Uncommon Years for Giving

As 2020 drew to a close, we all thought “whew, what a wild ride!” and hoped that giving—and life—would return to “business as usual.” Well, it’s one year later and we’re still dealing with disruptions and uncertainty.

 

In this session, Laura MacDonald, Chair of the Giving USA Foundation and founder of Benefactor Group, reflects on changes in philanthropy: whether they are temporary changes in response to uncommon needs; or do they signal permanent shifts to the sources of generosity, the causes that donors care about, and factors that influence both.  

 

Laura will help you—philanthropic leaders, fundraisers, volunteers—learn how to use this information to plan your own fundraising strategy. She will provide a set of tools and tactics to make sense of it all and share stories of how organizations have found ways to thrive.

 

Laura MacDonald is the Principal and Founder of Benefactor Group and Chair of the Giving USA Foundation and has served the nonprofit sector for four decades. 

Prior to establishing Benefactor Group, Laura served as the vice president and creative director of a national fundraising firm, chief development officer in arts and higher education, and as a key volunteer for community organizations. Laura is constantly curious about innovations in fundraising and philanthropy. She is a frequent speaker at local, regional, and national conferences (AFP, AAM, AMDA, Fundraising Bootcamp, etc.) and has addressed hundreds of nonprofit boards. 

As chair of the Giving USA Foundation she contributes to Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, and is consulted widely by publications such as New York Times and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and was named her chapter’s “Fundraising Professional of the Year” in 2007.