Chantilly-Based Nonprofit Federation Draws 21 From United Way - Loudoun Philanthropist Interviewed

Per the Washington Post article:

"Twenty-one area nonprofit groups have suspended their memberships in the United Way and joined a fledgling competitor, citing years of frustration with a steady decline in workplace giving in the Washington region and lingering distrust of the local United Way since it was nearly destroyed by scandal earlier this decade. The new group, called Community1st, includes some of the region's most prominent nonprofits, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic, WETA public television and the Whitman-Walker Clinic. The nonprofits' leaders are scheduled to announce the move at a news conference this morning, where they will be joined by officials from America's Charities, the Chantilly-based federation that will oversee their alliance."

We turned to a prominent local independent philanthropy professional, Diana Kingsbury-Smith Keesee, VP for Fundraising & Public Relations of the paws4people(TM) Inc. Foundation of Round Hill, VA, for some additional background...

DSO - What's your take on this news from "America's Charities", the Chantilly-based Federation heading this new alliance?

Diana - The Washington Post article about America's Charities and Community1st provided a lot of very interesting and important information for all non-profits. While our organization, paws4people(TM), Inc., is not yet affiliated with America's Charities, we are a participating charity in the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area so that federal employees have the opportunity to support paws4people by earmarking their donations for our CFC number 19234.

DSO - Was this withdrawal expected, and will more occur? How does this action reflect the environment your organization faces?

Diana - Unfortunately, this withdrawal was not surprising, and more of this type of withdrawal will occur because of the volatile economic situation and the public's demand for greater accountabilty in both the for-profit and non-profit communities, as well as federal and state funding. Fortunately for our own organization, our efforts including (a) programs to rescue dogs from euthanasia, (b) the dogs' training by prison inmates participating in our paws4prisons program (www.paws4prisons.org), and (c) the dogs' placement with wounded warriors suffering from PTSD (www.paws4vets.org) are generating increased support for paws4people Inc. In fact, there has been a significant increase over the past twelve months in the level of support we are getting from individuals and corporations. Although the primary reason for this increased support are the dramatic, life-changing benefits all our paws4people programs are providing to society, the fact that our fundraising/administrative costs are well below the traditionally accepted 25% for non-profits is also a very positive factor.

DSO - What benefits do you expect these nonprofits to find in their new
consortium, "Community1st", that they were unable to achieve under the
United Way? Should others seek to join alliances like this?

Diana - There are many benefits in working within a consortium such as Community 1st: pooling resources, access to affordable marketing, cutting costs, etc. For instance, America's Charities provides the non-profits in its Community1st consortium with lower overhead costs (6.5%), customized fundraising campaigns and fewer restrictions on where donors' money is directed and, most important, it passes 98% of each donation to its non-profit groups. All these factors are causing non-profits to withdraw from United Way because, as reported in The Washington Post, " United Way keeps 10% of most donations to its member non-profit groups, and smaller donations go to a community fund, not the designated group...United Way cannot efficiently distribute small donations because of processing costs."

DSO - Are there other consortium models that nonprofits should consider as
alternatives to those like the United Way?

Diana - Yes, there are other consortium models that non-profits should look at. I recommend the online charitable raffles program for non-profit organizations, www.CharityRaffles.org (www.npofs.org), because it provides their donors with two important incentives. (1) The donor can choose the non-profit organization he/she wants his/her donation to benefit and (2), in exchange for his/her donation, the donor gets one or more raffle tickets with incredibly good odds of winning from $20 to $1,000,000. A chance to win up to $1,000,000 while you are providing support for the charitable cause you care most about is truly a WIN/WIN situation for individuals; and, this mechanism provides the non-profits that join the CharityRaffles.org consortium with the opportunity to obtain, cost-free, a continuous stream of contributions.

Caylie Goes to School - Life of a New Paws4People Veteran's Service Dog

Here's a sample from the lives of paws4people - Caylie visits a school, and along with Wyatt, is getting ready for assignment with their Veterans as service dogs...

From Kyria's Blog

Read much more about this wonderful organization (paws4people) and growing collection of canine companions, in their adventures with "clients" and training with inmates...




"yesterday, CAYLIE had one of her first days out and about with us. she went in chik-fil-a for lunch, then we went on our first school visit in cheat lake. CAYLIE followed CHAENEY's lead and acted as though she'd been going to school for months. she showed off some tricks and cuddled very nicely with the kids. afterwards, she slept through a meeting at panera. although CAYLIE was beyond all expectations for her first day out, she also proved to be a lot like her big brother, COLT. there were a few times she looked right at me and suffered from temporary deafness when i said a command. they are definitely equally stubborn, but also equally lovable...and for all of us who know COLT and thought that was impossible, i promise you it's true! so, although she has a good deal left to learn, i don't think CAYLIE is going to put up too many obstacles to getting ready for jack, but i'll keep you posted : )

most exciting of all, we now have BRADIE's favorite little shadow, WYATT, joining us here at the apartment. he'll be staying with me for a while, likely until we find his veteran. he'll be going out with me to class today for the first time since coming back from karen, so i'll be sure to provide a detailed report card ; ) happy friday!

LOVE,K"

Read more of these service dog exploits, and support paws4people and other Virginia charities via its charity raffle, win 1 of 1,754 prizes, or win the Grand Prize, $1 Million!

Economic Stimulus for Non-Profits and Charities

With last night's passage of the country's newest, and probably not last, Economic Stimulus Bill, we can certainly expect a good deal of benefits fallout into the Northern Virginia regional economy, including Loudoun County. However, while money will be funneled into government-run programs, Federal, State and Local, this doesn't necessarily translate into money for new or existing non-profit charitable organizations, who have been pummeled lately by the "perfect storm" of dramatically-reduced giving and smaller donations, quickly rising need and consumption of services, and growing expenses related to attracting and retaining large donors. Plus, local charitable organizations, from PTAs/PTOs to churches to Food Banks are increasingly short of able-bodied volunteers who are needed to work harder than ever to manage the programs that bring in revenue, at very low margins.

However, there are a few very interesting factors together developing into a different kind of "perfect storm" for charitable giving and fundraising. These include the newly-empowered individual philanthropist, emboldened by opportunities and evidence that "making a change" is a real thing, and can be done with just a few dollars and an Internet connection. Today's WAPO article about Radio fundraising includes a statement by WAMU's director of development, that "$50 as a suggested minimum (contribution)...is out the window...It's going to be "every dollar makes a difference, and any dollar is welcome". Also, the rise of online social media tools and use provide many opportunities for charitable fundraising and giving, without the drag and overhead of bake sales, wrapping paper sales, entertainment events, etc.

A new breed of non-profit has emerged, and is actively beginning to dramatically leverage these factors...though it's not so obvious. A recent news item in Loudoun highlighted the Round Hill-based "paws4People (TM)" foundation, that's been working in many venues training and providing service dogs for all kinds of purposes, from helping school kids to read, to helping comfort and soothe those in need. This local organization is building its fundraising prowess leveraging the power of online social media and Internet marketing, promoting its online charitable raffle fundraising services.

In short, charityraffles.org enables, with the core focus being continued support of the paws4People(TM) foundation interests, any other non-profit to act as a referral agent for these online charity raffles, with absolutely no out-of pocket expense for themselves or associated corporate sponsors. All perfectly legal, a non-profit can quickly and continually raise funds as they're donated (monthly payments), by promoting raffle ticket sales under their own campaign. Each raffle ticket sold not only provides the donor many chances to actually win prizes, including a "grand prize" of up to $1 million, but also provides the "host" raffle organizer recurring funds that (1) are of much higher margin than most any other kind of fundraising tact, (2) support not only the host raffle organizer but all other non-profits in the "consortium", and (3) support the paws4People(TM) organization in a way that touches entire communities.

We'll be providing lots more stories and information about this revolutionary charitable fundraising movement and mechanism, along with the fantastic stories and adventures of the paws4People(TM) service dogs, both here in Loudoun County and elsewhere across the country.

For more information as a Non-Profit seeking fundraising options through Charity Raffles, contact the consortium here.

To simply buy a raffle ticket, promote a cause, and enter a contest with many chances to win great prizes, click here for charity raffle ticket purchases.

Click here to read more about paws4People and the adventures of the service dogs, their trainers (including local prisoners!) and "clients".