The other evening, at a wonderful benefit event, honoring two genuinely deserving people who represent a new generation of philanthropic leadership, I had another one of those predictable conversations. “How much money does one need to have to utilize someone like you?” they asked. A question I am asked, in one form or anther, all the time. [In my case it is an easy answer: it doesn’t matter. I charge everyone by the project, not by the depth of one’s pocket or the scope of one’s giving.] Implicit in the question is that only the ultra rich or the super rich, or at least the very rich can afford the kind of advisory services which can make one a better, wiser, or more sophisticated. Only the rich can really be philanthropists. This is not true. The difference between being … Continue Reading
Unemployment and Efficiency – A Necessary Connection?
It hit me - something is wrong with this picture. It hardly surprises when we read a press release announcing that another company or non profit has reduced its staffing - usually accompanied by a note of regret that financial exigencies - or some other carefully worded euphemism - necessitated these reductions. [A firing by any other name, even if part of a crowd, is the loss of a job.] The recent deep recession has almost inured us to these announcements - after all, what can one expect during a time when income, purchasing power, and contributions are down and prospects for improvement hardly in the offing? But in the last few days, two national not for profit organizations announced a restructuring which, incidentally, included staff reductions. What got my attention was that both … Continue Reading
Funding for Success
As many readers and those who have heard me speak and teach about grantmaking know, one of my mantras is that funders should “fund for success.” My intention in this formulation was to challenge the tendency of many funders to ask how little they need to give for a project. They often assume that a grant request is padded and the grantseeker has built in an expectation of a discounted grant amount. Funders are not unreasonable in thinking this way. It is certainly true that there is a long history of grantseekers assuming that they will never get all that they ask for so they pad. It is also true that funders want their money to go further so they choose to give less, but to more recipients. Reasonable. What is also true is a more challenging cultural reality. Let’s be honest. Most … Continue Reading
How One Organization Blew It – The View From This Side
This is not an unprecedented story but is a worthwhile morality tale for non-profit fundraisers. To ruffle as few feathers as possible, I won’t name names. I was recently honored by being elected Chair of an organization that has a very distinctive mission. There are a few other organizations with compatible but not identical missions and in a collegial manner, I extended a hand to the heads of several. The President of one of those organizations - one that does a fine job in its sphere - sent an email congratulating me and suggested that the member of their staff responsible for the areas of overlapping interest would soon be in touch to discuss mutual opportunities. The organization I now chair is neither a fundraising nor fund distributing organization, so the possible avenues for … Continue Reading
Partnerships and Mergers: The Hype and the Promise
Last summer I wrote a piece, Should you go it alone: partnerships and collaborations, on giving organizations a useful tool for the ifs and hows of partnerships and mergers. It is one of the most requested pieces I have ever written. It was based on fairly extensive experience in the area: both as the ceo of a foundation which invested heavily in such partnerships and as a periodic consultant to organizations which were exploring mergers and partnerships. Any observer of the independent sector is well aware that this topic continues to be at the top of the agenda of many organizations and funders. The reasons are obvious and persuasive: are there duplications of services or back-office support that can be eliminated for immediate financial savings? Can one larger better-funded organization reach … Continue Reading
“you’ve met one foundation…”
When I first entered the foundation field as a professional, I quickly learned that the most popular bon mot in the field was “you’ve met one foundation… you’ve met one foundation.” I heard it often, always with a self-satisfied smile, which affirmed the unique character, history, legacy, and style of each foundation. The message was clear: don’t assume you understand the field or that you should develop your approach based on the assumption that our field has a consistency or even an agreed upon method of operation. For those in the field, it is and was both liberating and limiting. It acknowledged the truth that virtually all private grantmaking foundations are derived from individual wealth and that those who made that money [or their heirs] were proud that they didn’t do things … Continue Reading
NextGen – A Flawed Concept for our Times?
Let me begin by saying that I really don't like the term "nextGen." It typically is simply the latest euphemism for "young leadership" or other ways in which established organizations try to entice those perceived to be too young to be true organizational leaders to develop a connection and commitment. Underlying it is a very patronizing concept. It says: you are not rich enough or not proven enough to really be worth listening to. We aren't ready to give you real power but we are hoping that some day you will pay your dues sufficiently that we will invite you to the grown-up table. From an organizational perspective, this seems to make all the sense in the world: most younger people don't have the means to contribute at a top leadership level, it builds a "bench strength" of volunteers for the … Continue Reading
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