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Thanks to everyone who wrote me this past month or so.  Your encouragement meant a lot to me.  Being in the agency business, as I have been for the past 25 years, can be one of the most exciting…and challenging of professions.  Expecially for those of us who get the privilege to work with great people in the realm of the not-for-profit sector.  However, some times we need to put our heads down and get the work done…even if a little blog like this suffers a bit.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve found, as many of you have, that it’s all about forming deep, lasting relationships - with marketers such as yourselves, and with donors we serve.  We used to call it “bonding the donor to the organization.”  These days, it’s more like connecting a donor to the organization.  That is, developing strong connections no matter where the donor is in the relationship lifecycle.  Let’s face it, when people really connect with each other, that’s when the magic happens.  Here’s a little clip from the dictionary. 

Connect:

I’m starting to think of it as “connect marketing”, not direct marketing.  Yes, connect marketing is direct marketing, or rather uses the disciplines we have come to understand in direct marketing.  However, connect marketing goes beyond that and looks at establishing, not a $35 donation once or twice a year, or even a monthly pledge, but a connection across multiple touch-points. 

The very essence of connection speaks to increases in Long-Term-Donor-Value.  To the propensity for volunteerism, event participation, legacy giving and so on.  Establishing a real connection, that which springs from somewhere other than the pocketbook, is tough to dis-connect. Trust me, I want the connection to include the pocketbook because I know that this can be an outward expression of an inward heart-felt need.

And so I want to say thank to all of you that took the time to connect with me and to say how much you appreciated the stuff this blog is made of.  You’ll probably hear more about my thoughts on connect marketing, as I’d love to hear yours.

Cheers.

I read a press release today announcing ten trends taken from Next Now: Trends for the Future, the latest book from Trendspotters Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia.  For entire list, follow the link above or click on the “More” link below.  I’ve cherry-picked the few trends that relate most directly to our industry. 

The trend most getting my attention is:  “Single Minded Ethics.”  Why?  Well, any trend related to our industry is fairly historic, important, and implicative.  I trust that anyone (high-profile celeb or not) choosing to “pursue change vigorously” will do so in ways that accomplish our long-term fundraising objectives.  Thoughtful fundraising marketing efforts strive to more fully engage donors, create long lasting relationships, and foster deep ties to organizational mission.

Trends for 2007 (abridged version):

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change vigorously rather than skim like a stone across the ethics pond. We believe we can change the world, but we know we can’t change it all at once.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

Click here for the entire list.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I first ventured into the world of nonprofit blogging, I did so with much anticipation and fear.  Anticipation to learn new things, to explore new areas within fundraising, and to share a little of what I’ve learned with a few others.  To shine the light so to speak. The fear part comes in because, as with most new things, the unknown can be a bit dark, unforgiving, and can close in on you very quickly.  Uh, very similar to a recent caving expedition in the hills of West Virginia.  The picture below pretty much says it all. (Yes, that’s me on the left.  And you can stop laughing now.)

Oh geez, there are a ton of similarities between fundraising and caving.  I’ll spare you.  Ok, I can’t resist just a few: wear coveralls because you never know what crap you’ll be asked to crawl through; and…watch out for ‘ol bats - you’ll usually find them CLINGING to the walls.  One more:  gives data mining a whole new meaning.

I’m done. 

Back to my point.  Over the past few months, I’ve managed to meet some extremely intelligent, fascinating, and interesting nonprofit bloggers and fundraising professionals.  A few have helped me out in so many ways - encouraging email, wonderful posts, the ever-so-amazing links to Donor Insite, and just plain reading what I write.

One such person is the writer (known only to us as “a fundraiser”) of the blog, Don’t Tell the Donor.

I emailed ”a fundraiser” and asked him about the “why” behind the title of the blog. I also wanted a bit more info as to why he began “Don’t Tell the Donor” in the first place. His response:

I was actually being sarcastic with the title at first.  By publishing the kinds of things fundraisers try to hide from donors… hopefully I am doing exactly that and brining more openness to nonprofit fundraising.

Writing “Don’t Tell the Donor” allows me to do what I love most - raise funds for great groups…but I’m also a donor.  I support (many) charities on an annual or monthly basis.  And after working in nonprofits for several years - I was surprised by the tension between the daily secrets fundraisers try to keep from donors and the need to be open and build trust.

I’m still feeling my way through it.  But I think it’s important to say that I see my mission as being the same as Jeff Brooks - trying to teach organizations to respect their donors… or else   I hope my site provides some relief from their frustrations at dealing with the tension of openness with their own donors.

In my book, he accomplishes his mission very well.  There you have it, why such a great blog has such an interesting title. 

I’m done digging around now.

Like a character out of the “Lost” TV series, I  somehow stumbled upon this post from The Positivity Blog. As I read the post, “Do you make these 10 mistakes in a conversation”, I couldn’t help but make the transition to fundraising - especially when speaking to our donors - especially our BIG donors. Here is the article in it’s entirely:

Can you improve your conversation skills? Certainly.

It might take a while to change the conversation habits that’s been ingrained throughout your life, but it is very possible.

To not make this article longer than necessary let’s just skip right to some common mistakes many of us have made in conversations. And a couple of solutions.

Not listening
Ernest Hemingway once said:

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”

Don’t be like most people. Don’t just wait eagerly for your turn to talk. Put your own ego on hold. Learn to really listen to what people actually are saying.

When you start to really listen, you’ll pick up on loads of potential paths in the conversation. But avoid yes or no type of questions as they will not give you much information. If someone mentions that they went fishing with a couple of friends last weekend you can for instance ask:

• Where did you go fishing?
• What do you like most about fishing?
• What did you do there besides fishing?

The person will delve deeper into the subject giving you more information to work with and more paths for you choose from.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let me introduce you to Lisa Ray and her blog, Two Knives.  Lisa is a recent stay-at-home mom living in Minneapolis. I think her blog is extremely well written.  Todays post, about her experience this past weekend at a local fundraiser, is very funny, short, and long on insight for those of us in the fundraising community.  Here it is:

The perfect storm

I spent much of Saturday morning trying to alleviate my guilt over spending about $600 at a fundraiser the night before. Donating, I mean. I donated $600.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s all for a good cause. People Serving People is a family homeless shelter in downtown Minneapolis. It was their annual fundraiser - food, drinks, music, and a live auction.

I decided it was a convergence of three factors that led to the ill-fated bid, or as my friend Joni said, I created the perfect storm:

• an auction, which ignited my gambling-addiction tendencies, combined with
• homeless seven-year-olds, combined with
• two (or several) glasses of vodka.

I flashed my bidding number faster than you can say Indian gaming. The prize, which was much more appealing at the time, is an afternoon in local radio studio watching how a live show works. At least my 9-year-old seems excited about going.

I think I’ll have to stay away from fundraisers. At least until I’m employed again.

My takeaway: Sometimes, we’re so sophisticated in our approach to securing the gift - our segmentation, our careful campaign development, our dazzling creative, our whiz-bang back end analysis.  Then again, maybe it’s because a couple of unknown factors (I call them “Donation-X Factors”) came together in perfect alignment, like whirling planets in some cosmic convergence, that actually produced the sale, er, donation.  I mean donation. 

Max Kalehoff has written an excellent article for OnlineSpin, a Media Post Publication and as a post in his blog. “Ten Trends in Transforming Marketing Measurements” explores what marketing via the new media will mean for data-driven, response oriented advertising (and fundraising, of course) campaigns.  Here are excerpts from the article:

1. Digital network adoption. Mass adoption of the Internet and digital networks is fundamental, if obvious. Their impact on how we share and manage information is now perhaps the most significant influence on the evolution of metrics, among all that follow.

2. Attention erosion. Our networked society has resulted in massive increases in consumer choice and, from a marketer perspective, an erosion of attention. Many economists postulate that we’re undergoing a transition away from an economy based on shelf space to one based on attention scarcity.

3. Speed of measurement. The near-real-time intelligence delivery that characterized the Bloomberg terminal is permeating nearly all facets of marketing measurements. Even if measurements are not delivered instantaneously in a slick, colorful dashboard, the expectation of faster data and actionable insights is growing. Speed is a competitive advantage.

4. Democratization of data and analytics. There was once a time when access to vast piles of market-research data and processing power was contingent upon huge budgets. While that’s still true in many cases, digital networks have made more data more accessible–even sometimes to the point of open-source or free.

5. Observational measurements. In digital networks, people often passively emit both anonymous and identifiable gestures, whether it’s visiting a Web site, programming a TiVo, commenting in a public discussion forum or a host of other activities.

6. Unstructured data. Included with the arrival of observational measurement is analysis of unstructured data. From news stories to discussion forums to blogs to multimedia-sharing sites, people increasingly publish data abundant with insights and trends.

7. Beyond demographics. Traditional demographics–like gender and age–will always be important, but observational techniques are helping marketers to understand and segment their customers in new ways.

8. Customer-centric measurements and planning. The trends above have one thing in common: customers increasingly are at the center of the universe, versus companies, brands, products or media.

9. Data integration comes of age. With more customer and data touch points come the need for more data integration and better market modeling.

10. Reevaluating relationships with whom and what we measure. Finally, as consumers become more empowered, the disciplines of measurement and research will increasingly cater to them (just as marketers are doing in general).

Looking back at a botched fundraising campaign, every wonder why things didn’t pan out or test out the way you anticipated?  Most likely it wasn’t because you didn’t have enough information, maybe it was due to faulty thinking or poor pre-planning.  Maybe it was just a dumb idea in the first place.

The Bad Analysis blog (no joke), has published a list of the ten most compelling reasons why we make bad decisions in an article by that name.  You’ll find the full article here.  Below are the main points:

10. We’ve come this far… (sunk cost bias) - We all know that the past is past and we can’t get back money or time that we already spent. But many people irrationally take sunk costs, time, money, or other resources which have already been spent and can’t be recovered, into their decision making.

9. Me me me! (egocentric bias) - Putting yourself in another person’s shoes is harder than it sounds for most people.

8. That just proves my point. (confirmation bias) - Isn’t it a coincidence that no matter what happens in the world, politicians can spin it to show why that confirms their opinions? A cynical explanation is that politicians twist the truth to get what they want. But a more subtle explanation is that our brains tend to search for and interpret information in ways that support our pre-existing opinions.

7. That’s easy. (overconfidence) - While overconfidence is definitely a good thing in many situations, it probably means people don’t work on their weaknesses as much as they should.

6. I’m #1! I’m #1! (dysfunctional competition) - Have mixed feelings when you find out your co-workers get a promotion that you weren’t even interested in? You’re not alone. People’s happiness is often a function of what they have relative to others.

5. Mine mine mine! (endowment effect) - Why is it so hard for people to throw, give away or sell things that are past their prime? One theory is that people tend to place a higher value on objects they own relative to objects they do not.

4. Watch out for sharks. (availability bias) - People are suckers for recent and memorable events. So much so, that they think these types of events are more likely to happen than they actually are.

3. If everybody else thinks so… (conformity) - People make decisions based on what they think and not what everyone else thinks, right? Wrong!

2. Lets go hard 8! (illusion of control) - We all know that there’s no difference between my chances in craps if I have the dice or someone else at the table does, right?  It should also cause you to question the confidence of your co-workers who know they will hit an aggressive deadline even though there are many factors out of their control.

1. He’s just a moron. (attribution error) - Is the driver that cut you off a jerk? Or is he a good guy who didn’t see you because he’s distracted? So maybe it’s better to withhold judgment about a person until you’ve actually talked to them.

If you don’t have photographs of your real donors (now that’s a shame), then go through several magazines to find representative photos.  Tear ‘em out and tape them to the walls of your office or cubicle. 

As an example, here’s a photo of two women that may be existing donors to your organization.  Take a look.  A very long and thoughtful look.  

One fundraising writer I know begins every first draft with, “Dear Mom.”   This type of approach gives “personalization” a whole new meaning.

Any article or blog post dealing with the issue of not being afraid to ask will automatically get my attention.  I really like this post by Amy Kincaid on her blog, Fundraising Breakthroughs. This post is smart, honest, funny and full of insight . Thought you’d enjoy reading it too.

Here’s a quick snippet: 

The introductory paragraph ends in “And to make all this happen, we need-you guessed it–money. Perhaps even your money.”
The fundraiser in me got a sinking feeling.

It goes on: “So we’re hitting up friends for financial support.”
Holy smokes (sorry, I’m from Kansas City, and we talk that way). Promise me, novice fundraisers, no more violent language. We’re inviting people (aka donors) to join us in work that has meaning.

– Very funny.

The Muttart Foundation recently released their consumer survey report, “Talking about Charities 2006: Tracking Canadians’ Opinions about Charities and the Issues Affecting Them.” The report was released in 2000, 2004 and September 2006.

Highlights for me are:

• 79% of all Canadian trust charitable organizations; 29% trust them a lot (nearly the same percentage holds true for leaders of organizations)
• Hospitals are trusted most (80%); children’s causes (85%); health prevention/research (84%); education (77%); social services (74%); protection of the environment/animals (73%); churches (67%); the arts (61%); international relief and development (57%).
• 87% believe more attention needs to be given in the way charities raise their funding
• Many Canadians do have objections to charities hiring commission based fundraisers. 62% find this practice unacceptable
• Half of Canadians would like more information about the work charities do, even though it may require more money to be spent on communications
• When considering making a donation to a particular charity, 58% are most likely to research that charity though its website; 46% will call the charity to ask for more information and 44% will look at financial statements.

While reading through a study such as this, I tend to take notes to see how these findings can and should be addressed in organization-wide key messaging and position statements.  Moreover, time spent speaking with donors will clarify our own specific issues that must be addressed. In other words, are we addressing key consumer/donor issues or just speaking about what’s important to us?

One particular nonprofit I know uses a “message tree” approach (the longer the communication piece, the more key messages are to be prioritized and included) while another has developed a very deliberate positioning document that is reviewed with communications writers (both external and internal) at the start of each creative development process.  While this may not be new, it is critical to keep on track of what we are communicating and what we should communicate given organizational mandates.

“By the very act of not communicating, we are, in fact, communicating.”

Great ad from the MS Society UK:

The copy in the upper right corner might be hard to read:

“When vertigo, numbness or loss of muscle coordination can strike without warning, the last thing you feel is at home.”

Credits:
Saatchi & Saatchi London
Kate Stanners (Creative Director)
Cassandra Yap (Copywriter)
Marion Cohen (Art Director)
Illustrator: Marion Cohen/ Alex Normanton
Retouching: First Base

While I realize there are many nonprofit organizations using viral campaigns to raise funds, I recently came across one worth a closer look for reasons explained later.  Fight Hunger: Walk the World is conducting viral video contest.  The winner receives a chance to win a trip to film a WFP school feeding project in a developing world. 

Nope, this is not a new story — Beth’s Blog has written about it, as has Netsquared and Citizen Brand (I’m sure I’ve omitted others.)

However, here are my takaways:

• It’s a fresh, new and innovative way to bond a donor to the organization.
• It hits the target audience (youth/young adult) right down-the-middle.  When I showed this to my teenage son, he jumped at the chance to give it a try.  Haven’t seen this much excitement since the PSP.
• The contest pay-off is substantial. The winner receives a filming trip and the video will be used in the upcoming Fight Hunger ad campaign.
• The web site copy sticks to the mission of the organization. “Everyone who enters is a winner because by sharing your creativity you’re joining our global movement to end child hunger by 2015.”  There’s no fluff here to get the reader sidetracked.
• The contest and rules are easily understood and clearly stated.
• Readers can further spread the word about the campaign by adding one of several banner options to websites and blogs. Nice way to extend the idea beyond the contest landing page.
• And in addition to everything else…you can donate to Fight Hunger right from the contest site. If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Has the public responded?  I dunno.  I searched for the keyword “fhvideo” on YouTube, Google Video, blip.tv and ourmedia.org and didn’t find anything.  I’m sure I was doing something wrong. 

I’d love to hear from others out there that have had success with viral video or photo campaigns.  I guess I’d have to define success, but maybe I’ll let you do that.

The link to an article I posted on October 26 , “Running a Non Profit Like a Business”, (Inside Collin County Business, Plano, TX) caused a few writers in our community to fire up the ‘ol computer.  Don’t Tell the Donor, The Agitator and Ken Goldstein had excellent perspectives on the subjects of public confidence in the nonprofit sector and, as the title suggests, running a nonprofit like a business. I recommend reading the posts AND the comments.

And just when I thought the firestorm coals had cooled and I could go back to sleep at night, I read today’s post from Pam Aslund, “Non-Profit Confidence Problem?”

To steal Ken Goldstein’s headline, these subjects are certainly, “Pressing Our Buttons.”

I didn’t realize how a little article could cause such a large, thoughtful and intense response.  But that’s why I wanted to enter the blogosphere in the first place: to foster cross-cutting dialogue in the nonprofit industry so that we can express our views and learn from each other.

Ok, I know that’s a goofy title, but it somewhat describes what is happening in our industry of late. These are great days for the nonprofit fundraising sector and for those this industry ultimately serves. Reading though the daily links for the past week or so and we see that:

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports American largest charities grew an astonishing 13 percent matching the highest gain since the Chronicle has been publising the Philanthropy 400 Survey.

Individuals increased their charitable contributions to health care facilities and organizations by a record 16 percent in the U.S., to $7.01 billion, and by 11 percent in Canada.

Estimated giving by California foundations rose in 2005 to a record $4.11 billion, and a survey of leading foundations projects that their giving will grow faster in 2006, according to a report released Wednesday by the Foundation Center.

Bank of America’s landmark philanthropy survey released today indicates:

Charitable giving increased over the last five years. When asked about the level of their charitable donations, nearly two thirds (65%) of wealthy donors somewhat or dramatically increased their charitable giving over the past 5 years. Less than 12% of high net worth households decreased their contributions.”  (For an excellent commentary on this study, head over to Sean Stannard-Stockton’s blog, Tactical Philanthropy.)

And the list goes on and on.  Are we getting better at fundraising? Yes.  Is the general public more generous?  Yes.  Are there more prospective donors in the donor pool? Yes.  Does the public trust us? Yes, despite what a United Way public poll might indicate (and oh-so thoroughly addressed by Don’t Tell The Donor yesterday.)  Are corporations more involved in charities? Yes.  And by all the Red and Pink we see these days, it’s now hip to donate.  Who’d a thunk it.

Any why am I so excited?  Because, in the end, we don’t raise funds for ourselves.  We raise funds for those who do not have the voice or ability to ask.

The time is right to:

• innovate
• take chances
• be creative
• test, test, test
• try new ideas
• rollout
• dare to dream
• ask for more
• ask for more again
• build strong relationships

Growing up in Ohio, we used to say, “Make hay while the sun still shines.”  Who knows? The bright sun may soften to sunset tomorrow.  But as for today, I’ll set my face to the sun and get after the work at hand.

• Bank of America Announces Initial Findings of Landmark Philanthropy Study
  Much has been written about this BofA Study. If you’ve not had a chance to read it, here’s the link.
  (tags: nonprofit charity philanthropy donor)

Automotive salespeople are typically taught to take a few moments getting to know prospective customers before moving on to The Most Important Thing. Otherwise known as The Sales Pitch.  Get to know the family a bit, talk about occupations, the weather, and hockey.  A few minutes of customer engagement before spending the next day and a half making the sale.

You see, this notion of “engagement” is really nothing new.  Engagement is a new skin to an old, and yet very important concept.  Often the issue becomes how we define, plan and execute our donor engagement strategy. (For what it’s worth, my perspective is that Donor Engagement should never take away from direct response principles, but rather add to whatever we are already doing. It’s an enhancement, not a replacement to fundraising excellence.) 

This is where Marvin enters the stage.  Halfway through his famous song, “What’s Going On”, the lyrics emerge:

“Talk to me
 So you will see
 What’s going on”  

I picture our donors saying this:  “Will somebody just talk to me?  How about a quick phone call to get to know me and find out what’s important to me.  Ask me about my cause and not your cause.  You send me direct mail appeals each month that cost a buck a piece.  You send me newsletters and magazines and even call me…but that’s when when you want something from me and when you want to talk to me.  I’m your neighbor down the street. I want to talk to you for a little bit, to let you know what’s really going on with me and why I supported you in the first place.”

I know of one organization that has seen a 16 percent increase in donor retention and “renewal” rates year-over-year by simply calling each donor, saying thanks, and talking for two minutes about that is important to the donor.  Is it costly?  Yes.  Rather, it’s an investment of three or for bucks that pays off later in spades. And when the next direct mail package is sent out, that donor sees copy directly tailored to what’s important to her.

Isn’t this exciting and radical?

In my mind, this is a bit closer to real donor engagement.  Of course, it’s what major donor development/advancement professionals have known since the beginning of time.

“Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today”

Thanks, Marvin.

 Largest charities saw donations rise 13% in 2005

By Noelle Barton and Holly Hall

Donations to America’s largest charities grew by 13 percent last year, to $62.7- billion, according to The Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 400 Survey.

That increase matches the highest percentage gain in the 16 years that The Chronicle has been ranking the 400 most-successful charities. At the height of the technology boom, in 1999, charities in the Philanthropy 400 achieved a 13.4-percent increase.

All signs suggest that the pace of giving continues to be strong this year: Among 49 charities on the list that projected a rise in 2006 giving, contributions are expected to grow by a median of 13 percent, meaning that half the groups expect a greater increase and half expect less.

(read more)

By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch Last Update: 4:02 PM ET Oct 20, 2006
This update clarifies that tax-free charitable distributions from IRAs for those 70 1/2 and older are not necessarily free of state taxes.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Charitable giving got a lot easier for some taxpayers — and harder for others — thanks to some tax-law changes in the recent Pension Protection Act. The good news is taxpayers who are 70 1/2 or older can take up to $100,000 out of their IRA tax-free this year and next, as long as they donate it to a qualified charity.

Meanwhile, taxpayers of all ages face slightly stricter rules when it comes to deducting charitable donations: Next year we’ll have to make sure we document any monetary donations, even if less than $250. And, starting this year, those donating clothing or household goods will need to make sure the items are of “good or better” quality. The real windfall is for those charitable givers who are in their 70s and who’ve got hefty IRA assets. Now they can “take out up to $100,000 per year, give that to charity and not have to include that in income,” said Jere Doyle, senior vice president of wealth management for Mellon Financial’s private wealth management group, in Boston.

(article continues)

• Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog
  (tags: marketing Advertising blog trends strategy)
• Corporations Love to Think Pink
  Despite the feel-good nature of pink-product sales, the phenomenon also has its critics. Some believe the proliferation of pink products is diluting the impact of breast-cancer awareness campaigns
  (tags: nonprofit charity causerelated marketing)
• New pension law provides for charity
  “This is a wonderful win-win for people who would rather give to charity than pay taxes and the nonprofit organizations they choose to support,” said Brad Sell, executive director of the Community Foundation of Washington County MD, Inc.
  (tags: nonprofit charity IRA donation)
• Competitive philanthropy: ‘ Good is getting really sexy’
  Soon, it will be deeply uncool to not be engaged beyond writing a cheque. And it also isn’t taboo to admit that there’s more in it for you than a warm and fuzzy feeling.
  (tags: philanthropy charity nonprofit volunteer)