Sharpe Blog

Barlow’s blog is a continuation of his article “U.S. Giving Trends and Year-End” from Sharpe Insights, 2024, Issue 3. With November promising to be a busy month, it will be important to get your year-end message out early before your donors are inundated with communications about the election. Time now spent planning, cultivating, soliciting and …Read More

Over our 60+ year history, Sharpe Group has worked with thousands of nonprofit organizations of all sizes and across a multitude of missions. One thing is constant: The Sharpe team is committed to making our world a better place through our work. It is often said there is strength in numbers, and we’ve found that …Read More

In the last few years, Americans’ household wealth has continued to grow, reaching record highs driven primarily by increases in the value of corporate stock. According to Federal Reserve reports, the majority of American families have stock holdings directly or indirectly in individual stock shares or other arrangements like IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Between 2010 …Read More

The numbers give us some direction: Nearly one out of every six Americans is over age 65, compared with one out of 20 in the previous century. Experts predict that in 2035 those over 65 will outnumber those under 18 for the first time in U.S. history. Every day, there are 10,000 people turning 60, …Read More

While the final months of the year are often the busiest for charities from a fundraising perspective, this year there’s going to be another focus (a presidential election) that will at best fill up your donors’ voicemail, inbox and mailbox with campaign messages and at worst distract them from making their gifts. With 2024 well …Read More

As a consultant, I am sometimes asked for assistance that requires a creative approach. Recently, a client asked me to prepare an elevator pitch for their board members. Some of their board had indicated it would be helpful to have some talking points when they were in social situations. My client and I shared a …Read More

SmartAsset’s ad reads, “We’re 62 years old with $950K in IRAs. Is it too late to convert to a Roth IRA?”  The debate relates to the individual’s income tax liability when converted and whether there is enough time to grow the account prior to potential income needs arising. How many of your donors may be …Read More

We would all agree that marketing is critical to planned giving. In the for-profit realm, marketing is the outbound reach to promote and sell. However, this is only 25% of the “marketing mix.” Philip Kotler, known as the “Father of Modern Marketing,” is the author of the widely accepted practice of the “4 P’s of …Read More

How many times have you left your donors a voicemail with no callback or sent an email with no response? As we seemingly become more connected through technology, are we becoming more disconnected on a personal level? Whatever the reason, it is certainly harder for fundraisers to connect with donors these days. Consider this: Just …Read More

Senior VP and Senior Consultant Joe Chickey, draws on interactions with his own parents, who are in their 90s, turning these experiences into teachable planned giving moments. Here, he explores lessons in appreciated stock. After much heartfelt discussion and thoughtful debate, my parents recently decided it was time to leave their home of 32 years …Read More