Fundraising Tips for Surviving 2008

Today I came to work on the ferry which discharges its passengers in Boston’s financial district (think a much longer in the tooth and slightly less glamorous “Working Girl”). Some of the passengers seemed pretty glum but I was immersed in my own thoughts about this financial crisis. How might it impact my family, my dotage, the value of my house, the growing numbers of painful foreclosures in my town  and across the country. Sometimes in our little local newspaper there are accounts of police interventions as those foreclosures are occurring. These sad scenes are clearly being played out all over the country. But some of my thoughts were also about philanthropy.

How will normally generous people’s worries about the economy affect their willingness to give? Will the turbulent market eventually impact the assets of foundations as it did after 911? What will happen to government spending in the context of corporate bail-outs, the war, a record breaking deficit, an as yet unknown change in administration? By the time I got to work, my head was not in a good place.

So when a colleague e-mailed me advice from the Agitator , it was a welcome note of sanity that reminded me of what I needed to do and the attitude I needed to maintain as the country’s financial eruptions and implosions continue. I hope that this article proves as useful to you as it did to me.

And, in the spirit of the Agitator’s advice, if you are not a subscriber to the Nonprofit Quarterly magazine, make a commitment to do so now . If you’re already a subscriber, we need your help to reach out to ensure that NPQ can remain a vital and spirited resource for you. Buy a companion subscription for your board chair or a group subscription for your entire board or network. Spread the word.

For richer, for poorer…