I’m not a personal fan of “embedded giving.” I feel like it cheapens the intent of philanthropy. It’s the easy way for business to give the appearance of caring, without really making a sacrifice. Like cause marketing, these two methods are exactly that… marketing. Why is the next logical step advancing American philanthropy to link giving with consumerism? First one to tell me wins a can of tomato soup.
Weblog
The Philanthropy Primer
Making the Sector Switch
Over the past three months I’ve had about six different people ask me how they can make a move from the for-profit sector to a job at a nonprofit. My advice has been the same in all six cases.I’ll ask, do you currently support any organizations through gifts of time or money?
If they answer “no.” I tell them they are not candidates for a job at a nonprofit. To work in this field, you have to be passionate about a cause and willing to invest in that passion through a sacrifice of time, money and talent. If that hasn’t happened yet, a paycheck sure isn’t going to change that.theIf they answer “yes” I then ask, do you currently volunteer as a board member or serve some leadership role for a nonprofit?
If they answer no I tell them to is to do some research. Be a donor, advocate, volunteer, board member. Support an organization through gifts of time and money, put a profile on BoardNet and spend some time supporting a nonprofit. I think this is necessary before you look to them to support you. Here is some more thought on the topic from a marketing perspective.If they answer yes, I tell them they are in a good position to consider a job in the sector and should apply to nonprofits for a job that matches with their past nonprofit experiences and professional ability.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Figure I might as well plug the graduate program where I’m a student. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota just released their first newsletter for graduates and current students. I love the Karla Williams soapbox section. The newsletter is not online, so the quote will have to suffice.
Most organizations openly acknowledge their boards are not functioning in the way they believe they should…. We are long overdue for a major overhaul of the role/responsibility of the board (I am not speaking legal governance here, nor am I implying another boilerplate system of board building)…. Can we be bolder on this topic? – Karla Williams
Globalization of Philanthropy
This is important to note. A mistrial was declared in the case against an Islamic charity. There is a growing move toward the globalization of philanthropy. Not pure philanthropy mind you from micro loans to B corporations to social entrepreneurship to global cause marketing campaigns, the for-profit sector is stealing our thunder and replacing it with their version of philanthropy.
This is driven, in part, by a Millennial generation that wants to be “invested” in the world. I see this trend as an attack on the core ideals of philanthropy. It’s time to take leadership and make sure these efforts to globalize philanthropy are truly philanthropy and not just revised business models that integrate a hybrid of social interest and cute marketing to further the interest of shareholders.
Our first priority should be our beneficiaries, not our shareholders.
The Philanthropy Primer
An interesting story out of Idaho. After a $50 million gift to the Albertson College from the Albertson Foundation, the college reverted back to their original name… College of Idaho. Kind of a name recognition in reverse.
Development and Philanthropy Advanced Degrees for Fundraisiers?
A lot of traffic regarding advanced degrees on the FundraisingSuccess website, among others. What do you think, are these programs critical for fundraising to become a recognized profession? Is this a good thing or not?
I haven’t much discussion about undergraduate programs in philanthropy and fundraising. Although, according to a recent conversation I had with Patrick Rooney, Director of Research and Associate Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies at The Center on Philanthropy, an undergraduate program is under consideration at Indiana.
How important are these types of degrees in getting a job in the industry? How important are they for fundraisers to be viewed as “highly qualified?”
- Taking for-profit know-how to the nonprofit sector
- Professional Advancement?
- Advanced degrees in nonprofit and philanthropy studies
- Find your next fundraising superstar
- How important are advanced degrees for new employee canidates?
Capitalism & Philanthropy
Seems like an oxymoron to me… Companies have stakeholders whose interest is profits and growth. Nonprofits have stakeholders whose interest is social change, and compassion for others over self. I’m still formulating my opinion on this. I think the B-Corporation is important to consider in this discussion.
Ethics on the Front Burner
I have not forgotten… I promised to send an opinion paper on nonprofit professional code of ethics to my mentee peers at AFP. Linda Breen is helping me think of section headings for the last three sections… I’ll send it later this week. Until then, here is the draft of a professional code being developed by the Independent Sector.
http://www.nonprofitpanel.org/selfreg/
http://www.nonprofitpanel.org/selfreg/
The Philanthropy Primer
In 2007 I started an e-mail newsletter for nonprofit colleagues and classmates in my graduate school cohort. I kept all those emails filed away for future reference. About a year or so later I started this website to cache ideas and resources for the sector. At the time, it seemed logical to fill the new webpage white space with something slightly more meaningful than paragraphs of Lorum Ipsum. So that, combined with me resisting the urge for a “Hello, world!” first post, the “back issues” of the Philanthropy Primer found a home on this website.
Today [March 2, 2021], I noticed one of those old posts, saw that most of the links were dead-ends, and I decided to mark it as unpublished. However, I actually clicked on republish. Then in an unfortuante turn of events, the article revival was proudly announced on Twitter and LinkedIn. Predictably, that misstep has prompted some of the folks I most trust and respect in the profession to click on my mistake and call their friends over to take a look. So, I will include it below for those that want to see where my head was 14 years ago. The other “issues” of the Philanthropy Primer are still available if you take this stuff as serious as me… but surely you have better things to do.
The Philanthropy Primer
The philanthropy primer is short and sweet this week, because I have things at home that need to get done… and I’m a one man show. Hope you enjoy the links and articles provided below!
A Crossroads on the Path of Professionalism in Fundraising
Props to Lilya for an excellent reflective on fundraising as a career and it’s slow journey to profession… or are we technicians?
Rap video makes college telemarketing cool
I laughed at this when I watched it… and I thought of Jen, Carol and Stacie (caution, contains swears)
Art for Art’s Sake? Hardly!
I think this is a article worth review considering the bad rap arts gets in the world of philanthropy
Checklist For Year-End Appeals
This article reminded me of the Howard Taylor approach…
Pre-phone #1, Pre-phone #2, Email #1, Email #2, Don’t Phon-a-Thon, Send “sorry-we-missed-you-when-we-were-calling” letters #1 & #2
More philanthropy news items can be found here:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/08736056237804700469
As always send comments or suggestions.