Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Where's the money? Manhattan and Arlington lead as highest-paying metros in the U.S.

Here is an interesting article from the The Business Journals measuring average salaries in counties across the United States.  Is it really a surprise that Manhattan and Arlington are currently generating the highest salaries?

Here an excerpt with some key data points from the article:

"New York County, N.Y. (a/k/a Manhattan), and Arlington County, Va., are the only major U.S. counties where average compensation is higher than $100,000 per job, according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Manhattan’s 2.75 million workers earned an average of $109,028 in 2009, while Arlington’s 205,000 employees took home $102,373 per job."

Four Myths on Women’s Philanthropy: Busted!

Women are contributing to nonprofits in record numbers, yet organizations consistently look to male donors when faced with campaign planning or prospecting for the next “million-dollar” donor.  New research “busts” old myths about women’s philanthropy and encourages nonprofits to seek transformational gifts in new places:  their female donors.

Myth #1:  Women give less than men.
According to a recent study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, women are as much as 40% more likely to give then men.  They also tend to give with greater frequency and a larger average gift amount.  The study, entitled “Women Give 2010” is the first to look at philanthropy by gender.  A follow-up report, “Causes Women Support,” which examines the differences in giving preference by charitable sector, was released in February 2011.  Both are available through the Institute’s homepage.   

Myth #2:  Women give smaller gifts from their disposable income.
Fundraisers who take time to educate women on the significance of a major gift have been very successful in convincing them to take a risk and give of their assets.  Many planned giving vehicles now allow women to include donations as a part of their financial planning (think charitable trusts and the like).  In the recently released Women, Wealth & Giving:  The Virtuous Legacy of the Boom Generation, authors Margaret M. Damen and Niki N. McCuistion offer an excellent perspective on how women think, feel, and give, and what’s more, how they can and are capitalizing their assets for society’s sake.   It’s the best of both worlds:  altruism with a plan! 

Myth #3:  Women volunteer their time but not their money.
While some women believe that volunteering with an organization excuses them from contributing financially, that philosophy is widely changing.  Historically, women have given of their time because that was what they had to give.  However, women now make up the majority of the workforce and are more economically advanced than ever before.  Fundraisers who take time to educate women about an organization’s needs can allow women to see the “bigger picture” and create some of the organization’s most committed donors.      

Myth #4:  Women’s philanthropy is a new occurrence.
Although fundraisers have recently identified women’s philanthropy as an area of growth, women have long been leaders in charitable contributions and work.  Particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many women used their wealth to improve conditions for the poor, found schools and educational opportunities, and establish many of the cultural institutions we still visit today.  In Reinventing Fundraising: Realizing the Potential of Women’s Philanthropy, authors Sondra C. Shaw and Martha A. Taylor give a brilliant look into transformational giving of the past by charitable sector and offer brief profiles of the women who helped shape the future.
NOTE:  A majority of content for this blog post comes from Reinventing Fundraising.  The book’s authors,  Sondra C. Shaw and Martha A. Taylor, have recently released a new book on the topic entitled Women & Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

De-mystifying Stock Holdings and Key Terms: Part II

When a company is taken private:
All outstanding shares of a publicly held company are bought by an investor group which runs the company privately (often, senior management is part of the buyout).
-This is similar to a merger, but you need to find whether your prospect was a seller or a buyer.
-Prior to the shareholder vote, several “TOs” (tender offers) may be filed, describing the proposed deal (same with hostile buyouts.)
If your prospect was a seller, treat their stock as in any other buyout.
Check previous annual proxy for “change of control” benefits.
If your prospect was part of the buyout group:
Where did the buyout money come from?
What happened to your prospect’s stock?
Did your prospect get a bonus or other payment?
Restricted Stock:
Restricted stock is awarded to directors of a company as an incentive that can be realized only if certain conditions are met.
-Time based: vests on X day if they’re still with the company. Value these separately from actual holdings.
-Performance based:  awarded if you achieve X, do not value unless requirements are almost all met.
-Termination benefit tables will show what happens to restricted stock if the awardee dies, retires, becomes disabled or leaves for “good cause” before vesting.
-If they’re fired, quit, or take another job before vesting occurs, assume the restricted stock is forfeited unless you see an agreement.
Deferred Stock (a.k.a. “phantom shares”):
The executive or director does not have these shares, they have credit for them on paper that will be paid out at the plan exit date.
-Executive long term incentive plan: usually three years and paid out in year four, the amount credited depends on company performance.
-Executives may defer all or part of their salary/bonus until retirement.
-Director’s deferral:  paid out when they leave the board.
Normal dividends are credited on the “paper” shares as reinvestment.
When the time comes to collect, they can take either stock or cash (value of the shares at the time of the payout).
Stock Options:
It’s the right to buy X shares from the comp any at exercise price (also called strike price).
                -Unlike restricted stock, the awardee must pay to get the shares.
                -Exercise price is normally the average market price on the day it’s granted.
                -Options have a vesting schedule and an expiration date.
                -For basic valuation of stock options: current market price minus exercise price.

As always, we welcome your questions or comments!

Announcement: APRA-Indiana Seeking Presenters/Speakers for Annual Conference

Below is an announcement from our friends at APRA-Indiana.

Colleagues,

APRA-Indiana is currently seeking presenters for the annual conference to be held on Friday, November 4th at The Fountains in Carmel, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis.   We are seeking presenters on the following topics:

1.  Building effective partnerships between fundraisers and researchers. 

Do you and your fundraisers have a great relationship?  We are seeking 2-3 organizations to participate in a panel discussion on how the relationship between the fundraiser and the researcher has been built and how you work together to succeed.  We would like to have a Gift Officer/Development Officer as well as a Researcher representing each of the 2-3 organizations for the panel discussion. 

2.  Data mining basics

We are seeking individuals who can provide data mining basics that can be easily implemented in any organization.  Does your organization use simple data mining techniques that could be easily implemented into any organization?  Do you have a simple techniques which do not require the purchase of software or the mastery of advanced skills?  We are seeking individuals who can provide data mining basics that one could easily adapt to fit their needs. 

3.  Asset valuation

We are seeking 3-4 individuals to participate in a panel discussion representing experts in real property, company valuation, and other asset valuing areas. 
If you are interested in being a speaker, please submit the following no later than Thursday, June 30th:
-Title and summary of presentation
-Your name (s), title (s), place of employment, and contact information (phone & email)
We are looking for speakers at all levels, from first-timers to seasoned professionals.  Speakers will not be paid; however, APRA-IN will cover the registration costs for the speaker.

Please send your speaking topic or any inquiry to Joni Kanzler, jkanzler@saintmarys.edu, by Thursday, June 30th.  We look forward to
working together with you!

Thank you,

APRA-IN Programming Committee
Joni Kanzler - Saint Mary's College
Tanya Monroe-Ford - Taylor University
Amy Westgard - Indiana State University

Monday, June 6, 2011

De-mystifying Stock Holdings and Key Terms: Part I

It’s always helpful to have a refresher course on different topics within the field of research. Here are a few terms regarding stock that we’ve broken down into smaller chunks. Hopefully it will be very easy to digest!  This is part one of a two-part series on stock.
Key filings:
·         Official Annual Report: 10-K, 10-K405, 10-KSB
·         Quarterly Report: 10-Q
·         Report of a “material event”:  8-K
·         The proxy statement:
                -Stockholdings
                -Options and restricted stock
                -Directors’ Fees
                -Executive compensation
                -Retirement plan summary
                -Employment agreements and special agreements

Where to find these filings:
·         The SEC, EDGAR
·         Web sources such as Yahoo, Google Finance, WSJ MarketWatch, the company’s website
·         Paid sources such as 10K Wizard

Key Terms:
Insider: Directors, top policy setting officers, owners of 5% or more of the stock

Common Stock:
·         The majority of stock is issued in this form. Common shares represent ownership in a company and a claim on a portion of the profits.
·         Some companies have more than one class of common stock (Typically Class A and Class B).
·         The purpose of different classes is to keep controlling voting power of a public company within original investors, founding family, or current insiders.
·         One class isn’t offered to the public and is available only to those in the controlling group, but the insider class is convertible to the public class.

Preferred Stock:
·         Preferred stock represents some degree of ownership in a company but doesn’t come with the same voting rights (varies depending on the company). Investors are usually guaranteed a fixed dividend forever. This is different from common stock, which has variable dividends that aren’t guaranteed. In the event of liquidation, preferred shareholders are paid off before the common share holder.

Valuing Current Stockholdings:
·         Check Yahoo Finance or other sources for transactions since record date.
·         Look up the previous closing stock price online.
·         Value directly held shares and indirect shares separately.
·         Quoting 52-week high and low gives perspective; explain sharp rises or declines by checking news reports.

Valuing Historical Holdings:
·         If your prospect is no longer a reporting insider, start with their last report (proxy or Form 4).
                -Check for stock splits or stock dividends since they left.
                -If they made no subsequent transaction, the stock would now be worth $___.
·         If the company was acquired or merged, find the final terms and apply to their last known holdings.

Feel free to post your comments or questions.  Don’t forget to check out the sources listed at the top of the post.  Stay tuned for part two, and happy researching!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

We Know They Can and Have Given, But Why?

As prospect researchers, we pride ourselves on providing our institutions’ frontline fundraisers with the most accurate and beneficial prospect information that we can unearth.  Sometimes, it becomes easy to cease our research once we have unearthed the impressive real estate values, sky-rocketing stock holdings, or enviable compensation figures.  All of this information is indeed helpful and crucial to development officers as they plan their solicitation strategy; however, a prospect researcher can take one step further in his analysis once an individual is determined to be wealthy and/or philanthropic.  Prospect researchers can offer more substance to the numerical figures that they find by trying to determine what type of major donor an individual has the potential to become.  Determining a donor’s “type” means looking closely at the anecdotal information that surrounds an individual’s giving tendencies.  Does the individual primarily give to causes that have long been supported by his family?  Does the individual appear to give back to institutions from which he benefitted at an earlier time in his life?  Searching for the answers to questions like these can help a prospect researcher more clearly define for a development officer how and why a philanthropically inclined person gives.  Providing more insight into these motivations allows a development officer to more carefully cultivate a relationship with a specific donor through a highly tailored solicitation strategy.
Many books and articles have been written on the “types” of philanthropy.  The two recommended resources below provide in more detail the different motivations and perspectives that philanthropists may have on giving.  By being aware of these giving varieties, a prospect researcher can become a more engaged participant in the development officer’s solicitation strategy. 
The Seven Faces of Philanthropy, by Russ Alan Prince and Karen Maru File, Jossey-Bass publishing
Synopsis:  Written by two authors heavily involved in the private and global wealth markets, The Seven Faces of Philanthropy argues that by realizing a major donor’s foundational philanthropic perspective, a fundraiser can more effectively build a relationship with a prospect.  Each perspective is broken into seven “types,” and explained in the book.