Overview

"Personalized philanthropy is a radical new approach to what we traditionally called planned giving. After decades of ""it's all-about-our-organization fundraising,"" charities thought it wise to consider what donors might need from the gift transaction. For a long time, this meant little more than applying planned giving techniques, many of which provide payments or an income to the donor in exchange for giving up an asset. More recently, and a bit more expansively, the question has grown to include what donors need, not only from a financial perspective but from a mission perspective - the donor's mission, not just the charity's. But while that's the better idea, it's been pretty much only an idea until now. The words donor-focused philanthropy sound nice, but there hasn't been much to concretely define them or put them to some strategic use. Steven Meyers has finally broken through the linguistic and strategic logjam to make sense of connecting donors and charities in a way that changes the way money is raised. It's not just a new twist to take into account a roller-coaster economy, and it's not just a new gimmick to address what has come to be known as the great generational wealth transfer. Using a metaphor of an imprisoning Matrix-the typical development office with its goals and deadlines-Steve artfully and persuasively works through and explains three concepts: virtual endowments, philanthropic equity gifts, and step-up gifts. Each captures what's wrong with the current fundraising model and provides a basis for improving it. This is not to say that fundraisers today are doing a poor job. Quite the contrary: those who work at charities are doing yeoman's work to make their organizations better as they pursue their missions. But it is also true that development offices can be bureaucratic and, because of inherent limitations, much more could be done. In fact, as donor-focused philanthropy has been a personal cause of mine for many years, I have seen how many organizations limit their ability to raise funds simply because they are not fully engaged with the donor's needs or desires. But to be engaged, fundraisers need to ask a whole different set of questions. Steve guides us through those questions and helps us make meaning of the responses we are likely to get from donors. Doing that, of course, will enhance donors' appreciation for the work charities do and, yes, increase their support. Steve calls this personalized philanthropy. As he says, ""I want to know why all philanthropy is not already personalized philanthropy."" You should ask yourself this question as well. This second edition, like the first, is no ordinary book. It's not just that it, like the first edition, is a full-color edition, enabling us to showcase the illustrations created by the author himself. What makes it extraordinary is what it represents: a movement in the field of philanthropy. This second edition adds a dive into the career aspects of the enlightened generalist. He's just made a groundbreaking and influential book even better."

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9781938077968

Table of Contents

Reviews

Principal, Philanthropy By Design I am truly blown away. I can't thank Steven Meyers enough for not only having named what's broken but also for having defined a thorough and thoughtful paradigm shift. -Claudia L. Ehrlich, MBA, CAP(R) President, Advisors in Philanthropy (AiP) San Diego Chapter When I think of personalized philanthropy, I immediately think of Steven Meyers-he has been THE thought leader in this space for decades. -Bryan Clontz, PhD, CFP(R), CAP(R)

Author Information

"Even before founding the Center for Personalized Philanthropy at the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, Steven L. Meyers, PhD, had achieved national recognition as a pioneer and champion of a new kind of gift practice that goes beyond planned giving, based on the mantra of ""the right gift, at the right time, for the right purpose, for the right donor."" Steve's innovative gift designs-fittingly called ""killer apps"" because they make most conventional gift planning vehicles seem obsolete-deliver on the all-too-often unmet promise of donor-focused fundraising: to mesh the compelling interests of donors with the compelling needs of the institutions and causes most dear to them. Spanning the full spectrum of current and future gifts, they enable donors to tap into their lifetime capacity at will to create a lasting legacy with impact and recognition that begins now.The Chronicle of Philanthropy cited personalized philanthropy in parallel with personalized medicine in a major article about sustainable fundraising. Steve's work has also been published in Planned Giving Today, The Journal of Gift Planning, Advancing Philanthropy and Investments, and Wealth Monitor. He is a contributing author for the Planned Giving Design Center, as well as eJewishPhilanthropy. He has spoken for national and regional councils of estate and financial professionals, including the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, Crescendo, State Street Global Advisors, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Investment Management Consultants Association. He's served on philanthropy councils in New York and Connecticut and on two major national task forces recommending the Guidelines for Counting and Reporting Charitable Gifts and Metrics of Fundraising Effectiveness. Prior to his own fundraising coaching practice, Steve served as a vice president and member of the management team at the Weizmann Institute's American Committee for twenty-one years and was the founding director of its Center for Personalized Philanthropy. He holds a Masters' Degree in Organization and Management from Antioch University and a PhD from the University of Buffalo, and a BA from Knox College. The focus of Steve's current practice is the enlightened generalist, an aspirational model and job description that can guide you toward becoming your best gift officer now and in times to come, as well as returning joy to the practice of fundraising."

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