HH Planning CH Oct 25 | Alexander Haas

October 21, 2025

from the desk of

Carl G. Hamm

Partner

Why Planning Still Matters Most

Over the years, I’ve continued to refer back to and comment on the brilliance of Harold Seymour’s insights in Designs for Fundraising. His writing from nearly sixty years ago still feels as if it were written for those of us practicing development today. He so clearly (and timelessly) articulated the essence and heart of fundraising and, importantly, reminded us that what you do ahead of time is what counts most, a truth we so often forget in the name of progress and pressure to reach the so-called finish line.

In Seymour’s view, fundraising doesn’t succeed on clever slogans and charisma alone; it is successful because of the disciplined, behind-the-scenes preparation that happens before anyone ever asks for a gift. This seems so obvious, yet many development professionals find themselves caught in a constant cycle of doing, moving from one deadline to the next, checking boxes and meeting quotas, while rarely stepping back to ask whether our preparation is still as intentional as our execution.

Today’s advancement offices operate under extraordinary pressure to meet campaign milestones, fiscal year goals, quarterly dashboards, board expectations, and other demands. Responding to these pressures can create the illusion of progress, visible productivity that can mask deeper systemic inefficiencies and issues. Preplanning is often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. But Seymour’s point remains: if you don’t design your process well before you start, it’s likely you’ll be spending time regrouping and fixing your strategy along the way. And the time to fix the boat, of course, is not when you are already sinking.

The real work ahead of time is not merely administrative; it’s also about alignment. It helps leadership and staff articulate and agree on what matters and how everyone is working toward the same objective, beyond just a financial goal. When everyone understands and owns the objectives, the tactical fundraising plan usually comes together naturally, and the results tend to follow.

Seymour understood that successful fundraising is not a series of isolated actions but a designed system of human behavior. Every communication, every volunteer role, and every solicitation is part of a larger structure. The problem today is not that we lack tools; it is that we use them reactively. Wealth screening, analytics, and automation can be powerful, but only if they serve a coherent design. Otherwise, they just become expensive ways to stay busy.

Seymour’s timeless wisdom remains as relevant today as it was decades ago: the investment of time in planning and designing your plan is the most important work you will undertake in realizing a successful fundraising program. A great reminder for us to consider as we move into the year-end season of giving and create thoughtfully planned campaigns and programs for the year ahead.

Less Donors But Bigger Gifts

David King has one question.

“This is an ongoing trend that keeps being reinforced in study after study: Fewer donors giving more money. The question that nobody has answered is Why?”

Even though fewer affluent Americans are giving, their donations have increased by 30% over the past decade, according to a report from Bank of America Private Bank and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy Key Findings

Total charitable contributions from affluent donors in 2024 were more than 10 times higher than those of the general population. Yet participation in giving has reduced, with 81% making charitable donations in 2024, down from 91% in 2015.
On average, donors gave to five organizations in 2024, with 79% supporting groups in their local communities.
More than 40% of affluent donors reported developing a giving strategy, 45% had a giving budget, and 20% actively monitored the impact of their gifts.
Those who identify as expert givers awarded at least six times more than those who identify as novices.
In 2024, 18% of charitable gifts were made through giving vehicles—up from 11% nine years earlier—and 48% of affluent households with a net worth between $5 million and $20 million have or plan to establish a giving vehicle within the next three years.

More here.

Words That Work

Jaci Thiede likes this piece on Jargon.

“This advice is simple, straightforward, and perfectly timed. I love what he says about writing, making it easy for people to understand. That’s spot on. So, enjoy a quick but important read…”

People don’t trust what they don’t understand. And in a country where trust is unraveling, too much nonprofit language feels like being stuck in a conversation in which everyone but you know the code. Below are seven words that do work — that invite people in, rather than push them away. Adopting these words widely is one important step toward restoring trust in the nonprofit sector and the nation’s civic institutions.

Family. Regardless of how people define the word in their own lives, family carries meaning without explanation.

Community. Embodying the notion of connection and shared responsibility, community resonates for most people, whether it describes a neighborhood, faith circle, or group chat check-in after a destructive storm.

Fairness. One of the most universally understood moral concepts, fairness signals balance, decency, and the expectation that people should be treated with respect and given a real chance.

Dignity. While people define dignity differently — in terms of faith, work, or care — they recognize its fundamental meaning: being seen as fully human.

Safety. Rather than an abstract value, safety is a felt condition.

Respect. Respect signals that someone’s presence matters, that their voice carries weight; it’s often the unspoken requirement beneath every conversation.

Service. In a sector that often reaches for the language of innovation and scale, service brings the work back to its purpose.

More here.

Practice Due Diligence with Crypto-Philanthropy and DAFs

David King and skirting the rules.

“A lot of donors have a fuzzy understanding of how DAFs work and the “rules”. Unfortunately, the sponsoring organizations are not the enforcers; that falls to the nonprofits, and it can have a negative impact on donor relationships – especially if not all donors follow the rules. This has gotten a little better because the IRS has loosened some of the rules. Still, I can’t count the number of times an organization I’ve been working with has had to be the one to tell a donor, ‘Sorry, you cannot make a pledge on behalf of your DAF, nor can you pay a personal pledge from a DAF’ much to the dismay and disappointment of the donor. So, the workaround was that people either ignored the rule or ‘cheated’ and ‘wrote off’ portions of a pledge as DAF payments were received in order to get around the rule.”

Donor-advised funds are wildly popular, with total DAF assets standing at $250 billion, according to the latest analysis from the National Philanthropic Trust. And by one count, gifts in cryptocurrency exceeded $1 billion last year. But many don’t know that when a donor places money — or any kind of asset, like stock or crypto — in a DAF and gets an immediate tax break, they also relinquish control of those assets.

Here’s some good advice your organization can share with Board members, volunteers, and potential donors to ensure their giving through donor-advised funds aligns with their philanthropic goals and supports the causes they care about most.

Giving it up. Remember, when donating through a DAF, you are legally ceding control over the funds. If things go sideways with the fund, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get the money back because the donor no longer owns the donation.

Fees are important. Be cautious of a donor-advised fund that asks for a large upfront commission but does not have yearly management fees. Although those annual management fees may seem burdensome or unnecessary, they help ensure the fund can fulfill your grant requests.

Remember, it’s charity. Be cautious of solicitations presented as investment opportunities. While it’s common for donors to be asked to make matching gifts, it’s unusual for a DAF to request that a donor provide upfront funds with the promise that it will grow by a certain amount.

Investment policies are standard. Ensure that a donor-advised fund or crypto-philanthropy has an investment policy approved by its board that clearly outlines the risks the fund is willing to accept and the types of investment vehicles it will utilize.

Lawyer up. For all big transactions, consult a lawyer. IRS rules are complicated, and every situation is different. Having a lawyer look for potential problems is a must.

Paper trail. Carefully consider whether you want to donate to a group that hasn’t filed a 990 in several consecutive years. While missing the required IRS paperwork can happen, be cautious if a donor-advised fund skips multiple years.

Tracking crypto. Many nonprofits are enhancing their staff’s knowledge to determine whether potential crypto partners are legitimate. To prevent internal fraud and external attacks, grantees need to be skilled in evaluating a fund’s digital credentials.

Do research. Due diligence isn’t just about googling the organization and reviewing their financials. If you’re considering supporting a specific charity or cause, you can also contact that charity directly to ask if they’ve worked with the DAF in question.

Get a complete overview. When dealing with crypto investments, see how transparent the funds are beyond what is required in the IRS 990 form. You should know where your assets are held, what their current value is, and how they are liquidated.

More here.

We Know Social Service Organizations
For more than 35 years, Alexander Haas has been a fixture in the nonprofit community. We are honored to have worked with some of the largest, and some of the smallest, organizations across the country that help communities be a better place to live.

A Fresh Approach to Fundraising
Our services aren’t cookie cutter. We don’t operate with a boilerplate, merely changing names and locations. We craft each and every service we provide to match your organization’s unique needs, wants and abilities. We work hard and expect you to do the same. Together we can help you transform your institution, your fundraising, and the community you serve.

Whether your need is in Capital Campaign, Annual Fund Campaign, Major Gifts, Leadership Annual Giving, Planned Giving or all of the above, we take a fresh approach to nonprofit fundraising.

October 21, 2025

from the desk of

Carl G. Hamm

Partner

Why Planning Still Matters Most

Less Donors But Bigger Gifts

David King has one question.

“This is an ongoing trend that keeps being reinforced in study after study: Fewer donors giving more money. The question that nobody has answered is Why?”

Total charitable contributions from affluent donors in 2024 were more than 10 times higher than those of the general population. Yet participation in giving has reduced, with 81% making charitable donations in 2024, down from 91% in 2015.

On average, donors gave to five organizations in 2024, with 79% supporting groups in their local communities.

More than 40% of affluent donors reported developing a giving strategy, 45% had a giving budget, and 20% actively monitored the impact of their gifts.

Those who identify as expert givers awarded at least six times more than those who identify as novices.

In 2024, 18% of charitable gifts were made through giving vehicles—up from 11% nine years earlier—and 48% of affluent households with a net worth between $5 million and $20 million have or plan to establish a giving vehicle within the next three years.

More here.

Words That Work

Jaci Thiede likes this piece on Jargon.

“This advice is simple, straightforward, and perfectly timed. I love what he says about writing, making it easy for people to understand. That’s spot on. So, enjoy a quick but important read…”

Family. Regardless of how people define the word in their own lives, family carries meaning without explanation.

Community. Embodying the notion of connection and shared responsibility, community resonates for most people, whether it describes a neighborhood, faith circle, or group chat check-in after a destructive storm.

Fairness. One of the most universally understood moral concepts, fairness signals balance, decency, and the expectation that people should be treated with respect and given a real chance.

Dignity. While people define dignity differently — in terms of faith, work, or care — they recognize its fundamental meaning: being seen as fully human.

Safety. Rather than an abstract value, safety is a felt condition.

Respect. Respect signals that someone’s presence matters, that their voice carries weight; it’s often the unspoken requirement beneath every conversation.

Service. In a sector that often reaches for the language of innovation and scale, service brings the work back to its purpose.

More here.

Practice Due Diligence with Crypto-Philanthropy and DAFs

David King and skirting the rules.

Here’s some good advice your organization can share with Board members, volunteers, and potential donors to ensure their giving through donor-advised funds aligns with their philanthropic goals and supports the causes they care about most.

Giving it up. Remember, when donating through a DAF, you are legally ceding control over the funds. If things go sideways with the fund, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get the money back because the donor no longer owns the donation.

Fees are important. Be cautious of a donor-advised fund that asks for a large upfront commission but does not have yearly management fees. Although those annual management fees may seem burdensome or unnecessary, they help ensure the fund can fulfill your grant requests.

Remember, it’s charity. Be cautious of solicitations presented as investment opportunities. While it’s common for donors to be asked to make matching gifts, it’s unusual for a DAF to request that a donor provide upfront funds with the promise that it will grow by a certain amount.

Investment policies are standard. Ensure that a donor-advised fund or crypto-philanthropy has an investment policy approved by its board that clearly outlines the risks the fund is willing to accept and the types of investment vehicles it will utilize.

Lawyer up. For all big transactions, consult a lawyer. IRS rules are complicated, and every situation is different. Having a lawyer look for potential problems is a must.

Paper trail. Carefully consider whether you want to donate to a group that hasn’t filed a 990 in several consecutive years. While missing the required IRS paperwork can happen, be cautious if a donor-advised fund skips multiple years.

Tracking crypto. Many nonprofits are enhancing their staff’s knowledge to determine whether potential crypto partners are legitimate. To prevent internal fraud and external attacks, grantees need to be skilled in evaluating a fund’s digital credentials.

Do research. Due diligence isn’t just about googling the organization and reviewing their financials. If you’re considering supporting a specific charity or cause, you can also contact that charity directly to ask if they’ve worked with the DAF in question.

Get a complete overview. When dealing with crypto investments, see how transparent the funds are beyond what is required in the IRS 990 form. You should know where your assets are held, what their current value is, and how they are liquidated.

More here.