logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

An Effort to Revolutionize Fundraising Points to a Sector Challenge

Martin Levine
April 24, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

 

“Money Flying” by TaxCredits.net

April 20, 2017; Dallas Morning News

Billionaire Todd Wagner’s current passion is the Dallas-based Charity Network. He’s taken the money he earned as a pioneer in video streaming and turned his efforts toward changing how nonprofits raise funds.

According to a recent Dallas Morning News profile, Charity Network, a for-profit venture, has “assembled four subsidiaries in a network that holds global online auctions and sweepstakes, produces videos and commercials, creates broadcast content and comes up with ways to make sure that donated money is being put to its best and most-leveraged use.”

Wagner has homed in on the need to shift philanthropic focus more effectively to digital media. According to Wagner, “If you want to reach millennials, you’ve got to become part of their digital landscape…And hiring one person to handle Tweets, posts, emails, and God knows what else that’s about to come to the forefront does not an online strategy make. That’s like saying, ‘I have one technology person, and now I have a technology company.’” Since he believes that most nonprofits do not have access to “20 people who will each write a million-dollar check,” they can only meet their future needs if they more effective in digital fundraising, and with some new technical tools, nonprofits can revolutionize the way they raise philanthropic funds.

A year ago, when NPQ’s Gayle Nelson looked at Wagner’s efforts, she concluded that “sadly, Wagner’s description of his efforts as ‘disrupting traditional fundraising” could not be farther from the truth.” It’s not that Charity Network does bad work. Quite the opposite; last year, it raised $40 million for its clients and helped them to expand their reach with effective digital tools. And, it is important for organizations to pay attention to their digital capabilities and use them as part of an overall fundraising strategy, particularly for smaller nonprofits.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

However, while the overall amount of U.S. philanthropy has been growing, the number of smaller donors has been declining. In an interview with NPR from December, the Institute for Policy Studies’ Chuck Collins pointed to this as a critical change in the world of philanthropy.

A lot of the growth in giving is coming from very wealthy donors and their foundations. And there’s a decline of low and middle-income givers over the last 10 years, almost a 25 percent steady decline. So put those two things together, and we’re seeing what we call a top-heavy philanthropy sector emerging.

So, for nonprofits that may have access to mega-donors, old-style, relationship-based fundraising will not go away. In fact, remaining at the top of their game is even more critical.

For smaller organizations with less access to big givers, Todd Wagner’s vision is on target. Yet his approach has not yet demonstrated how it can be scaled. Yes, he has raised millions through digital efforts; yes, his firm kept only 20 percent of the funds to cover the costs of fundraising. But at that level, Charity Network is not yet profitable. So, how can their work with a miniscule portion of the 1.5 million 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofits be scaled to meet the overall sector’s digital needs?

Do we need other Todd Wagners to use their resources to build similar ventures? Can he make his business into the Facebook of digital fundraising? It will be interesting to look a year from now at how this picture has evolved.—Martin Levine

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Martin Levine

Martin Levine is a Principal at Levine Partners LLP, a consulting group focusing on organizational change and improvement, realigning service systems to allow them to be more responsive and effective. Before that, he served as the CEO of JCC Chicago, where he was responsible for the development of new facilities in response to the changing demography of the Metropolitan Jewish Community. In addition to his JCC responsibilities, Mr. Levine served as a consultant on organizational change and improvement to school districts and community organizations. Mr. Levine has published several articles on change and has presented at numerous conferences on this subject. A native of New York City, Mr. Levine is a graduate of City College of New York (BS in Biology) and Columbia University (MSW). He has trained with the Future Search and the Deming Institute.

More about: FundraisingNonprofit NewsPhilanthropySocial Media

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Why Social Change Films Matter
Cyndi Suarez and Saphia Suarez
Philanthropy Must Move from Charity to Solidarity
Son Chau
Eliminating Biphobia Through Breath, Brotherhood, and the Arts
H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams
Using a Data-Driven Strategy to Advance Racial Equity in Grantmaking
Heather Lenz, Ariel Jordan and Catherine Smith
Protecting Nonprofits That Protect Us During Crises—and Beyond
Aisha Benson and Jen Talansky
Reimagining Philanthropy to Build a Culture of Repair
Aria Florant and Venneikia Williams

Popular Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now

Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in 21st-Century Social Movements

Register Now

Remaking the Economy

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

Register Now
You might also like
Why Social Change Films Matter
Cyndi Suarez and Saphia Suarez
Philanthropy Must Move from Charity to Solidarity
Son Chau
Eliminating Biphobia Through Breath, Brotherhood, and the...
H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.