Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / Nov. 1, 1998, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
November 1998 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina • 3 Connections Creating wealth Organization directs people’s talents to make money Nonprofits today are leveraging resources to woo corporate dollars and to sell products, feeding the - wealth back into the organization's mission. By Emily Brewer When the organization Share Our Strength first started looking for ways to make money, it didn’t imme diately realize the resources it had that were marketable to corpora tions. Through fundraising, corporate licensing deals, sponsorships, affinity marketing and special events, the Washington, D.C.-based oi^nization now earns most of the money that it distributes to hundreds of hunger fighting agencies. “Nonprofit organizations need to do more than redistribute wealth,” says founder and executive director Bill Shore. “They need to create a dif ferent kind of wealth — one I call community wealth. It is something that is channeled back directly into the communi ty.” One of the hunger organi zation’s most popular events is Taste of the Nation, an annual nation al food and wine benefit showcasing the wares of n.ii cl 7,000 of the Bill Shore nation’s best chefs. From this one event, the organization has found several avenues of corporate funding • One cognac distributor pays $100,000 for the right to be there and have access to the chefs who could stock their restaurants with the prod uct. • The Ohio-based pots and pans maker Calphalon markets a special Taste of the Nation pan, for which it directs $5 for every pan sold to Share Our Strength. This sort of affinity marketing links a corporation with an organization. • The chefs at the events are so loyal to Share Our Strength that if the organization signs a contract with a winery, for instance, allowing them to use the organization’s logo on their wine bottles, a majority of the chefs will stock that wine if $10 of every case goes back to Share Our Strength. The secret, says associate direc tor Debbie Shore, who co-founded the organization in 1984 with her brother Bill Shore, is thinking about what your organization can offer the com pany with which you partner to help it expand its bottom line. “It’s appealing to their self-inter ests.” The Share Our Strength logo is recognized and respected, and that makes it attractive and profitable for corporations that align with the orga nization, she says. Calphalon sales of the pan have quadrupled since it aligned with the organization, making it a profitable relationship for both parties, says Bill Shore. Besides their self-interest, corpo rations have a humanitarian angle and want to help organizations that service humanitarian causes, says Debbie Shore. “AtThe end of the day, they're cre ating pots and pans,” she says of CalphEdon. “They want more.” The organization has grown through the years as the Shores dis cover what resources they have that are valuable to corporations. In April 1997, they created a for- profit consulting service that advises both nonprofits and corporations on how to look for and nurture leverag ing opportunities. Community Wealth Ventures offers training sessions and one-on-one assistance to groups on how to use their assets to generate revenue for their organizations or the organizations they fund, says Bill Shore. ■While the Shores concede that not every organization has the power to raise community wealth the way theirs has, they believe it is some thing more organizations could be doing. North Carolina examples Some North Carolina nonprofits raise money by selhng products. •In pursuit of its mission to teach children to value diversity and to grow into productive, caring citizens of the world, Shakti For Children, a Durham-based non-profit education al organization has produced a book to teach youth about world cultures to spread the message the organiza tion promotes. The book is titled Chilch'en from Australia to Zimbabwe. Executive director Maya AJmera found a medium-sized pubhsher in Boston that agreed to use the organi zation’s name as the book label, to market the book and to give the orga nization a higher-than-average cut of the proceeds. Last year, 40 percent of the organization’s budget came from book revenues. Look for SHORE, page 9 Victory for nonprofits Taxpayers get larger break for donations Nonprofits may gain as much as $180 million in additional funds beginning next year. By Joan Alford North Carolina taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions may claim a larger tax credit for charita ble contributions under a provision signed into law by Gov. Jim Hunt. Giving to non profits will rise $180 million annually because of the expanded incentive, legisla tive analysts esti mated. TTie provi sion goes into effect for the 1999 tax year. “The new law shows what can be achieved when nonprofits of all tj^es unite their efforts to make Tou all came together, you made yourselves heard and you really made a difference." —Gov. Jim Hunt North Carolina a better place for everyone who lives and works here,” says Jane Kendall, president of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits. The center proposed the provision three years ago and worked with the United Way of North Carolina to coordinate the efforts of nonprofit groups who advocated for the mea sure in the General Assembly. Hunt signed the provision into law at the cen ter’s annual con ference on Oct. 15. “When you work together — the nonprofits — you can do amaz ing things,” Hunt said. “Think about what you’ve just celebrated. Most of you never imag ined that you could do that. You all came together, you made your- Photo by Karen Tam and courtesy of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits Gov. Jim Hunt signs into low on expanded income tax credit. selves heard and you really made a difference. As a result, North Carolinians will be able to better support the good ideas that are working in their communities.” The tax credit applies to charita ble giving by people who do not itemize their deductions on their federal income tax returns. Under the provision, nonitemiz ing taxpayers may claim a tax cred it of 7 percent of the amount of char itable contributions that exceeds 2 percent of their adjusted gross income. For example, a famOy with a total income of $40,000 that makes $2,000 in donations may take the credit on the amount of charitable contributions that is more than 2 percent of adjusted gross income — $800. That means the family may claim the credit on $1,200. The result is that the family may claim a credit of 7 percent of $1,200, taking $87 directly off its state income tax bill. For more information about the tax credit, contact the N.C. Center for Nonprofits at (919) 790-5307. Conference on homelessness scheduled A two-day conference on serving North Carolina's homeless popula tion win proride workshops and fea ture national speakers. The North Carolina Conference on Homelessness is set for Nov. 30- Dec. 1 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The conference will include work shops on housing development, health care for the homeless, educa tion of homeless children, program evaluation, and job training and development. Scheduled guest speakers include Michael Stoops of the National Coalition for the Homeless and Laurel Weir, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. As many as 300 homeless service agency and organization representa tives are expected to attend. The North Carolina Interagency Council on Coordinating Homeless Programs of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is spon soring the event. Registration is $45 and increases to $65 after Nov. 9. For more informa tion call (919) 715-5850. — Joan Alford Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina A Publication Of Philanthropy News Network 5 West Hargett St. Suite 805 Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 899-3740 Pax (919) ooZ.-2.m Web site: httpy/www.pj.org Vol. 6; No. 3 SUBSCRIPTION PRICES 1 year (12 issues) $60 2 years (24 issues) $110 3 years (36 issues) $152 Multiple-copy discounts available. For subscription information, Call (919) 899-3741. State employees seek to raise $3.6 million Organizers of the State Employees Combined Campaign want to reach all state employees through three new donation programs. By Patty Courtright State workers are working to raise $3.6 milMon during the annual State Employees Combined Campaign, now under way A record $3.45 million was raised during last year’s campaign. The State Employees Combined Campaign is the only charita’ole giv ing program authorized for state employees to designate their gifts through payroll deduction. More than 1,200 agencies receive money raised in the campaign. “One of the best things about SECC is that this campaign is mostly run by volunteers,” says campaign chair Richard Moore, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Pubhc Safety. “In fact, that ensures most of the money — about 87 per cent — actually goes to the charita ble organizations, and not for admin istrative costs.” To meet the goal, campaign lead ers have revamped the SECC’s lead ership giving program and intro duced three new programs. Instead of asking people to give a percentage of their income, as last year’s leadership giving program did, the 1998 program sets four gift cate gories: Dogwood for gifts of $150- $399; Cardinal, $400-$649; Emerald, $650-$999; and Diamond, $1,000-up. Last year’s program brought in nearly 400 leadership givers who gave about 7 percent of the total amount of funds raised, and organiz ers hope to increase leadership giv ing this year, says Sandra Johnson, statewide campaign director. Leadership giving chair Ned Brooks, associate rice provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hdl, says this year’s program has two goals: to have at least 1,000 leadership givers and to have 75 or more people who donate in the Diamond, $l,000-plus category Programs new to this year’s cam paign include a loaned-execiitive pro gram, retiree solicitation and a new- employee program. Through the loaned-executive program, cabinet secretaries and leaders of larger state agencies select a staff member to coordinate the campaign throughout each agency The idea was borrowed from private fundraising campaigns as a way to enhance support from the agency head down to individual employees, says chair Stacey Phipps, assistant Look for DRIVE, page 13
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 1, 1998, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75