Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 8, 2024 23 accounting firm Whittlesey. "Your traditional galas and big gatherings have perhaps gone by the wayside because of COVID, but we've been seeing some different types of events," like smaller and more casual gath- erings such as bingo nights, online auctions, and wine, beer or spirits tastings with food trucks, she said. These types of fundraisers aim to attract a new generation of givers, Wills said. "Ten, 20 years ago you had high- level donors — you knew who your big community donors were, but that population has aged out," so attracting younger donors is also a key focus for foundations and nonprofits, she said. Whittlesey has roughly 400 nonprofit clients in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, with revenues ranging from $1 million to $100 million, Wills said. Another trend is toward donor-ad- vised funds, which are designated for a certain group or cause, instead of unrestricted funds, which can be used at a nonprofit's or foundation's discretion. Arming nonprofits with the tools to launch and run a business allows them to generate their own unrestricted funds, said Shulman, of the Hartford Foundation. Nonprofits are also using social media and smartphones more frequently not only for capital campaigns, but to high- light their organizations and the community services they provide, Shulman said. FOCUS | NONPROFITS the state's largest community chest with more than $1 billion in assets. "Social enter- prises allow them to diversify their revenue streams in a more sustainable way." The accelerator includes an intense, months-long training that helps nonprofits develop and implement business plans to boost revenue and heighten their mission impact, with guidance from national consulting firm No Margin, No Mission. Since the launch of the Hartford Foundation's accelerator program, participating nonprofits have collec- tively generated more than $8 million in revenue from their social enterprise projects, Shulman said. For example, Glastonbury-based nonprofit the Connecticut Data Collaborative in 2022 launched its CT Data Strategic Planning venture, which offers coaching and education services to organizations looking to improve their data infrastructure and analysis. The service has gener- ated $1.2 million in revenue to date, according to the Hartford Foundation. Also, Hartford-based nonprofit Health Equity Solutions established a new consulting firm that offers health equity training to agencies, healthcare systems and others. Since launching in 2022, the venture has generated more than $1.3 million in revenue. Unionville-based New Horizons Inc. in 2019 launched its Sunshine Wheels Transportation program, providing non-emergency medical transpor- tation to individuals with mobility issues, bringing in almost $1.75 million in revenue. Chipello, of Camp Courant, said finding new revenue sources is the only way to survive the current climate. "Inflation has affected everybody, we are no exception, and that has made the scope of fundraising quite difficult," Chipello said. In tough economic times, charitable giving is often the first item cut from budgets, she said. "And being that we are totally donor-driven, we are seeing the effects of that for sure." She added: "And beyond that, finding stability and sustainability within your organization, where you're not just counting on outside funds that may or may not come," is key. Charitable challenges Charitable giving has been chal- lenged coming out of the pandemic. In 2023, giving by individuals, bequests, foundations and corpora- tions declined by 2.1% when adjusted for inflation, according to the Giving USA Foundation's annual report on philanthropy. Overall, U.S. charities raised $557.2 billion in 2023, which was up 1.9% Camp Courant serves 750 Hartford children ages five to 12 at its Farmington property, which includes a pool. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER from a year earlier, thanks to stron- ger-than-expected stock market and GDP growth. But that increase didn't outpace the U.S.' higher-than-average 4.1% inflation rate, the report found. In 2022, there was a rare decline in total giving, according to Giving USA. "Americans increased their giving (in 2023) over the previous year despite the elevated cost of living and headlines warning of a possible recession," said Josh Birkholz, chair of the Giving USA Foundation. "We're not yet back to the highs of pandem- ic-era giving, but there are some signs of stability." One key nonprofit revenue stream — fundraising events — has rebounded from the pandemic, but they have a different look and feel, said Lisa Wills, an audit partner specializing in nonprofits for Hartford-based Meher Shulman Lisa Wills 2023 U.S. CHARITABLE GIVING TO RECIPIENTS TYPE OF RECIPIENT AMOUNT % CHANGE % CHANGE ADJUSTED ORGANIZATION GIVEN FROM 2022 FOR INFLATION RELIGION $145.81B 3.1% -1% HUMAN SERVICES $88.84B 5.8% 1.7% EDUCATION $87.69B 11.1% 6.7% TO FOUNDATIONS $80.03B 15.4% 10.8% PUBLIC-SOCIETY BENEFIT $62.81B 11.6% 7.2% HEALTH $56.58B 8.7% 4.4% INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS $29.94B 2.5% -1.6% ARTS, CULTURE, AND HUMANITIES $25.26B 11% 6.6% ENVIRONMENT AND ANIMALS $21.2B 8.2% 3.9% Source: Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023

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