Mountain Cryer

The How-To’s of Getting
Your Message to the Media

It’s just like fishing… every month you send out press releases to your local media contacts hoping and praying that someone will bite and more often than not you get ignored. Your message is important and needs to be heard. The different media outlets can be a great resource and can help promote your message and organization if correctly used. Come and learn from “the other side” about how to get your important message in the media.
Todd Cohen is editor and publisher of the Philanthropy Journal, an online newspaper published by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation at www.philanthropyjournal.org that reports on philanthropy and nonprofits.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the New England School of Law in Boston. Todd worked for weekly and daily newspaper in Massachusetts and North Carolina before joining The News & Observer in Raleigh, where he reported on state and local government, politics, education and regulated industries, and served as business editor. In 1991, as business editor, he wrote a weekly philanthropy column, and later created the Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina, the first statewide monthly newspaper in the U.S. to report on nonprofits.

This Month’s Meeting

Wed., Feb. 15, 2006 - Networking Begins: 11:45 AM - Luncheon Begins: 12:00 PM
Country Club of Asheville
Cost with RSVP: $15 members/$18 non-members Without RSVP: $18 members/$21 non-members
RSVP online or contact Sana Efird at (828) 274-0758 x341.
Directions available online

Don’t Miss the March AFP Meeting!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006

If you have ever or will ever work with a board or other volunteers to raise money (hopefully that is all of us) then you will not want to miss our March speaker. Gail Perry, the founding principal of Perry & Associates in Raleigh, NC and a popular, internationally-recognized speaker on board involvement in fundraising will be giving us a unique perspective and great ideas for engaging and involving your board members.

Ignore Donor Intent at Your Peril

A new survey shows that donors are very concerned with how charities use their contributions and consider it a serious matter if organizations use donations for unauthorized purposes.

According to the survey, 97 percent of respondents consider it a “very” or “somewhat” serious matter if charities use contributions in ways unintended by donor. Of particular interest to charities, an additional 78.7 percent of respondents said they would “definitely” or “probably” no longer give to charities that used contributions for purposes for which they were not intended. However, when asked what should happen when charities intentionally misuse funds, only 59.3 percent said organizations should “definitely” or “probably” return the contributions. More than one-third of respondents said the charity should “definitely” or “probably” keep the money.

Respondents were not so forgiving when asked if nonprofit managers should be legally or criminally liable if they intentionally misused contributed funds. Nearly half (46.6 percent) said nonprofit managers should be held legally and criminally liable in this case, and 23.8 percent said they should be held legally liable only. Only 18.3 percent said they would ignore the misuse of funds.

The survey also asked general questions about how Americans donate. Approximately eight out of 10 Americans donate to charities either frequently (45.8 percent) or occasionally (36.7 percent). More than 57 percent typically contribute with no strings or conditions attached to the gift, but just over 40 percent reported they have made a donation and restricted it for a specific purpose. “This survey is a reminder that we can never take the public trust lightly or for granted,” said Paulette Maehara, CFRE, CAE, president and CEO of AFP. “It’s critical to ensuring public confidence, and fundraisers need to always take into account the needs and wants of donors