Fundraising Abundance

The theme of the 2008 conference was "Embracing Abundance." In light of the economic downturn, some people wondered if this topic was too incongruent with the fundraising climate at that time. Some even sent e-mails to us suggesting that we might want to reconsider our approach, or at least "tone it down." In spite of this feedback, we decided to stay the course and emphasize our theme even more in light of the existing and forthcoming fundraising challenges.

In the ensuing nineteen months, we have witnessed tremendous abundance - and we have all embraced it. We are delighted to announce that the Grinspoon Institute camps currently engaged in our match programs have collectively raised $8.4 million since June 2009. These funds were matched with $1.2 million from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, totaling $9.6 million in one year. To date GIJP affiliates have raised $49.9 million from 1,700 individuals donors, matched with $10.6 million from HGF which means that we have collectively exceeded $60 million in fundraising for overnight Jewish camps. In addition, the Create a Jewish Legacy program has confirmed 726 commitments with an estimated value of more than $30 million. Kol hakavod to all of professional and lay leaders who have worked so hard to achieve this incredible success!

As your campers and their families arrive for the summer, please keep in mind the abundance of potential support that is out there. GIJP Mentor Laurie Herrick's article focuses on this Fundraising Abundance.

And Technology Program Manager Kevin Martone reminds you that camp is the time to collect great videos and stories that can be used to engage your constituents all year long. Read his article for some tips to help you collect (and utilize) this abundance of engaging content.

The GIJP Team wishes all of our camps a wonderful summer!

B'shalom,
Eric Phelps

Fundraising Abundance

GIJP Mentor Laurie Herrick recently had an article published in the Wednesday Report, a weekly newsletter from www.massnonprofit.org, which serves organizations across Massachusetts. The article explores the ways to make a cultural shift in your social profit* organization to one of fundraising abundance.

Laurie's work in creating fundraising breakthroughs has touched her work during her tenure at GIJP. At the 2009 Grinspoon Camping Conference, Laurie gave a plenary presentation called Embracing Abundance. In both the live presentation and her latest article, Laurie looks at ways that organizations can make a long-term sustainable change from a culture of scarcity to one where people are clamoring to fund your work. Read on to learn more.

*Note: As we begin to notice the impact of the use of our scarcity language even the word "non-profit" to describe our organizations can be disconcerting. Inspired by the work of Lynne Twist, in this article we refer to those organizations that do good work in the world as Social Profit Organizations.

Collecting Video at Camp This Summer

Have you struggled to find content to complete your monthly eNewsletter? Wished you had more videos to post on YouTube and your website all year long? Spent much too long determining what to post on your blog? Don't let that happen again this year.

Summer is fertile ground for collecting engaging content you can use all year long to communicate with your constituents. So dust off your camera, pull out a pen and some paper, and read on to learn how to collect great videos and stories you can use all year long.

Matching Grants Program Updates