Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / May 1, 1995, edition 1 / Page 14
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14 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina Public TV ranks high The University of North Carolina Center for Public Television raised more than $2 million during its annual on-air fundraiser - the second highest in the nation among PBS stations. A regional magnet Asheville nonprofits respond to competition The quality of life in North Carolina’s eighth-largest city has attracted numerous nonprofits and volunteers. But community leaders worry that the growing number of organizations is overwhelming donors. This is the third in a series of stories about the “culture of fundraising” in Tar Heel communities. By Barbara Solow Asheville / n Linda Wilkerson’s view, one of the main advantages Asheville has to offer nonprofits is its relatively small size. In this city of nearly 190,000 people nes tled in the Western North Carolina moun tains, “the doors are open” for networking with funders and donors, she says. What is Asheville’s main disadvantage? The city’s relatively small size, says Wilkerson, executive director of 'The Arts Ahiance, a coalition of arts groups. “It’s fairly easy to learn about the com munity but because we are smaE, everyone gets asked a lot for support,” she says. “What we see tor a variety of reasons is a continued interest in estabUshing new non profits. 'That is putting some pressure on the community in terms of fundraising efforts.” FEW CORPORATE GIANTS Although it is a center of mountain cul ture and commerce, Asheville lacks the cor- Asheville lacks major corporate headquarters, a disadvantage for fundraisers. File photo porate heavy-hitters of cities such as Charlotte or Winston-Salem. Its commercial sector is made up largely of small business es and regional company outposts. As a result, nonprofit leaders have reUed more heavily on individual donations to sup port their work. “Ninety percent of our money comes from individuals,” says Beth Adkins, execu tive director of St. Joseph’s Hospital founda tion, which raises about $1 million annually tor health-care programs. “We’re depending on the corporate community less and less.” Fewer corporate headquarters means fewer executives to lead nonprofit fundraising dri ves and fewer employee volunteers. But in recent years, a new population has arrived that has begun to fill that gap - namely, affluent retirees who are choosing to settle in Western North Carolina. Since 1990, the population of Buncombe County has jumped by five percent - from OF Place 174,778 to 183,392, according to the State Library of North Carolina. County officials attribute much of the growth to retirees. 'The retired population has given a finan cial boost to Ashevllle-area nonprofits - especially those in the education and health care areas. “We’ve gotten a number of million dollar- plus donations in the last few years and those are from retirees who are not alumni,” says Don Scarborough, vice president for institutional advancement at Brevard College, located 28 miles outside the city. “Because we’ve traditionally been a two- year college, we haven’t had a whole lot of success with corporate and foundation fundraising,” says Scarhorou^, who is also head of the Asheville-area chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. “So we determinedly look at individuals. The retirees come to us at a time in Ufe when they are looking for things to do and they get involved with the college.” Retirees have been strong backers of Look for ASHEVILLE, page 15 Fundraising by profession Lawyers, doctors can be tou^ to reach While some groups have the reputa tion of being less likely to give to charity, fundraising professionals say that no group should be over looked. By Ealena Callender F undraising is not an exact science. But through experience, some fundraisers are able to determine how certain groups of people are likely to respond to their efforts. Doctors and lawyers, tor instance, have earned a reputation as difficult groups from which to raise money. While they recognize DONORS there are exceptions, fundraisers say that these professionals are harder to reach. One reason, they say, is that both profes sions demand a great deal of time of their practitioners. So, there is little time tor involvement with nonprofit organizations. Therefore, it is difficult for some organiza tions to build a relationship with members of the two professions as potential donors. “Because [doctors and lawyers] have enormous demands on their time they don’t have the opportunity to become involved deeply with a number of organizations in the community so they don’t build the same relationships with a group as others,” says Gordon D. Soenksen, vice president for insti tutional advancement at Guilford College in Greensboro. Making the initial contact is also difficult, some say. ‘"The difficulty is getting in to see [doc tors],” says Robert Schuler, director of development at Fayetteville State University. “Their time is so valuable, you usually have to work throu^ a process of becoming their patient.” However, certain organizations consis tently get support from physicians. Free Look for DOCTORS, page 15 May 1995 Arts & Science endowment tops $25 million The Arts & Science Council of Charlotte/ Mecklenburg County surpassed its $25 million arts endowment campaign goal, bringing in more than $26 milhon. The campaign, which began its public phase last Nov. 1, is among oniy three other such endowment cam paigns tor councUs in the U.S. San Jose and Atlanta each has an arts endowment in the works. San Jose hopes to raise $20 million, while Atlanta hopes to raise $30 miihon. Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council held its endow ment campaign at the same time it conducted it annual fund drive, which netted $3.8 milhon this year. At a ceremony March 31 celebrating the Arts & Science Council’s success, Hugh McCoh Jr., chief execu tive officer of , . ARTS NationsBank and chair of the arts endowment campaign, praised con tributors. “You have contributed to something that will pro vide a lasting strength in the cultural sector and in the Charlotte community,” he said. Mike Marsicano, president of the Arts & Science Council, added, “You have given us the most valuable contribution of ah, an endowment, a permanent source of funds not jeopardized by the poUtics of the day nor the climate of the economy.” Donors who gave more than $1 mihion to the cam paign include: the Blumenthal family and the Blumenthal Foundation; the Duke Power Co. Foundation; First Union National Bank; the John S.and James L. Knight Foundation;, Hugh and Jane McCoh; the National Endowment for the Arts; NationsBank Corp.; NationsBank executives; the C.D. Spangler Foundation; Daniel J. Stowe; and an anonymous donor. Susan Gray Arts & Science Council campaign chair Hugh McColl, left, and president Mike Marsicano. photo by Jeff Cravotto BRIEFLY Corrections A survey of capital cam paigns in North Carolina published in the March issue of the Journal con tained errors and omis sions. The survey incorrectly identified East Carolina University in Greenville. It did not report that Charlie Witzleben was the consul tant for Appalachian State University's capital cam paign or note that Winslow and Associates was the consultant for the arts por tion of the campaign. The survey also incorrectly reported the role of Ron Swain, Shaw University's former vice president for institutional advancement, in the school's capital cam paign and failed to note that Willie Gary is chairman of the campaign. Another goal met in UNC bicentennial campaign The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill surpassed its Bicentennial Campaign goal of $50 million in late March. The liberal arts college's campaign is the largest with in the university-wide $400 million bicentennial cam paign. NCAA success increases scholarships According to UNC-CH otfi- ciais,in 1993 when the Tar Heel men's basketball team won the NCAA's, sales of Carolina trademark goods generated more than $2 mil lion in revenue. Seventy five percent of that went to schol arships and student aid, they say. The remaining 25 per cent went to the athletic department. A myth about the rich? A new study by researchers at Boston College shows that wealthy Americans are just as likely to make charitable donations as poor people. The report, by Paul Schervish and John Havens, contradicts earlier studies that show poor people give more of their income to charity than rich people. Schervish and Havens say that when all households are counted, instead of just those that give to charity, the giving "curve" shows the aver age American household gives about 2 percent of its income to charity, regardless of income level. Copies of a working paper on the study are available for $3 from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, (317) 274- 4200.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 1, 1995, edition 1
14
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