Show Notes
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Jeremy Wells, Senior Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, to explore one of fundraising’s largest overlooked opportunities: non-cash giving. Fundraisers often focus on a donor’s income, checking account, or other liquid resources because, as Jeremy admits, the easiest gift to request is usually the one that can come back to the office as a check. The problem is that cash represents only a small fraction of the wealth held in the United States, just over 4%, according to the data Jeremy cites. The rest may be tied up in privately held businesses, real estate, farmland, stocks, mineral rights, intellectual property, collectibles, and other assets donors may never have considered charitable resources. Jeremy’s central message is that nonprofits are “fishing from the smallest pond” when they limit fundraising conversations to cash.
Jeremy brings the opportunity to life with examples that range from the valuable to the wonderfully unexpected. One donor contributed 2,500 American Eagle silver coins purchased in 1987 and left gathering dust for nearly four decades. What the donor initially viewed as an old collection became a six-figure gift to a food service organization at a moment of significant need. Another donor contributed shares in a privately held business before a liquidity event, resulting in approximately $5.5 million for a donor-advised fund. After a positive experience, that same donor returned with another privately held business gift worth about $7.5 million. The psychological difference matters: writing a check may feel constrained by current income, while donating an appreciated asset can unlock generosity on an entirely different scale.
The conversation then turns to how fundraisers can introduce these possibilities without arriving at a donor meeting armed with an asset inventory and the subtle warmth of a tax auditor. Jeremy recommends beginning with the donor’s aspirations: what would they accomplish if they could make a truly significant difference? Once the donor is dreaming about impact, the fundraiser can explore what resources might make that vision possible. Careful listening is essential. A passing complaint about maintaining an unused family cabin, for example, may open a conversation about donating real estate. These discussions generally grow from trust with established donors, not from a first-time solicitation. Fundraisers should also recognize the ethical complexity surrounding wealth. Jeremy argues that nonprofits can acknowledge concerns about wealth concentration while still partnering with people who have already decided both to give their wealth away and to work with a charitable organization to do it.
Bill and Jeremy close with practical steps for organizational readiness. Nonprofits should review their gift acceptance policies, discuss non-cash assets with staff, executives, and board members, and determine which gifts they can manage internally. Organizations without the staff expertise, systems, or appetite for risk should identify outside partners before an unusual gift appears and sends everyone scrambling through old files asking, “What did we do last time?” Community foundations and other specialists can handle valuation, due diligence, documentation, liquidation, and donor intent, often for a small percentage of the gift. Jeremy also encourages fundraisers to learn which assets are especially common in their own regions, whether cabins in Minnesota, agricultural property in farming communities, mineral interests in Texas, or intellectual property on the coasts. The takeaway is not that every fundraiser must become an expert in every asset. They need to start the conversation, prepare the organization, know whom to call, and help donors discover a much larger capacity for the joy of giving.
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