Limitless Philanthropy

After writing my last post I have been thinking a lot about the needs of a non-profit and new ways to fulfill them. It's interesting the way life sometimes chooses to answer questions for you through new people and experiences. As I was reflecting on this problem and potential solutions, I had several experiences which reminded me, this is a two-way street..

I believe many people have a giving heart and the desire to contribute to causes but believe that they aren't part of that elite group of prosperous philanthropists. Webster's Dictionary defines philanthropy as: "goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially active effort to promote human welfare;" there are many ways this can be done.

I work for a non-profit which seeks to find quality homes for children who have been abused and abandoned in the foster care system, our ultimate goal being to eliminate the foster care crisis and find forever families for all the children who have been displaced in foster care. Although our goal is to find foster families, not everyone is suited to be a foster/adoptive parent, and it is a job that should not be taken lightly. However, everyone can contribute to this cause. For many people they see two paths: 1. I can give money; 2. I can adopt a child. But there are many paths to eliminating this crisis. We have an incredibly generous woman in our office who donates her time monthly assisting with our accounting. She has a powerful skill and a passion for our cause and because she is willing to donate her time and talents, we don't have to pay for this expense. I have a friend who works for a company who gives him free merchandise (books and toys for children). As a recent graduate he may not be able to donate his time or money but he is able to give these new toys to our organization who then gives them to children once they are placed in homes. We have many generous supporters who would like to be able to give more to our organization but don't have the means, so they are running in the Pasadena Marathon this Sunday (as am I), raising funds from their friends, family and colleagues who may not have known about our organization but are now tied into our cause through the voice of their friend.

These are just a few examples of ways you can give but there are many more. My point is, don't limit yourself--we always have something more to give. Look at what you have (skills, gifts, time, support, relationships) and therein lies something to share.

The Future of Non-Profits: Adopting a Business Model

When I tell someone I work in development for a non-profit the response I hear the most is: "Wow, how is that going with the current state of the economy?" My response: of course, as with everything else, it has created an environment of competition. There are only so many foundations, grants, and large donors out there and with the growing number of non-profits and waning number of individual donors competition is great. So what is the solution?

Consolidate and diversify.

Now this may sound contradictory at first but I will explain what this actually means.

Consolidate:
One major problem for non-profits is we keep aiming for expansion, yet behind closed doors we are all struggling to pay the rent. What is the solution? Partnerships. If my mission and your mission overlap, why not share services? And better yet, if you are a corporation looking to create a non-profit to give back to your community and help with tax write-offs, why not partner with an organization that already exists? According to NCCS (National Center for Charitable Statistics) there are over 1.5 MILLION tax-exempt organizations in the US. Among those 1.5 million organizations there is surely one that matches your goals and mission.


Diversify:
Non-profits need to stop limiting themselves to the practices of the past and adopt a business model. What many people don't understand is that a non-profit functions quite similarly to a corporation; the main difference being, rather than selling a product, you're selling a solution. So we need to begin to think like a business, think outside the box, and find diversified means of bringing dollars in the door. When the usual avenues become crowded, what do we do? Build bridges over them.

Consider the specific skills your organization has and the types of funding you lack. For many organizations, the most difficult type of funding to obtain is for operations and overhead. Look for new ways to cover these expenses. If you have an amazing web developer, consider sharing his skills outside of your organization, bringing in new income that can help cover his salary. If there is another organization in your community with overlapping interests, share services, resources, contacts. Think of these as mutually beneficial relationships.


I've said it before, and I'll say it again, get back to the mission. As the number of organizations grow, overlapping missions is inevitable. So let's learn to share, partner and use this new competitive environment to our advantage by finding innovative strategies toward new funding opportunities.

GivCause

If you haven't already, please check out my page on GivCause. I will be hosting my own "show" based on the ideas I share here on my blog. I hope you will take a look and explore the site and many other wonderful causes represented. More videos from Next.Gen.Giving coming soon!

Moving Upstream: Health Care

I heard an interesting anecdote on health care this morning I would like to share:

There were 10 health care workers standing at the end of a stream. Suddenly they saw a body floating downstream, followed by another an another. They instantly jumped in the water and began pulling out bodies one by one attempting to resuscitate them. As the number of bodies continued to increase two of the workers jumped out of the water an began running upstream. The other eight workers yelled after them "why are you leaving us when we have all these lives to save?" The two responded, "we are going upstream to find out why they keep falling in!"

This is a lesson in prevention. When we looking at health care we must not only consider the sick, but what leads them to become sick. Poverty isn't just about what material items we lack but also being unwanted, unloved and uncared for.

Two roads diverged in a financial crisis.

Years ago, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz spent many months visiting coffee shops across Italy with the goal of creating a better social experience here in the states for coffee consumers. What he noticed is that Italians loved to socialize over a cup of coffee, but the infrastructure within coffee shops here in the US was not in place for this to happen. With the “if you build it, they will come” concept, Schultz decided to furnish a few of his coffee shops with couches, chairs, and tables. Immediately, Starbucks customers caught on, and the rest is history. Today, it seems the most popular place to meet and greet is at coffee shops.

For my circle of friends however, we prefer to chat while drinking a beer in a Jacuzzi. It has become what we’d like to think as our own exclusive Jacuzzi club. In one of our recent Jacuzzi club “meetings” this past winter, my best friend (a Princeton graduate) and I had a lengthy discussion about what I thought about his school after my recent visit. To say the least, I was very impressed with everything Princeton has to offer: Nobel Prize winning professors, top notch athletic facilities, a beautiful campus, etc. However, at one point, I swear I met 30 consecutive students who were all going into finance after graduating; this left a sour taste in my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I understand there are many great people working in the finance world, but I did find it troublesome that it seemed like a majority of our nation’s greatest minds are heading into finance.

Well it turns out that other people have also been wondering the same thing: “just how many Ivy-leaguers work in finance after school?” Just weeks after our discussion, my friend found a great post on this topic in the NY Times called “Out of Harvard, and Into Finance” written by Catherine Rampell. What do you think? Does it matter to you so many Ivy-leaguers head into finance upon graduation? Do you think more Ivy-leaguers will continue to choose careers in public service or non-profits as recent trends show or will this just be a short term reaction to the recent financial crisis? Is it troublesome to you that so few Ivy league graduates ever serve in the military? Can we find a way to utilize Schultz' "if you build it, they will come" concept to encourage these graduates to move in a more adventurous and philanthropic career direction? I leave these questions to you.

Pasadena 10K for Child S.H.A.R.E.

On May 20, 2012 I will be participating in the Pasadena 10K in support of Child S.H.A.R.E., an organization which helps find homes for abused and abandoned children in the foster care system throughout southern California. I would appreciate your support in my efforts to raise $2500, the cost of securing a home for one child in foster care. Please visit my First Giving page below to learn more and donate. You can also visit www.childshare.org to learn more about this organization and the services they provide. Thank you.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mariaprichard/pasadena-marathon

Africause

I ready two articles today. Both concerning populations suffering conflict in Africa. Yet these two articles were very different. 

1. CNN: Slavery's Last Stronghold

2. TIME Magazine: Kony2012

The first article is quite lengthy. Even if you don't have the time to get through the whole thing I recommend you read what you can. It will truly open your eyes to the atrocities of slavery which are occurring every day without punishment or consequence in the country of Mauritania. In this North Western country in Africa, a strict caste system exists determined by lineage and the color of your skin. Slavery is so engrained in this culture, many who have actually been freed from slavery are unable to comprehend the meaning of this freedom and often continue work for their "masters" accepting a salary which they are unable to count. 

Although slavery in Mauritania was abolished in 1981 and made illegal in 2007, there has only been one successful prosecution of slavery and it is still both accepted and supported by the government today. There is one organization fighting to counteract this horrific state of society: SOS Slaves. This organization was born from the alliance of two unlikely friends from opposite ends of the caste system. Together they are fighting to eliminate slavery in the country and open their eyes to the concept of freedom. However, this is easier sad than done. Freedom is not just a societal status, but engrained in their way of living and thinking:

"Boubacar, the other SOS founder, later would tell us that when masters grant freedom to their slaves, in a perverse way they are actually serving to further enslave them. 'Freedom is not granted,' he said. 'When freedom is granted by the master you remain dependent, grateful.' 

Freedom is something that must be claimed."

The second article discusses Kony 2012, Jason Russell (of Invisible Children) and the LRA in Uganda. The difference is, the primary focus of this article is all the buzz surrounding Invisible Children, Jason Russell's current mental and emotional state and their celebrity-backed campaign. There is no question that the current Kony campaign has brought a great amount of attention to the issue, however the quality of attention is my concern. What are the primary issues actually being discussed as a result of this campaign? Although this article mentions the LRA, Kony and the political conflict surrounding the campaign, the spirit of the article is a commentary on the media frenzy surrounding the campaign rather than the cause itself.

I tend to suffer a lot of inner-turmoil over the way groups choose to represent their causes. On the one hand, any philanthropic effort which yields a positive change, effect or outcome should be counted a success. However, I tend to consider myself somewhat of a purist when it comes to that presentation. Time and time again I hear leaders of the nonprofit world say remember your cause, remember your origin; in one sentence, what are you fighting for? If you and your constituents can't answer this simply and easily, you've somehow lost your way.

I would like to quickly digress here and mention that I believe that this applies to all things in life. In work, in love, in family, in all things; the greatest power comes from knowing what you want and being able to state it concisely and effectively. Find your passion and find your power.

I do commend Invisible Children for employing many of the most current marketing and social media tools to create a campaign that is both accessible and popular among the target generation. However, ultimately the question is whether the ends can justify means and how far this campaign is actually capable of going.

I hope you will take the time to read both of these articles and form and share your own opinions.