6 • THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY
OCTOBER 21, 2010
FUND RAISING
Economy’s Downturn Forces
Charities to Change Tactics
By Noelle Barton, Caroline
Preston, and Maureen West
THE GREAT RECESSION is over. For America’s largest charities, now comes the ponderously slow
thaw.
Donations to the 400 charities that
raise the most from private sources are
expected to eke up by a median of just 1
percent this year, meaning that half ex-
pect to do less well and half anticipate
doing better. That is a big improvement
over 2009, when dona-
tions tumbled by a me-
dian of nearly 6 percent,
but still a long way from
the sums most groups
were raising before the
economy failed. Many
nonprofit officials antici-
pate that 2011 won’t be
much better and are planning for a 2-
or 3-percent gain.
Fund raisers say wealthy people are
talking again about making big new
commitments, galas and other events
are pulling in slightly more money, and
gifts of stock are a little more plentiful.
But caution still reigns.
“It was like a river that froze over in
2008 and 2009,” says C. Barton Lan-
dess, senior vice president for develop-
ment and planned giving at the Foun-
dation for the Carolinas (No. 194), in
Charlotte, N.C. “Now it’s running more
freely, but it’s still slow.”
Contributions to the community foun-
dation fell by nearly 70 percent in 2008,
to $78-million. In 2009 they picked up
a bit, to $101-million, and this year are
expected to reach $170-million, a hefty
increase but still short of the $233-mil-
lion raised in the year before the stock-
market crash.
That rocky scenario has played out at
nonprofits across the country. To cope,
charities continued to cut their budgets
and staffs in 2009. Sixty groups in the
survey of 400 organizations said they
had laid off staff members last year;
86 told The Chronicle in last year’s poll
that they had been forced to take that
step.
Making Adjustments
Fund raisers, meanwhile, are feeling the heat. Some are taking new approaches they hope will connect with
donors as the economy recovers. (See
article on page 7).
WNET.org (No. 182), the public televi-
sion station with headquarters in New
cut a quarter of its staff in 2009.
Kerry Kruckel Gibbs, who was hired
as the group’s chief fund raiser this
spring, combined the communications
and development departments, with the
goal of making storytelling a key part
of its fund raising. WNET has filmed
short videos that will air year-round,
not just during pledge season; in one,
a chef talks about how watching Julia
Child on public television fed her childhood fascination with cooking.
The group is also making a push to
befriend more wealthy donors. In May,
WNET announced a $15-million gift
from James Tisch, the chairman of its
board and chief executive of the Loews
Corporation, in New York, and his wife,
Merryl. The gift is the largest from individual donors in WNET’s history. Ms.
Gibbs says she has asked five other donors since then to make $15-million
commitments and plans to approach
another five by year’s end. Only one
person has turned her down outright so
far, she says.
“People are a little surprised that
we’re being as ambitious as we are,”
Continued on Page 8
THE PHILANTHROPY
400
ART WOLFE
Conservation International (No. 234) retooled its mission and is finding
new philanthropic support for water and agriculture projects in Africa.
PARTNERS IN HEALTH PREDIC TS A 146 PERCEN T JUMP IN 2010 GIVING
Fund raisers at large organizations tell how they are
luring donors in a tough giving climate. Page 8
The Philanthropy 400 of 1991—before online giving,
before donor-advised funds—tells a tale of change in
the charity world. Page 7
Gifts of food, medicine, and other noncash items
helped many Philanthropy 400 charities move quickly
up to the top ranks Page 20
Philanthropy 400 charities forecast their giving outlook
for the rest of 2010. Page 22
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (No. 83)
finds success by appealing to Midwestern donors’
neighborliness. Page 24
Chronic Disease Fund (No. 126) presses corporate
supporters to help defray health-care costs for needy
patients. Page 25
American Civil Liberties Union (No. 159) poses a
giving challenge to its most affluent donors and works
to expand its reach. Page 26
Best Friends Animal Society (No. 389) professionalizes
its organization and sells supporters on its heart-
tugging mission. Page 27
How the Philanthropy 400 survey was compiled.
Page 10
