Sharpe Insights Articles

There is a lot of discussion in the not-for-profit community about how to integrate some of the emerging technologies into fundraising. A year ago, Sharpe Group began studying how machine learning could be used to help our clients raise large gifts. Since then, we have utilized AI on a client’s donor database to make their …Read More

Given the importance of year-end giving, several national events have been established to help nonprofits promote fundraising. These campaigns may help bring extra awareness to your fundraising programs. National Estate Planning Awareness Week: Oct. 18-24, 2021. This week offers an opportunity to partner with estate planners in your area to educate your donors about charitable …Read More

By Professor Christopher Woehrle, JD, LLM Critics of the estate tax describe it as “taxation without respiration.” The proposal from the Biden Administration to tax unrealized gains at death might be called “recognition of income without the realization event.” Furthermore, transfers to noncharitable donees during lifetime will generate income taxation to the donor. The amount …Read More

As a fundraiser, your most precious and important asset is your donor data. Understanding how to best use it is another matter. It is extremely important to segment your donors into groupings based on your charity’s priorities of fundraising. Sharpe uses the donor matrix shown below to help charities with their planning, budgeting, resource allocations …Read More

These words can be said with either hope or dread, but for fundraising folks, this is a phrase uttered year after year in September. The often frantic push to connect with donors with the capacity to make a large gift or include a charity in their estate plan often becomes the traditional focus of most …Read More

By Barlow Mann, J.D. The reports are in for charitable giving in 2020, and the results are unanimous. Three widely followed reports on charitable giving indicated that overall giving increased between 2% and 10.6% in spite of the unprecedented events of 2020. The Blackbaud Institute’s Charitable Giving Report cited an increase of 2% in giving. …Read More

By Professor Christopher P. Woehrle, J.D., LL.M A charitable remainder trust permits annuitization of the full value of the appreciated asset without the donor incurring a capital gains tax. For the charitably inclined, the technique facilitates diversification of a portfolio and potential improvement of cash flow. The Biden Administration’s General Explanations of Fiscal Year 2022 …Read More

Like it or not, the key for a truly successful planned giving/endowment development strategy is to “take the long view.” Based on nearly 60 years of analyzing charities’ bequests, our research that forms the Sharpe KnowledgeBase® includes two important findings: First, you want to be in the LAST will because it’s the document that provides …Read More

I’m a car guy. Over the course of my lifetime, I have owned many cars, the first one being a used 1953 Plymouth Coupe. My first new car was a black 1964 two-door Dodge Polara 500 with red and white interior, bucket seats and a center console. I migrated to convertibles starting with a 1970 …Read More

By Ainsley Willis Sharpe Insights talked to Sean Twomey, director of planned giving at The Wilderness Society, about his experience with Sharpe’s planned giving program assessment and its positive impact on their planned giving program. Sharpe conducted the initial assessment in 2008 and a revision in 2014—before Sean joined the staff. The Wilderness Society is …Read More