Click here to read this article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.  This link is valid until May 30th.

On our side of the world, many of us are working hard to attract mid-level gifts —  annual gifts of $1,000 - $10,000. These folks are often the backbone of our annual campaigns and many of them will become our major gift donors of tomorrow.

Are there simple ways to identify the prospects most capable of making mid-level gifts?  Consider this, as a general rule of thumb, Americans give 2-3% of their household income to charity. A household earning $100,000 could be conceivably giving $2,000 - $3,000 every year – perhaps $1,000 going to their top charitable priority with $1,000-$2,000 for all other causes combined. Unmarried donors (with no kids) may be in a position to step up to a $1,000 gift while earning less.

As of 2005, 16% of American households had incomes over $100,000.  That translates into approximately 18 Million households, and the percentage at this level increases for those of us working largely with college-educated constituencies. We’ve just identified  a large pool of financially-capable families in our mid-level gift range.  Of course, a donor’s affinity to the organization plays a significant role as well, but the great thing about mid-level giving is that most non-profits can excel in this area. With such a vast pool of prospects, doesn’t it make sense to devote resources to attracting mid-level donors?

Frankly, About Your Facebook Application… from Mikey Ames on Vimeo.

We’re launching this blog to help share stories and ideas with our friends. If you’re involved in securing mid-level major gifts for your organization or simply believe that mid-level giving has great potential, we hope you will subscribe to this blog and post comments with some of your own thoughts and ideas.

Many organizations can be successful in the middle of the giving pyramid. Sure, certain fundamentals must exist, like good constituent data and a solid case for support. We strongly believe an effective mid-level giving initiative can be implemented more quickly and effectively than a lot of people may think.

Charitable giving has certainly entered a new era. It may be some time before we return the type of economic environment seen in the ten or so years leading up to ‘08 and ‘09. As organizations see the number of total donors decline and fewer opportunities for really big gifts, improving mid-level major giving initiatives not only makes good sense but could make the difference in the success of your campaign.

Our plan is to post every week or so with tips, stories, and innovative ideas. Thanks for visiting; we hope your year is off to a great start!

Cheers,

Tony Smercina
President
Charitable Partners, a Pursuant Group Company

We believe in the work of our clients—that’s why we’re here. But there are times you work with a group so passionate about what they do that you can’t help but be inspired. LA’s BEST is one of those groups.

LA’s BEST is an after school education program that’s been working with at-risk youth across Los Angeles since 1988. And this isn’t a one or two school program—they work with 180 elementary schools, serving 28,000 kids.

28,000…

That number has to sink in, because it isn’t just a number. This is 28,000 faces, 28,000 lives that are being changed. Each one has a unique story, and together with the staff of LA’s BEST, they are the story. The risks are very real for these kids—dropping out at an early age, drugs, crime, gangs and gang violence.

Variety Magazine recognized the power of this story, and that’s why LA’s BEST was one of two organizations chosen to be promoted in this year’s Power of Youth. Power of Youth is an annual event, sponsored by Variety that features a number of prominent young celebrities who come together to bring attention to organizations making a difference in the lives of kids in Los Angeles.

This meant a lot of fresh eyes on the organization, and our challenge was to create a video that captured the heart of LA’s BEST and inspired individuals to get involved. And after several brainstorming sessions and conference calls, and collaboration between our team and the team at LA’s BEST, we settled on a treatment that would bring it back to childhood; not to one story, but to all of our stories.

You can see the finished Imagine video, here. It had a great showing at the Power of Youth event, and has helped draw a lot of short term interest that will hopefully turn into long term support.

It wasn’t a frictionless process—great work never is. Their team is passionate, we’re passionate, and we both wanted this video to be as successful as possible. At the end of the day we had a product we were both proud of, and a solid foundation for a successful relationship down the road. We look forward to working with them, and you, in the future.

Matthew Austin Brown

Pursuant Creative Department

Inc. Magazine’s annual publication of the top 5,000 fastest growing private companies has ranked Pursuant at 1,602. Okay, so at #1,602 we’re not actually featured in the magazine, but we’re excited about what this means for nonprofits as fundraising strategy and services becomes a legitimate and innovative industry.

In 2001 we started a BIG journey to “Help those that do good, do better”. Eight years and six business units later, we’re still trekking. In the past 6-7 months we’ve acquired Ketchum and RSI, and now Pursuant is an umbrella of what we call, “strategically aligned services”. If you want to hear more, you can click here. We’d also like to recognize our staff of employees across the country for their relentless effort to see this development happen, because the reality is that we’ve made some pretty bold moves over the past year as the needs of our clients have grown and evolved.

It’s safe to say that we would not be where we are without the support of our loyal clients. Our growth has certainly been fueled by their innovation, wisdom, and insight. We could not be more proud of the good work that they do day in and out. We celebrate this small mile-marker with gratitude toward them, because they share the same enthusiasm we do for the future of fundraising.

Click here to see who else made the list!

This post can be filed under “unofficial Pursuant blog posts,” but I know the password, so I’m posting it. Today I had one of those life moments, that’s what I call them, those moments when I’m more aware than usual and I know I’ll remember the feel of it forever. Maybe it wasn’t that significant in the grand scheme of things, but it made me stop for just a second and be grateful for my circumstances.

It just so happens that a number of people that work here at Pursuant have banded together to organize an event that raises support toward finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. It’s called the CF Concert Series and it takes place every November at the Granada Theater in Dallas. Today we shot the promo video for the website and had Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s, who will be headlining the event (get to know his music if you don’t) in the studio to film the invite. He brought his guitar and sang a sweet song that he wrote one day after he heard his little girl singing to herself “Sometimes, sometimes,” (the song is called Sometimes and is track 12 on his recent solo album titled, Rhett Miller).

At work, sitting in the studio surrounded by friends and listening to Rhett sing, I felt very, very glad to be in that moment at that time.

It makes me think about what we do at Pursuant, what our clients do every single day. Not one of those people gained anything monetary or tangible from that moment. Somebody, somewhere down the line will someday benefit from all the small contributions that will go into creating one significant night that will change something for the good. That’s it really. That’s what we do. Aren’t we lucky?

“Sometimes, sometimes, the only thing you have is a song.
And in these times, in these times, in these lonely, lonely times, I will sing along.” – Rhett Miller

Yes, it’s been four months since our last blog entry. And yes, we’re taking the opportunity to brag about an award (just a little). Fortunately the blogging hiatus is due to some pretty exciting things happening around the office (including, but not limited to: blog/website/marketing communications renovation, rolling out some of the biggest developments in fundraising, the future of philanthropy, etc.).

In the midst of our growth, we can’t help but to offer an overwhelming appreciation for our amazing clients who do such incredible work. Because of the good work clients like Tri Delta are doing, we are able to take part in projects like Fat Talk, a Tri Delta campaign proudly launched in the fall of 2008.

The Telly Awards and the Silver Telly Council has selected Pursuant as a 2009 Bronze Telly Award recipient for the Fat Talk Campaign video. I work with our media production team on a daily basis and will attest to the talent and expertise that we have in that department. Dustin Bailey and Kent Rabalais of Pursuant are both recognized on the award for their outstanding production.

Check out the Tri Delta Fat Talk campaign piece here.

Matt Frazier started Pursuant back when email was the primary way to cultivate and solicit your online audience. Having asked “what’s after email?” for years, Pursuant now offers a basic service allowing non profit clients with no experience in any of the social media spaces to learn, listen, participate and grow their networks. Check out all the video answers in this vimeo channel

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Today is one of the biggest days in Pursuant’s history. Pursuant has acquired the operations of Viscern, Ketchum, and RSI—making Pursuant the most comprehensive fundraising agency and consultancy in the industry. The Pursuant Platform now includes Pursuant, Ketchum, RSI, Charitable Partners, Unifyer and TruthCasting.

Ketchum, founded in 1919, boasts over $13 billion in non-profit dollars raised, and has conducted more successful campaigns than any other fundraising firm in history.

RSI is the largest provider of capital campaign, major gift, and stewardship counsel to churches, Christian schools and other Christian not-for-profit organizations.

We are thrilled to welcome Ketchum and RSI to the Pursuant family, and excited to keep you updated as the growth of Pursuant changes the future of fundraising. Visit the new Pursuant Platform—where all your fundraising needs are found in one place. Also check out the press release by clicking here.

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