HRNS 241A Fall, 2016 Page | 5
HRNS 241a: Fall 2016
SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES IN
JEWISH PHILANTHROPY AND FUNDRAISING
INSTRUCTOR:
David A. MerskyLown 108
(O) 781-736- 2985 (M) 617-834-5316
Office hours: By appointment
CLASS MEETINGS:
Mondays, 8:50-11:40 a.m., Classroom: Lown 202
GOALS:
This course is designed to help you master the principles and practice of fundraising. At the end of the course you will: (1) have a clear sense of the role of fundraising in the life of the nonprofit organization, (2) the skills needed to plan and implement an annual fundraising campaign (the foundation for all organizational fundraising), and (3) an appreciation for the great philanthropic and fundraising potential of the Jewish community and for the Jewish values that underlie this work. In addition to lectures and seminar discussion, class sessions will include guest lecturers, case studies, simulations and exercises, and small group work.
TEXTBOOK:
Weinstein, Stanley, The Complete Guide to Fundraising Management, Third Edition. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Available through www.amazon.com.
Course Outline
September 8
Introduction
Get-to-Know-You Assignment: Review the resources listed below and choose an article that particularly interests you or points to something you want to learn about in this course. Prepare a three-minute presentation on the content of the article and your reasons for choosing it.
Charity Navigator / http://www.charitynavigator.org/Chronicle of Philanthropy / http://philanthropy.com/section/Home/172
Contributions / http://www.contributionsmagazine.com/
eJewishphilanthropy / http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/
Foundation Center / http://foundationcenter.org/
Grassroots Fundraising Journal / http://www.grassrootsfundraising.org/
Guide Star / http://www2.guidestar.org/Home.aspx
Philanthropy Matters (Center on Philanthropy) / http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/philanthropymatters/
Stanford Social innovation Review / http://www.ssireview.org/
Overview of Philanthropy in America and the Jewish Community
Development of the third sector, philanthropy and foundations in America in general and in the Jewish community.
Readings
Weinstein, Chapter 1
Giving USA. (2015. The annual report on philanthropy for the Year 2014.
Bogen, B. D. (1917). Jewish philanthropy: An exposition of principles and methods of Jewish social service in the United States. NY: The Macmillan Co. Pages vii-xvii, 1-26.
Fleishman, J.L. (2007). The Foundation: A Great American Secret. NY: PublicAffairs. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 15.
Frumpkin, P. (2002). On being nonprofit. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Chapter 1
Final Project Prep: Identify two nonprofit organizations that are your first and second choice for your final project. These should be local organizations from any community.
September 12
Nonprofits and How They Raise Money:
The Significance of Leadership in the Philanthropic Process
Structure of nonprofit organizations. Leadership development for fundraising, rise of professionalism, best practices in governance.
Readings
Weinstein, Chapters 2, 15
Mersky and Sales, Development at the Core, Leadership Development
Written Assignment #1—Case Study (Due October 10)
Case: A Good Board that Does Not Give
Final Project Prep: Organizations for final projects finalized in class.
September 19
Setting and Achieving Annual Fundraising Goals
The “big picture” of fundraising for annual support and the annual fund as the foundation and core of fundraising. Process for crafting vision, strategy, case, budget, development plan.
Readings: Weinstein, Chapter 3 (pp. 19-54); Chapter 4
Mersky and Sales, Development at the Core, Developing the Case Statement
October 10
What Does Marketing Have to Do with Fundraising
Markets; media—social and otherwise; management of the exchange transaction face-to-face or on-line.
Readings: Andreasen, Alan R., "The Essence of Marketing"
Shapiro, Benson P., "Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations"
Convio, Sea Change Strategies, & Edge Research. (2008, March). The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors.
Written Assignment #2 (Due October 25)
Make the case for Hornstein in a memo for the “board.”
October 31
Donor Motivation
Importance of donor-centric fundraising. Research on donor motivation. Gender differences in philanthropic giving.
Readings:
Mesch, D.J. & Pactor, A. (2011). Women as Donors. In E.R. Temple, T.L. Seiler, and E.E. Aldrich (Eds), Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 3rd edition (pp. 162-171). NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Rosen, M.I. (2010). Mission, Meaning and Money: How the Joint Distribution Committee Became a Fundraising Innovator. Brandeis University, Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and Leadership. Chapter 9, Becoming a JDC Donor
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. (2010, November). The 2010 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy: Issues Driving Charitable Activities Among Affluent Households.
Written Assignment #3—Student’s Choice (Due by November 7)
· Interview a donor and write a summary of his/her motivations and philanthropic decision making.
· Discuss: “Raising money from women is the same as raising money from men.”
· Discuss: “Raising money within particular communities (e.g., the Russian-speaking or Persian Jewish community) is distinct from raising money from North American Jews in general.”
November 7
The Annual Fund: Creating Lifelong Donors
The Annual Fund: Strategy and Tactics for achieving goals, creating the calendar and monitoring.
Final Project Prep: Present materials for crafting the vision, case, and program budget.
November 10
Fundraising Campaigns and Vehicles
Capital campaigns, endowment campaigns, planned giving programs. Methods for accessing institutional funds, including grant seeking, special events, and corporate sponsorships.
Readings: Weinstein, Chapters 9-14
Final Project Prep: Set fundraising goals and prepare notes for strategy for annual campaign.
November 14
Major Gifts Management
The five “I’s” of major gifts management—from identification through investment and every stage in between. Managing the process of engagement, tracking, involvement, solicitation and stewardship.
Readings: Weinstein, Chapter 5-8
Written Assignment #4 (Due November 21)
Review a stewardship inventory questionaire and create a stewardship policy for your chosen organization.
Final Project Prep: Draft calendar for annual fundraising.
November 21
The Development Plan: Putting it On Paper
Components; process; project management; metrics; and evaluation.
Readings: Weinstein, Chapters 3, pp. 55-60; 16
November 28 and December 5
Final Product Workshop
Workshop and peer consulting on final projects.
Grading
Course grade will be based upon (1) “Student Choice” written assignments, (2) the creation of a plan for an annual campaign, and (3) class participation.
Written Assignments (30%)
There are four opportunities for short written assignments. You will choose any two of these. Papers are due when noted in the syllabus. Grades will be based on the strengths of your ideas and the fluency and accuracy with which you present them..
Fundraising plan (50%): Due December 11
The final project is based on an existing organization of your choice. It will include a case for support and a complete development plan--an annual fund with leadership engagement, direct response, special events and a major gifts management process. Organizations will be chosen early on so that pieces of the plan can be developed during the course of the semester. Planning is best done with adequate lead time. During our last two classes, November 28 and December 5, your plans will be workshopped and used as a springboard for broader conversation about the nature of philanthropy and fundraising. Grade will be based on the quality of the plan: how well thought out, realistic, feasible, comprehensive, and articulate.
Class participation (20%)
Class participation includes reading and preparation as well as active contribution to discussions and activities.
Considerations
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see David Mersky at the beginning of the semester.
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University.
Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week)
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, etc.).