As 2012 draws to a close, we here at KCI find ourselves reflecting on the

year that was. So many things happenedover the past twelve months – The LondonOlympics, Superstorm Sandy and the U.S.election to name but a few.

For the Philanthropic Trends Quarterly edito-rial team, 2012 was also the “Year of theDonor”. Admittedly, this focus was some-what “accidental” as we didn’t set out withthat theme in mind. Yet, every topic weexplored seemed to weave its way back toone central theme – donors and what theywant and expect from us. So to cap off theYear of the Donor, we turn our attention inthis edition of Philanthropic Trends Quarterlyto donor recognition.

Now you may be thinking - “What newcould possibly be said about recognition?”Well, as we’ve discovered through ourresearch and conversations with thoughtleaders throughout North America, a lot.

Probably the most fascinating thing for meis that recognition, like so many elements of philanthropy and fundraising, is under-going a rethink to ensure that it continuesto meet its objectives in this increasinglysophisticated and competitive fundraisinglandscape.

One of my personal “aha” moments camefrom something shared with me by one of my KCI colleagues. For the past severalyears, her 11 year old son has donated hisbirthday money to an animal welfareorganization. He makes these gifts in hon-our of his cherished pet cat, which wasadopted from the charity. Donating thismoney is really important to him - so

important, in fact, that he chooses to makehis gift in person. He recently received aletter from the organization asking if hewould consider making another gift.Delighted to be receiving mail addressed tohim personally from his special charity, heexcitedly opened the letter. But upon read-ing it, his excitement turned to sadness.They hadn’t acknowledged his previousgifts. And you know what he asked hismom...?

“They don’t know who I am. Don’t theyremember me?”

The innocence of his reaction, one that isnot coloured by adult understanding ofthings that might have led to the oversight,made me think that we need to go back tothe root of the word recognition, which is“to recognize”. By not acknowledging hisprevious gifts, my colleague’s son didn’t feel “recognized”.

I worry that our preoccupation with donorwalls, annual reports and naming opportu-nities, which make up the lion’s share ofconversations about recognition, has led usto lose sight of the intent of recognition,which is to make our donors feel appreciat-ed and special, and perhaps most impor-tantly, part of our “families”.

And so, I encourage you to allow the conceptof “we know who you are and what youhave done for our organization” be yourguide when thinking about what’s importantwhen it comes to recognizing your donors.

Best wishes for the upcoming holiday sea-son…and here’s to a great 2013!

Marnie A. Spears

President and CEO

2012: Issue 4

The Recognition Issue

WINTER 20122

Donor walls. Naming opportunities.Annual report listings.

Talk to most any development profes-sional about donor recognition andthese are the things that will likelycome up.

Traditionally thought of as a “best practicemust do” item to be completed at the end of a campaign, thinking and conver-sations about donor recognition havetended to reside solely in the realm of thetactical. But many leading fundraisers arearguing that’s not enough anymore, say-ing that donor recognition is no longer (ifit ever should have been) about checkingoff a box on a checklist. Arguing that thisapproach, with its sense of finality, missesthe opportunities that recognition offersto charities for developing deep and longlasting relationships with donors. Rather,they say that we should be adopting

a long term, ongoing mindset when itcomes to recognition, using it as one of anumber of tools to build better relation-ships with our donors and bring themcloser to us.

And so, there is a sense that the time isright to reimagine and redefine recogni-tion, acknowledging that limiting the dis-cussion to tactics takes too narrow a viewin Canada’s ever evolving and maturingphilanthropic landscape.

Public vs. Private recognition

One of the ways recognition is beingrethought is by nuancing its definition todistinguish between public and privaterecognition.

When thinking of recognition, the ten-dency is to focus solely on the public sideof the definition - the ways that we pub-

licly acknowledge our donors and thegifts they make to us. Of course, not alldonors want to be recognized publicly,preferring to keep their gifts anonymous.But, it’s safe to say that all donors want,and in fact expect, private recognition –to be assured that they are known to and appreciated by the charities that they support.

Think about the donors in your ownorganization, particularly loyal donorswho have given to you for 10, 20 or even40 years. When you send a letter to themdo you let them know that you “recog-nize” them? And we mean really recognizethem. Not in a “thank you for your previ-ous donations” kind of way. But in a “Mary,we know that you have given to ourorganization for the past 20 years. Yourgenerosity has been noticed and is soappreciated. Thank you.” kind of way. The two acknowledgements have a very

Beyond the donor wall: rethinking recognition

WINTER 2012 3

different feeling and tone, with the lattermaking the donor feel like they are trulyknown to the organization. And it does-n’t have to be hard. Do some analysis andsegmentation of your database and you’llbe well on your way to being able to rec-ognize your long term donors in this way.

Adopting this mindset means that recog-nition comes in many forms, and almostany interaction with the donor is anopportunity to recognize them. Quietand personal moments – like when theyreceive a letter, no matter the intent, andit thanks them in a very personal way fortheir gift. Or when they order a ticket fora show or exhibit and the order taker isprompted by the system that they arespeaking to a donor. A powerful tool in

building relationships with donors, pri-vate recognition is something that hasnot been given enough time and atten-tion in the vast majority of organizations.

More than just the money

No conversation about donor recogni-tion would be complete without talking

to donors. And what they say aboutrecognition just might surprise you.

For Jan Belanger, Assistant Vice PresidentCommunity Affairs at Great-West Life, Lon-don Life, and Canada Life, the best recog-nition goes well beyond acknowledgingthe monetary value of their gift. “The mostmeaningful recognition we receive cele-brates the relationship between us andthe charity that we are supporting, whichalways goes beyond a financial contribu-tion,” says Belanger. “For example, we tendto be early donors to many projects, andthis early support often helps to bringother contributions to the table. Some ofthe most meaningful and effective recog-nition that we’ve experienced recognizesthis aspect of our support.”

“ “

...all donors want, and infact expect, private recog-nition – to be assured thatthey are known to andappreciated by the charitiesthat they support.

Rethinking donor relations

It’s impossible to talk about donorrecognition without exploring thebroader concept of donor relations, thespot where recognition most oftenresides in both our thinking as well asour organizational structures.

And in the same way that donor recog-nition is currently experiencing a peri-od of reimagining, so too is donor rela-tions undergoing a metamorphosis inboth thinking and approach.

The objectives of Donor RelationsPrograms are self-evident and relatively

unchanging – building long lastingrelationships, making donors feel likepart of the family and showing donorsthe impact of their gifts. What is differ-ent is the approach that is being takento achieve those objectives.

The old model of donor relations tendsto be activity based at its core, with thekey pillars being recognition and stew-ardship activities. In defining the waywe interact with our donors in theweeks, months and maybe (or maybenot) years following their gifts, thesetwo terms guide both our philosophy

as well as our tactics. Organizing ourthinking in this way has kept our focusperhaps more narrow than it should be.

The new model is centred around thedonor and takes a broader view of theways and means available to organiza-tions to achieve the objective of build-ing deep and long lasting relationshipswith donors. It realizes that donor rela-tions is animated by much more thanjust recognition and stewardship activ-ities, while at the same time realizingthat there are elements of recognitionand stewardship in all activities.

Stewardship

Annual ReportImpact StatementsPersonalized letters/reportsStewardship meetingsEtc.

Recognition

Naming OpportunityDonor WallDonor ListsPlaquesEtc.

Old model of donor relations - ACTIVITY CENTRED New model of donor relations - DONOR CENTRED

MISSIONENGAGEMENT

REPORTING & ACCOUNTABILITY

PRIVATE RECOGNITION

GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS

PUBLIC RECOGNITION

Donor relations

WINTER 20124

Belanger points to Goodwill Industriesserving Southwestern Ontario as anexample of an organization that man-aged to do just that when recognizingtheir support for a capital renewal proj-ect. From Belanger’s point of view, whatmade the recognition so meaningful wasthat it successfully paired the intent ofthe gift with what it enabled. “As one ofthe first major donors to the table, Great-West Life and London Life’s donation wasimportant in helping attract and leverageother support”, says Michelle Quintyn,President and CEO of Goodwill Industries,Ontario Great Lakes. “To acknowledgethat early leadership, we recognizedthem in our “Gateway” - the corridor thatserves as the entrance and lobby to ournew building. Without this “Gateway”,which is the point of access to our pro-grams and services for our clients andcommunity, we wouldn’t be able to carryout our mission. Which is exactly how we

feel about the gift from Great-West Lifeand London Life. As a result, naming thisspace in their honour was truly symbolicof the role that they have played in help-ing make our vision a reality and there-fore felt like the most appropriate recog-nition of their gift.”

Belanger goes on to say that another rea-son the recognition was so meaningful tothem is that it also told their shared story -of what the two organizations are tryingto accomplish, both as separate entities,as well as through their work together.The words on the recognition plaque say it all…STRONGER COMMUNITIESTOGETHER: In recognition of Great-WestLife and London Life’s commitment tomaking learning more inclusive andaccessible so everyone has access tomeaningful work. “Not only did it recog-nize the contribution that we madethrough our national corporate citizen-

ship program and our commitment toStronger Communities Together™,” notesBelanger, “it tells a shared story and com-mon vision that we and Goodwill areworking jointly to achieve.”

Hilary Pearson confirms that in her expe-rience working with some of Canada’sleading philanthropists, telling the storyof what their gift enables is the thing thatmakes them most excited about being

“ “

Why not? Creative donor recognition vehicles

Here at KCI, we’re often asked for new,fresh and creative ideas for recognizingdonors. And so, we’ve taken it uponourselves to amass a list of some of themost unique, creative and even daringideas for donor recognition that we’veheard of…or come up with ourselves.While keeping in mind that whateverrecognition vehicle you choose, it hasto fit within your organization’s missionand culture, we hope that these ideaswill get your creative juices flowing!

1. Name a gene. The Dana-Farber Can-cer Institute in Boston has a programthat gives donors of $5,000 or more theopportunity to name a gene with a per-sonal message or in honour of a familymember, friend, or caregiver. Donationsare recognized in The Gene Display, avisual and dynamic display that repre-sents the real genetic information thatleads the research team at the Cancer

Centre to lifesaving treatments.

2. Name in Lights. Using theatre light-ing or other special effects is a greatway to create dynamic and dramaticrecognition. Donor names projected onindoor or outdoor spaces is just oneway to take your recognition ‘beyondthe wall’ and to make your stewardshipstand out. Non-permanent recognitionsuch as this also enables new ways toengage your donors. Imagine inviting a donor to “view” their name projectedonto an outdoor space on a specificdate and time.

3. Camp Trail. To recognize donors toits fundraising campaign to build a newcamp, the Tim Horton’s Children’sFoundation is establishing a recogni-tion trail at each of its five camps acrossCanada and the U.S. All donors to thecampaign will be honoured and recog-

nized with their name on a rock orstone on the trail. This unique vehiclemarries the recognition of donors tothe campaign with the mission of theorganization, which is to provide a fun-filled camp experience for children fromeconomically disadvantaged homes.

4. Concierge service. At the Universityof Florida Foundation, donors who havegiven $1 million or more cumulativelyhave access to an exclusive conciergeservice run by the Foundation. TheFoundation will take care of the detailsof arranging personalized campustours, hotel stays or business meetings,reservations for spa, salon or restaurantappointments and babysitting services.Donors also receive access to campusrecreational facilities and personalizedtreatment at the University of Floridamedical facilities.

For most major philanthro-pists in Canada, recognitionis much more about sharingwith others the story of thework they are supportingthan it is about personalgratification.

WINTER 2012 5

recognized. As President and CEO ofPhilanthropic Foundations Canada, amember organization that representssome of the largest private foundationsin the country, she has heard time andagain from many of Canada’s most distin-guished philanthropists that meaningfulrecognition is less about being thankedpublicly than it is about bringing visibilityto the work they are supporting. “For mostmajor philanthropists in Canada, recogni-tion is more about sharing the story ofthe work they are supporting than it is about personal gratification,” saysPearson. “In fact, the impulse of manyfamilies is to not want to talk about them-selves and so they can be reluctant to berecognized. But what they are attractedto is the idea of recognition as a means toshare information about the work that isbeing done through their gift.”

And she wants to dispel once and for allthe notion that recognition is a key moti-vating factor for giving from major

donors. “While recognition is important,and there are certainly instances where itis the prime reason for a gift, it is not thekey driver in deciding to make a gift ofsignificance to an organization in the vastmajority of cases. In the U.S., the cultureis different and philanthropic status isoften part of how wealthy Americansdefine themselves, which is not the casein Canada. I worry that textbooks or man-uals written from a U.S. perspective mayhave inadvertently coloured our thinkingon this topic, as it’s quite clear that in theCanadian experience, recognition is not aprime driver of giving,” says Pearson.

This finding is important for charities tounderstand, particularly those that don’thave big, public spaces to name or evenphysical spaces for donors walls. “Assomeone who has had the pleasure ofworking with major donors in a variety ofdifferent types of organizations, I can tellyou that even in instances where publicnaming is available, it is not the primary

motivator for donors’ giving,” says SusanHorvath, Vice President LeadershipPhilanthropy at the Canadian CancerSociety. With experience leading andworking at different institutions withvarying degrees of public recognition,including Mount Sinai Hospital Found-ation, Western University and now theCanadian Cancer Society, Horvath ex-plains that naming and public recogni-tion is almost never the primary motiva-tor of major donors. “While certainly niceto have, the absence of public spacesdoes not preclude organizations frombeing able to attract significant gifts.Focus on the impact that a gift can haveand find creative ways to recognize theirgiving, both publicly and privately.”

New ways to recognize

Supporting this notion, a key trend in recog-nition is a move away from static recogni-tion to one that is active, dynamic and focu-sed on donor engagement and experience.

WINTER 20126

The Telephone Town Halls hosted by theCanadian Cancer Society illustrate howeager donors are for opportunities toengage with the organization. “We creat-ed our Telephone Town Hall program as away to engage our community of sup-porters and share information that wethought would be of interest,” saysHorvath, “Our most recent TelephoneTown Hall presented a panel of expertstalking about cancer prevention. Weinvited some of our more significantdonors as well as those who have givento us for many years. The response wasphenomenal – 8,000 people called in fromacross the province to have the chance tohear from our panel of experts.”

The overwhelming response that theCancer Society received to its TelephoneTown Halls is not a blip. It is reflective ofdonors increasingly looking for accessand “behind the scenes” opportunities asa way of being recognized for their gift.

At the Canadian Opera Company (COC),that means access to artists, musicians,and the General Director of the COC.“Donors want special insights into theproductions as a whole – even meetingwith production designers, directors andset designers,” says Dawn Marie Schlegel,Associate Director Development, at theCOC. “They are increasingly looking foraccess, such as invitations to events orbehind the scenes opportunities evenmore than they are looking for theirname in a print piece.”

One of the ways that the COC is facili-tating that “access” is through online

resources and social media tools. Donorsare increasingly following the GeneralDirector, COC musicians and artists on Twitter, Facebook and other social media. This is creating unique conversa-tions and interactive experiences withdonors.

Social media is another great way toshowcase and recognize donors, particu-larly corporate donors, in a way that is

dynamic and ongoing. Many charities areusing tools like Twitter and Facebook toannounce new partnerships, and perhapsmore importantly, continue to shareinformation about them. These tools pro-vide the chance to recognize donors in aregular and ongoing way. And it pushesthe recognition out to constituents ratherthan needing them to come to the organ-ization, as is the case of static, physicalrecognition.

“ “

A key trend in recognition is a move away from staticrecognition to one that isactive, dynamic andfocused on donor engage-ment and experience.

WINTER 2012 7

Recognition trends and tactics

Here is a summary of the emergingtrends and tactics related to donorrecognition.

1. Engagement and experience asnew face of recognition. Increasingly,organizations are using donor engage-ment and experience activities as a wayto recognize donors. At a recognitionevent for a major donor to its MRI cam-paign, one hospital foundation gaveevent attendees the chance to see thephysicians use the machine and evenoperate the controls themselves. An artgallery had an artist do a painting whilethe guests were in attendance. Andfacilitating a thank you visit to thedonor from someone who has benefit-ted as a result of their gift is also popu-lar. This trend toward engagement andexperience with a focus on impactshows how the lines between recogni-tion and stewardship are blurring,again in support of the notion that theyare simply two tools in the donor rela-tions tool kit.

2. Recognition of cumulative givingbecoming more common. More andmore organizations are not limitingtheir recognition to size of gift, butrather looking at how best to recognizecumulative giving. Loyalty Societies arebecoming more popular, recognizingdonors who have given for many yearsto an organization regardless of giftlevel. Again, this trend ties into theshifting of our mindset about recogni-tion, which is that we are trying to buildcloser relationships with donors, buildloyalty and make them feel like weknow who they are.

3. Framework and guidelines stillrequired. While the days of definingrecognition through rigid templates,

tactics and matrices are behind us, bothfundraisers and donors alike agree thatevery charity needs to have some sortof framework to guide their thinking.Everyone we spoke to said that chari-ties need to proactively think abouttheir recognition and create guidelinesand policies to govern equitable recog-nition of gifts. While it’s still important tohave that framework, consensus is thatflexibility needs to be built in to ensurethe ability to adjust as the need arises.

4. Valuing of naming opportunitiesnot an exact science. While there areno hard and fast rules when it comes tovaluing naming opportunities, thereare some guidelines that are commonpractice. When it comes to capital proj-ects, it is common to consider foot traf-fic, vehicle traffic and apply a “price persquare foot”. In addition, the value ofthe private funding portion of the proj-ect is generally taken into account andto name the building, for instance,often requires 50% of the private fund-ing goal. When it comes to researchand program delivery, most common isto equate the naming opportunity withthe amount required to execute theprogram. Regardless, the value attachedto naming opportunities needs to berational, reasonable and defendable toa donor. And ultimately, it’s often acombination of both cost and what the“market” will bear (i.e. what donors toyour organization or in your communi-ty are willing to give).

5. Time limited naming is becomingmore common. The adoption of timelimited naming is becoming more com-monplace in the Canadian philanthrop-ic marketplace, particularly related tobuildings or other capital projects. Acommon practice is to tie the naming

to the lifetime of the building or asset.This practice can actually be an impor-tant benefit to donors, as no donor, cor-porate or individual, would want theirname attached to a building or piece ofcapital that has fallen into disrepair orbecome obsolete. One note of cautionis that applying terms can make discus-sions about the gift feel more transac-tional and less like the building of along term relationship. So, it’s importantto keep that in mind and ensure thatthere are other means built into theprocess to ensure the donor feels like avalued member of the organization’sfamily even when their recognition willbe limited to a certain period of time.

6. Varying models to pay for recogni-tion activities. Paying for recognitionactivities has become a popular topicof discussion among Canadian chari-ties. Some have moved to a levy sys-tem, the most common being a slidingscale levy wherein smaller gifts have a greater percentage levy (5-10%) andlarger gifts a smaller percentage levy(1-2%). Others are choosing to have thedonor cover costs if they want to berecognized through big ticket recogni-tion activities like full page ads in newspapers. But most are continuingto fund recognition the old fashionedway, through their annual operatingbudgets.

7. Don’t forget your volunteers.Recognition should not be the soledomain of donors. No charitable organ-ization can survive without its volun-teers. And when thinking about recog-nition as a means to create deep andlong lasting relationships, leadingorganizations include activities thatrecognize their volunteers as part oftheir overall recognition programs.

Marnie A. SpearsPresident and CEO

Nicole NakoneshnyVice President and Editor,Philanthropic Trends Quarterly

Philanthropic Trends Quarterly© is published by KCI.Unauthorized reproduction or distribution without attributionis prohibited. Philanthropic Trends Quarterly© is intended toprovide an anecdotal ‘snapshot’ of philanthropy in Canada.We hope it will serve as a useful overview for observers of thecharitable and nonprofit scene.

Aussi disponible en français. Illustrations by Mark Airs.

214 KING STREET WEST, SUITE 508, TORONTO, ON M5H 3S6 t: 416.340.9710 f: 416.340.9755 e: toronto@kciphilanthropy.com www.forwardthinkingKCI.comT O R O N T O O T T A W A M O N T R E A L C A L G A R Y V A N C O U V E R H A L I F A X E D M O N T O N

The Donor Wall – R.I.P.?

So, all the talk of new philosophies andtactics related to recognition may leaveyou wondering if more traditional formsof recognition, like the donor wall, are nolonger relevant, which is most certainlynot the case. The donor wall continues tobe valid and important for many organi-zations, most notably those that have avery well defined community. Whethergeographic, ethnic or religious, donorwalls can be a great source of pride andcohesion for close knit groups.

Certainly for organizations in smaller,rural communities, donor walls continueto be very important means of recogni-tion. For organizations like hospital foun-dations and local community charities,not only can donor walls serve as a rally-ing point for the community of donors,they can also act as a public celebrationof philanthropy and the giving of the collective.

In the case of the AanischaaukamikwCree Cultural Institute (ACCI) in Oujé-Bougoumou, Quebec, the recognitionwall serves as an important celebration of all those who made their projectpossible. Designed to preserve and studythe Cree culture and language, the ACCIis the museum and cultural institute ofthe Crees of Eeyou Istchee, Quebec (formerly James Bay Crees). It houses a3,000 sq. ft. exhibition on Cree materialculture, traditions and history, as well as a theatre, library, workshops, offices and climate-controlled artifact and archivalstorage areas.

Entitled the “Aanischaaukamikw Vision-aries”, the donor wall associated with theInstitute uniquely recognizes everyonewho made it possible – both the donorswho made financial contributions as wellas the Cree Elders who worked so tire-lessly to make the Institute a reality.Recognition plaques are in three lan-guages (Cree syllabic, English and French)and those recognizing donors are inter-mingled with those recognizing the Cree Elders.

“The donor wall has a strong sense ofpresence and authenticity, and beauti-fully fits the space thanks to its elegantmaterials and undulating, curvilineardesign,” says Stephen Inglis, ExecutiveDirector of Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultu-ral Institute. “As soon as people enter thebuilding, they are drawn to the wall to seethe plaques that recognize the CreeElders, which include photos, birth anddeath dates as well as the name of theCree community each is from. Equallyimportantly, it is meaningful for theAanischaaukamikw project in the way itties our donors to the Cree Elders whopromoted its development over the years.”

This reminder about the ongoing validityof donor walls in certain instances is agood reminder that no matter the trendor next big idea when it comes to recog-nition, it is important to remember thatyour organization’s recognition philoso-phy and activities need “to fit”. How youchoose to recognize your donors needsto fit not only the donor and their wishes,but also the culture and values of yourorganization.

Finding ways to marry donor recognitionwith your organization’s mission or pro-gramming is another example of fit. Forinstance, a theatre might think of puttingpictures of their major donors on theplaybill as part of the “cast”. A museummight think about making its donorrecognition an exhibit, talking about howphilanthropy has played a role in its his-tory. Or a hospital could bestow the hon-our of Doctor of Philanthropy on itsmajor donors. Finding ways to weaveyour reason for being into the recogni-tion you give your donors can be a greathonour for donors and can further rein-force the impact of the gifts that theymake to you.

But whatever you do to recognize yourdonors, keep one thing top of mind -ensure that you are being sincere andauthentic. Being genuine in your thanksand recognition is the best way to cele-brate the relationships with your donorsand cement them for the long term.