As non-profit organizations build fundraising agendas and widen strategies for meeting fundraising targets, they must first consider their donors, putting themselves in his or her position and evaluating whether they have reached a level of engagement for financial support. Organizations that are aware of donors’ level of engagement will develop strategies that are addressed directly to donors, avoiding strategies fixed in blanketed messaging and publicity stunts. Strong fundraising organizations speak to the levels of engagement and interest of the donor who is determined to help the people served.
As a fundraiser, it is obligatory refusing to give in to the temptation for temporary products at the expense of long-term relationship development. Fundraising is an engagement procedure that will take time, persistence, and continuing maintenance (Burk, 2003). Philanthropy is a long-standing investment that can give in positive results once donors are engaged (Burlingame, 2002). Furthermore, it characterizes a fundraising future for the organization by crafting approaches that put the donor and the people served at its heart.
About the organization
Angels of Hope is a self-governing non-profit organization that operates both locally and internationally, to promote human rights, sustainable growth, environmental safety, humanitarian response, and other public benefits.
The organization is proud and honored to operate across many countries and cultures, with different people and in environmental and social as well as, opinionated systems.
The organization’s interest to carry out its duties is based on a universally accepted civil right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution (freedoms of speech), legislative body and association, and its involvement in democratic developments, and on the values, they aim to promote.
The organization’s credibility is also consequential from the value of their work, and respect as well as the support of the populace with and whom they work, their donors, more all-inclusive public, government, and various organizations around the world.
Angels of Hope seeks to encourage their credibility by responding to intergenerational interest, public and logical concerns, and legal responsibility for the organization’s effort and success.
How Angels of Hope work
Angels of Hope can balance but not reinstate the dominating role and primary task of governments in promoting unbiased human development and welfare, to support constitutional rights of the masses and protect system formed by the interaction of a community of people with their physical environments.
The organization’s stakeholders
The task of the organization is to reach its proposed mission successfully and visibly, consistent with its significance. In this, they are liable to their donors and supporters. The organization’s donors and supporters include:
People, including future age groups, whose rights, they aim to protect and progress.
Supporters
Individuals that donate finances, goods, or services.
Donor cultivation process
The requirement for the not commercially motivated organizations to go “beyond fundraising” and to understand and utilize development principles continues to grow. Increased competition among funders and a higher level of complexity among donors have changed the character of charity, development, and fundraising (Hedrick, 2008).
Non-profits organizations were once regarded as needy institutions to which people gave out of a sense of obligation, on the other hand, nonprofits now find they are being evaluated against different and tougher criteria based on their own financial and community performance and their capacity to meet donor needs for contributed funds (Hedrick, 2008). This shift in expectations requires organizations to practice the longer-term process of development which goes beyond fundraising.
Angels of Hope values the civil rights of donors, and they update donors about the fundraising motive, and about how their monetary gift is being dispatched to various projects.
The organization is responsible for updating the donors about the position and authority of the finances sent to them, and anonymity except in cases, where the magnitude of their contribution is such that it might be pertinent to the organization’s autonomy.
Use of Donations
In raising funds, the organization will perfectly describe its activities and wants. The policies and practices of the Angels of Hope will guarantee that gifts and donations advance the organization’s mission. Where gifts are, generated for a project, the donor’s appeal is honored (Hedrick, 2008). If the organization requests the general public to contribute to a project or goal, each organization will have a plan for managing any underperformance or excess, and acknowledges this, as part of its demand.
Donations in kind
Some contributions may be granted as goods or services. To maintain their success and independence, the organization will: record and circulate details of all key institutional donations and donations-in-kind; visibly express the evaluation and auditing processes used, and guarantee that these donations contribute to the direction of the organization’s mission (Burlingame, 2002).
Despite the massive diversity in raising funds, when compared with public and private sectors, Angels of Hope reveals a set of fundamental and unique characteristics. The primary interest of the organization is raising funds for the less privileged through donations. The organization carries out its role to promise justice and equity and improve the quality of the lives of vulnerable and marginalized groups in society.
Reference
Burk, P. (2003). Donor-centered fundraising. Chicago: Cygnus Applied Research.
Burlingame, D. F. (2002). Taking fundraising seriously: The spirit of faith and philanthropy: New directions for philanthropic fundraising. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hedrick, J. L. (2008). Nonprofit essentials: Effective donor relations (AFP Fund Development Series). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
The corporate accounting scandals of Enron in 2001 and WorldCom in 2002 severely affected the financial markets and shook shareholders’ confidence in large corporations. The legislation was needed to cope with such scandals involving misdirection and inappropriate disclosure by management and executives of corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also referred to as SOX was embedded into the legal framework on July 30, 2002, by President George W. Bush. This Act influences individuals and corporations related to various trades and industries. This Act directly affects the financial reporting process and the code of ethics implemented in various organizations. The Act places special emphasis on corporations and their workers, auditors and audit firms, law firms, brokers, and analysts. This paper presents reasons for the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley and the impact of this act on non-profit organizations.
Events Leading to Sarbanes Oxley
During the period of 2000-2002 various companies were involved in corporate governance and financial scandals. These scandals of varying magnitude extensively involved issues like financial reporting, auditing, corporate governance, internal control, and ethical values related to these issues. These companies included industry giants like Enron, WorldCom, Xerox, Halliburton, Arthur Andersen, and Tyco (Patsuris, 2002). The frequency of such financial scandals was highest in these two years as compared to other periods of the American Economy even after the implementation of various accounting standards and rules. As the financial scandals started to grow in number and the compliance to various auditing and accounting issues began to decline, the concern for new Standards or Legislation grew with them. The catalysts for the enactment of Sarbanes Oxley were the corporate scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen – the firm responsible for the audit of both Enron and WorldCom. The collapse of Enron directly affected the shareholders and financial markets while Arthur Andersen which was one of the biggest audit firms in the world also shut down its business. The outcome of these scandals not only affected the shareholders but also the American economy as a whole and something needed to be done. In an interview, Senator Paul Sarbanes, one of the two minds behind SOX pointed out various problems prevalent in the pre-SOX era such as faulty corporate governance measures, conflict of interests, auditor independence issues, and improper disclosures (Lucas, 2004). The problems pointed out by Senator Sarbanes include faulty corporate governance measures which include internal control mechanisms and structures implemented by the management and directors of corporations. Among other problems, one was conflicts of interest and independence of auditors where these auditors also performed non-audit-related activities such as providing consultancy for the client companies. These are some of the problems and events which lead to the proposal of SOX by Senator Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley and the eventual enactment of SOX in 2002.
Impact of SOX on Nonprofit Organizations
The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 implements various measures to deal with the problems suggested by Senator Sarbanes and includes eleven titles. Each title addresses a unique issue related to various individuals and firms involved with public companies, their management, auditors, and legal representatives. The Act has created a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board – PCAOB and deals with auditor independence, corporate responsibility, financial disclosures, conflicts of interest, and corporate and criminal accountability (U.S. Congress, 2002). Though many companies have been affected by the implementation and compliance of SOX, the focus here is on nonprofit organizations. Although the Sarbanes Oxley Act was enacted after the scandals of publicly traded companies nonprofit organizations can also benefit from the act. Overall there are not many scandals related to nonprofit organizations as compared to the corporate world but the public trust in these organizations has deteriorated in the past few years. The sections of the Act could help nonprofit organizations to gain and retain the confidence and trust of the general public. The first state legislation which enhanced the Sarbanes Oxley Act for nonprofit organizations is the Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004 of California (Ross, 2004).
Practical Applications of Sarbanes Oxley in Nonprofit Organizations
The National Association of College and University Business Officers – NACUBO has also made some recommendations in higher education for embedding the sections of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. The report by NACUBO summarizes three main areas of SOX which are relevant to higher education and the management of colleges and universities. These three areas as pointed out by NACUBO are independent auditors, senior management, and audit committees. Regarding independent auditors, the association suggests that the auditors should remain independent and not provide any non-audit services to the clients. Sarbanes Oxley requires the management and directors of corporations to develop and maintain a code of ethics and an internal control mechanism to prevent and resolve any conflicts between personal and professional relationships. NACUBO suggests that the same mechanism for the management of colleges and universities should be adapted. The third relevant area of the Sarbanes Oxley Act for higher education as indicated in the report is the audit committee; the audit committee of the board of directors should appoint, compensate and oversee independent auditors (National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2003).
The impact of SOX on medical institutions can be illustrated by an example of the Children’s Memorial Hospital. The General Counsel of the hospital Donna Wetzler notes that the governance decisions of the hospital are now based on good governance best practices. An audit committee for the hospital is now in place independent and separate from the finance committee. She also commented that nonprofit organizations should implement internal control mechanisms and follow proper accounting procedures to yield a better financial structure and a code of ethics.
A survey conducted by The Urban Institute focused on the impact of the Sarbanes Oxley Act on nonprofit organizations. The survey showed that 20 percent of all nonprofit organizations surveyed had an independent audit committee and the percentage of independent audit committees in larger nonprofit organizations was higher. The nonprofit organizations surveyed indicated that it would be difficult to have a separate audit committee if an Act of such kind was implemented for the nonprofit organizations. The second part of the survey indicates that a majority of the organizations studied already had their statements audited by an independent external auditor. The overall results of the survey indicate that most nonprofit organizations would have a problem implementing Sarbanes Oxley due to higher costs excluding one or two sections that were already in practice or did not have a high cost (The Urban Institute Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, 2006).
The two most relevant sections of Sarbanes Oxley with respect to nonprofit organizations are the sections of internal control and independent audit committees. The internal control section entails that the management and directors of the company implement an internal control mechanism and maintain the standards of this mechanism with rigid procedures. The internal control mechanism should also be analyzed continuously by the auditors and legal representatives of the corporation. The other section entails that every corporation should have an independent audit committee to oversee the audit process. The cost of implementation for both of these sections in nonprofit organizations is quite high with respect to time and money (Broude & Prebil, 2005).
Conclusion
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has affected the governance of nonprofit organizations in various ways. The nonprofit organizations can benefit from the internal control and auditor-related sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to gain public trust and confidence. The implementation of the Act in nonprofit organizations could help them in becoming more transparent and accountable to various stakeholders including the general public. The implementation of the Act would also help ensure the application of a more refined, reliable, and consistent financial system. The cost aspect of this implementation though is quite high in terms of both time and money. Indeed the implementation of SOX has its benefits for nonprofit organizations but the cost factor dampens the probability of its implementation. Thus it is concluded that some sections of the Sarbanes Oxley Act can be adapted for nonprofit organizations but other sections would have a high-cost factor.
References
Broude, P., & Prebil, R. (2005). The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Private & Nonprofit Companies. Chicago: Foley & Lardner LLP.
Lucas, N. (2004). An interview with United States Senator Paul S. Sarbanes. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies , 2.
National Association of College and University Business Officers. (2003). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education. Washington D.C: National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Identification and definition of the marketing problem.
Development and design of the marketing research plan.
Collection of data that is specific to the identified marketing problem.
Data analysis and reporting of relevant findings (Pride et al., 2017).
Resolution of the marketing problem using established findings.
Changing dynamics in the target markets compel organizations to undertake constant marketing of their products and services. The first step entails the identification of a marketing problem that an organization experiences in the target market. The development and design of the marketing research plan form the second step. In the third step, once market researchers identify the research problem and develop a strategy of collecting data, they undertake a comprehensive data collection. The fourth step involves the analysis of collected data to provide accurate information about the problem and the target market (Pride et al., 2017). Ultimately, the fifth step constitutes a critical examination of the findings to derive effective strategic solutions to the current problem.
Importance of Research in Marketing
Enables organizations to identify and understand scope of problems they experience.
Permits collection of valid and accurate information about markets (Pride et al., 2017).
Allows organizations to make evidence-based decisions in their operations and activities.
Promotes the identification of avenues and opportunities for organizations to grow and develop in competitive markets.
Research in marketing has numerous benefits related to the growth and development of organizations. Research enables organizations to understand the scope of their problems so that they can develop effective interventions. In the research process, the collection and analysis of both primary and secondary data generate valid and accurate information, which reflects the market status of organizations (Pride et al., 2017). Findings from research sanction organizations to make evidence-based decisions about their growth and development. Research findings aid in the identification of avenues and opportunities for organizations to grow and develop in competitive markets.
Implementation of Each Step
Step 1: Definition of the Problem
It entails identification of the context and scope of the problem that marketing can solve.
The problem of the charity organization is the declining number of new and repeat members.
The formulation of research objectives and questions aid in the identification and description of the marketing problem.
Questions should target the nature of marketing environment and demographics of customers.
Definition of the research problem is the first and critical step in the marketing research approach. It entails the identification of the context and scope of the problem that marketing can solve. In this case, the problem of the charitable organization is the declining number of new and repeat members, which requires an urgent solution to reverse the diminishing growth. A practical implementation of this step needs the identification and description of the problem. The formulation of research objectives and questions aid in the identification and description of the marketing problem. Questions should target the nature of the marketing environment and demographics of customers.
Step 2: Development of Research Plan
The scope and nature of the problem determine the development of research plan.
Given that the problem of the charity organization relates to the declining membership of new and repeat customers, interview is an appropriate method of collecting data from previous, current, and new customers.
Interviews have a high response rate, collect detailed information, and allow researchers to probe respondents (Pride & Ferrell, 2015).
Formulation of interview questions that inquiry about needs, interests, and objectives of target customers in supporting charity organizations.
The development of the research plan enables the collection of accurate and valid data that capture the problem. The scope and nature of the problem determine the development of a research plan. In the development of the research plan, marketing managers employ methods of data collection, such as interviews, surveys, observations, and focus groups. Given that the problem of the charitable organization relates to the declining membership of new and repeat customers, an interview is an appropriate method of collecting data from previous, current, and new customers. Advantages of interviews are that they have a high response rate, collect detailed information, and allow researchers to probe respondents (Pride & Ferrell, 2015). Thus, as a marketing manager, I would formulate interview questions that inquire about needs, interests, and objectives of current and potential customers in supporting charitable organizations.
Step 3: Collection of Data
Data collection determines accuracy and validity of findings.
Target individuals and managers of organizations who are the potential customers.
Give ample time to each respondent during interviewing and record their responses accurately.
Collect both qualitative and quantitative data using open-ended and closed-ended questions.
Limit the effect of bias by asking direct questions, upholding a neutral stance during probe, and avoiding suggestive questions.
The collection of data is an essential step in the research marketing approach because it determines the accuracy and validity of findings. Using the interview as a method of collecting data, the research would target individuals and managers of organizations who are the potential customers. Each respondent would have ample time to answer interview questions and permit recording of responses for further analysis. The interview would collect both qualitative and quantitative data using open-ended and closed-ended questions. To limit the effect of bias, the marketing manager would ask direct questions, uphold a neutral stance during the probe, and avoid intriguing questions.
Step 4: Data Analysis and Reporting
The aim of the data analysis is to establish patterns and trends of data, which give meaningful information.
Descriptive and inferential statistics apply in the analysis of quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis is appropriate in the analysis of qualitative data.
Accurate reporting of findings is dependent on methods of data analysis and the manner of interpreting results.
Hypothesis testing of quantitative data gives accurate and valid findings.
Data analysis is a way of converting raw data collected into findings that the research targeted. The data analysis aims to establish patterns and trends of data, which give meaningful information about the marketing environment and customers. Descriptive and inferential statistics apply in the analysis of quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis is appropriate in the analysis of qualitative data. Accurate reporting of findings is dependent on methods of data analysis and the manner of interpreting results. In the case of quantitative data, hypothesis testing gives accurate and valid findings that aid in the resolution of the marketing problem.
Step 5: Resolution of the Problem
Resolution of the marketing problem is the final step in the marketing research approach.
Since the research objectives aim at addressing the problem, the analysis of collected data provide accurate and valid findings.
The identification of factors that decrease membership would enable the marketing manager to devise effective solutions.
Consideration of these factors in the new marketing campaign would enable the charity organization to increase its membership.
Resolution of the marketing problem is the final step in the marketing research approach. Since the research objectives aim at addressing the problem, the analysis of the collected data provides accurate and valid findings. In this case, the findings would indicate factors that cause repeat and new members to decline in the charitable organization. The identification of these factors would enable the marketing manager to devise concrete solutions. Therefore, consideration of these factors in the new marketing campaign would enable the charitable organization to increase its membership through the retention and recruitment of new ones.
Description of Target Market
Profit-making companies because they undertake corporate social responsibilities in their respective jurisdictions.
Religious bodies belonging to major religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, are target customers for they often participate in charity activities.
Individuals also constitute potential customers in the target market because they are integral members of society.
Effective research methods are surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
The target market of the charitable organization comprises of profit-making companies, religious bodies, and individuals. Given that profit-making companies undertake corporate social responsibilities in their respective jurisdictions, they form potential customers to the charitable organization. Religious bodies belonging to major religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, are target customers for they often participate in charity activities. Individuals also constitute potential customers in the target market because they are integral members of society who determine involvement in charity work. Effective research methods that could be used to identify organizations, religious bodies, and individuals are surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Service Differentiation
Differentiation is a marketing approach that customizes and creates diverse products to satisfy varied needs of customers.
Target market comprises profit-making organizations, religious bodies, and individuals as target groups.
As potential customers in the target groups have dissimilar abilities of donating, differentiation would enable the charitable organization have varied memberships.
Differentiation would classify donors into large, medium, and small donors.
Differentiation is a marketing approach that organizations apply to customize and create diverse products to satisfy varied needs of customers. The analysis of the target market indicates that it comprises of profit-making organizations, religious bodies, and individuals. As these potential customers have unique abilities to donate, differentiation would enable the charitable organization to have different memberships. In this case, differentiation classifies the nature of donations according to the target groups. Based on their abilities to donate, the charitable organization would classify profit-making organizations, religious bodies, and individuals as large, medium, and small donors, respectively. This method of differentiation allows diverse customers to participate and make contributions in line with their abilities.
Importance of Differentiation
Differentiation would strengthen the competitiveness of the charitable organization in its market (Chew, 2017).
By targeting profit-making organizations, the charitable organization increase its membership and donations significantly.
Penetration and expansion into religious bodies would increase recruitment and retention of new members.
The recruitment of individuals encourages awareness of the charitable organization and promotes the culture of charity.
Differentiation would strengthen the competitiveness of the charitable organization in its market. According to Chew (2017), differentiation is a powerful marketing strategy that enables organizations to penetrate, create, and sustain a lucrative niche in disruptive markets. By targeting profit-making organizations, the charitable organization does not only increase its membership but also its donations significantly. Profit-making organizations are large donors for they make huge profits and participate in corporate social responsibilities. Penetration and expansion into religious bodies would increase the recruitment and retention of new members. Moreover, the recruitment of individuals encourages awareness of the charitable organization and promotes the culture of charity. Overall, individuals who have leadership roles in various organizations and religious bodies would influence charitable decisions.
References
Chew, W. (2017). Differentiation: How to win in a disruptive market. Singapore, Malaysia: Write Editions.
Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2015). Marketing 2016 (18th ed.). New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C., Lukas, B. A., Schembri, S., Niininen, O., & Casidy, R. (2017). Marketing principles. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
