Holding on to Donors in Tough Times: Lessons from Bank of America's High Net Worth Philanthropy Study

by Jeff Briskin, Principal, Briskin Consulting

In a time when contributions are decreasing, not-for-profit institutions have to "go the extra mile" to hold on to their most important benefactors.

Jeff Briskin served as Bank of America's project lead for the 2008 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, the largest study ever conducted on the philanthropic attitudes and behaviors of wealthy America. The study, released in March 2009, has generated press coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Barrons, Newsweek, and many other periodicals. The full study can be located at http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=23&item=105. Please note that the survey was conducted in the spring and summer of 2008, when the recession had already started but before the banking crisis of the fourth quarter.

Why do donors give?

The Study dispels the myth that the wealthy give primarily for personal benefit.

• 81% give to give back to their communities


• 70% give to support the same causes each year


• 70% give in alignment with their social beliefs


• 66% give to make an immediate difference (such as giving to a homeless person)


• 57% gave to remedy issues that affected them personally, such as cancer or the death of a loved one.


• Less than 10% of respondents gave to further their business or personal interests.

What does this tell us? That wealthy donors think locally, are motivated to support causes over the long-term, and give primarily for results, rather than recognition. However, it should be notes that 66% said they give "when they feel financially secure," an important lesson in today's economy, when organizations can no longer assume that an individual's estimated wealth will automatically result in significant donations.

What do they expect in return?

Donors demand a high degree of accountability and responsiveness from the organizations they support.

• 93% expect the organizations they support to demonstrated sound business practices


• 88% want organizations to spent appropriately on overhead


• 83% expect a receipt for their donations


• 82% want organizations to respect their privacy by not selling their names


• 77% expect organizations to provide full financial disclosure


• 54% expect ongoing communication of results


• Less than 11% seek public recognition or personal benefits from their giving

Given that this survey was conducted before the Madoff scandal and the market meltdown forced many not-for-profits to cut staff and reduce programs and wealthy donors to reduce contributions, we could expect an even higher demand for accountability if these same questions were asked today. These findings should be a wake-up call for implementing sound governance processes and communicating results.

Why donors stop giving

In tough economic times, the loss of a single wealthy benefactor can have a devastating effect on an organization's ability to carry out its mission. And, according the Study, many wealthy donors did stop supporting charities:

• Nearly 40% stopped giving to one charity


• Nearly 20% stopped giving to four more charities

What were the main reasons why they stopped giving to a given organization?

• They no longer felt a personal connection to the charity (57%)


• They decided to support other causes (51%)


• They felt they were solicited too often (42%)

Curiously, only 14% said they stopped giving for financial reason. Again, it's important to keep in mind that this survey was taken in the summer of 2008. We could conjecture that this particular reason would jump significantly if the same question were asked today.

It's also interesting to note that in spite of the demands of donors for greater accountability, they felt, overall, that organizations were being run efficiently. Less than 15% said they stopped giving because of any mismanagement of donations or assets or other wrongdoing.

Lessons for not-for-profits

What does this data tell us? That wealthy Americans give primarily for altruistic reasons and to support their local communities. In return, they expect organizations to be demonstrate sound governance, to honor their wishes for privacy, to communicate results, and to keep them emotionally engaged. Organizations that fail to do this could lose these critical benefactors. In a time of increasing competition for a shrinking pool of donations, this is a risk few institutions can afford.

Next in the series: The importance of cultivating volunteers

About Briskin Consulting and Jeff Briskin

Briskin Consulting provides strategic marketing and sales process optimization services to help asset managers and investment advisors gain and retain clients more effectively.

The company was founded by veteran marketing professional Jeff Briskin, who has developed innovative marketing strategies, ecommerce initiatives, sales campaigns, interactive marketing initiatives, and training programs for some of America’s largest financial services companies, including Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, Pioneer Investments, and Columbia Management.

Jeff's ‘end-to-end marketing’ approach combines client research, opportunity analysis, value proposition development, sales process re-engineering and integrated online/offline marketing communications to help asset management companies deliver solutions that reflect each client’s unique challenges and opportunities.

Jeff also develops fiduciary and philanthropic education programs to help not-for-profit organizations improve organizational efficiency, understand federal and state regulations governing investment and governance practices, and cultivate donors more effectively.

For more information, please contact Jeff at jeffbriskin@hotmail.com.