HH Transaction AC Sep 25 | Alexander Haas

September 30, 2025

Don’t Make It a Transaction

by Arthur C. Criscillis, Ed.D.
Managing Partner

Many organizations have donor recognition societies for various types of giving—leadership annual giving, planned giving, cumulative giving, and consistency in giving. These societies are set up to recognize giving behavior that is important and to encourage people to make those gifts. While the value and importance of such societies in prompting individuals to make gifts is open to debate, my intention here is not to join that debate, but rather to address what I consider to be a mistake in many of the giving societies that have been set-up: Benefits.

In too many instances, these giving societies have specifically articulated benefits for members. So, for example, members may receive quarterly communications, invitations to an event or events, and decals/bookmarks, to name but a few. The key point here is not what is offered, but rather that specific benefits of any type are offered.

When benefits are specifically articulated, it reveals a lack of confidence in the power of philanthropy to have an impact. In short, a lack of belief in the actual case for making a gift. Most donors give to have an impact on something they care about. When benefits are specified up front, the act of giving is subtly transformed into a transaction: giving to get, versus giving to have an impact.

When benefits are specified, expectations are unnecessarily created. When that specific gift (leadership annual, planned, major) was made, the existing expectation was primarily that the gift would have an impact—no more, no less. By articulating specific benefits, the donor will now have the expectation that “X”, “Y”, and/or “Z” will occur. As a result, all you can now do is fulfill an expectation. If you fail to do it, then you will have (needlessly) disappointed the donor. If those benefits are not articulated but are still part of what you want to do with and for donors of a giving society, you can surprise and delight them.

Most of the benefits tend to be “things” either given to the donor or “experiences” offered to the donor. That is fine, but the overarching and overall objective should be to help the donor feel appreciated and to understand even better the impact of that donor’s gift. Rather than an easily defined checklist serving as benefits, we would be better served by thinking about what sort of communications and engagement activities are appropriate.

Giving societies have their place, I believe. But in thinking about what membership entails, we should focus more on what we want them to experience, how we want them to feel, and how membership can tie them more closely to us by highlighting how they are furthering our mission.

An outlier in this regard can be things like athletics and the arts, which offer ticketing benefits. That is a different kettle of fish because the people involved in that are indeed engaging in a transaction. It’s all about getting the tickets and the associated experiences—it’s not primarily philanthropic. I can choose the seating arrangement I prefer. I can have early access to tickets. I can get favorable parking. In many instances, organizations view this as a model or template for structuring giving societies, but the nature of the gift is often different, i.e., it is transactional.

DAF Day: 10-9

Jaci Thiede doesn’t want you to miss this day.

“‘DAF Day’ will take place for the second year in a row on October 9. It’s a spinoff of GivingTuesday, but focuses on donors with DAF’s. I’m fully supportive of finding new ways to reach donors and remind them to give. If you plan to participate, I encourage you to center your messaging on your mission and the impact gifts will have, not just that donors should give because it is DAF Day. Good luck!”

DAF accounts, which allow individuals to set aside money for charity while receiving a tax benefit upfront, hold more than $250 billion. To encourage donors to allocate more funds from these accounts to charities, a new giving day was created last year: DAF Day.

Now in its second year, DAF Day will be observed on October 9. The goal is for charities to remind DAF owners that now is an excellent time to give. The Chronicle of Philanthropy interviewed fundraisers who participated last year to learn about their hopes for the year, their performance, their plans for this year, and their advice for newcomers.

Go here for more.

Make Sure You Get AI Right!

David King cautions on the use of AI.

“People need to be very careful with how much control they turn over to AI. We used it recently on something and found that the output was using the British spelling of certain words that differ from the US spelling. This was a US-based AI being accessed from inside the continental US, yet it was using the language of a different country. If AI did that in your donor communications and you are not paying close attention, you run the risk of exposing your use of impersonal AI in the relationship process or, perhaps worse, looking illiterate to the donor.”

According to the 2025 Virtuous Fundraising Benchmark Report, online giving grew by 4.3% from the previous year, yet donor retention remains a critical challenge. The report also revealed that lifetime giving is increasing when fundraisers employ deeper, more relevant engagement strategies with donors. Artificial intelligence offers transformational potential, but only if applied responsibly and used beneficially. Leveraging AI is not just important for efficiency but for preserving trust and advancing mission integrity. Across every sector, AI is reshaping how organizations work. However, in the nonprofit space, the stakes are uniquely high. Fundraisers aren’t just driving transactions or selling products; they’re stewarding relationships, building community, nurturing generosity, and advancing missions that matter. This makes the ethical use of AI not a technical consideration but a moral imperative.

To navigate this new territory, you must develop an appropriate-use policy to govern how you deploy the technology ethically and strategically. More here.

Foundation Coffers Are Full as Pressure Mounts to Increase Giving

David King questions foundation requirements for disbursements.

“Required payouts will increase naturally as assets grow. I think the real questions that need to be asked are: 1) Is 5% the right amount to require, or should it be higher? and 2) should foundations exist indefinitely, or should all foundations be required to sunset (for example, after 25 years), and must distribute all funds and dissolve?”

Foundation assets have soared to an all-time high as grant makers face pressure to increase payout rates and staunch the bleeding from federal funding cuts. FoundationMark, which analyzes foundation investments, estimates that endowment assets stand at $1.68 trillion, topping the $1.62 trillion recorded at the end of 2024. That’s 15% higher than the $1.46 trillion in endowments at the close of 2023.

The new data arrives as funders big and small are promising to increase their endowment draw to boost grant making this year in light of federal cuts and other challenges. Among them: the Freedom Together Foundation, which is doubling its payout to 10 percent of assets; the Weissberg Foundation (10 percent); and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (6 percent).

A coalition of philanthropy-service organizations, including Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, is calling on funders to increase their grant-making budgets for the next four years. Among other things, it urges donors to consider increasing giving at the same rates as their endowments are growing, whether that’s 10 percent or more. COP, 8-27

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