Donors Forum of South Florida Economic Impact Survey

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Donors Forum of South Florida Economic Impact
Survey

• Conducted
• November 1st December 1st

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Survey Respondents

• 57 Unique Respondents
• Family Foundations 24.6
• Independent Foundations 22.8
• Corporate Funders 22.8
• Government Funders 10.5
• Public Charities 17.5
• Individual Philanthropists 1.8

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Where Respondents Fund

• Miami-Dade County 56.1
• Palm Beach County 52.6
• Outside South Florida 42.1
• Broward County 35.1
• Monroe County 19.3

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Issue Areas Funded

• Education 70.2
• Human Services 50.9
• Health 45.6
• Arts and Culture 38.6
• Housing/Economic Development 22.8
• Environment 19.3
• Other Journalism, Workforce Development

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Survey respondents cumulatively give more than
625 million in funding each year.
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No respondent reported an
increase in assets
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Other Changes in Requests for Support

• Higher amounts requested
• More requests outside of our focus areas
• More requests from organizations losing
  government support

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Other Strategies for 2009

• Aim to grant more 'horizontally' (more grants
  less money). If granted, nonprofits must wait 2
  years before reapplying
• Will focus more on environmental "green"
  initiatives
• Greater focus on the tried and true rather than
  experimenting with new ideas

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Changes in Types of Support to be Offered in 2009
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Changes to Fundraising/Development Plans for
Organizations Who Solicit Funds to Re-grant

• Stronger emphasis on individual
  giving/relationships.
• Stronger ask to corporate foundations to support
  programs.
• More asks than ever before.
• Focusing on fewer programs with more depth and
  national orgs. with local/community presence.
• We are moving through an intense and methodical
  strategic planning process to determine what
  changes will be incorporated.
• We continue to develop our capacity for
  fundraising to address the shrinking pool of
  federal/state resources.

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How Lessons Learned from Previous Recessions May
Affect Future Plans

• We prefer not to fund multi-year grants.
• Its an opportunity to focus and rethink
  strategy.
• We may have to reprioritize our program areas and
  evaluate the population (universal vs. targeted
  support).
• We have to be proactive and do scenario planning.
• We will continue to make grants to organizations
  that align with our initiatives and that can
  build capacity for those initiatives.  

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How Lessons Learned from Previous Recessions May
Affect Future Plans Continued

• Spend time listening carefully and empathetically
  to organizations. Be kind, sincere, prompt and
  honest when declining funding opportunities.
• Organizations need general support, and funders
  need to collaborate on spreading these costs
  across larger number of funders do not stop
  innovating, advocating, and building coalitions.
• It is time to hunker down, reduce expenses and
  build more local community support.

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Suggested Ways to Address Economic Downturn

• Let funders know what other funders are saying
  and doing.
• Help to facilitate additional collaboration
  amongst funders.
• Disseminate examples of how nonprofits and
  foundations are planning for this economic
  meltdown. Nonprofits plans will give funders an
  idea of what to look for in proposals, and
  foundations responses will give funders an idea
  of how to balance the emergency needs of current
  grantees with their funding goals.

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Suggested Ways to Address Economic Downturn
Continued

• Keep members informed of state and federal
  funding cuts that impact potential grantees.
• Show the community that nonprofits are relevant
  and need support.
• Share information on programs and organizations
  that are best in class.
• Encourage nonprofits offering similar or
  duplicative services to merge sooner rather than
  later.

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Suggested Ways to Address Economic Downturn
Continued

• Encourage flexibility (give more smaller gen ops
  grants instead of bigger program grants),
  stretched program deadlines, collaborative
  funding, and capacity assessment for the field.
• Seek national funders.
• Work with board members of grantmakers and
  grantees.
• Encourage funders to give more general operating
  support.

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Economic Surveys Across the Country

• Orlando
• Washington, DC
• San Diego
• Northern California
• Indiana
• Chicago
• Philadelphia
• Upstate New York
• Plus more on the way

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Economic Surveys Across the Country

• Upstate New York
• More support for staff/board nonprofit leadership
  development
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• Northern California
• Funding an intermediary to provide technical
  assistance to nonprofits
• Facilitating collaboration and new partnerships
  among nonprofits
• Narrowing funding focus
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• Indiana
• More general support