The Art of Giving

I just started reading The Art of Giving by Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon. The purpose of the book is to "show donors and potential donors how to become street-smart, effective philanthropists." This is right up my alley. I loved the tag line - Where the soul meets the business plan. Partially into it, I am still hopeful, but there have been a couple of points stuck in old philanthropy. They describe a nondonor as "she does contribute her time...does so many tasks that keep alive the organizations that hold communities together." According to my definition, this person is in fact a donor. She donates her time, her skills and her resources. They also suggest that a good way to attract young people to an organization is to put them on junior or advisory boards. I don't think Generations X and Y are looking for this type of introduction to the world of nonprofits. I think nonprofits need to tap into social networking - the virtual and the physical - as a way to attract strong young leaders. I think for my generation (X) its about the issue and the organization's ability and effectiveness to address the issue that draws us in and spurs our desire to do more and to give more to an organization. Bronfman and Solomon have tremendous experience in the field and I continue to read with great interest.

Breaking the Least-You-Can-Do Cycle

I just read HBR article, "Breaking the Least-You-Can-Do Cycle." Dan Pallotta explores the term philanthropist. The popular perception is that of the billionaire donor versus, as Pallotta describes, "the poor bastard who spends 100% of her time serving as the executive director of a homeless charity..." Yes, philanthropy is rooted in its Greek origin - love of humanity. Anyone who cares about some one, some issue, some thing deserves rights to the term. I like this line the best in the article - "But by applying the term "philanthropist" only to the rarified few who make outside donations, we rob the average person of an important aspiration." The article continues to explore how nonprofits treat individual donors by their level of gifting. It is definitely a matter of time and resource management. Mass appeals for the masses, tailored appeals for the major donors. Pallotta calls for a new age of citizen philanthropy and the challenge is on nonprofits to create donor programs that are meaningful even for the smallest donor. I also think the responsibility falls on the donor too. Take a thoughtful approach to spending resources on issues, people and things that you care about.

International Corporate Philanthropy Day: February 23, 2010

Yesterday was International Corporate Philanthropy Day and the United Nations Economic and Social Council chose it to focus on women's rights and equality amongst women and men. Fundamental to this are two key areas - expanding economic opportunity and ending violence against women. The corporate and philanthropic sectors were urged to promote women at all levels. Sarah Ferguson announced a new initiative called "the Mother's Army" to "harnass the collective power of mothers to enable girls to dare to dream." What a wonderful thought which really resonates with me as a mother to two girls. Its by our example that girls will learn to lead and dream. We need to take care of our own wellbeing in addition to our children's. Supporting programs that support this message, this call to action, is critical.

Giving Circles

I just read an article about the Women's Giving Circle of Howard County. The Circle is an electronic fundraising mechanism which operates via email to 1,000 women and asks them to give what they can when a request comes along. They focus on helping women overcome dire situations. Since 2003 they have helped over 37 women and their children through gifts totaling $25,500. This is a wonderful way for individuals to practice philanthropy and get connected to others. Sometimes charitable gifting can feel detached. You ask yourself, "Who am I helping?" In this way you can choose when, how much and for whom. The requests are personal. While the grants do not solve the fundamental problems causing the situations, one-time emergency needs are met in a way that "democratizes" philanthropy.

Social Entrepreneurship Revisited

Stanford Social Innovation Review came out with their 5 most read articles of the year. One of the articles chosen stuck with me when I originally read it. Social Entrepreneurship Revisited Not just anyone, anywhere, in any organization can make breakthrough change explores Paul C. Light's evolving definition and understanding of social entrepreneurialism.

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/social_entrepreneurship_revisited/

The crux of the article is Light's revelation to "identify potential social entrepreneurs, give them the training and support they need, and increase the odds that their work will succeed." Social entrepreneurs do not stumble upon the work. It is a conscious choice to engage to solve a social issue. They do not act alone. Networks of support are critical to the work of social entrepreneurs. They are in the business of change. Its that concept of change - something else will work better or something else will resolve - that interests me. Cultivating and harnassing new ideas to stimulate change! That change can be big or small.

More Strategic Philanthropy

The Foundation Center expects 2009 will show a 10% drop in foundation giving. The headline associated with this reads, "...philanthropy to become more strategic as a result." Strategic means establishing clear gifting goals on focused areas. It also means establishing a framework to help achieve the goals. This is advice any indidividual or organization engaged in grantmaking should follow. The current and cumulative economic climate has lead people to think more about impact. Bigger grants do not equal a bigger impact. Its about finding the right organization and gifting the right size grant. To achieve this is time-consuming and often difficult for individuals.

Women's Campaign International

The other week I reconnected with a fantastic organization - Women's Campaign International (WCI). Check out www.womenscampaigninternational.org. WCI is located in West Philadelphia. Since 1998 WCI has increased the number of women elected into office around the world by providing them with leadership skills, advocacy training and technical assistance. WCI has worked in more than 20 countries worldwide. They are about to kick-off a new program locally for high school aged girls called GALS. The goal of the program is to increase participants' skills in community leadership and activism, global awareness, advocacy, social media, financial literacy, public speaking and networking. They have partnered with the Freire Charter School. If you are looking for a strong, women-focused, women-lead organization then this is something to check-out.