The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008 - (Page 37)

THE 2008 NPT TOP 100 nearly $8 billion endowment. More than 71 percent, or about $666 million, of its $930 million in total revenue came from investments, despite 2007 not being as strong as year for the stock market as 2006. Most all of the dozen or so organizations that had least 20 percent of their revenue from investment income were some type of museum or arts institution. “You can really see from the investment income percentages, those with the larger endowments, how really over-reliant they are on the investment income,” said Frank Kurre, managing partner of the national nonprofit practice at Grant Thornton LLP. “You go into a market like we have now, and that’s got to be killing them,” he said. “That’s the one bad thing,” Kurre said, “looking across the board and saying, ‘Do we have enough diverse revenue streams from other sources so we can weather something.’ Of course many have large endowments, so if they have a year or two downturn, it’s not a big deal at the end of the day, but in the annual numbers, it certainly doesn’t look good,” he said. Donor-advised funds (DAFs) continue to be popular, according to Romano, which is another reason -- besides the economy -- that revenue might not be growing as strongly.“Some of these organizations haven’t grown that much because a lot of donors would rather put their contributions in donor-advised funds and take their time deciding where they’re going to invest it,” he said. In the NPT 100 five years ago, several organizations reported investment income losses.That fiscal year would have included data from fiscal year ending 2002, as the stock market and economy dipped in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. While no organization in the NPT 100 reported investment losses this year, in the 2003 NPT 100, there were 27 that did. With financial meltdown of the past several months, including the Dow Jones dropping below 10,000 for the first time in four years, investment income is among the categories that Kurre expects to be “way down” in next year’s report. Given the stock market slide of recent months, Romano said the growth in DAFs might slow down. In the past, individuals would be looking to take a deduction up front, but with this year’s economy, people probably are losing money and don’t need to offset gains, so one might see a reversal of this trend.“You could see giving to those organizations could go down,” he said. Those gift funds also are heavily reliant on investments, so 2008 won’t be a good year for them, Romano said. The large endowments have some alternative investments, he said, and alternatives seem to be a little bit behind the downfall of the general stock market.“I’ve heard a lot of hedge funds are having bad years, whereas last year,when the economy went down,hedge funds stayed status quo,” Romano said,“but they’re starting to fall now too.” NPT Donor-Advised Funds Total revenue Fidelity Charitable Gift Trust Schwab Charitable Fund $1,908,692,892 $854,923,963 NO DOUBT THIS IS A TOUGH TIME FOR FUNDRAISING TIMES ARE UNCERTAIN. MONEY IS TIGHT. WHILE THOSE IN NEED CONTINUE TO DEPEND ON YOU. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $783,980,878 National Christian Charitable Foundation $490,398,639 Jewish Communal Fund New York Community Trust National Philanthropic Trust U.S Charitable Gift Trust $452,252,823 $370,544,152 $271,096,918 $70,883,676 Despite the current economic climate, the need to raise funds to support your mission is ongoing. Now, more than ever, you need every fundraising dollar spent to count. Tough times call for innovative thinking. At STRATMARK, we CHALLENGE turn challenges into new charitable opportunities. Using proven strategic blends of marketing and fundraising channels, we help nonprofit organizations raise money . . . even in these times. To find out how to turn your fundraising challenges into new opportunities, email Debbie Snyder at dsnyder@stratmark.com or call 1.800.222.6070. www.STRATMARK.com TOGETHER WE CAN SUCCEED NOVEMBER 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com 37 http://www.STRATMARK.com http://www.STRATMARK.com http://www.nptimes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008

The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008 Reach Out Community Investment Loans Agencies Aim For Back Office Savings Contents Page 4 Special Report: An In-Depth Study of America's Largest Profits Charity Accounts Foretold Ecomonic Meltdown Liquid Assets Groups Shaving Expenses With An Eye Toward ROI Green Is Good Governance Becoming Institutionalized National September 11 Memorial & Museum Finds Its Footing NPT 100 Groups Turning Real Estate Into Cash NPT 100 Investments Beat Broader Market The NPT Power & Influence Top 50 Gala Calendar NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.