Today's Gviing, Issue 1

Winter 2010 Today’s Giving 1

™

The Investment of Charitable GivingHow the Dakota Foundation is making a difference with discipline

Quality of PlaceDickinson’s quest to increase quality of place yields new facilities

also…Make the Most of Your GiftsCharitable estate planninGruth Meiers hospitalitY faCes of GivinGWelCoMe to GivinGupsides of a doWnturn

2 Today’s Giving Winter 2010

Full Page Ad (with bleeds)Ad File Size: 8.5 wide x 11.125 highTrim Size: 8.25 wide x 10.875 highMargin Size: 7.75 wide x 10.375 high

Eventide Senior Living Communities


Hjemkomst Center202 1st Ave. N. Moorhead, MN 218-299-5511

www.hjemkomst-center.comwww.info.co.clay.mn.us/History

Home of the Viking Ship Hjemkomst and the Hoppperstad Stave Church as well as changing exhibits.

Museum Hours: Mon – Sat 9am – 5pm Sun Noon – 5pm Tues 9am – 8pm

Archives Hours: Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm Tues 10am – 9pm

4 Today’s Giving:What’sInItForYou? A new magazine to guide you in new times

9 WelcometoGiving

10 TheInvestmentofCharitableGiving The difference that business discipline can make

14 TheUpsidesofaDownturn Trends change by giving preserves

through touch economies

18 QualityofPlace

24 5WaystoMaketheMostofYourGifts In good times and bad

28 COCO:WorkingTogetherfortheCommonGood

30 Nonprofits&Organizations

32 UnearthingFarm-EquipmentBenefitsLongAftertheFields

35 SteppingOutoftheShadowsandIntotheLight

The Ruth Meiers Hospitality House offers hope and a future to those in need

38 UntilNextIssue

40 CalendarofEvents

43 FacesofGiving

Winter 2010


Already, we’re looking back at thefirst decade of what seems like stilla brand-new century. With it camedramaticrevolution:Changes in theways we learn, work, and interact.Changes in the ways we earn andspend. Changes in how we see our-selves, and the world. Changes inwhat we value. Changes in what wewanttochange.

The attacks of 9/11/2001 alteredlong-heldperceptionsthattheWest-ern world in general and Americainparticularare inexorableandun-touchablepowers—especiallyamongAmerica’syoungergenerationswho’dgrown up in a country without thedraft; without major war. Over theremainder of the decade, America’syouthhaveengaged inactivismandpolitics at a level unequaled sincethe’60s.

In the meantime, the first U.S.

baby-boomers reached retirement,andagenerationsopassionateaboutshaping the world around themfour decades ago is now poised todo the same through a new trendin philanthropy in which contribu-tors take more active part in causestheysupport.

If the 90s found us dialed in,logged on, and surfing, the 2000sfoundusmorphingnounsintoverbsso that we could “text,” “tweet,” and“friend”—andcreatingunlikelynewverbsaswe“blogged”and“googled.”We strive to “go green” even as we“downloadpodcasts.”

“Mortgage” also switched frompredominatelyanountoacommonverb as the decade played out. Theeconomicbubblethathaddevelopedinthe late90sandswelledthrough-out the early decade finally burst in2007. We saw corporations—many

Today’s Giving:What’s in it for You?A new magazine to guide you in new times By Kate Henne, Managing Editor, Today’s Giving

Kate Henne is a communications professional with over 25 years of experience spanning public, private and nonprofit business sectors, including roles as senior editor in technical and marketing communications. She’s currently consultant/owner of Straightline Communications, serving clients in Minnesota and the Dakotas.


diminished by corruption—go bust.Companies, credit limits, jobs andfamilybudgetsweredownsizeddra-matically.EventheplanetPlutowasdemoted.

As history unfolded, Mother Na-turealsoshowedunrest. AnIndianOceantsunamitookthelivesofmorethan 300,000 in 2004. In 2005, wesaw hugely destructive earthquakesinKashmirandAsia,andHurricaneKatrina devastated New Orleans.Worldwide, we debated and tookfirst steps toward addressing globalwarming. And even as 2010 begins,death and injury numbers soar inHaitiaftera7.0earthquake.

Curious trends, distinCtive ChallengesYet, during tumultuous times, ourdesiretogivegoodthingsbacktoourworld, country, communities, and

fellow mankind remained strong.Curiously—orperhapsnot somuchso—wherehumanserviceswerecon-cerned, charitable giving even in-creased. (See article titled “The Up-sideofaDownturn”inthisissue.)

So the decade in which we wereshaken into heightened awarenessseems to be spawning new times inwhichmanyAmericansarereaffirm-ing the importance to act for posi-tive change:of sharing;ofkindness;ofgiving.

Onemightthinkthatarisingtrendto give would result in decreasingneed. But even as people’s commit-menttogivingincreases,sodoneeds.Atthesametime,socialnetworkingandnewmedia thathavebeenush-ered in during the changing of thecenturymakeuspainfullyawarethatcausesand“asks”seemendless.

The result is often frustration,

or a sense that no matter what youdo, your actions will be insufficientto make a difference. Sometimesthe more you give, the more youfeel like you’re asked to give. Per-haps sometimes you’re not confi-dentthatwhatyougiveisusedwithmaximumimpact.

Given these challenges, how canyousustainyourcommitmenttogiv-ingbacktoyourworld?

guide your givingThe first step is to develop a givingstrategy. Itcanbe just fornow,or itcan be a long-term plan. It can beboth.Theimportantthingisthatyouhaveaplanthatfitsyourconvictions,yourlifestyleandstage(s),yourbud-get,andyourgoals.

A strategy can be a solid founda-tion.Butinaddition,therearemanyconsiderations that can help you


reachyourgoalsandhelpensurethatwhatyougive—whethertime,mon-ey or talent—has maximum value.Hereareajustafewthings,forexam-ple,youmaywanttogetsavvyaboutbefore executing different phases ofyourplan:▶ Evaluatingcharities▶ Protectingyourselffromscams▶ Donatingnon-cashitems▶ Planningdifferentlifestages(such

astipsforoldercontributors)▶ Gainingtaxbenefitsofgiving▶ Maximizingyourvolunteertime▶ Givingintheworkplace▶ Contributingasagivingleader

Formingastrategy,ongoingaware-ness,continuouslearning,andmaxi-mizingcontributionsarestrongcor-nerstones of sustained giving. That’swhereToday’s Givingcomesin.We’reheretohelpyousecurethosecorner-stonesandsuccessfullybuildonyour“givingblueprint.”

our CommitmentWhether you’re an individual con-tributor, part of a charitable group,or a member of a nonprofit organi-zation—Today’s Giving is commit-tedtohelpingyouguideyourgivingstrategy. We are devoted to helpingcharitable contributors and organi-zations maximize the effect of giftsandtime.

The information provided to

you within Today’s Giving’s quar-terly publications will be cen-tered on a straightforward anddeterminedmission:

To provide insight, inspiration,and knowledgeable guidance thatwill help maximize time and con-tributions from individuals, busi-nesses,andagenciesinhelpingmeetgivinggoals

Toachievethismission,we’recom-mittedtothefollowingobjectivestohelpyoumeetyourgoals:▶ To improve the quantity and

quality of all charitable contribu-tions by sharing timely, relevantknowledgeaboutsuccessfulgivingpractices

▶ To assist individuals, groups andagenciesinachievingtheiruniqueobjectives through skilled guid-ance regardless of contributioninterestandsize

▶ To inspire charitable actions andsupport of organizations that en-hance the well being of peopleacrossourregion

▶ Toinformthepublicaboutgivingopportunities, issues, and trendswithimpartial,fact-basedresearch

Why today’s giving, and Why noW?Today’s Giving will focus large-ly on needs, charities, inspira-tion, and information from across

North Dakota, western Minne-sota, and northeastern South Da-kota. That means you’ll learn aboutand from people with stories, tipsandguidancethat“hithome.”

We believe that intelligent andstrategic giving will not only meetshort term-needs, but will advancemore efficient philanthropy to ul-timately overcome persistent so-cial needs and shortcomings acrossoursharedcommunities.

Wealsobelievethatthere’snobet-ter time than a new decade—in ayoung century already marked bystirringchangeandincreasedaware-nessofgrowingneeds—inwhich toinspireandguidegiving.

Welcome to your first issue ofToday’s Giving. We invite your in-put and collaboration in meetingourgoals.


one day... i’ll become a botanist

College SAVE — for your child’s promising future

* Matching grants are subject to the availability of funds and can be reduced or stopped at Bank of North Dakota’s discretion.

If you are not a North Dakota taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state’s qualified tuition program.

For more information about North Dakota’s College SAVE Plan, call 1-866-SAVE-529 (1-866-728-3529) or visit www.collegesave4u.com to obtain a Plan Disclosure Statement. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Plan Disclosure Statement; read and consider it carefully before investing. Upromise Investments, Inc. serves as Distributor and Underwriter.

The College SAVE Plan is a 529 Plan established by the State of North Dakota. Bank of North Dakota acts as trustee of the College SAVE Trust and is responsible for administering the Plan. Upromise Investments, Inc. and Upromise Investment Advisors, LLC serve as the Plan Manager and Recordkeeping and Servicing Agent, respectively, with overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations, including effecting transactions and marketing and distribution of the Plan. The Vanguard Group, Inc. provides underlying investments for the Plan. The Plan’s Portfolios, although they invest in mutual funds, are not mutual funds. Units of the Portfolios are municipal fund securities and the value of units will vary with market conditions. ND6125 0809

Learn about the benefits of North Dakota’s own 529 college savings plan, including a matching grant for North Dakota residents.*

Visit collegesave4u.com or call 1.866.SAVE.529.

College save and the Gift of higher educationAsyouwellknow,obtainingacollegedegreeoradvancedtrainingisanimportantmilestoneformanystudentsandtheirfamilies.Whileacollegedegreecanopenmanyopportunitiesforgraduates,itcanalsobeexpensive.Theaveragestudentwithafour-yearundergraduatedegreeaveragesapproximately$23,000*instudentloandebtaftergraduation!Manyfamiliesstruggletofindthemeanstohelpsendtheirchildtoschoolwhileminimizingstudentloandebt.

CollegeSAVE,NorthDakota’s529HigherEducationSavingsPlan,wascreatedtoprovideatax-advantagedwayforstudentsandtheirfamiliestosaveforcollege.WhenyouopenupaCollegeSAVEaccountyoumaytakeadvantageofseveralimportantbenefits:• CollegeSAVEaccountsgrowtax-deferredfromfederal

andstateincometax

• Deductupto$5,000(upto$10,000formarriedcouplesfilingjointly)fromyourNorthDakotastatetaxablein-comeforyourCollegeSAVEcontributions

• Paynotaxesondistributionsforqualifiedhighereduca-tionexpenses

• Qualified applicants may be eligible for up to a $300matching grant from Bank of North Dakota for resi-dentsearninglessthan$40,000($80,000ifmarried,fil-ingjointly)

• Accountassetscanbeusedateligiblecolleges,universi-ties,andtechnicalschoolsallaroundtheU.S.–notjustinNorthDakota

• Contributeasmuchas$12,000perdesignatedbeneficia-ryeachyear($24,000formarriedcouples,filingjointly)withoutincurringgift-taxconsequences

• Choosefromawiderangeofinvestmentoptionsman-agedbyVanguardtohelpyoupursueyoursavingsgoals

• Invite family and friends to help you save for a childwhen celebrating birthdays, holidays, graduations andmore through the Ugift and Upromise Rewards pro-grams

TolearnmoreabouthowCollegeSAVEcanhelpyousaveforafuturecollege-boundstudentpleasevisitwww.collegeSAVE4u.comorcall1-866-SAVE-529.

Article sponsored by Bank of North Dakota. See www.projectonstudentdebt.org


Dayna Del Val (Stepping Out of the Shadows and Into the Light) is a founding member of the local non-profit organization Wellspring for the World, a Fargo-based group dedicated to raising funds to build wells in Africa and beyond. She is a freelance writer whose work has been seen in from house to HOME and Wedding Vow as well as the on-line site Manage My Home. She lives in Fargo with her husband and teenage son.

Debora Dragseth (Quality of Place) is a professor of business at Dickinson State University. She is an active speaker and a national award winning business writer. Her research interests include Generation Y, outmigration and entrepreneurship. Debora has been given Dickinson State University’s highest faculty award, the Distinguished Teacher of the Year. She has been named the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year and the student-elected Outstanding Faculty. Dr. Dragseth has an MBA from the University of North Dakota and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska.

Kate Mund (The Investment of Charitable Giving) founded Lucy Communications in March 2006 after nearly eight years with Great Plains/Microsoft as a member of its communications team in Fargo, North Dakota. Prior to that, she looked after communications for two years for United Way of Cass-Clay. While at Great Plains/Microsoft, Kate helped lead the company’s annual United Way campaign efforts. Kate lends her expertise to a number of area nonprofit organizations. She resides on the outskirts of DeLamere, North Dakota, with her husband, Paul, and their two sons.

503 7th St N, Suite 104, Fargo, ND 58102www. ampian.com | 701-356-7770

PublisherAmpianPublishing

Business DevelopmentBrianBestge,Director

Editors In ChiefShannonSchweigert,FounderLisaJackson,Founder

Managing EditorKateHenne

Graphic DesignMikeBiewer,Creative ServicesJamieFarmen,Production DesignDanNisbet,Typography and Layout

Advertising Account ExecutivesLynnHanson,Lead SalesMicheleKetter,Associate SalesLinSmithwick,Associate Sales

[email protected].

Distribution InformationToday’s GivingisavailablefreebypickupatmultipledistributionpointsthroughoutNorthDakota,westernMinnesota,andnortheasternSouthDakota.ForalistofoutletsthatprovideToday’s Giving,visitwww.todaysgiving.com.Ifyouneedmoreinformationaboutavailabilityinyourregionorwishtorequestanissuecopy,[email protected].

Subscription ServicesToday’s Givingiscurrentlyprovidedfreetothegeneralpublicatdistributionpoints.Torequestissuesdeliveredtoyourhome,businessoragency,[email protected].

[email protected](701)306-8783

Article [email protected].

“Faces of Giving” Thissectionofeachissuewillrecognizethosewhogiveinuniqueways.Sendrecommendationstoinfo@todaysgiving.com.

ThemissionofToday’s Givingistoprovideinsight,inspiration,andknowledgeableguidancethatwillhelpindividuals,businesses,andagenciesmaximizetheirtimeandcontributionstomeettheiruniquegivinggoals.Today’s GivingisanindependentorganizationownedbyGivingPoint™andisnotaffiliatedwithspecificnonprofits.

©2010Allarticlesandcontentinthispublicationareundercopyrightandrightsarereserved.AnyuseorreproductionofthecontentisprohibitedwithoutwrittenpermissionfromGivingPoint™.Torequestreprintpermission,[email protected].

Somearticlesinthismagazinearesubmittedbyindependentauthorsandindustryspecialists.Therefore,theirviewsmayvaryandmaynotbethoseofthepublishers,Today’s Giving™orGivingPoint™.

Contributors

Winter 2010


“Lisa,whatdoyoudoforaliving?”“I’mafundraiser.”

Silence.Whatfollowsiseithernoth-ing—perhapsbecausepeopleassumeI’mgoingtoaskthemformoney—orasimple“Icouldneverdothat.”

I graduated from NDSU with aMass Communication degree andan emphasis in marking, public rela-tions,andbusiness—notsureofwhatI wanted to be “when I grew up.” Iexpected to work for a major publicrelationsoradvertisingfirm,andcutmy teeth in both sales and state-of-the-artmarketingcampaigns.

Isoonlandedmy“dreamjob”asaSales and Marketing RepresentativeforNewellRubbermaid,ecstatictobeon track and ready to climb the cor-porate ladderas fastaspossible.Thecompany’s“Phoenix”initiativeatthetime deployed roughly 500 recently-recruited college grads in a nation-

wide “swarm” team to merchandiseNewell Rubbermaid’s products. Weworked retail, selling product dis-plays in box stores and interactingwith consumers. The whole experi-encewasfastpaced,educationaland

givingisnottransactional,buttrans-formational.Igettheprivilegetobeapartof someonedoingsomethingthattransformstheirlifeand,inturn,improvesthelivesofothers.

Inco-foundingToday’s Giving,mygoalistoinspirereaderstoseekbet-ter solutions and help solve socialproblems,makeadifferenceintheirlivesandthelivesofothers,andhelpthemultimatelyfindandthebestwaytobefulfilledintheirlife’smission.Lisa JacksonCo-Founder, Today’s Giving

competitive.Iwasdoingwell inthejob. But…I wasn’t satisfied at a per-sonal level. Something was missing.Ifoundlittlepassioninsellingtotes.

DuringcollegeIhadworkedoftenas a volunteer, planning events andraisingmoneyfororganizationssuchas Prevent Child Abuse America,the YWCA, the Fargo Air MuseumandNokomisChildCareCenter.Atthetime,Ididn’trealizetherewasawholeprofessiondedicatedtotheartand science of philanthropy. Whathad been missing in my fast-pacedsales and marketing job was thefulfillment that comes with giving.When I finally realized that philan-thropyhadbeenmycallingallalong,Istartedmyfundraisingcareer.

What I’ve learned since has pro-vided tremendous personal satis-faction while helping organizationsandindividualsfulfilltheirmissions.The best part: meeting people fromaroundtheregionandacrossthena-tion,hearingabouttheirbackground,what’smotivatedthem,andhowtheywant to help others—often strang-ers—toimprovelives.

Ihavethebestjobintheworld;notjustasafundraiser,butasaconduitto help people reach their “giving”goals and beyond, regardless of thesize of their gifts. The point is that

Welcome to Today’s Giving

By Lisa Jackson, Co-Founder, Today’s Giving

Lisa JacksonCo-Founder, Today’s Giving

The point is that giving is not transactional, but transformational.

From the Founders

Lisa Jackson is a founding principal of GivingPoint™ (a fundraising consulting firm founded in 2007) and Today’s Giving, and is also executive director of the Barnesville Area Community Fund. Over the last decade she has worked professionally and as a volunteer with various nonprofit organizations in the fields of communication, marketing and fundraising, including: Newell Rubbermaid, Jamestown College, and The University of Kansas. She lives in Barnesville, Minnesota with her husband Dustin.


the investment of Charitable GivingThe difference that business discipline can makeBy Kate Mund

“We wanted to make it very clear that we make investments; we don’t provide hand-outs. We love to invest in people, to give people the skills they need to make themselves more self-sufficient. What has more economic viability than that?” Bart Holaday,Founder and Chairman, The Dakota Foundation


When you invest your money in amutualfundorthestockmarket,youdosowiththeexpectationthatyourinvestmentwillgrow.Shouldinvest-mentsincharitablegivingbeviewedinasimilarway?Thatis,shouldyouexpect them to result in social re-turns that will grow? According toBart Holaday, an active and provenphilanthropist, the answer is a re-sounding“absolutely.”

Holaday, Founder and Chairmanof The Dakota Foundation, knowsathingortwoabouthardwork,de-termination,disciplineandbusiness.After graduating from the U.S. AirForceAcademy,hereceivedaRhodesScholarship that took him to Eng-land’s Oxford University. He earnedamaster’sdegreeinpolitics,philoso-phyandeconomics,thenwentontoearnalawdegreefromGeorgeWash-ington University. He also holds anhonorary Doctor of Letters degreefromtheUniversityofNorthDakota.

AnativeofJamestown,NorthDa-kota, Holaday and his wife, Lynn,created The Dakota Foundation in1997 “to address social issues andenhancehumancapabilitiesthroughactivities thatcombinebusinessdis-ciplinewithcharitableintent.”

The Dakota Foundation wasformed on beliefs rooted in invest-ments rather than donations. Infact,oneof the foundation’sbeliefs specifically states:Nonprofitorganizationscanbenefit fromtheapplicationof business discipline, busi-nessapproachesandafocusoncustomerservice.We“in-

vest” inpeopleandprogramsratherthansimply“making”grants.

Sowhatexactlydoes“businessdis-cipline”mean?

“Ihavespentmycareer in the in-vestmentbusiness,andIexpecttogetareturnoneverydollarIuse,”Hola-daysaid.“Inthenonprofitworld,thatreturn is most often social return.But,howevermeasured,thetotalre-turnshouldbegreaterthanthedol-larsinvested.”

And what a remarkable career ithas been, spanning both public andprivate sectors. A chartered finan-cialanalyst,Holadayretiredin2001as managing director of the privatemarketsgroupofUBSAssetManage-ment in Chicago, where he and histeammanaged$19billioninprivateequity,realestate,oil,gasandtimber.

For the Holadays, the “businessdiscipline”thatservesasabackbonetoTheDakotaFoundationaddressesthreekeyareas.First,thereis an investment focus ineverything the foundationdoes. Second, the founda-tion makes investments—in the form of grants andprogram-related invest-ments—that enhance ef-ficiency and promote aparticipatory approachto working with people

ratherthanapaternalisticapproach.Third, the foundation focuses onentrepreneurship.

“Welovelearningaboutnewideasand new ways to accomplish chari-tablepurposes,”Holadaysaid.

an investment FoCus The foundation is guided by thesesimple yet powerful concepts: phi-lanthropynotcharity;investmentnotconsumption. “We wanted to makeit very clear that we make invest-ments;wedon’tprovidehand-outs,”Holaday said. “We love to invest inpeople,togivepeopletheskillstheyneed tomake themselvesmoreself-sufficient.Whathasmoreeconomicviabilitythanthat?”

To pursue its goals, The DakotaFoundationprovidesgrantsaswellasprogram-relatedinvestments(PRIs),atypeoflow-interestfinancing.PRIsaremostcommonlymadeasbelow-

Mission StatementTheDakotaFoundation,throughtheannualdistributionofcharitabledollars,solvessocialproblemsandassistsindividualsinachievinggreaterself-sufficiency.Weaccomplishourprogramgoalsprimarilythroughprogram-relatedinvestments(PRIs).Holdingtoabeliefinprovidingpeoplethetoolstheyneedtohelpthemselves,wefavorthosesmallentrepreneurialorganizationsthatpromotesocialchangewithnewandcreativeideas,andwithdisciplinedfinancialthinking.


tion. Through the camps,elementary and middleschoolstudentsexperiencewhat it’s like to run theirown town and start theirown businesses. Mini-Society isknowntobeaneffective and popular en-trepreneurship educationprogram that increasesthe levelofacademicper-formance, entrepreneurialthinking, career aspira-tions,civicparticipationandperson-al resilience of students. The campstake place primarily on North Da-kota’sAmericanIndianreservations.

“IdeaslikeMini-Society,ideasthatarenewandlookatnewwaysofdo-

ing things for a high social return,those are the ones that excite Lynnandme,”saidHoladay.

entrepreneurshipThrough programs such as Mini-Society,TheDakotaFoundationde-livers on its vision of fostering andencouraging entrepreneurship. Asstated on its website (www.dako-

tafoundation.org), the foundation“seeks opportunitiesto helpthenextgenerationof talented entrepreneursstrengthen their skillsandhonetheirtalents.”

“In North Dakota especially, we

face a real challenge to create goodbusiness opportunities for youngpeoplethatwanttostayinthestate,”said Holaday. “It’s a shame if theywanttostayyethavetoleavetofindopportunities.”

One of the foundation’s primaryreasonsfor its focusoneducationisthat the Holadays believe that thereis simply no better economic devel-

“We’re not out to change nonprofits. We’re out to make a difference with our nonprofit.” — Bart Holaday, Founder and Chairman, The Dakota Foundation

Kids at one of Dakota Foundation’s Mini-Society® Young Entrepreneur Summer Camps build their entrepreneurial skills.

philanthropy futureNorth Dakota

investmentseducation

self-sufficient

talent

skills

discipline

market rate loans or, occasionally,equity interest, and require that thereceiving agency generate sufficientcashflowtoultimatelyrepaytheloanorprovideareturnontheequity.Allreturns from PRIs must be recycledintonewPRIsorgrantsandcannotbe added to The Dakota Founda-tion corpus. Preferably, the grantsandPRIsgivenbythefoundationareused to help create sustainable pro-grams rather than being consumedimmediatelywithaone-timeimpact.Most grants and PRIs range in sizefrom$50,000to$100,000andfocuson activities in Holaday and Lynn’shomestates,NorthDakotaandNewMexico,respectively.

While the Holadays strongly be-lieve that an invest-mentapproachisthebest way to evaluatephilanthropic efforts,theydon’tspendtimeonaskingsimilaren-tities to change theirapproach. “We’renot out to changenonprofits,” said Holaday. “We’reout to make a difference with ournonprofit.”

a partiCipatory approaChAshiningexampleofaninvestmentbyTheDakotaFoundationthatisre-sultinginhighsocialreturnsaswellasgreatefficiencythroughapartici-patory approach is the Mini-Soci-ety® Young Entrepreneur SummerCamps presented by the UniversityofNorthDakota’sCenterforInnova-


opment investment than education.“Wehavetocreateabettereducatedworkforce to compete internation-ally,”saidHoladay.

Finding inspiration and passionTheHoladaysfeelthatakeycompo-nent to successful charitable givingis for people to find their inspira-tionandtheirpassion.ForHoladay,hisinspiration—bothpersonallyandprofessionally—is people. “I am soinspired when I see someone whohasidentifiedanopportunitytobet-ter himself/herself and society, andthatpersontakesadvantageofit,”hesaid. “To theextent thatwecanusethe foundation to help people dis-coverthatinthemselves,that’sarealbenefitthatinspiresme.”

Another component is asking thesimplequestion,“whereisyourpas-sion?”

“We found that we are very pas-sionateaboutourhomestates,” saidHoladay. “And while there is an in-finitevarietyofways togiveback,afamilyfoundationworksbestforus.”Hesaidthatatthisstageoftheirlives(bothHoladayandLynnare67yearsyoung), it’s impor-tanttoaskquestionsthataddresshowyouspend the time youhave and whom youchoose to spend itwith.

“Ihavenevermetaperson I’m so happybeing with as Lynn,”said Holaday. “We

feelveryblessed,andwefeelanobli-gationtogivebacktosociety.”

To get more out of your charita-ble giving dollars, consider gifts toprogram-related investments and/orongoing sustainable programs. Askyour receiving organization(s) forinformation on how their programsbothaddresstheneedsoftodayandcreateabetterfuture.


the upsides of a downturnTrends change but giving perseveres through tough economiesBy Shannon Schweigert, Today’s Giving

poor economies, the growth rate ofcharitablegivingdropsanaverageof1%.Theaveragedeclineinrecessionslasting8monthsormoreis2.7%.

TheNationalBureauofEconomicResearch declared the start of ourcurrentrecessionasDecember,2007.

Thedropin2008char-itablegivingisthefirstdecline since 1987, ayearinwhichataxlawprompted donors to“giveearly”inordertomaximize deductionstheycouldclaim.

as the reCession lingersTargetAnalytics,aBlackbaudCom-pany,recentlyreleasedastudycom-paringgiving trends in thefirst twoquartersof2008and2009toidentifysigns of decline or recovery in thenonprofitindustry2.

Thestudycomparedthreeprimarymetrics—revenue, total donors, andnew donors—and five secondarymetrics related to donor attractionand retention. The nonprofit indus-try was divided into eight distinctsectors:AnimalWelfare,Arts&Cul-ture, Environment, Health, HumanServices, International Relief, Reli-gion,andSocietalBenefit.

The primary metrics of revenue,totaldonorsandnewdonorsallde-creased in 2009 compared to thesameperiodin2008,whichindicatesthat the decline in giving has notreversed. Revenue declined a me-dian 7.7%, and donor numbers fellamedian3.5%,echoingathree-yeardecline.Newdonornumbers fellby7.6% and fewer than a third of theorganizations surveyed experiencednew donor growth—a significantfactorintheoveralldecline.Overthepast five years, the number of newdonorshasdroppedanaverage9.7%;an annual effective decline of 1.9%peryear.

priorities ChangeStatisticsshowthatsustaineddonorshave not reduced the amounts theygive, but have been more selective.Whileoverallgivingfelljust2%,ma-jor declines were felt in select non-

unCommon dropOnly twice since 1956 have Ameri-cans given less than the previousyear. Historically, charitable givingin theU.S.has increasedanaverageof8.4%inyearswithoutarecession,and6.2%inyearswitharecession.In

ThemostwidespreadU.S.financialcrisissincetheGreatDepressionofthe1930’s continues to affect Americans’ daily lives. I’m often asked for myperspectiveonhowtheeconomicdownturnhasaffectedcharitablegiving.Manypeopleassumethattrendsingivingreflectthoseinthefinancialmar-kets.Butdespitefinancialworries,Americanscontinuetogive.Thoughoffslightly, giving trendshavebucked thenationalfinancial trends.Total an-nualcharitablegivingintheUnitedStatesdroppedforonlythesecondtimesincecharitablewatchdogGivingUSA(GivingUSA,2009)begantrackingannual totals in1956.Evenso,contributions tocharitableentities in2008fellonly2%.

Despitethedrop,U.S.charitablegivingsurpassed$300billionforasec-ondconsecutiveyear.Estimatedgivingin2007was$314.07billion,thefirsttimethefiguresurpassedthe$300billionmark.Totalgivingbrokethe$300billionplateauasecondconsecutiveyearas$307.65billioningiftswerere-corded.(GivingUSAplanstopublishstatisticsfor2009inMay2010.)1

Changes in Key MetricsOverall Index Medians

Year-over-Year Change in Key Measures


profit sectors. During times of eco-nomicgrowth,theaverageAmericanbenefactor gives to seven nonprof-its; thatnumberdeclinestothree indifficult economies. Donors tendto concentrate their giving to thoseorganizations representing societal“needs” rather than issues that are

lessimmediateandmorerepresenta-tiveof“wants.”

human serviCes buCks the trendGiving USA1 research shows thatGiftrevenueincreased3.4%fromthefirst twoquartersof2009verses the

firsttwoof2008.Historically,givingto human-service organizations in-creases by an average of 5% duringrecessions lasting eight months ormore. Non-recession growth in thesector is2.9%.While the survey re-sults are encouraging for the sector,the need for services also increases

in difficult economictimes. The increasein giving most likelyreflects the increaseinneed.

a regional perspeCtive on domestiC violenCeExecutive director oftheCommunityVio-lence InterventionCenter (CVIC) ofGrand Forks, KristiHall-Jiran notes thatthe organization isseeing some of thegreatestspikesinser-

Industry Revenue ComparisonRevenue Change by Sector

Q2 2008 YTD to Q2 2009 YTD

International-relief organizations saw the greatest declines as many turned their support to charitable causes closer to home, with revenue falling 16.3% while numbers of donors fell by 8.1%. Environmental nonprofits also saw significant decreases. Religion, the largest beneficiary sector traditionally receiving nearly one of every three dollars contributed, saw declines in revenue (-2.6%) and donors (-1.8%). Religion was, however, the only sector to record an increase in new donors, growing by 0.7%—an indication that many may be turning or returning to their faith communities for guidance during their economic struggles.

-7.7%Overall Index

Animal Welfare

Arts & Culture

Environmental

Health

Human Services

Relief

Religion

Social Benefit

-1.7%

-7.0%

-9.9%

-7.1%

3.4%

-16.3%

-2.6%

-5.9%

OVERALL RETENTION

1st YEARRETENTION

DONORS NEW DONORS REV / DONORSREVENUE MULTI-YEARRETENTION

REACTIVATION

Q2 2008 YTD to Q2 2009 YTDQ2 2007 YTD to Q2 2008 YTD

Changes in Key MetricsOverall Index Medians

Year-over-Year Change in Key Measures

Source: Index of National Fundraising Performance - 2009 Second Claendar Quarter Results

Source: Giving USA (2009)


permanent housing after leaving aviolent relationship. Respectively,therewasa33%increaseinthenum-berofprotectionorderssoughtanda30%increaseinthenumbersofchil-drenandyouthreceivingcounselingtoovercomethetraumaofviolence.The number of clients reportinghomelessnessasaresultofdomesticviolencegrewby19%.

Most alarming, CVIC reported a105%increasefor2008inthenum-ber of individuals seeking shelter in

viceprovision in its29-yearhistory.“As is often the case, women— par-ticularly low-income women—arebeing disproportionately affected bytheeconomiccrisis.”

CVIC’slargestprogram,theAbuseandRapeCrisisProgram,servespri-marily low-income women and ex-perienceddramaticincreasesinneedfrom2007to2008.TheCentersawa50%increaseinthoseneedinghous-ingassistanceandwhoreceivedhelpto take steps towards re-locating to

theirLightofHopeShelterafterflee-ing violence. Hall-Jiran points outthatthisperiodreflectsthemostdra-matic increases in service provisioninher20yearswithCVIC.

Hall-Jiran notes that increasedneeds—coupled with the potentialfor decreased revenues—creates the“perfect storm” for agencies such asCVIC. Contrary to the national hu-man service statistics, CVIC is an-ticipating a 26% decrease in fundsraised throughdirectmail thisyear.

Federal stimulus fundshavehelpedclose thegapfor direct services for thetime being, but there re-mains a large revenueshortage to meet the in-creasedneedforon-goingservices.CVIC’ssustainedcontributorshavesteppedforward with larger-than-normal gifts to helpmakeup for theexpectedshortfall.

Forthelong-term,Hall-

Religion 2.0% -0.1% 2.8% 1.4%

Education 3.1% -1.1% 4.6% -1.9%

Foundations4 8.5% 5.9% 11.5% 29.3%

HumanServices 2.3% 0.7% 2.9% 5.0%

Health 2.3% 0.5% 2.9% 1.9%

Public-SocietyBenefit 6.4% 3.9% 7.3% 4.8%

Arts,Culture,&Humanities 4.0% 1.9% 4.7% 2.3%

Int’lAffairs5 13.2% 9.0% 26.3% 12.0%

Animals,Environment6 6.7% 6.2% 12.8% 8.2%

TOTAL RECESSIONNON-

RECESSION

RECESSION IN 8 MONTHS OR MORE

OF YEAR3

Average Rates of Change in GivingAverage rates of change in giving to respective purposes under various economic conditions, 1967 - 20072

1 Giving during recessions and economic slowdowns, Giving USA Spotlight, Issue 3, 2008

2 Some industries reflect shorter study period

3 1978 - 2008

4 Includes two years, 1982 and 2001. In 1982, giving to foundations rose 57.6 percent. The value for 2001 is 1.0 percent.

5 1987 - 2007

6 1987 - 2007

Human Services is a non-profit sector that is a noted exception to the overall trend. Following a 54-year trend of experiencing greater increases in giving to Human Service organizations during times of economic hardship, this sector was the only one to record revenue growth during the study period.

75%Individual Donors

$229.28B

7%Charitable Requests

$22.66B

5%Corporate Gifts

$14.5B

13%Foundations

$41.21B

sources of Giving2008 Gift Revenues

The 2008 gift revenues by sources indicates a 2.7% decrease in gifts from individuals, which traditionally make up the majority of all giving revenues. Source: Foundation Center (2008)


Jiran anticipates staying the coursein building funding relationships,“Ingeneral,withfunders,wearebe-ginning to focusmoreonour com-prehensive, holistic approach andhow we have the expertise to actu-ally‘solve’theproblemofviolence,topreventit,notjustkeepreactingtoit.Wejustneedtheresourcestodoso.”

CVIC’s New Choices Program,whichofferstreatmentforoffenders,experienced a 27% increase in menparticipating this past year. Recur-ring offenses were recorded for twoyearsfollowingparticipants’comple-tion of the program. Police calls totheirresidencesfellby67%andpro-tectionordersissueddeclined93%.

“Thesestatisticsreflectsomeofthemost exciting progress for our pro-gramsinthe20yearsI’vebeenwithCVIC. This intervention gets to theroot of the problem and is chang-ingthegenerationalchainofabuse,”statesHall-Jiran.

For the Rape and Abuse CrisisCenter (RACC) of Fargo, increasedservicedemandhasnotbeenasdra-matic.However,accordingtoExecu-tiveDirectorGregDiehl,therequestsforcrisisemergencyassistanceneedssuch as food, gas, bills, transitionalhousing and utilities has increased

dramatically. Diehl also points outthat RACC is just one of many in-terventionorganizationsservingthecommunitiesofFargo-Moorhead,aswellasCassandClayCounties.

He agrees that the economy andthe financial pressures felt withindomestic situations adds to thestressors, stating “Added stress offinancial issues, and loss of a jobbrings couples one step closer tothepowderkeg thatmayerupt intodomesticviolence.”

RACC collaborates with theYWCAofCass-Clay for shelter ser-vices. Erin Prochnow, executive di-rector of the YWCA, says recordnumbers of women and children

soughtshelterduringOctober,2009.The shelter, with a capacity of 65,housed 86 individuals twice duringOctober, and spent the majority of2009overcapacity.

GiftrevenuesforbothFargoorga-nizations remained steady in 2009.Prochnow ispleasedwith2009 rev-enues, but notes that gifts receivedweremuchlessthanprojectedfortheyear. “Our corporate gifts are downslightly, individual giving is steadyandrevenuefromchurchesandoth-erorganizationshasincreased.”

Diehl noted that RACC’s founda-

Works Cited1GivingUSA.(2009).apublica-tionofGivingUSAFoundation.CenteronPhilanthropyatIndianaUniversity.

2HelenFlannery,RobHarris.CarolRhine. (September 2009). Indexof National Fundraising Perfor-mance. Target Analytics a Black-baudCompany.

tiongrantshavedecreasedsincetheeconomic recession began, but giftsfrom individuals have increased by22%, keeping overall gift revenuesrelatively steady. Since 2007, RACChas increased its number of con-tributors by 14%, a statistic Diehlcredits to maintaining a consistentfundraising calendar, increasing thenumberof face-to-facedonorvisits,andcreatingmoreopportunitiesforvolunteers to get involved. The re-sult:Moreopportunitiesforprospec-tivebenefactorstolearnmoreabouttheworkofRACCandbeinspiredtosupportitsmission.

Prochnow echoes the stay-the-coursetechnique,sayingtheYWCAcontinues to reach supporters withmore information “touches” and isreaching new and sustained donorsby“buildingonwhatwehavealwaysdone;advocatingforthoseinneed.”

“In general, with funders, we are beginning to focus more on our comprehensive, holistic approach and how we have the expertise to actually ‘solve’ the problem of violence, to prevent it, not just keep reacting to it. We just need the resources to do so.” — Kristi Hall-Jiran


projects was the process that madethem possible, including the workofauniquenetworkof local leaderswho understood that enhancing thequality and livability of their com-munitywasnottheresponsibilityofone or two elite groups, but neededto be a shared vision—a true grassroots,community-wideeffort.

Financial support for both theWest River Community Center andthe Badlands Activities Center wasacombinationof individualdonors,corporate donors and a ½ percentsales tax that was approved in 2002byamajorityvoteof the town’s for-ward-thinkingresidents.

steWards oF “plaCe”Without social relationships, trust

andawillingnesstoseeyourneigh-borsasalliesworkingtowardacom-mongood,thereisnotruecommu-nity; there is just a group of peoplewho happen to have the same zipcode.Today’s Giving had theoppor-tunitytospendsometimewithafewoftheleaderswhowereapartoftheDickinson experience from its earlystages. Although these individualsexpressed intensepride inwhathadbeen accomplished, they balked atbeing called “leaders.” Perhaps theyare right, a better term might bestewards—stewardsofplace.

the West river Community CenterVaune Cripe, Senior Vice-PresidentofAmericanBankCenter,wasthere

In 2004, the Dickinson commu-nity welcomed a new $12.3 million,93,000 square foot fitness facility,the West River Community Center,which included an aquatic area,racquetball courts, tennis courts, aclimbing wall, a gymnasium, and asafarimazeplayground.Thesuccessof the community center led to theconstructionofthenearlycompletedBadlands Activities Center on theDickinson State University campus.This $16 million, multi-use athleticfacility showcases a state-of-the-arttrack, the largest outdoor electronicvideoboard in thestate,a synthetic-turffootballfield,andseatingforap-proximately4,000fans.

The only thing more impressivethan these two massive building

Quality of place has a profound effect on quality of life. With the vision of making their community a better place to live, work and play, the residents of Dickinson, North Dakota have shown a creative and entrepreneurial spirit, a deep commitment to progress, and a willingness to effect change.

Quality of placeBy Debora Dragseth

Photo Courtesy Scott Thuen


fromthebeginningasthechairofaloosely organized team called Des-tiny Dickinson. The organization’sinitialjobwastopromotethe½centcitysalestax.Withoutthepassageofthe tax, the West River CommunityCenter could not have been built.Tosupportthe½centsalestaxvote,theteamhitthestreets.Theyvisitedwith coffee groups at Hardees, Mc-Donalds, Perkins—wherever peoplegathered.Cripesaid,“Weattemptedtosharethemessagethatjustbecausewe are in Dickinson doesn’t meanthatwedon’tdeservethis.Itrequiredarealchangeinmindset.”

James Kramer, Parks District Di-rector,wasatthosemeetingsaswell.“Whenweweretryingtoselltheidea

of a ½ cent sales tax to support thebuilding of a community center, wetold voters, ‘We have no idea whatit isgoingto looklike.’Allweknewwasthatifthesalestaxvotewassuc-cessful, we would have $12.2 mil-lion available to build.” The teampledgedthatoncethefinancingcamethrough,theywouldpolleveryusersgroup for their input, and they did.With the newly selected architectsin tow, they worked with 46 differ-entgroups,spendingatleastanhour

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“included an aquatic area, racquetball courts, tennis courts, a climbing wall, a gymnasium, and a safari maze playground”


with each group asking them whattheirneedswereforthecenter.

Brian Becker, Senior Principle,Ohlson LaVoie Collaborative, said

thathisarchitecturalfirmdiscoveredinDickinsonacommunity thatwasuniquely interactive. “In truth,” hesaid, “we found it was a perfect fit.Wegotabsorbed into thecultureofthis community. I can tell you wewere heavily involved all the way;we shook a lot of hands. We went to over fifty individual meetingswith citizen groups. This was a

A unique network of local leaders who understood that enhancing the quality and livability of their community was not the responsibility of one or two elite groups, but needed to be a shared vision—a true grass roots, community-wide effort.

challenging, yet ultimately veryrewardingexperience.”

One of the things that the archi-tectswantedtogivetothecommuni-

tywasaBadlandstheme—abuildingwiththelookandfeeloftheregion.Thearchitects integratedacoalveininto the design and traveled to Me-dora and the Killdeer Mountains tochoosethesagegreen,burntredandscoriacolors.

Asapartofthefinancingpackage,Destiny Dickinson pledged to raise$1.5 million in donations. Through

thegenerosityofcorporatecontribu-torsaswellasindividualdonors,$3.2millionindonationspouredin.

In2002, theParksandRecreationDepartment hired consultants tohelp it to set fees, hire staff and, ingeneral, prepare for the openingof the facility. The consultants toldthem to expect 1,750 annual mem-bers. Kramer said, “We opened ourdoors with 4,800 members. It wasquiteachallengetomaketheneededadjustmentstoaccommodatetheun-expectednumbers.Intruth,weweremakingadjustmentsonthefly.”

According to six-day-a-week userand early planner, 82-year-old AlUhler, the successof thebuilding isin its multi-generational diversity.For example, the hospital uses thelazy river for rehabilitation services,


preschoolers play in the multipurpose room with theirparents, and many seniors belong to the Silver Sneak-ers fitness program. “After my workout,” Uhler said, “Istay for coffee with my friends. It truly is a communitygatheringplace.”

the badlands aCtivities Center Only a dream just a little over a year ago, the BadlandsActivitiesCenterwillsoonbetheprideofwesternNorthDakota. Known as “The BAC,” it includes a new foot-ball stadiumontheUniversitycampusthat, like theoldstadium, will also be used by Dickinson’s public andCatholicschools.

DickinsonStateUniversityBlueHawks’defensivetackleandtightend,LukeSteiner,playedfootballintheoldsta-diumwhenhewasaTrinityHighSchool student.Eachfall,thefieldwouldbegintoshowthestressofhostingsomany games. “Sometimes, late in the season, you couldput your hand down and your fingers would sink 2-3inchesintothedirt,”hesaid.Onrainyweekends,thefieldbecameavirtualmudbowl.Today,thenewsyntheticturfmimicsnaturalgrassandsandandrubberinfillreplicatesdirt.BesideshisprideinbeingapartoftheBlueHawks,a perennial Dakota Athletic Conference powerhouse,Steinerhasevenmoreskininthegame—hissummerjobwasworkingforBergerElectric,asubcontractorthatin-stalled themainpower feed to theBAC.He laughed, “I

Vaune Cripe, destiny dickinson Chair

Don’tmakeexcuses,makeprogress.CriperemembersreceivingaphonecallfromacommunityleaderinanotherstatewhowantedtoknowhowDickinsonhadaccomplishedallthatithadinsuchashorttimeframe.AfterCripeexplainedtheprocesssheheardasighontheotherendofthephone.“Well,”thecallerlamented,“Thatsoundslikejusttoomuchwork.”

Don’tunderestimatethevalueofbringinginthegeneralpopulationfromthebeginning.It’stemptingtogetasmallgrouptogetherandstartplanning,butideascancomeupviathecommunitythinktankthatareinvaluable.

Transparencyiscritical.Transparencyallowsconfidenceintheprocess. James kramer,

parks district director

Everycommunityisdifferent;whatworkedheremaynotworkeverywhere,butineverycommunitypeoplewanttobeinvolved.

Brian becker, senior principle, ohl-son lavoie Collabora-tive architectural firm

Dickinsonshouldbeaninspirationforothercommunities.Hanginthere.Don’tgetoverwhelmedbythebudgetortheprocess.Haveavisionandestablishyourgoalsandprioritiesaroundthatvision.ThefinishedbuildingisatestamenttothequalityofthepeopleofDickinson.

Kevin thompson, dickinson state university foundation Ceo

It’sveryimportanttohaveopendialoguewiththecommunity.Therehasbeenthoughtfuldiscussion,bothformalandinformal,whichhasbeencriticalinmakingtheseprojectsareality.

Dennis Johnson, Mayor of dickinson

Payattentiontowhomyouselectandelecttoleadershippositions.Makesurethatyourleadersarewillingtogooutandworkforwhatyouwantasacommunity.AnotherbuildingthatDickinsoncanpointtowithprideistheDickinsonAreaLibraryFoundation’srenovationofourPublicLibrary.

lessons learned

Gene Fisher of Fisher Industries and Kevin Thompson, Executive Director of Alumni Association and Dickinson University Foundation CEO.


guessifthelightsdon’tcomeon,it’smyfault!”

TheBACandtheWestRiverCom-munityCenterprojectseachhadoneimportant caveat: whenever pos-sible, to use local contractors. MarkSchromofMortensonConstruction,aMinneapolis-basedcompanythatisacting as construction manager fortheBAC,said,“Weusedmanylocalsubcontractors.Wefoundthatthereisincrediblygoodhelparoundhere.WorkersinNorthDakotaareamongthebest.”

“And so, because of budgets and downsizing, instead of conducting our annual raid, our consultant recomends this direct mail brochure.”

Schrom said, “One thing that hasbeendistinctiveabouttheDickinsonprojectisthatnormallyweconstructthe facility first and build the fieldlast—but,asthiswastheonlyfieldintown,webuiltthefieldfirst,andnowarebuildingthefacilityaroundit.”

TheBAC,slatedforcompletioninearly 2010, is being built with $10million in donations and $6 mil-lion from the tax initiative. KevinThompson, Dickinson State Uni-versity Foundation CEO, noted thatthe first gift was $500,000 in cash

from Roughrider Electric Coopera-tive, soon followed by $1.6 millionfrom Fisher Industries, $1 millionfromtheWaltonFamilyFoundationand several gifts in the $100,000 to$1 million range. Thompson said,“These generous gifts propelled thefundraisingthatallowedustogofor-wardwiththeproject.”

In addition to athletic events,theBACwillbeused tohostpublicevents and promises to be a signifi-cant economic and recruitment en-ginefortheregion.

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For membership and conference schedule contact:

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Creating Community destiny A strong sense of destiny is present in Dickinson, North Dakota, sup-portedbycommittedandenergeticleadersandphilanthropists.Knowingthattogethertheycoulddosomuchmore,membersofthiscommunityhavecrossednormalboundariesandbuiltacoalitionforaction.

Likebarnraisingorquiltingbeesofold,whenoneprojectisdone,com-munitymembersbegintolookforthenextchallenge.AndthatisexactlywhatishappeninginDickinson.Thequestionbeingaskedasthisentre-preneurial community turns thecorner into thenextdecade is, “Whatwillwebuildnext?”

50

50

tax Initiative

destiny dickinson

Fisher Industries

Walton Family Foundation

roughriders elec. Coop

donation Gifts

$6 m

$3.2

m

$1.6

m

$1 m

$500

K

$500

K –

$1

m

COMMUNITYof contributors


The recession economy has a directimpactonthecharitablegivinghab-its of many. Nonprofits are depen-dentupongenerosityingoodtimes,aswellasbad.AccordingtoGeorgeRuotolo, Jr., chair of the Giving In-stitute,65%ofAmericanhouseholdswith incomes of less than $100,000make annual contributions to char-ity.Thatisagreaterpercentagethanthose who vote or subscribe to aSunday newspaper. This group ofAmericansseldomgivesfromexcess,

decisions regarding their charitablegiving. Shrinking stock portfolioshavediminishedtheeffectivenessofone the most powerful and finan-cially efficient giving tools: appreci-atedstock.Increasesinenergycostsandinflationhavealsocutintofam-ilybudgets,diminishingtheabilitytomakecashcontributions.

And yet, a poor economy is oftenthe time when services that non-profits provide are needed most. Soit’s important to sustainbothgivingpractices and impact, no matter theeconomy.

Here are five tips for making themost of your contributions in goodtimesandbad:

Makeyourcharitablegivingapartof the household budget; not apartfrom it. Once you have planned foryourfamily’sbasicneedsforlifestyleandhealth,proactivelyplanforhowyou’llgivebytakingtimetomakeacharitablebudget.

Ifyourcharitabledollarsaretight,investinonetothreepriorityorgani-zations rather than multiple. Largergifts to a couple of priority organi-zationswillmakeamuchmoresig-nificantimpactonthoseissuesmostimportanttoyou.

Indentify your personal valuesandprioritizenonprofitswhosemis-sions most closely reflect them. Doyou find the greatest satisfaction bysupporting your alma mater, yourchurch,ahospital?Whichgroupsdoyou feel provide the services which

butmakessacrificialgiftsfromtheirhouseholdbudget.

An economic downturn can forcemany Americans to make difficult

5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Gifts

In good times and badBy Lisa Jackson, Today’s Giving

65% of American households with incomes of less than $100,000 make annual contributions to charity.


bestensureabettertomorrowinyoureyes?Answeringthesequestionswillhelpyoumakethedifficultdecisionsofwhomtosupportfirst.

Yourcharitablegivingisatangibleexpressionofyourvalues.Thinkofitasavoteinfavorofwhatyourbenefi-ciaryorganizationisdoing.Takethetimetolearnmoreaboutthemissionyouaresupportingandhowyoumaybe able to help attract others to thecause.

Giveyourtime.Volunteerinsup-port of what you believe. Your timeisvaluable.Noneofusknowsexactlyhow much time we have left to dogoodworkinsupportofothers.Bud-getyourtimeasyoudoyourmoney;givinggenerouslytotheissuesmostimportanttoyou.

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NorthDakota’sCoalitionofCharita-bleOrganizations (COCO)promptscollaboration to maximize an entireregion’sresources.

COCO, in Dickinson, ND, hasshatteredthemyththatcharitableor-ganizationsmustcompetewitheach

Take those qualities into a vastand thinly-populated region suchas southwestern North Dakota, andthe effects are multiplied. Nonprofitorganizationsinlowpopulationcen-tersnotonlyhavedifficultywinninggrants and national assistance, butalso find themselves constantly ap-pealingtothesamecontributorsforsupport.

These challenges and some re-sourcefulthinkingledtothecreationofCOCOin1996topromotephilan-thropy through education, informa-tionandcollaborativerelationships

otherfortheirpieceofalimitedpie.United by a commitment to theircommunity, the organizations thatbelongtothecoalitionareproactive,innovativeandfuturefocused.

Inthenonprofitworld,thelinebe-tween competition and cooperationcan blur beyond perception. Whilethe range of needs seems constant-ly infinite, resources are habituallyscarce. And though nonprofits maytargetwidelyvariedsectors,theirsep-aratemissionsbyandlargeboildowntoasingulargoal:Affectingpositivechangeforthecommongood.

“Kevin saw opportunities for us to share costs of expenses such as training and travel, to combine work on common problems, and to form a stronger, more unified base for seeking contributions.” — Kris Fehr

CoCo: Working together for the Common GoodBy Kate Henne, Today’s Giving

Photo Courtsey Jimmy Emerson

Fisher Industries and its employees was one of two organizations recognized with COCO’s 2009 Outstanding Philanthropists award.

organizing the organizations Kris Fehr, Executive Director of theWestern Wellness Foundation inDickinsonandformervice-presidentof COCO, has spent much of hercareer in the nonprofit sector. Sheknowswellthechallengesthatorga-nizationsface.“Itcanoftenfeellikealonely profession,” she said, becausestaff is tight and turnover high duetosalaryrestraintscoupledwiththehardworkofsecuringandmanagingfunds. And staff turnover is expen-sive.“Peopleneedtobedrivenbythemissionoftheirwork,notthemon-ey,” she said, and those qualities are

hardtofind,andevenmoredifficultforanindividualtosustainovertime.

So any means to maximize use oflimited resources were welcomedideas. In addition, agencies oftenfound themselves competing forcontributionsfromthesamedonorsandsourcestosolvecommonprob-lems. So in addition to maximizingresources, there was a great needto minimize duplication of effortsacrosstheregion.

In the 90s, coalitions and profes-sional associations outside of thenonprofit sector in North Dakota—such as in farming and energy—emergedasmodelsofgoodbusinesspractices.FehrsaysthattheideasooncaughtonasagoalforsouthwesternNorth Dakota nonprofit organiza-tions. Kevin J. Thompson—a 1987graduateofDickinsonStateUniver-sityandcurrentlyexecutivedirectorof the Dickinson State UniversityFoundation—helpedleadtheregion-wideefforttoformanonprofitcoali-tion. “Kevin saw opportunities forustosharecostsofexpensessuchastrainingandtravel,tocombineworkoncommonproblems,andtoformastronger,moreunifiedbaseforseek-ingcontributions,”Fehrsaid.

Kris Fehr, Executive Director of the Western Wellness Foundation in Dickinson and former Vice-President of COCO.


COCO was formed in 1996 andeversincehasbeenworkingtobuildrelationships between fundraisingentities, potential donors and thosewhoadvisepeoplehowandwheretogiveinsouthwestNorthDakota.

better togetherCOCO has grown to now include19 nonprofit agencies plus associatemembers from across southwesternNorthDakota thatworktogether toadvancethefollowinggoals:• Promotephilanthropyandgiving

insouthwestNorthDakota• Provideeducationfornonprofits

toincreasetheircapacitybuilding• Serveasaresourcefor

educationalopportunitiesinNorthDakota

• Providenetworkingandsupportforournonprofitmembers

• Buildcollaborativerelationshipswithalliedprofessionals

• ProvideinformationtoalliedprofessionalsanddonorsaboutCOCOnonprofitmembersandgiftingopportunities

• SponsorthePhilanthropistoftheYearAward

COCO has received sustainingsupportfromtheOttoBremerfoun-dation and the Bush Foundation,among other sponsors. Recently,COCOhasformedapartnershipwithandispartiallyfundedbytheStromCenterforEntrepreneurshipandIn-novationinDickinson—whosemis-sionistoinspireleadership,developbusiness,andadvancecommunityintheregion.


Karen Heidt, Director of Development, Dickinson Public Schools Foundation, present Paul, Joel and Troy Bosch of Bosch Lumber in Dickinson with a 2009 Outstanding Philanthropists award. The award is part of the community-building benefits that COCO offers.

Aaron Johanson, current Chair of COCO, and Julie Raatz, Administrative Assistant, review the COCO newsletter.

the beneFits oF CollaborationHistorically, efforts of nonprofit or-ganizations across wide and sparseregionshavebeenfragmented.Over-lapsineffortscanoccurbothwithinasinglesector(suchaseducationorhuman services) as well as amongdifferentorganizations.

Whenadiversegroupoforganiza-tions and representatives from thepublic and private sectors come to-gethertosharedifferentperspectives,experiences, and expertise, they aremorelikelytocomeupwithnewandcreative solutions tomeet theneedsoftheircommunity

Aaron Johanson, current Chair ofCOCO, outlines the top benefits ofcollaboration through the coalition:“Knowingwhatothernonprofitsaredoingacrosstheareaandimprovinglogistics, coordinating time sched-ules so that agencies are not solicit-ingthesamecontributorsatthesametime, which is especially importantinsmallerpopulationcenter,arema-jorbenefits,”hepointsout.

In fact,of themainbenefitsofaneffectivecoalitionisthecoordinationofservicedelivery.Thecoalitionhasstimulated an increase in commu-nication and information-sharingamong members. Information shar-inghas,inturn,ledtoincreasedco-ordinationofprogramsandservices.COCOalsohelpsproviderstoiden-tifywaysfacilitatemovementtowardlarger,morepermanentsolutions.

A coalition such as COCO also

promotesthefollowingbenefits:• Broadcommunitysupport• Strengthandpowerinnumbers

forbetterreach• Increasedimpactofinfluenceon

fundersandgovernmentalpolicymakers

• Addedcredibilitythroughaunitedfront

• Costefficienciesthrougheconomiesofscale(suchasmailings,meetings)

• Networkingandpartnershipopportunities

• Sharedexpenses(suchasintravelandtraining)

Finding or Founding a suCCessFul Coalition

Whether you’re a contributor toor member of a nonprofit cause, ifyouhaven’talready,youmaywanttoconsidersupporting,joining,orevenforming a coalition. If so, keep inmindthatsuccessfulcoalitionsmusthaveawell-definedmissionandclear


Current CoCo members:

nonproFit Coalitions and Collaborative organizationsThefollowingagenciesrepresentjustsomeoforganizationsinourregionthatbringtogethernonprofitagenciestohelpmaximizecontributionsandresources:

Coalition of Charitable organizationsdickinson, nd(701)483-283016796thAveWPOBox242Dickinson,ND58602

impact foundationfargo, nd

www.impactgiveback.org(866)451-9249or(701)271-0263415230thAveS,Suite102Fargo,ND58104and1661CapitolWayBismarck,ND58501

Mondak association of nonprofitsWilliston, nd

www.mondaknonprofits.org 701-572-0223322MainSt,Suite104WillistonND58801

north dakota association of nonprofit organizationMandan, nd

www.ndano.org 701-258-9101or888-396-3266POBox10911605E.CapitolAveBismarck,ND58502

northwest Minnesota foundationbemidji, Mn

www.nwmf.org (218)759-2057or(800)659-7859(Minnesotaonly)4225TechnologyDriveNWBemidji,MN56601

West Central initiativefergus falls, Mn

www.wcif.org 218-739-22391000WesternAveFergusFalls,MN56537

expectations set inwriting. Inaddi-tion, here are a few factors to lookfor:• Diversityoftheorganizationfor

broadexpertiseandviewpoints• Strongleadership• Staffingthrougheithera

committedboardand/oremployees

• Measuresofsuccessthatincludebothmeasurablegoalsandongoingevaluations

barriers to suCCessAsyouconsiderwhetheracoalitionis right for your giving effortsand which coalition to join,consider the following possibledownfalls and make sure theyareaddressedupfrontbytheco-alition:• Competitionamonggroups• Inabilitytoagreeonhigh-

levelobjectives• Costtoparticipate

HomeontheRange(SentinelButte)

HopeChristianAcademy

SacredHeartBenedictineFoundation(Richardton)

St.Benedict’sHealthCenter

St.Joseph’sHospitalFoundation

St.Luke’sHomeFoundation&ParkAvenueVilla

TheodoreRooseveltMedoraFoundation(Medora)

WestRiverHealthServicesFoundation(Hettinger)

AssociateMembers

DLNConsulting,Inc.(DebNelson)

MJKConsulting(MikeJ.Kiedrowski).

StromCenterforEntrepreneurship&Innovation(DSU)

ABLE,Inc

BadlandsMinistries(Medora)

BestFriendsMentoringProgram/WesternWellnessFoundation

BusinessChallenge

CampReCreation(Richardton)

CommunityAction

DickinsonCatholicSchools

DickinsonMuseumCenter

DickinsonPublicSchoolsFoundation

DickinsonStateUniversityFoundation

HillTopHeritageFoundation(Killdeer)


Western minnesotaEventide Living Center14057thStS,Moorhead,MN56560218-233-7508|www.eventide.org

Dorothy Day House of Hospitality7148thStS,Moorhead,MN6560218-233-5763|www.fmddh.org

Moorhead Thrift Shop Inc 501MainAve,Moorhead,MN56560218-233-2995

Sheyenne Crossings 14057thStS,Moorhead,MN56560218-233-7508|www.eventide.org

eastern south dakotaBrookings Area United Way PoBox750,Brookings,SD57006605-692-4979|brookingsunitedway.org

northeast north dakotaCommunity Violence Intervention Center 211S4thSt,GrandForks,ND58201701-746-0405|www.cviconline.org

North Dakota Special Olympics2616S26thSt,GrandForks,ND58201701-746-0331www.specialolympicsnorthdakota.org

UND Center for Innovation Foundation 4200JamesRayDrGrandForks,ND58203701-777-3132|www.innovators.net

University of North Dakota Foundation3100UniversityAveGrandForks,ND58202800-543-8764|undfoundation.org

northwest north dakotaCommunity Action Housing Corp. Region I 120WashingtonAveWilliston,ND588011-800-359-2243|www.willistoncap.org

Dakota Boys Ranch Foundation POBox5007Minot,ND58702701-839-7888|www.dakotaranch.org

southeast north dakotaDakota Foundation POBox1535,Jamestown,ND58402701-252-3420|dakotafoundation.org

Fargo Air Museum POBox8190,Fargo,ND58109701-293-8043|fargoairmuseum.org

Rape & Abuse Crisis Center POBox2984,Fargo,ND58108701-293-7273|www.raccfm.com

Sharehouse Foundation 42279thAveS,Fargo,ND58103701-361-1018|www.sharehouse.org

Village Family Service Center POBox9859,Fargo,ND58106701-235-3328|thevillagefamily.org

Wellspring For The World POBox9993,Fargo,ND58106701-306-9715www.wellspringfortheworld.com

YWCA Cass Clay 310012thAveN,Fargo,ND58102701-232-2547|www.ywcacassclay.org

southwest north dakotaAble Incorporated 653-19thStW,Dickinson,ND58601701-456-3000|www.ableinc.net

Badlands Ministries POBox305,Medora,ND58645701-623-4332|badlandsministries.org

Business Challenge 291CampusDr,Dickinson,ND58601701-483-2515|gobusinesschallenge.com

Camp Recreation Inc POBox26,Richardton,ND58652701-974-3774|mysummercamps.com

nonprofits & organizationsBelow is a list of most groups featured in this issue of Today’s Giving. Visit our website at www.todaysgiving.com to view updated information.


Become a foster or adoptive parent

Make a financial donation

PATH provides an array of family based services You can help in so many ways. 877-766-PATH

Families’ making the difference makes all the difference in the world.

Join the PATH to healthy families.

www.pathnd.orgNorth Dakota, Inc.

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p:412.818.9714donationmanagementsoftware.com

DonationManagementSoftwareOursoftwareisdesignedtomatchtheneedsofanynonprofitorganizationlookingtomanagetheirdonationdatabasewithoutthehighcostandcomplexityfoundinmanysoftwarepackages.

Community Action Partnership202EVillardSt,Dickinson,ND58601800-359-2243|www.dickinsoncap.org

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota 1616CapitolWay,Bismarck,ND58501701-223-1510www.lssnd.org/dailybread.com

Dickinson Catholic Schools Foundation 11513rdAveW,Dickinson,ND58601dickinsoncatholicschools.k12.nd.us

Dickinson Public Schools Foundation Inc POBox1057,Dickinson,ND58602www.dickinson.k12.nd.us/foundation

Dickinson State University Foundation2308thAveW,Dickinson,ND58601701-483-2004|www.dsufamily.com

Hill Top Heritage Foundations POBox98,Halliday,ND58636701-938-4311

Home On The Range Foundation 16351I94,SentinelButte,ND58654701-872-3745|www.gohotr.org

Hope Christian Academy 28915thAveW,Dickinson,ND58601701-225-3919|www.hcadickinson.org

Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota www.pcand.org

Ruth Meirs Hospitality House Inc POBox2092,Bismarck,ND58502701-222-2108|www.rmhh.org

Sacred Heart Benedictine Foundation POBox364,Richardton,ND58652701-974-2121www.sacredheartmonastery.com

St Josephs Hospital And Health Center 307thStW,Dickinson,ND58601701-456-4000|www.stjoeshospital.org

St Lukes Home 24210thStW,Dickinson,ND58601701-483-5000|www.stlukeshome.com

St. Benedicts Health Center 8514thAveE,Dickinson,ND58601701-456-7242|www.saint-benedicts.org

Strom Center 291CampusDr,Dickinson,ND58601701-483-2756|www.stromcenter.com

The Dickinson Museum Center188MuseumDr,EDickinson,ND58601701-456-6225www.dickinsonmuseumcenter.org

Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation POBox198,Medora,ND586451-800-633-6721|www.medora.com

West River Regional Medical Ctr 1000Highway12,Hettinger,ND58639701-567-4561|www.wrhs.com

Western Wellness Foundation Inc POBox542,Dickinson,ND586021-877-877-8685|westernwellness.org

*Although we try our best to provide the most current information in Today’s Giving, from time to time our records are not accurate. Please let us know at anytime if we need to change your organization’s information.


IgrewupinWashburn,NorthDakota,watchingDadandGrandpaputinlongdaysonthefamilyfarm.Asthesungrewwarmer,pullingusslowlyoutof the longwinter, IwouldwatchthedaysgetlongerandDadandGrandpa’sskingrowdeepshadesoftan,andthetextureoftheirskinchangefromthewind,dirtandcutsasworkinginthefieldandonequipmenttookitsannualtoll.

Likeallfarmers,theirwillofsteelseemedtoalwaysbeattheuncertaintyofweatherandunpredictablecropprices.At the end of each day, season, or career, farm familieshaveworkedhardtoprovideforthemselvesandcommu-nity.Notonepennyshouldgotowaste!

It’s important to ensure our legacies, family harmonyandretirementincome.Makingagiftthroughestateplan-ning provides more opportunities to keep hard earneddollarswithinthefamiliesandcommunitieswelove.

Estateplanningisnotaneasytopictothinkabout,andit’s often difficult to navigate. But, I’ve seen some greatopportunities develop when individuals have exploredmakingagifttocharityusingatechniquecalled“plannedgiving“— also known as charitable estate planning, giftplanning or integrated charitable planning. The point isthatwhiletherearemanyoptionsdependingonyoursitu-ation,buttheyallcanaccomplishfivethings:

unearthing farm-equipment benefits long after the fieldsBy Lisa Jackson, Today’s Giving


5Let’s take a look at one example

that actually uses depreciated farmequipment.Thisalsoworkswithun-soldgrainorcattle.Beforeyoubringthese items to an auction considerthefollowing.

problemUponretiring in2008,a farmerhasanauctionsaleofhismachineryandreceives $200,000 in net-sale pro-ceeds.Heissurprisedtofindaverysubstantialincometaxconsequence.Histotaltaxableincomeforthatyear,excludingthesaleofthemachinery,was$50,000.Becausetheequipmentwas depreciated over the lifetime ofits use, upon its sale the proceedswerere-capturedasordinaryincome.So,thefarmer’stotaltaxableincomewas$250,000.Hewasrequiredtopaythe Federal Income Tax Liability of$61,328 and North Dakota IncomeTax Liability for $8,586. That’s over$69,900!

solutionNow, let’s say the farmer first trans-fershisfarmmachineryintoachari-tableremaindertrustwithhisfavor-ite nonprofit organization, insteadof just selling it outright at an auc-tion. Then, a designated trustee ofthis trust sells the farm machinery,andplaces theproceeds in the trustfund which will produce retirementincome for the farmer. Here’s howthepicturechanges:Thefarmer’stax-able income is reduced to $50,000.The Federal Income Tax Liability isreduced to$6,698.00and theNorthDakota Income Tax Liability be-

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5 Benefits of Charitable Estate PlanningThere are many benefits of including charitable contributions in your estate plan. Here are five at the top of the list:

1. Help ensure family harmony as assets are transferred to the next generation.

2. Keep more hard earned wealth in the family.

3. Make a significant gift to charity that you maybe thought not possible.

4. Help reduce the amount you will pay in taxes.

5. Gain peace of mind knowing that you have a plan to carry out your wishes for your family members and your interests.


This is just one example of how charitable estate planning could dramatically help with state and federal tax implications. To see the full plan, visit the Today’s Giving website at www.todaysgiving.com.

comes$937.So,theTotalIncomeTaxesequalsjust$7,635!Inotherwords,thefarmerwillsave$62,279infederalandstateincometaxes

byusingacharitableremaindertrust.Statedinadifferentway,ifthefarmersellshisfarmmachineryonhisown,hewillonlyhaveapproximately$130,080remaining after paying his federal and state income tax liability to producefutureincome.Ifheweretoreinvestthisamountand,forexample,receivea5%returnonhisinvestment,hewillreceive$6,504eachyearuntilhisdeath.Through a charitable remainder trust, his income at a 5% payout would be$10,000or$3,496moreeachyear.

Thisisjustoneexampleofhowcharitableestateplanningcoulddramaticallyhelpwithstateandfederaltaximplications.Toseethefullplan,visittheToday’s Givingwebsiteatwww.todaysgiving.com.

What is a Charitable remainder trust?Acharitableremaindertrustisaspecialtax-exempt,irrevocabletrustarrange-mentwrittentocomplywithfederaltaxlawsandregulations.Whenyoutrans-fercashorassets(mostoftenhighlyappreciatedassets)tothetrust,youcanchoosetoreceiveincomeforlifeor,acertaintermofyears(nottoexceed20).Infact,theincomecanbepaidoveryourlife,yourspouse’slife,andevenyourchildren’sandgrandchildren’slives.

key points:• Thedesignatedcharitynamedin

the trust receives the corpus ofthetrustwhenthetrustends.

• You (the donor) or the namedincome beneficiaries (each trustmust assign one, but can havemultiple) receive income fromthetrustforlife,orforthetermofthetrust,whicheveryouchoose.

• Payout distributions are eithersetdollaramountorpercentagerate based on the trust type.Payoutisdeterminedbyyourage(orthebeneficiary’sage).

• Usuallyitisadvisedtocontribute$100,000ormoretothistypeoftrust.

• Charitable remainder trustswillhelpyousaveonincometaxes.

• Charitableremaindertrustshelpyouavoidcapitalgainstaxes.

Note:Theabovetaxcomputationsarebasedupon2008 taxrates.Thesematerialsare in-tended to stimulate thought, and toprovidethereaderwithusefulideasandguidanceinthe areas of estate planning and charitableplanning. The materials do not constitute,and shall not be treated as, legal advice re-gardingtheuseofanyparticularestateplan-ningorothertechnique,deviceorsuggestion,orany taxorotherconsequencesassociatedwith them. The reader should verify inde-pendentlyallstatementsmadeinthemateri-alsbeforeapplyingthemtoaparticular factpattern,andshoulddetermineindependentlythetaxandotherconsequencesofusinganyparticular device, technique or suggestionbeforeimplementingthesameonhisorherownbehalf.Today’s Givingdoesnotpracticelaw,norofferlegaladvice.


Stepping Out of the Shadows and Into the LightThe Ruth Meiers Hospitality House offers hope and a future to those in needBy Dayna Del Val

“Itisafactthatyoushouldgivehopetothehome-less, provide inspiration to the impoverished, es-tablish a one to one relationship that strengthensand encourages individuals, that lifts them fromdespair,” said former North Dakota LieutenantGovernor Ruth Meiers. As a tireless championfor the underserved throughout her lifetime, theRuthMeiersHospitalityHouseinBismarckstandsasalivingtestimonytohergoodworks.

BorninRoss,NorthDakota,RuthMeierswasafarmwifeandsocialwork-er who had a successful career in the State Legislature before becoming thefirstwomanLieutenantGovernorofNorthDakotain1984.FormerGovernorGeorgeSinnerrecallsthat“shewasliketheEnergizerBunny—justtirelessinherworkforthepoor.”

Asa long-timesmoker, lungcancerclaimedMeiers’ life in1987,butevenafterherdiagnosis,shenevergaveupherdesiretoprovideopportunitiesforat-riskandhomelesspeopletoassisttheminimprovingtheirownlot.Withamissionto“providehousingandsupportiveservicestoassisthomelessandlowincomepeopleinachievingself-sufficiency,”itisnotsurprising,then,thatthisorganizationwouldchooseRuthMeiersastheirnamesake.


housing those in needThelate1980s sawanexplosivegrowth in thehomelessandat-riskpopulationsallacrossthecountry.NorthDa-kotawasnoexception.WhentheRuthMeiersHospitalityHouse(RMHH)openeditsdoorsin1987,itwasashel-terforuptosevenhomelessmen.Veryquickly,itbecameapparentthatmoreserviceswereneededtohousemorepeopleandserve theever-growingpopulationofhome-lessandat-riskpeopleintheBismarckandMandanarea.

Overtime,moresheltersandtemporaryhousingunitswereconstructed,butevenwiththenewbuildings,RMHHwasforcedtoturnaway100sofpeopleayearwhoneededtemporaryhousing.Acapitalcampaignwasstartedintheearly90s,withagoalofraising$250,000.

A building was purchased and renovated to househomelessmenandofficespacein1994.By1997,RMHHwashousing75peopleonanygivennight.Butprovidingasafeplacetosleepisjustthebeginningoftheoverallvi-sionandgoaloftheRMHH.Providingrealindependenceand self-sustainability to at-risk people and families iswhatthemissionandgoalofRMHHreallyis.

From homeless to hopeFulInBismarckandMandan,thereare276homelesspeopleonanygivenday,withapproximately50long-termhome-less,andthatnumberonlyreflectsthosewhowereactu-ally“countable.”Someliveincars,onthestreets,orwithfriendsandwerenotpartofthe2009survey.”“Ofthose276 homeless individuals, 34% are chil-drenundertheageof18.Thenumberisgreatandgrowingeveryday.

ForKellyGunsch,directorofdevelop-ment at RMHH, there is much to cele-brateregardingthesuccessoftheHouse,butthereisalsomuchtobedone.Thebiggoals center around the 10 year collab-orativeplanentitled,“InFromtheCold,”developedbythemayorsfromBismarckandMandanandthemanyagenciesandleaders who work with homelessnessandhungerinthecommunity.Theplan’soverarchinggoalistoestablishimmedi-

ate,permanenthousingforat-riskpeople.Called“Hous-ingFirst,”130permanent, supportivehousingunitswillbeconstructedoverthenext10yearstoprovideperma-nenthousingforlong-termhomelesspeople.

Gunschcontinues,“Youcankeepfolksinashelterfora month here and there, but there’s a shortage of hous-ingforthose individuals inourcommunity.Theymightbe bringing in $200 per month, and housing costsmight be $400 per month. We’d much rather be ableto offer a helping hand here and there and help thembecomeself-sufficient.”

Overthecourseofthesenext10years,thestudyshowsthatthecostofprovidingsupporttothelong-termhome-less population through Housing First will be equalto or less than the costs of providing for short-termhomelessness.

“Theplanprovidesaroadmaptoendlong-termhome-lessness. That accounts for a disproportional use of thesystem resources. Focusing our efforts on eliminatinglong-termhomelessnessmakes themosteffectiveuseofour scarce resources. Disability and poverty should notsentence a person to a lifetime of long-term homeless-ness,”addsGunsch.

more than Just a plaCe to sleepWhether a person or family is experiencing long-termhomelessnessorisinatemporaryperiodofneed,Gunschsays,“Wehavesuchavarietyofprograms.It’saonestop

shopforeveryone,anditmakesiteasierforthem.”

In addition to temporary housing,RMHH also has some transitional andpermanent housing for men, women,andfamilies.

TheStoneSoupKitchenprovidesfree,hotmealsandnourishmentforthesoulfour days a week. The Food Pantry andDaily Bread Shelf also provide food topeoplewhoneedhelpfromtimetotimeorwhoneedrecurringfoodassistancetostayindependent.Kelly Gunsch, director of

development at RMHH


TheBabyBoutiqueprovidesbaby-relateditemsandof-fersprenatal to caring foryourbabyeducation.Expect-ant mothers are referred by other agencies and work atother community programs to earn points to shop attheBoutique.

TheUsedFurnitureBarnoffersresidentsmovingoutoftheshelterandintomorepermanenthomesdonatedfur-nitureandhouseholditemstobegintheirnewlives.

RMHHhasalsobeendesignatedtheSinglePointofEn-try for the Bismarck/Mandan area as an additional partofthe10-yearplan.Thismeansthat24hoursaday,sevendays a week, individuals and familiescan be referred by other agencies, in-cluding the police departments andchurches. To offset the burden of anyone organization having to find theresources to provide all the servicesto a family or individual, the load issharedbymany.

Food may come from the RMHHfoodpantryoneweekandCommunityAction the next; the Salvation Armymaybeabletoprovidecoats,etc.

A coordinator for RMHH works withthewholenetworkofcommunitypart-ners to find everything necessary tohelp people get on their feet. RMHHhasdevelopedandispartofanincred-ibleseriesofprogramstoassistpeoplewhoaretransitioningoutofhomeless-nessandintoself-sustainability.

gratitude For all Who serveGunsch is quick to point out that theRMHHdoesnotdoallthisalone.Shenotes, “We couldn’t do it without thecommunitysupportandournetwork-ingagencypartners.Wearesogratefulto those folkswhoareable tomakeafinancialcontribution,whohavealittleextraforthefoodpantry,andforthose

who are able to give some time to serve lunch to thosewhodon’thaveahotmeal.Thereare justsomanywaysthatpeoplecanhelpthosewhoarelessfortunatethantheyare. It’sachallengeforsure,but it’salsoveryrewarding.Youknowthatyouhavemadeadifference,andit’ssome-thingyoucan’texplain.”

RuthMeierschampionedthosewhowereinneedofanextrahelpinghanduntilthedayshedied.TheRuthMeiersHospitalityHousehastakenherpersonalmissionandcre-atedhopefortheleast,thelostandthelonelybyprovidingimmediateandlong-termassistancetothemostvulner-

ableinthecommunitysotheycanstepoutoftheshadowofhomelessnessandintothelightofindependence.

FormoreinformationabouttheRuthMeiers Hospitality House or to do-nate,pleasevisitwww.rmhh.orgorcall(701)222.2108.

Photo circa 1985. Left to right: Former ND Governor Art Link (founding Board member), ND Lt. Governor Ruth Meiers, ND Governor George Sinner. (Photo taken prior to the founding of Ruth Meiers Hospitality House).

Temporary housing provides safe shelter as families and individuals build independence and self-sustainability.



Wecouldn’thavebeenmoredif-ferent. Mrs. Bair took great

pride in her Bohemian ways. Shewasaflower-childwhocontinuedtobattlethesysteminthemid-80’sasifthesixtieshadneverended.Iwastheyoungest inaconservativefamilyofsixboys; agoodstudentanda four-

sport, small-town athlete who sel-dom stepped outside the lines. Ourpathscrossedinthefallof1982andadreamwassetintomotion.

Mrs. Bair stepped to the front ofour sophomore English class and

asked something no other teacherhadaskedbefore:“Whatdoyouwanttogetoutofthisclass?”Whenitwasmyturn,muchtothechagrinofmyclassmates, I responded, “I love tell-ing stories and I want to become abetterwriter.”Mrs.Bairdrewadeepbreath and replied, “Then you need

tostartreadingthe best story-tellers.”

For the nextthree years, Imade time toreadallIcouldfrom Mrs.Bair’s reading

list. Her devotion inspired me topursueadegreeinEnglish.Theplanwas tobecomeawriter,a teacher,atellerofstories.Ileftforcollegewithher three writing rules firmly en-sconced in my mind: 1. Know your

subject. 2. Don’t be afraid to viewissues from multiple perspectives. 3.Writewhatisyourpassion.IalsoleftwithagraduationpresentfromMrs.Bair; a current edition of the Mod-ernLanguageAssociationHandbookinscribed: “I’ll be watching for yourbyline.Mrs.Bair”

ThehandbookwasalwayscloseathandandoftenreferencedasIwrotepaper after paper while earning mydegree inEnglish.IadheredtoMrs.Bair’s words, researching my sub-ject, lookingat it frommanyanglesasIcontinuedtohonewritingasmycraft. With college degree in handand my heart set on writing, it wastimetofindmypassion.

But the practicalities of life hadotherplansforme,andthesearchformypassionandawritingcareertookmany detours. Eventually, througha series of career moves and pure

I have always believed that we become who we are by absorbing the best traits of those who teach and inspire us along the way.

Shannon SchweigertCo-Founder,Today’s Giving

Until Next Issue

From the Founders

By Shannon Schwiegert, Co-Founder and Editor in Chief, Today’s Giving


dumb luck,mypassion foundme. Ibegan working in fundraising anddevelopmentintheearly1990’s.

As I met people from throughoutthe regionandacross thecountry, Ibegantonoticeaveryimportantas-pectofgiving thatchanged thewayIfeltaboutfundraising.Likemany,Ithought fundraising was about per-suading the prospect to give to themission of the organization. But Isoon learned that those who sup-portedourworkhadaverypersonalinspiration for giving. They wantedto give and they had specific rea-sons for why they gave. Their gifts,I learned, came about after verypersonal contemplation combiningrationale with emotion. A donor’scontributionisaninvestmentinsup-

portoftheirbeliefsandvalues;andavote of confidence for the organiza-tiontheyaresupporting.Seeingthepersonal satisfaction in the faces offulfilleddonorsbecameapassion.

I have always believed that we be-come who we are by absorbing thebest traits of those who teach andinspireusalongtheway.Forme,thesearchformyplaceandpassionhasbeen a long and winding road with

Those who supported our work had a very personal inspiration for giving. They wanted to give and they had specific reasons for why they gave.

Shannon Schweigert is a founding principal of GivingPoint (a fundraising consulting firm founded in 2007) and founder/editor in chief of Today’s Giving. He has 20 years experience as a fundraiser and financial advisor for organizations including: Jamestown College, Foster Klima & Co., EideBailly, LLP, and Impact Foundation. In addition to his professional work, Shannon serves on the board of directors for Wellspring for the World, a Fargo nonprofit that drills freshwater wells in Africa. He and his wife Holly have two children: Andrew, a freshman at the University of North Dakota, and Alison, a freshman at Fargo Shanley High School.

many detours and wonderful in-cidental discoveries along the way.Throughoutmyjourney,Ihavebeeninspiredmostbythosewhotakethetime to share with others. As youread Today’s Giving magazine, we’reconfidentthatyou’llbebothinspiredandenlightened through thestoriesof inspirational people, organiza-tions and philanthropy experts. It’sbeenapleasurecreatingitforyou.Ihopeyouenjoyit.ShannonSchweigertCo-Founder

PS–Mrs.Bair,whereveryouare, ithastaken25yearsbutIhavefoundmy passion. My byline appears inToday’s Giving.

www.todaysgiving.com

1. Pickitupatmostofyourfavoritelocalbusinesses.

2. SignuponlineforasubscriptiontoreceiveToday’s Givinginyourmailbox.

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Western MinnesotaJanuary 20, February 24, March 10, April 15, May 11, June 10

2010 Philanthropy Leaders SeriesHosted by: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

MetropolitanBallroom,GoldenValley,MNwww.mncn.org | 800.289.1904

February 6

Logging Days8:00a.m.-4:30p.m.,BuenaVistaSkiArea,Bemidji,MNwww.bvskiarea.com | 800-777-7958

Old time logging demonstrations & events. Live music, sleigh rides, lumberjack camp meal and more.

February 6–15

Polar FestDetroitLakes,MNwww.visitdetroitlakes.com | 800-542-3992

Ice Tee Golf Tourney, Theatre performances, hockey and curling tournaments, Daddy’s little sweetheart dance. Saturday morning Freeze Your Buns Run and Polar Plunge into Little Detroit Lake at 1 p.m.

February 18

The Dallas BrassHosted by: Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Organziation

7:00p.m.,HistoricHolmesTheatre,DetroitLakes,MNwww.dlccc.org | 218-844-shoW (7469)

Adults: $22 Students: $11.

February 13

10th Annual Ice Fishing ChallengeHosted by: Viking Sportsmen, Inc and Sertoma International

12:00p.m.,LakeLeHommeDieu,Alexandria,MNwww.icefishingchallenge.org

The entry fee is $35 if purchased before January 29, and $45 after that date.

February 20–21

Minnesota Finlandia Ski MarathonHosted by: Minnesota Finlandia Community Health Sports

8:00a.m.,BuenaVistaSkiArea,Bemidji,MNwww.minnesotafinlandia.com | 218-751-0041

March 13

7th Annual Celtic FestivalHosted by: Fargo & Moorhead Parks & Recreation

10:00a.m.-4:00p.m.,HeritageHjemkomstInterpretiveCenter,Moorhead,MNwww.fargoparks.com | 701-241-8160

April 17–18

Area-Wide Spring Yard Sale WeekendHosted by: Barnesville Main Street Program

Barnesville,MNwww.barnesvillemn.com

May 20

Lakes Area Start! Heart WalkHosted by: American Heart Association

5:00p.m.,DetroitLakesPavilion,DetroitLakes,MNwww.americanheart.org | 701-252-5122

Eastern South DakotaFebruary 18

Little Black Dress for MS LuncheonHosted by: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

11:00a.m.-1:00p.m.,SiouxFallsConventionCenter,SiouxFalls,SDwww.littleblackdressforms.org | 605-336-7017

February 19–21

Annual Artists of the Plains ShowHoliday Inn City Centre, Souix Falls, SDwww.augie.edu | 605-274-4007


February 20–21

Bow Wow BoogieHosted by: Aberdeen Area Humane Society

EaglesClub,Aberdeen,SDwww.anewleashonlife.net | 605-226-1200

A casual dinner with a silent auction, split pot, and pick-a-prize table.

March 12–13

Britton Area Winter FestivalHosted by: Britton Area ChamberBritton Auditorium, Britton, SD605-448-5323

April 17, May 8

Walk MS: 2010Hosted by: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

SiouxFalls(April17),Aberdeen(May8),andWatertown,SD(May8)www.nationalmssociety.org | 1-800-344-4867

Northeast North DakotaFebruary 6

Toast to Winter! Benefit Dinner & Silent AuctionHosted by: North Dakota Museum of Art

5:30p.m.,GrandForks,ND701-777-4195

February 18

The Wedding Singer7:30p.m.,ChesterFritzAuditorium,GrandForks,NDwww.cfa.und.edu | 701-777-4090

March 6

Special Olympics North Dakota Polar PlungeHostedby:SpecialOlympicsNorthDakota

9:00a.-12:00p.m.,CanadInn,GrandForks,NDwww.specialolympicsnorthdakota.org | 701-746-0331

March 26–27

2010 Rugby Spring ExpoRugbyArmory,Rugby,NDwww.rugbynorthdakota.com | 701-776-5846

April 23

2010 Relay For Life of University of North DakotaHosted by: American Cancer Society

7:00p.m.,MemorialStadium,GrandForks,NDwww.cancer.org | 800-227-2345

April 17–18

Red River Valley 2010 Motorcycle ShowHosted by: Red River Valley Motorcyclists

AlerusCenterBallroom,GrandForks,NDwww.rrvmnd.org | 218-695-2082

Proceeds donated to local charities. Tickets:$5 for adults. Free for Kids 10 and younger with paying adult.

Northwest North DakotaApril 30

27th Annual MSU Gala Dinner & AuctionHosted by: Minot State University

HolidayInn,Minot,NDwww.minotstateu.edu | 701-858-3234

Tickets:$50 per person.

May 8

Walk MS: 2010Hosted by: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

9:00a.m.Check-in-10:00a.m.Start,MinotStateUniversityDome,Minot,NDwww.nationalmssociety.org | 1-800-344-4867

Southeast North DakotaFebruary 13

Sweetheart’s BallHosted by: Ronald McDonald House

HolidayInn,Fargo,NDwww.rmhcfargo.org | 701-232-3980

Tickets are $75 each.

February 18–20

Cares for Kids RadiothonHosted by: MeritCare Children’s Hospital

BroadcastliveonFMradiostationsY94(93.7FM),Bob95(95.1FM)andMojo(104.7FM),Fargo,NDwww.meritcare.com | 877- 478-5437

February 19

Little Black Dress for MS LuncheonHosted by: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

11:00a.m.-1:00p.m.,RamadaPlazaSuites,Fargo,NDwww.littleblackdressforms.org | 701-235-2678


March 2–6

Fargo Film FestivalTheFargoTheatre,Fargo,NDwww.fargofilmfestival.org | 701-239-8385

March 3

Red River Valley Heart BallHosted by: American Heart Association

6:00p.m.-12:00a.m.,RamadaCrystalBallroom,Fargo,NDwww.americanheart.org | 701-252-5122

March 11

Springin’ For JazzHosted by: Jazz Arts Group of Fargo - Moorhead

5:30p.m.,FargoHolidayInn,GreatHall,Fargo,ND218-359-4JaZZ (4529)

Win tasting, hors D’oeuvres, live musci, and a live and silent auction. Tickets: $40

April 9

Northern Plains Chapter Association of Fundraising Professionals Conference9:00a.m.-4:00p.m.GladstoneInn&Suites,Jamestown,NDwww.afpnet.or | 218-745-6008

April 17

Dine & BidHosted by: Jamestown College

JamestownCollege,Jamestown,NDwww.jc.edu | 701-252-3467

May 19

Sister’s Path Spring FlingHosted by: ShareHouse

5:30-9:30p.m.RamadaInnCrystalBallroomII&III,Fargo,NDwww.sharehouse.org | 701-478-1511 ext. 311

Southwest North DakotaFebruary 13

Winter FestivalHosted by: Cross Ranch State Park

3:00-7:00p.m.,CrossRanchStatePark,Center,NDwww.parkrec.nd.gov | 701-794-3731

Horse drawn sleigh rides, cross country skiing, winter ecology program and more.

February 14

For the Love of a Pet Dinner & Artisan AuctionHosted by: West Dakota Vet Clinic

5:00p.m.,GrandDakotaLodge,Dickinson,NDwww.lovingpetsinneed.com | 701-483-0240

Champagne social, dinner and auction. Tickets are $40 couple & $25 single.

February 23

Death By Chocolate Hosted by: Girl Scout - Dakota Horizons Council

6:00p.m.,RadisonInn,Bismarck,NDwww.gsdakotahorizons.org | 701-223-4525

February 28

18th Annual St. Benedict’s Candlelight DinnerHosted by: Alana/St. Ben’s Health Center

6:00p.m.,GrandDakotaLodge,Dickinson,ND701-456-7242

This evening is titled “Mardi Gras.” Dinner reservations are $45 per person.

March 3

Bowling Tournament at Midway LanesHosted by: Alzheimer’s Association

12:00p.m.,MidwayLanes,Bismarck,NDwww.alz.org/mnnd | 701-258-4933

This tournament is open to four person teams (limted to the first 52 teams) for $100/team.

March 6

Annual Make-A-Wish BenefitHosted by: Make-A-Wish Foundation

4:30p.m.,EaglesClub,Dickinson,NDwww.makeawish.org | 701-590-0665

A Silent Auction , Dinner, Live Auction, Dance. Tickets: Adults $10/children $5.

April 22

Annual Strom ConferenceHosted by: Strom Center

DSUStudentCenter,Dickinson,NDwww.dickinsonstate.edu/stromconference | 701-483-2756

Pam Grugel of Moorhead, MN, takes volunteering very seriously, touching so many people through her community service. Each week, Pam visits Eventide Living Center in Moorhead to lead hymns for those who live there. She also helps stock food weekly at the local food pantry, and she and her family prepare meals periodically for those at the Dorothy Day House. Pam travels to the Minnesota capital annually and advocates for government support on funding for those with disabilities.

After 31 years at Fargo’s Woodrow Wilson Community High School—an alternative school for students at risk of school failure—his remarkable, award-filled teaching career has in itself a left a positive, indelible impact on the community. But in addition, since 1995 science

teacher Gary Brekke has volunteered summers and weekends at Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity (LAHFH), building and supervising build sites, and teaching volunteers. His work and contributions have directly led to the creation of 31 homes to date in Fargo-Moorhead to help eliminate sub-standard housing and homelessness. The LAHFH affiliate was founded in 1991 and is on track for its current goal of building an average six homes annually. See www.lakeagassizhabitat.org for volunteer and contribution opportunities.

If you ask Jamestown’s Betty Hjelmhaug why she is a committed volunteer for Special Olympics she’ll tell you, “Having been a part of it as a volunteer and a parent, I see how important the program is to the participants and their families. In return I see their happiness and sense of self-worth all in a simple gesture – smiles on their

faces.” Betty began her affiliation with Special Olympics in 1988 when her daughter Heather started participating. Since that time she has taken on many roles: coach, fundraiser, event organizer and advocate. Betty was named to the Special Olympics North Dakota Board of Directors in 2004, the same year she received the organization’s outstanding volunteer award.

In 1975, Dorothy Kjelland of Moorhead, MN teamed up with several other community members to start The Moorhead Thrift Store, a second-hand shop, with the goal of giving proceeds back to the community. After 35 years, sales of items donated to and sold at the store are still benefiting local pantries and shelters. Running the store and keeping books as a community service was a daily routine for Kjelland for 38 years, until in 2008 when she “retired” from the day-to-day activities at a very young-at-heart age of 83. Nevertheless, each Tuesday she still volunteers at the store to help keep things running smoothly.

Abe Sakak, COO and Myron Thompson, CEO of Food Management Investors/Apple Core Enterprises got their start with their first Applebee’s in Minot, ND. Now they have 30 restaurants in North Dakota, Minnesota, California, and Arizona. More than successful restaurateurs, over the last two decades they have worked hard to develop a giving culture by helping veterans, schools, churches and other organizations through community events such as the Veteran’s Day Pancake Feed, DECA Breakfast, Dining to Donate and Tip A Cop Fundraiser for Special Olympics. Since they began, these events and others have raised over a quarter of a million dollars.

Editor’s Note: Each issue of Today’s Giving will include “Faces of Giving” to recognize and thank some of those across our region whose actions serve as both leadership and inspiration for thoughtful, meaningful contributions that improve the lives of others. Do you know of someone who fits the profile? If so, please send recommendations to [email protected] or mail to Faces of Giving, 1407 1st Ave North, Fargo, ND 58104.

www.todaysgiving.com

Today's Gviing, Issue 1

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