The final gift: targeting the potential charity legator

• Although legacy income is of enormous importance to many of the UK's fundraising charities, little reliable information exists to assist practitioners in targeting potential legators with appropriate messages. In particular, the motives for making a legacy gift and the differences between those doing so and the general supporter base are unknown. This makes segmentation and the subsequent development of strategy problematic.
• This exploratory study seeks to address these issues and compare the motives of individuals who support charities during their lifetime with the motives of individuals who, in addition, pledge a legacy. The authors conclude that fundraisers looking to increase legacy income should target their older supporters, particularly those in their mid to late 60s', as well as users of their services. The findings also suggest that communications to these groups should stress organizational performance and service quality commitments.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing the social impact of charitable organizations—four alternative approaches

• There is increased societal pressure on charities to improve performance. The questions that they must ask are: (1) Who is our audience? (2) What evaluation measures are important to the organization? and (3) What evaluation measures are best for the organization? There are a number of different approaches available for assessing performance, ranging from social accounting to more informal qualitative assessments of whether the organization's mission is being achieved. This paper draws on the industry and academic discussion of evaluations of nonprofit organizations to develop a four‐category typology of alternative approaches for audiences. It then identifies the benefits and limitations of each. The goal is to identify the steps that charities should use to determine which approach is most suited to their specific circumstances. It is proposed that a collaborative development of evaluation criteria, of whichever type, may be most appropriate as will draw together the experiences and resources of multiple parties, and may have broader appeal than evaluations proposed by individual nonprofits.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A solicitor's perspective on charitable gifts in wills

• In the climate of public spending cuts, charities are increasingly expected to fill the gap. Yet charities themselves face huge challenges. Not just increasing demand for their services but falling income and low investment returns. Encouraging philanthropy has never been more important, and that includes legacy giving. Following the announcement last year of the Government's major inheritance tax incentive to encourage us to give more to charity on our death, the time is right for a major report on current trends in charitable legacy giving. Late last year, Mishcon de Reya undertook the most detailed analysis ever by a firm of solicitors of its clients' wills. In a study of over 1000 wills, we did not just look at how many people leave a legacy to charity. We considered the value of the legacy, the type of legacy, the likelihood of the charity ever receiving it, whether clients prefer to give to multiple charities, and the most popular charitable sectors. This article will give a quick overview of our research followed by a more detailed look at the three types of legacy to charity: cash—‘for example, I leave £10,000 to charity’,—specific items—‘for example, I leave a painting to charity’—and residuary gifts—‘for example, I give half my estate to charity’. The article will then briefly touch on the charity sectors most favoured by our clients before giving a brief summary of Mishcon de Reya's key findings in conclusion.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pledger modelling: Help the Aged case study

• The recruitment of pledgers (as a proxy for potential legators) to charitable organisations plays a vital role in their continued success, and as a percentage of all fundraising income generated it can represent substantial proportions. However, of all the ‘donation asks’ made of supporters, asking for a legacy is the most difficult. Therefore, it is important that the target audience should be as well researched and highly targeted as possible.
• Help the Aged had reached the stage where decisions need to be made about its future marketing in order to protect longer-term income. The findings of this legacy targeting project were to feed into communication programmes, direct marketing, and the overall legacy marketing strategy.
• The key objective was to identify the best prospects to mail a legacy ask to, across the supporter database, with the likelihood that they are going to pledge as a result.
• It was found that whilst tailored data analysis comes at a price, the average value of a legacy justifies the cost of using sophisticated targeting tools. However, because of the pledge-to-legacy time lapse, there will always be issues with measuring any long-term return on investment (ROI). Nonetheless, pledgers have to be taken on their word for the purpose of testing (and subsequent rollouts). Pledge data should be tested and the outcomes should inform legacy marketing. However, as mentioned above, pledgers necessarily need to be taken on their word and therefore, formulating models based on the type and/or value of pledges is not recommended.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The UK's Legacy Promotion Campaign: a review after nearly two years of public influence

• Launched in October 2002, uniquely the Legacy Promotion Campaign has brought together over 100 charities in a common cause. Donations in wills provide approximately a third of all voluntary income, but relatively few charity supporters take this step. Using a combination of advertising, direct marketing and press activity, the Campaign seeks to increase the level of giving, making it normal behaviour, rather than the exception. Focusing on both the public and professional audiences the Campaign is already shifting opinions and laying the groundwork for a long-term increase in voluntary income.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using data in legacy fundraising: a practical approach

• Legacies provide a major source of income to charities, and their importance is only likely to increase with the passing on of the baby-boomer generation. Legacy fundraising is a long-term process, based on developing relationships with donors over time. Data have a key role to play in the development of these relationships, allowing legacy fundraisers to measure and track their donors, and to contribute to the development of effective fundraising strategies. This paper discusses the effective collection and use of data in legacy fundraising, from consolidating data, to analysing the results and building legacy targeting models. The authors discuss how these principles have been applied in UK-based charity, Help the Aged, in conjunction with their Data Agency, Tangible Data (formerly Talking Numbers) and to give practical advice on how they may be implemented in other organisations.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs become venture philanthropists

• Non‐traditional charitable sources of revenue may be categorised as follows:
  • Venture philanthropy: Human resources and funding invested as donation in the charity by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, trusts and corporations in search of a social return on their investment. It involves high engagement over many years with fixed milestones and tangible returns and exit achieved by developing alternative, sustainable income.
  • Commercial ventures: They seek a financial return on investment by creating a social enterprise operated by charities and their trading/holding companies alone or in partnership with the corporate sector, venture capitalists or investors to provide funding. Venture philanthropists may also ‘invest’ without establishing an equity position in the commercial enterprise. Any profits are re‐directed to mission‐related activity, although the business activity may or may not be mission related.
  • Social venture capital: It funds commercial ventures (as above) but may not seek a complete return on investment; instead the investor may off set some or all of the investment against social outcomes.
• Within the context of venture philanthropy, this paper demonstrates how charities, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs may work together in strategic alliances. It explores venture philanthropy from the perspective of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, giving examples. Charities are shown how to prepare themselves to take advantage of these entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Although the emphasis in this paper is on venture philanthropy, the processes outlined may be used to help a charity take advantage of opportunities within the broader social entrepreneurial context. Successful venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have demonstrated the ability to turn outline business ideas into big results, frequently in highly competitive business environments.
• A common characteristic that appears to unite these individuals when they divert their interest toward social ventures is a desire to apply their business‐like approach, which includes planning processes, milestones and outcome measurement to their social venture activity.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of parental leave duration on early-career wage growth

Work–family policies are meant to support labor force participants, but they often result in lower rewards for those who use them. Based on the ideal worker norm framework and signalling theory, we hypothesise that parental leave duration will result in lower wage growth, above and beyond that of having children. The 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data from 2000 to 2015 are used to test the hypotheses with a longitudinal sample (14 waves) of individuals in the United States who worked before and after taking parental leave (n = 6723). Discontinuous growth models are used to predict the penalty for parental leave duration for men and women. We find that both men and women suffer from a lower hourly wage growth for taking longer parental leave and that there are more severe penalties for taking paid parental leave than taking unpaid parental leave. Practitioner notes What is currently known?

• utilization of parental leave is significantly related to the wellbeing of employees and their families.
• However, employees are penalized for taking parental leave.

What this study adds?

• Paid parental leave, which is mostly available to skilled, professional employees carries a noticeable early-career wage penalty, but the use of unpaid leave, does not.
• Both men and women are penalized for taking parental leave, but the longer parental leaves women take increase the gender pay gap.

Implications for practitioners:

• HR practitioners should monitor whether employees are penalized for taking parental leave.
• HR practitioners should try incentivizing male employees to take parental leave that is comparable to the one taken by their female employees.

     

What does the future hold for giving? An approach using the social representations of Generation Y

• Nowadays, not‐for‐profit organizations and charities face the ageing of donors and a growing debate over monetary donation collection methods. They need to find solutions to attract younger generations of donors. Could this be done using the same methods applied to older generations? This present research investigates social representations (SRs) of giving by younger generations to understand how not‐for‐profit organizations and charities should approach them. The study focuses on SRs of a French sample of 276 individuals from Generation Y born between 1979 and 1991. It uses the free association technique. The results show paradoxical representations of giving. Institutionalization of giving is salient as representation of it as a freely consenting act. The paradox relies also in the strong presence of a relationship with others that parallels the gift as an individualistic choice.
• Generation Y individuals appear to be sociable, yet they evoke more sharing and solidarity than charity. Institutionalized forms of giving, particularly via charities and not‐for‐profit organizations, are rejected. These individuals seem to express their individuality through practices that resemble sharing rather than giving. From a managerial point of view, these results shed light on the factors liable to cause members of this generation to give, such as (i) the use of social networks, (ii) appealing to pleasure, festivities and efficiency rather than to guilt and duty, and (iii) encouragement to “work within the not‐for‐profit organization”.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Graphical disclosures by charities: clarification or distortion? The case of the Netherlands

• The literature on graph use and graphical distortions in nonprofit organisations is reviewed, highlighting measurement issues. A sample of 50 disclosed annual reports of Dutch charities containing graphs is analysed, leading to the observation of significant graphical distortions. These distortions seem to be related to organisational efficiency, though not in the way one might expect: better performing charities ‘embellish’ the data in their graphical representations, whereas the opposite seems to be the case for the less performing charities.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determinants of charitable donation intentions: a structural equation model

• Currently charities have to depend more on individual donors and less on the government for funding. Hence, understanding the individual donor and what motivates them to contribute to charities is something, which has been of increasing interest to nonprofit marketers. In this article, a path model for the charitable donation process of a religious individual is developed and tested. The variables that are used in the model are religiosity, attitude towards helping others (AHO), attitude towards charitable organizations (ACO), attitude towards the advertisement (Attad) and behavioral intentions (BI). The results suggest that AHO by itself does not cause BI. Altruistic people need to be targeted with an appropriate advertisement message. Since religiosity is an important causal variable for AHO, segmenting and targeting individuals who are religious would be pertinent. Attempts to build favorable ACO would also be worthwhile.
• Religiosity
• Charitable donation intentions
• Charity advertisements.
• Path model for predicting intentions to donate.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charity E‐volution? An evaluation of the attitudes of UK charities towards website adoption and use

• The objective of the research was to assess attitudes in relation to website adoption and use, across a broad spectrum of UK charities. A survey methodology was adopted for the research, administered using a self‐completion questionnaire. The results reveal that although the majority of responding charities have websites, most appear to be using them to deliver information about the organisation and its mission, rather than acquiring new supporters, raising funds or allowing beneficiaries/clients to interact. However, overall, respondents were positive regarding the use of websites by charities, and most are optimistic about future improvements in their own online performance.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What some recent research tells us about planned giving (legacy marketing) in North America

• The transformation of fundraising from an ‘emerging profession’ to a ‘true profession’ is contingent on the continual development of a formal body of knowledge based on theory and research. To further that goal, this paper, written from a Canadian perspective, reviews current and recent research studies in both Canada and the USA, focusing specifically on the areas of legacy marketing and bequest gifts.
• The aim of this paper is two-fold: first, to bring forward ‘established knowledge’ in this relatively new and burgeoning area of fundraising; and second, to draw attention to areas where there is a knowledge gap, thereby laying the groundwork for further research and progress in this area.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge,attitudes and behaviour

• Despite the costs of charity re‐branding, there is little research in the public domain of its effect on staff. This study addresses that gap in knowledge by evaluating the effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
• A quantitative survey of 465 charity staff was carried out in 10 large UK charities. The study shows that knowledge has benefited most from re‐branding although unevenly across different levels of seniority. Length of service has no effect on levels of knowledge but level of support was positively correlated.
• The impact of re‐branding on attitudes proved positive with staff at all levels feeling more motivated, involved and valued as a consequence. However, the study also demonstrates that not all staff feel engaged with the re‐branding process for the organisation to capitalise fully on enhanced staff performance.
• Behaviour was less affected by re‐branding with the exception of a very positive impact on staff retention. The report discusses the practical implications for charity managers.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Benchmarking the fundraising performance of UK charities

• The cost of fundraising and its effectiveness are issues of increasing importance in the UK nonprofit sector. Measuring fundraising effectiveness properly is critical to organisations on two fronts. From a financial stewardship perspective, charities need to ensure that their fundraising is as efficient as possible. From a public relations perspective they need to be able to demonstrate this to donors and our other stakeholders. There are many problems to be overcome in objectively judging a charity's performance relative to other nonprofit organisations. There are significant methodological barriers to be overcome to produce valid and meaningful comparisons. The well established Fundratios study shows that it is feasible to construct a methodology for robust benchmarking underpinned by good quality data which charities can use as a tool to inform the management of their fundraising activities.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Obtaining legacies ‘face-to-face’

This paper is a general overview on how to obtain legacies. It must be remembered that the element of legacy fundraising which involves face-to-face techniques is the culmination of a properly organised and researched campaign, and cannot in any circumstances be done without a great deal of other essential preparatory work. Legacies account for nearly a half of all voluntary income in the UK, yet even now very few charities have developed a really effective all round legacy campaign integrated into their overall fundraising strategy. This paper is an attempt to give some insight into this potentially important income stream and is designed to give every fundraiser some helpful ideas, whether working for a large established national charity or a very small, local, recently formed voluntary group.     

A qualitative investigation into the donor lapsing experience

• Donor attrition is costing charities a fortune. Previous research has examined the relative importance of the antecedents to donor loyalty versus lapsing. This study qualitatively builds on this. It reports the results of workshops and interviews that took lapsers and donors back through their donor and lapser journeys. It drills down into and unpacks their experiences—inclusive of the (previously undocumented) lapsing experience itself. It reveals striking similarities between the cancellation of a direct debit and other more conventional purchase decisions. Most worryingly, it seems that most people stop supporting a given charity because they had never really had any loyalty to it in the first place. Charities are not meeting people's needs as donors. There is a distinct lack of understanding between charities and their donors, and donors are lapsing because charities give them little reason to stay. The authors conclude with practical recommendations for the management of attrition.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Missing a strategic marketing trick? The use of online social networks by UK charities

• This paper explores the use of online social networks in the charity sector. Twelve major UK charities from a range of sectors and three digital marketing agencies were selected to provide rich interview data on the current adoption of online social networks by UK charities. The empirical findings illustrate the diverse drivers in adopting online social networks including regaining control of a brand, external pressures and gaining new audiences. Levels of usage differed significantly and the resistors consistently cited were the lack of skills and resources. The strategic marketing implications for the development of online social networks are also outlined for the UK charity market. The value provided by this paper stems from exploring the organisational perspective rather than the consumer experience of contributing to social networks, within a context which is often overlooked, the charity sector.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deciphering the UK's business investment performance

• ? Absent June 2016's Brexit vote, growth in business investment would have been much faster and the UK would be sharing in a global “investment boom”. Or so the Bank of England claims. But the reality is more complicated. What is striking is just how subdued investment growth has been across countries.
• ? Survey evidence presented by the Bank suggests that recent business investment growth has been less than a third of what might have been achieved absent Brexit. The UK has also been highlighted as an investment laggard among major economies.
• ? Headline investment growth has certainly been relatively weak since 2016. Uncertainty around future UK‐EU trading arrangements may have resulted in some investment being deferred or cancelled. And the Brexit‐related fall in sterling will have pushed up the cost of imported capital equipment, cutting demand.
• ? But a collapse in investment in the North Sea sector has had a significant effect on headline investment growth. On an excluding‐extraction basis, UK business investment rose at the same pace as the US (ex‐extraction) and faster than Japan in 2016 and 2017, while average annual growth rises from 1.0% to 2.4%.
• ? What is striking about the recent performance of business investment in the UK and other G7 members is how subdued growth has been across economies. Despite a favourable environment, no major advanced economy has seen investment rise at the type of rates that the Bank predicts the UK, but for Brexit, should be now enjoying.
• ? Sectoral shifts, the rise of intangible investment and the consequences of technooptimism offer some reasons as to why measured investment may have become less sensitive to economic upswings. These same factors suggest that 1990s‐style growth in private investment is unlikely in the UK (or elsewhere) even once Brexit uncertainty has cleared. Indeed, our own medium‐term forecasts see business investment growth across major economies continuing to run at a relatively subdued pace.

     

Keynes' Investments

Abstract . It is well known that in The General Theory, Keynes is very critical of the stock exchange market, an institution, he says, that “cannot be claimed as one of the outstanding triumphs of laissez-faire capitalism.” At the same time much of his income was derived from speculation in commodities, stocks and foreign exchange. Some questions raised by Keynes’ way of making a living are addressed. When did his market activities begin? Did he, as some detractors allege, take advantage of insider information? What principles of behavior did he follow in his buying and selling? What was his attitude toward his way of making a living? And, above all do the views expressed in The General Theory reflect the influence of Keynes’ market experience? It is suggested that there is, in fact, a close relation between Keynes’ financial experiences and some of his distinctive economic theories. His experiences, interpreted in the light of his Apostolic-Moorean beliefs, caused the deeply critical attiiude toward the whole financial system that one finds in The General Theory's chapter 12.