I know, I know. This is a well-worn topic. I myself have been addressing it for years and I am far from unique in that regard. It is hard to find an experienced foundation professional or philanthropist who doesn’t know the limits of pure metrics as a sufficient measure of a worthwhile grant. But the idea doesn’t go away. There are still those who assume that if they can only get the right numbers, they will be able to compare the objective worth of ngo’s and nfp’s around the world. These measures would determine which group is a more deserving recipient of funds, which group uses contributed or granted funds more efficiently, and which are being profligate with the vast sums thrown their way by unsuspecting donors. Now - let us be clear: there is nothing wrong with data, if it is … Continue Reading
Jewish Philanthropy: Us, Them, – or All of Us?
[eJP note: we recently launched a crowd-sourced conversation, What is Jewish Philanthropy?. Kicking off the discussion, here is what Richard Marker has to say:] Us, them, - or all of us? I recently had an extended “twitter” exchange on the topic of where Jews should give their charitable dollars. Of course, 140 characters, no matter how abbreviated the words or clever the post is no replacement for a real in-depth discussion, but it did uncover a disagreement about “first claims” on our philanthropic dollars. And implicitly it addressed the question “what is Jewish philanthropy?” My partner in the conversation was someone I have known for a long time - someone whom I respect deeply, whom I like personally, and whose continuing commitment to his work and the Jewish community … Continue Reading
How Philanthropy Taught Me to Embrace Failure: A Precondition to Success
Typically, I find that I, as with many of my colleagues who write about philanthropy, extrapolate from personal experience to develop insights into good grantmaking strategies, ethics, and impact. This time, however, the reverse is true: after years of grantmaking, and teaching about grantmaking, I have learned very important things about myself. The issue: the value of failure. For at least the last decade, anyone who has heard me speak about philanthropy or who has taken a course with me knows that I view private philanthropy to be society’s risk capital. By definition, risk means some possibility of failure. Good grantmakers needs to develop a tolerance that some percentage of their grants will not accomplish everything that they wished or that their grantees strived to do. Grantmakers … Continue Reading
Why I Don’t Believe in “Non-profits”
No, this is not a veiled argument that the profit motive is the only way to achieve long term and sustainable solutions to the ills of the world. Nor is it another slam at the inadequacy of the sector in accomplishing its vast and bottomless agenda. I am a big believer in, advocate of, supporter and facilitator of, and for much of my earlier career, employee of that sector. It is, though, time to weigh in on the long overdue and recently robust discussion about what to call it. Clearly “non-profit” or “not-for-profit” isn’t adequate or descriptive. After all, if a local boutique loses money, it does not make it a “non-profit.” And conversely, if an organization which is recognized as a US 501C3 by the Internal Revenue Service happens to have an annual surplus, it doesn’t … Continue Reading
Thoughts on Eleven Years of Funder Education
When I entered this field as a professional, as head of a no-longer-standing foundation, I approached many of my colleagues - to find mentors, and those who could share insights on how to do this work, there was one line I heard so often, it seemed to be a professional mantra: You’ve met one foundation, you’ve met one foundation. Of course, I began to understand, I was now in a field which had no commonly accepted standards, and had an ethos which indulged the individuality of the primary funder or the personality of a given foundation. Was it because of a deep-seated arrogance, a competitive instinct, or unawareness that there are in fact things all funders should know? I came to the conclusion that it was a combination of all three - in different proportions depending on the foundation. … Continue Reading
The Future of Jewish Philanthropy: a Response to Johanna Arbib Perugia
This morning, I had occasion to see an op-ed piece which had been published in eJewishPhilanthropy.com by Johanna Arbib Perugia on “Looking Back to the Future of Jewish Philanthropy.” In the bio, it mentions that Ms. Perugia was scheduled to address this question on a panel at last week’s “President’s Conference on the Future” in Jerusalem. I had occasion to speak on a very similar panel at the last such conference. At that time, Ms. Purugia’s position was the one held by the majority of the panelists. They, as does she, bemoaned that a great deal, indeed too much, philanthropy given by Jews is going to non-Jewish or non-Israel causes, and they, as does she, took particular note of the giving patterns of young people. With great respect and admiration for the important leadership … Continue Reading
Do You Want to Work in a Foundation?
This year marks the 11th year of my teaching philanthropists and foundation professionals at NYU’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and the 10th since the development of the program now called the NYU Academy for Grantmaking and Funder Education. This posting is one of a series of reflections on a decade of teaching funders at the USA’s oldest and most comprehensive university program of its kind. The very first course I taught was one of the first three offered by the Center for Philanthropy, and was intended to introduce fundraisers to the other side of the table. It was entitled “Do you want to work in a foundation?” At the time I was still heading a now closed foundation and in fact was able to host the entire course at the offices of the foundation. Much to the surprise of the new … Continue Reading
Why the Data on Giving Doesn’t Tell Us What We Need to Know
The Foundation Center has recently issued a report showing that there will be some incremental increase in philanthropic giving over the next year. As always it is good to have data which demonstrates what we already know. What this study demonstrates is that as the economy improves [or at least as the market improves!], there will be more money to give. Frankly, given the growth in the stock market since its lowest levels, near record corporate profits, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of an ever smaller segment of American society, it would be shocking if the data were to show anything else. Those of us in the field who speak and write about these matters have long since identified that there is a predictable curve in foundation and planned giving: giving typical trails the economy … Continue Reading
How Much Do You Need To Be a Philanthropist
... The difference between being charitable and being a philanthropist is having a strategy. What do you want to accomplish? What values or priorities do you want your philanthropy to affirm [even if only to you]? Do you have a plan to help you decide which solicitations get thrown away or which phone calls get ignored or which friends - ouch - you say “no” to? If not, your generosity may be wonderful and admirable, but your charitability won’t make you a philanthropist. [Not that there is anything wrong with that]. There is, to my mind, no one single answer to what that strategy should be or even if it meets someone else’s objective criteria for what makes good philanthropy - but in general one can feel more gratified in one’ s giving if one has a good understanding of why and how one … Continue Reading
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