Letter of the Chairman

Dear Friends of Philanthropy Centro Studi,

I invite you to visit our new website: www.philanthropy.it, which reflects the silent but tangible changes of the Italian fundraising world. I think research is very important, namely within the fundraising sector where, especially in Italy, we have not up-to-date statistics on direct mail, fundraiser profession or trust degree of fundraisers towards their profession and the fundraising world. This is why, in 2009, we have started important researches:

• The index of confidence in fundraising
• The second edition on the use of direct mail in Italy, supported by the website: http://mailing.fundraising.it , which will be updated after the summer as for contents and graphics.

Furthermore Philanthropy Centro Studi is linked to international experiences thanks to the cooperation with Blackbaud, worldwide leader in the supply of databases for nonprofit organizations, in order to make a global research on the nonprofit situation. Philanthropy Centro Studi also cooperates with CFRE International in order to define the guidelines for the CFRE and ACFRE certifications for the fundraiser profession.

Two years ago I have launched the Italian Fundraising Festival, the greatest Italian event dedicated to those involved in fundraising activities with the aim of sharing the best practice and experiences, in which Philanthropy Centro Studi participates as a sponsor.

The main goal is to improve research on fundraising in Italy and function as a bridge between research and professional world; find data and allow the comparison among fundraisers and nonprofit organizations; improve the work methods and fundraising techniques and tools. This is Philanthropy Centro Studi. You can find us online on the free information websites: www.fundraising.it, www.nonprofitlavoro.it, mailing.fundraising.it, librinonprofit.philanthropy.it or you can look at the books we publish every year on the website: edizioni.philanthropy.it. Then, if you wish to know something more about me, you can look at my blog: www.valeriomelandri.it

Yours Sincerely,

Valerio Melandri