Report finds fundamental flaws in many nonprofits' fundraising

By Mike Boehm

          Los Angeles Times

A new national survey of nonprofit executives suggests it isn’t just the uncertain economy that’s making it hard for charities – including arts and culture groups – to meet their fundraising goals. The research says there’s something fundamentally amiss with the way many of them go about courting donors.

“This study reveals that many nonprofit organizations are stuck in a vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed,” begins the 36-page reportcommissioned by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and conducted by CompassPoint, a San Francisco-based organization that provides management advice to nonprofits.

Dubbed “Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising,” the study says it’s the first systematic attempt to explore how chief fundraisers for nonprofits view their jobs – and how that dovetails or clashes with the expectations of the chief executives they work for.

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