Happy Holidays from the OFS Team!
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Resources For You
Resources and articles the OFS team found interesting this month:
Looking for more resources?
Head to Our Fundraising School to check out all our books and online courses for fundraising success.
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Client & Other News
- OFS Welcomes New Client: First Presbyterian Day School Macon
FPD's mission is to educate & equip students to change the world for God's glory. FPD prepares students to be godly leaders on their college campuses, careers, and community.
- Congratulations to Power10 on the Hiring of Caroline Holmes as their next Director of Campaign Operations. Power10 continues their search for a second Director (see listing below).
Interested in being featured in next month's newsletter?
We're always looking to showcase our clients' fundraising successes. Send us a message so we can celebrate too!
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Current Job Postings
Don’t see the position of your dreams?
Visit our website to review all positions and apply. Our Fundraising Search is always looking for great talent. Go ahead and send an application!
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Mark Your Calendars
- The Georgia Association of Museums will host is annual conference January 17-19, 2024 at The Foundry at the Graduate Athens. OFS' Dave Paule will facilitate a session on Jan 19th from 9:00am – 10:15am entitled: Museum Memberships: Corporate Sponsorship Perspectives on Gaining and Retaining Members. Find out more HERE.
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The View From Dave's Barstool
In "The View From Dave's Barstool," Principal and Managing Director (our resident strategist AND comedian), Dave Paule, discusses...well...whatever happens to be on his mind. Check out the previous newsletter where Dave explains.
Dave's Thoughts This Month: Naughty or Nice in Nonprofit?
Have you ever googled “Holiday Cocktails?” There are some seriously boozy concoctions out there. Obviously, I’m not a teetotaler, but I’m not looking to get blotto, either. The “Naughty or Nice” cocktail below spoke to me both as a beverage and as a metaphor.
Earlier today, I was speaking to a couple of young lawyers about nonprofit evaluators like Charity Navigator, Pro Publica, and Charity Watch. For many donors, these organizations are critical sources of information. The question came up: what was the biggest nonprofit scandal in history. I didn’t know the answer, but these three organizations did.
In 1989, alleged philanthropist and entrepreneur John Bennett, Jr. founded the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy (New Era), which boldly promised to double the investments of nonprofits. In reality, it was a Ponzi scheme. When it collapsed, as all Ponzi schemes do, it was considered the biggest financial scandal in the history of American charities. Victims lost $135 million to New Era over its five and a half years of operation. Per Charity Watch: “The premise was simple: a nonprofit would deposit money with New Era for a period of time. At the end of the holding period, the deposit would be matched by an anonymous donor and the now doubled funds would be sent back to the nonprofit. In reality, New Era was paying its original investors with money from new investors. It covered any shortfalls with loans that eventually totaled $50 million. In 1995, New Era's loans were called in. Unable to repay them Bennett was forced to place New Era into bankruptcy and admit that his anonymous donors never existed. In 1996, Bennett was charged in an 82 count indictment. Evidence showed that Bennett siphoned approximately $7 million from New Era for personal expenditures, including transferring charity funds to his own for-profit businesses. In 1995 he also used New Era funds to buy a Lexus and to pay himself an average of $26,785 per week in consulting fees. In 1998, Bennett was sentenced to twelve years in prison for his crimes.”
Most of us working in or with nonprofits would fancy ourselves on the nice list. Sometimes, nice is synonymous with naïve. Too many nonprofits fall victims to scams and fraud. The reasons are simple: (1) nonprofits underinvest in financial management and control; and (2) too often, their leaders are gullible. We are drafting our annual “Resolutions for Nonprofits List” for 2024. We will speak more to running a smarter nonprofit there, but please be aware that, especially at this time of year, there are those that will target nonprofit leaders because of those two reasons.
Please contemplate that over the holidays whilst enjoying the “Naughty or Nice Cocktail,” crafted by bartender Jamie Boudreau, founder and owner of Seattle’s Canon.
Happy holidays!
Dave's December Cocktail Suggestion: Naughty or Nice Cocktail
Ingredients
- 3 ounces chardonnay
- 3 ounces pinot noir
- 2 ounces cognac
- 2 ounces maraschino liqueur
- 4 ounces ginger ale
- Garnish: blood orange slices
Instructions
- Add the chardonnay, pinot noir, cognac, maraschino liqueur and ginger ale, along with a large block of ice, to a punch bowl.
- Divide between punch cups or rocks glasses with fresh ice, and garnish each with a blood orange slice.
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“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
- Kathy Calvin
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