Like Ben’s PRIs?

Platforms We Recommend

Fundraising offers donors and charities alike a wide variety of tools to meet your generosity objective. Of course, there are any number of factors that go into determining the degree of success you may or may not have when securing or offering donations to charities of choice. Those we prefer and specialize in include, but are not limited to:

Principal Gifts

Typically $5 million and larger, principal gifts are donations that more often than not are transformational in nature. Donors capable of bestowing a principal gift are generally very experienced philanthropists and often use their trusted advisors to help accomplish any donation of this scope.  Principal gift donations are often mostly cash gifts but may sometimes contain an element of deferred giving depending upon size.  These gifts are also a very useful tool for offsetting obligations generated by Program Related Investments.

Program Related Investments

PRIs as they are often called, were a favorite philanthropy tool of American founding father Benjamin Franklin.  In essence, PRIs are philanthropic loans offered at a very low interest rate (recommended not to exceed 1% annually) that can be repaid over a defined period of time.  We prefer PRIs that use only the interest generated from the gift so that principal is not at full risk, although using the principal is possible with permission from the donor.  We also embrace PRIs because they are well-defined in federal statute thus making them even less risky for prospective donors.  They do, however, require professional skill in structuring.

Social Impact Funds

Not as well defined in federal statute are Social Impact Funds which are a rapidly emerging philanthropic tool for ultra-high net worth wealth.  Social Impact Funds are more broadly focused that PRIs but highly impactful for the charitable initiatives they benefit.  Unlike PRIs, Social Impact Funds tend to generate more of a financial return for the donors but must still have a measurable overriding social benefit.

Public-Private-Philanthropic Partnerships (P4s)

Philanthropic collaboration these days often involves many different parties in helping fulfill a charitable venture’s mission.  The philanthropic partner, usually the lead charity (although there can be a number of committed charities involved in a funded mission); a private organization or number of organizations that are generally for-profits; and, occasionally, a public partner that may be a governmental or quasi-governmental body assisting in delivering the socially beneficial project to the targeted community.  We love philanthropic collaboration wherever and whenever it can be promoted and we especially love it when a well-funded philanthropic partner is able to take lead on fulfilling the desired mission that can ultimately benefit larger audiences. The P4s are a powerful new trend for 21st century generosity.

Family Offices

Family offices are private wealth management advisory operations that serve many of the personal and professional needs of ultra-high-net-worth investor households. Family Offices, which can serve an individual family, a group of families (related and unrelated), or an anchor family with small family wealth affiliated, are different from traditional wealth management firms in that they offer a total solution to managing the financial and investment side of an affluent individual or family. Many family offices offer budgeting, finance, insurance, wealth preservation and transfer, tax services, and, of course, charitable giving services.  Select family offices, also handle real estate and personal property matters, health and medical needs, vacation and travel details, art collection maintenance, a whole lot of other benefits.  Our family office operation supports the Generosity Institute’s work on behalf of our client families as well as the charities of choice they and their families chose to support.

Learn more about our Family Office

Virtual Trusts & Endowments

Virtual has two meanings here. The first meaning is that we can help you establish a trust or endowment program without having to operate that program internally with your own staff. We can help you avoid the cost of professional expertise that is usually way too expensive to fund in-house, a cost-to-raise-a-dollar ratio budget buster to say the least. The second meaning is that virtual trusts and endowments allow donors to generate the benefits of trusts and endowments now before they are ever traditionally available to the charity or the donor’s family. Virtual trusts and endowments may enable donors to fulfill their desire to make a significant gift that might otherwise have to be postponed for economic reasons or better timing in general. With the virtual trust and endowment program, you can help a prospective donor find a way to give now, or sooner, if that donor is planning a gift through his or her will. If that donor chooses to make regular annual gifts, you can encourage that donor through the virtual program to establishment a trust or endowment so that his or her annual contributions can continue far into the future, as well. You get the picture. It’s another powerful generosity tool to consider.

Enterprise Excellence

Operating efficiently as a total organization is the objective of Enterprise Excellence.  Often relying on Lean Six Sigma, Baldrige Quality Standards, or a combination of the two, Enterprise Excellence helps ensure for the donor and organization alike that charitable donations are having their maximum effect for the organization at every level possible.  In other words, everybody is operating on the same page, for the same purpose, in support of the same mission.  This platform will ensure an initial analysis of the process, availability of multi-dimensional toolsets to improve the enterprise, a structured methodology for the organization to follow and measure forward, and an engagement strategy for bringing your entire team into the improved process for the benefit of the charitable venture.

Philanthropic Marketing

The message you want to convey to your intended audience whether you are trying to reach donors or prospective donors to a nonprofit venture care or might care about your cause, is a strategically vital tool in successful fundraising and philanthropy.  A well-crafted call to action or awareness touch can certainly motivate the right people to join your effort.  Taglines can translate your mission into memorable, simplified messaging that compel donors to give and give again if they know what you are doing the first place.  The images associated with that tagline and your messaging can also lead those donors or prospective donors to bring others into your generosity initiatives, if they are presented professionally and creatively.  Websites, advertising, public relations, point-of-entry events, special events, direct mail, direct response, tracking, tracing, data management, social media – it all comes together when you can blend your philanthropic marketing into a finely tuned operation that will make it easy for a donor to give, and give again.

Special Special Events

Yes, you are seeing double here.  Intentionally, believe it or not. We are indeed talking about special events that are special.  More special actually. Special special events start by spending less to raise more.  They are designed to be particularly memorable and thus impactful.  They are intended to be grand celebrations of giving excellence that go beyond simply hosting the point-of-entry event, introductory tour, or even that formal Gala that typically costs and arm and a leg to host.  Special special events still seek to bring people together to talk about a charitable venture but they also bring people together with other people who are closing their principal gift at that hour, or making that Program Related Investment final, or triggering that virtual endowment through their completed planned giving strategy.  There is an art to raising way more money than a ticket price or sponsorship to a golf tournament, fishing rodeo, or black tie dinner.  We can show you how and it may be able to utilize many or all of the tools listed above, if need be.