services and training will help AFP members maximize charitable donations

AFP announces a partnership with HEP Development to provide its members with industry-leading products and services for matching gifts. 

The partnership site is: www.hepdata.com/afp

The partnership will grant AFP members access to the most comprehensive data on matching gifts. HEP will conduct free webinars and provide papers, toolkits and other resources to help fundraisers educate donors about corporate matching gift programs that can multiply the value of their donations. HEP will also provide AFP members special discounts on HEP products.

"Our partnership with HEP opens the door for AFP members to better access matching gift opportunities for their donors," said Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, CAE, president and CEO of AFP. "We constantly seek to make fundraisers great at what they do, and now in collaboration with HEP, AFP will equip members with the knowledge and tools to maximize individual gifts."

Thousands of companies across the United States support private philanthropy by matching employee gifts to nonprofits, including educational institutions, museums, hospitals, public television networks and community organizations.  HEP provides the widely used eMatch donor link^TM to nonprofit websites, allowing donors to instantly verify if their gifts can be matched and providing access to matching gift forms. In addition, HEP's GiftPlus Online® matching gift database provides real-time access to company-specific matching gift policies to aid gift accounting staff.

Special discounted pricing will be offered on these products, and AFP members will receive free ongoing training and resources and free customer support for HEP's eMatch product. HEP also will provide AFP members ongoing advice and insights into new trends and developments in gift matching via AFP publications, webinars and a website exclusively for AFP members.

"We are excited to extend our services and expertise to AFP members," said Steve Hafner, CEO of HEP. "There is so much untapped potential in matching gifts, and now fundraisers across North America and worldwide will have access to the best data and technology in the market, plus unparalleled customer service, to realize that potential."

AFP members can learn more about HEP and its service by going to www.hepdata.com/afp, or by contacting (877 ) 423-4883 or afp@hepdata.com.

HEP Development provides matching gift products, wealth tracking and data-cleansing to more than 5,000 nonprofits nationwide. HEP is based in Leesburg, Va. For more information on HEP, visit www.hepdata.com/afp or call (800) 681-4438.

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Present a Session at the 2011 AFP International Conference

The 2011 Call for Presentations is now open! To submit a proposal to present at AFP's 2011 International Conference on Fundraising in Chicago, go to https://www.goeshow.com/afp/annual/2011/proposal.cfm. Please note that the deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, April 30, 2010.

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AFP State of Fundraising Survey

If you received an invitation to take the AFP State of Fundraising Survey or AFP State of Fundraising Survey - Canada, we ask that you complete the survey by March 19 so as to enhance our knowledge of important recent trends in fundraising. Fill in your contact information at the end of the survey to receive a copy of the full results when they are released! Questions? Contact paffairs@afpnet.org.

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AFP Web/Audioconference: Selling Major Sponsors

March 11, 2010 | 1 p.m. ET
In "Selling Major Sponsors," Phil Immordino will give participants the tools to sell major sponsors for all types of events. To register for this and other AFP Web/Audioconferences, go to http://www.afpnet.org/ and click on Professional Development.