The Giving Center compiles different giving strategies that major and mega donors can use in their nonprofit and political giving.
WHAT TYPE OF A DONOR ARE YOU?
There are many terms used to describe strategic philanthropy: intelligent giving, strategic giving, effective philanthropy, venture philanthropy, inspired philanthropy... eQualityGiving incorporates those donor strategies and more. Donors, especially mega donors, can create a unique combination of strategies that best fit their needs...
1. DISPERSED GIVING
Donors give to a multitude of organizations and political candidates.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with a large budget
- Donors who have a hard time saying NO
- Donors who fundraise for another cause---this approach creates goodwill among donors who support each other's causes
DONOR RESOURCES:
2. CONCENTRATED GIVING
Donors give to a limited number of organizations and political candidates.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with a more limited budget
- Donors focused on a specific Equality Goal
DONOR RESOURCES:
3. IMPACT GIVING
Donors concentrate their giving on a few organizations, political candidates or Equality Goals with large donations that have a significant impact.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with a large budget
- Donors with a solid strategic vision that can change the movement
DONOR RESOURCES:
4. ORGANIZATIONAL GIVING
Donors concentrate most of their giving on a single organization.
GOOD FOR:
- Members of the board of that organization as well as senior employees
- Donors whose professional interest match the organization direction (e.g., an attorney giving to a legal-defense organization)
DONOR RESOURCES:
- Donor to Donor - to find out more details on a particular organization or discover a new one
- Find out what is on eQualityGiving's website about a particular organization:
5. GOAL GIVING
Donors concentrate their giving on achieving a goal instead of concentrating on an organization.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors passionate to achieve a specific goal (e.g., repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell or marriage equality)
- Donors who are very strategic and have access to detailed information about the goals (e.g., the information provided by eQualityGiving)
DONOR RESOURCES:
- Giving to Reach Equality Goals - an evaluation of each of the Equality Goals (exclusively for Registered Members)
- Check the resources on this website for each Equality Goal
6. OPPORTUNITY GIVING
Donors give to take advantage of an immediate opportunity that will achieve a tangible result in a short period of time (usually a year or less).
GOOD FOR:
- Donors who want to see immediate results
DONOR RESOURCES:
7. CAPACITY GIVING
Donors give to build the capacity of an organization or political party and make them more robust over a long period of time.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors who know and trust the senior leadership of the organization and believe in the potential of its mission
DONOR RESOURCES:
- Strategies for each Equality Goal - an analysis of which combination of strategies is most relevant to
achieve each Equality Goal (exclusively for Registered Members)
- Giving to Reach Equality Goals - an evaluation of each of the Equality Goals (exclusively for Registered Members)
- Donor to donor - starting point to analyze the organizations of interest
- Site visits and in-depth review of the financial statements are recommended for this type of giving
8. LOCAL GIVING
Donors give to organizations and politicians in their local community and state.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors who want to make a tangible difference in the life of their community
- Donors who want to get to know and influence their local and state politicians
DONOR RESOURCES:
- Find out what is on eQualityGiving's website about a particular state:
9. MAVERICK GIVING
Donors who want to give to unconventional causes or less known organizations/politicians or new organizations ("angel giving")
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with the time to conduct philanthropic research
- Donors interested in "angel giving" (supporting organizations that are in the initial stages or ready for a big expansion)
DONOR RESOURCES:
10. GAP GIVING
Donors review each of the Equality Goals and each of the four strategic approaches to achieve LGBT equality and give to the areas that are insufficiently funded.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with considerable financial means
- Donors interested in strategic analysis
DONOR RESOURCES:
-
Strategic Giving for Equality - to learn eQualityGiving's overall framework to reach legal
equality
- Strategies for each Equality Goal - an analysis of which combination of strategies is most relevant to
achieve each Equality Goal (exclusively for Registered Members)
- Giving to Reach Equality Goals - an evaluation of each of the Equality Goals (exclusively for Registered Members)
- Site visits and in-depth review of the financial statements are recommended for this type of giving
11. COLLABORATIVE GIVING
Donors give jointly with other donors in the pursuit of a common goal. Examples of this approach are giving circles and some foundations. There are two flavors to Collaborative Giving: (1) Donors give to a fund and a set of individuals distribute the money or (2) Donors are presented with a set of options and they decide individually how much to give to each of the options.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors sharing a common passion
- Donors who do not have the time or interest in analyzing the different options available
DONOR RESOURCES:
12. CONVEYOR GIVING
Donors decide on a goal to be achieved and search for the proper organizations or groups to help achieve it jointly. Donors in effect convey together a group of organizations for a joint goal.
GOOD FOR:
- Donors with significant giving capability
- Donors respected by the groups that they are conveying
- Donors with the time and ability to bring together different groups
DONOR RESOURCES:
- Choose a subgoal of an Equality Goal (e.g., Homophobia in Sports or Religion and Homophobia)
- Donor to Donor - review which organizations to convey for your goal
13. SOCIAL GIVING
In practice, even the most strategic donors need to allocate a portion of funds for social obligations and requests from friends.
GOOD FOR:
- All donors, so long as social giving is a small percentage of the total giving
DONOR RESOURCES:
- None needed - you will be approached by fundraisers!
THE INPUT OF REGISTERED MEMBERS ON REFINING THESE APPROACHES OR ADDING OTHER APPROACHES IS WELCOME BELOW...
Check also: Giving Tips | Strategic Giving for Equality | Tax Wise Giving | Philanthropy Books
Exclusively for Registered Members: Strategies for Each Equality Goal | Giving to Reach Equality Goals
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