This was the lead item in today’s Chronicle of Philanthropy daily update: Economy Pushes Fund Raisers’ Confidence to New Lows:
“Confidence in the fund-raising climate continues to be at or near record lows, according to the latest biannual survey of fund raisers conducted by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy.
The Summer 2009 Philanthropic Giving Index — based on the average of two measures in which fund raisers rate the present giving climate and how confident they feel about the next six months — is 65.4 percent.
That’s virtually unchanged from six months ago when the index was 64.8. However, fund raisers’ confidence in their ability to raise money has declined sharply along with the economy: Just one year ago, the index stood at 82.8.”
(Read the media release on the study from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.)
When confidence is down in the development department, it’s an opportunity for the marketing/communications professionals to develop new and innovative strategies for telling the organization’s story and communicating its mission.