Help Write a Book on the Gates Foundation -- and get paid

Michael Kinsley of the The Huffington Post encourages us to help him write a book on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at:

http://creativecapitalismblog.com/

He announced it at the Hufficnton Post here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kinsley/help-me-write-a-book_b_109511.html

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Speaking of fundraising... (BabiesForObama.com)

Speaking of fundraising, I've got the new t-shirts for sale at BabiesForObama.com, where we provide "Premium Apparel for Progressive Toddlers and Audaciously Hopeful Babies!"

Get 'em while they're haute.

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Job Opening at CDM: Major Gifts Officer

The hiring and management of this position will be handled by the Pursuant Group.

Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) is one of the largest, most effective faith-based organizations in North Texas and is celebrating its 20th year of service to the community. CDM operates a network of hunger relief, healthcare, housing, legal service, employment training and educational programs serving more than 30,000 unduplicated people throughout the Greater Dallas area.

The Major Gifts Officer will manage relationships and fundraising efforts with the almost 200 major donors and prospects in North Texas. Responsibilities will also include the identification, evaluation, cultivation, solicitation and management of individuals capable of contributing major gifts of at least $5k annually, with a focus on individuals capable of gifts of $25k and over. The individual will also be responsible for developing various church partnerships toward this end.

Ideal candidates will have:

• Strong initiative and self-motivation
  
• Three to five years demonstrated successful experience and effectiveness in major gifts fundraising with a focus on prospect identification, relationship building, and solicitation
  
• Experience in solicitation of large gifts
  
• Outstanding interpersonal skills; excellent research skills; superior written and oral communication skills; and relevant computer skills
  
• Ability to work both entrepreneurially and collaboratively, and to function both as a leader and a partner within a team framework
  
• Bachelor's degree
  
• Interest in and working knowledge of community development, faith-based initiatives, and social service highly desirable.

This position will split time working from home and out of our development agency’s office in Plano, Texas.

Interested candidates should submit a current resume and cover letter to kelly@pursuantgroup.com. Please include "Development Officer, Major Gifts" in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

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Lists for Nonprofit Jobs in Texas

I recently came across this nice resource from the good folks at Texas Nonprofits: a free and searchable database of non-profit jobs throughout the Lone Star State.

Better yet, they can email new openings two you twice a week. More here:


http://www.txnp.org/jobs/jobsearch.asp

As always, another good site is the Center for Nonprofit Management's "Opportunity 501" site. Slightly more focused on the North Texas region than the site above, it is located here:


www.opportunity501.org

Question for the Day

Did you choose to be in your job, or did it choose you?

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5

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Why the revolution will not be funded: The Twelve Most Common Objections to Social Justice Philanthropy

The Revolution will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex, edited by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence

Albert at the wonderful White Courtesy Telephone blog offers this list of U.S. Foundations that fund social justice work in his insightful analysis "The Twelve Most Common Objections to Social Justice Philanthropy."

I post the list because I find it more encouraging... but you will certainly not want to miss the full list of objections:

Arcus Foundation
http://www.arcusfoundation.org/pages_/home_.cfm

Ford Foundation
http://www.fordfound.org/

Gill Foundation
http://www.gillfoundation.org/

Haymarket People’s Fund
http://www.haymarket.org/

Hill-Snowden Foundation
http://www.hillsnowdon.org/beyond/index.asp

JEHT Foundation
http://www.jehtfoundation.org/

Liberty Hill Foundation
http://www.libertyhill.org/libertyvote/

Marguerite Casey Foundation
http://www.equalvoice2008.org/

Open Society Institute
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/regions/usa/usa_overview

Otto Bremmer Foundation
http://www.ottobremer.org/gag.php

Public Welfare Foundation
http://www.publicwelfare.org/

The New World Foundation
http://www.newwf.org/

The Seven Faces of Philanthropy

I recently heard about this book and was intrigued by the title: The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors (click for a nice review of it).

My friend Kimberly Humphries, Development Director for Irving Cares, forwarded these notes on the book to me (she credited Carole Rylander with connecting her to the book).

Let's take a look at these faces (the images are not from the book...just a few minutes on Google).

The Communitarian – Doing Good Makes Sense
If I’m going to help someone, it’s sure going to be my neighbors. We’ve got to stick together and make life for everyone here in the community just a little bit better.

The Devout – Doing Good is God’s Will
Thanks to the Almighty, I have the means to improve the lives of others. I believe God intends for me to help the deserving, those less fortunate than myself.



The Investor – Doing Good is Good Business
Giving only makes sense when everyone comes out winning. This way the positive relationships can continue to be positive and continue for a good long time. If I don’t consider the financial repercussions of giving, my charitable relationships will not be very strong for very long.


The Socialite – Doing Good is Fun
We all work together, my friends and I, to raise money for charity. When one of us decides to help a charity, that charity gets all of us. It’s a team effort.


The Repayer – Doing Good in Return
I was very successful, but I was never into giving to charity before. But after I found out someone in my family had received services from your organization, I became involved in funding organizations that help other people like my family was helped.


The Altruist – Doing Good Feels Right
For me to continue to grow as a compassionate person requires that I care. I have to care in a way that moves things forward. For me philanthropy is a process of personal development and a way to move things forward.



The Dynast – Doing Good is a Family Tradition
I never thought about it until I hit college. Charity was always what my family did. We just all grew up with discussions about it, with going to charity affairs, with people interested in issues.


Where do you see your donors faces?

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Market-based Approach to Hunger Relief

Jason Krasilovsky, left, and Victor Marshall, Fannie Mae volunteers, chop onions at the DC Central Kitchen. The potatoes and onions come from Toigo Orchards and Farms in Shippensburg, Pa. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)

One of the reasons why I love the D.C. Central Kitchen is that they're on the cutting edge of not just the non-profit sector, but the world overall. This powerful article talks about how their Farm Cooperative, which buys produce seconds from regional farmers, has been helping them to achieve remarkable savings while also improving food quality... something they were doing WAY before the "slow food" revolution got popular:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302567.html

If you are involved with a hunger relief organization such as a food pantry, soup kitchen or food bank, I strongly encourage you to consider ways that local produce can reduce your costs while also supporting the place that you call home.

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Nonprofit Good Practice Guide

I just came across the Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, which "provides easily accessible nonprofit resources and continuously updated information on virtually all aspects of nonprofit management. Use as a quick reference in preparation for meetings or for in-depth research on best practice."

Topics include:

• Advocacy
  
• Evaluation
  
• Financial Management
  
• Fundraising
  
• Governance
  
• Marketing and Communications
  
• Organizational Management
  
• Technology
  
• Volunteer Management

Visit the site here:http://www.npgoodpractice.org/

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Friends in Desperate Times (R.I.P. Joseph Newell)

"I wanted you to know because you're the only friend I have left," she said.

We stood alone in the small room adjacent to the Resource Center on Haskell Avenue, where today hundreds of people are waiting in line to receive groceries from Central Dallas Ministries.

"You're the only person that I thought would care."

Her hand felt so much more rough than it had three weeks earlier, when she and her husband had come to tell me she’d been fired from the job that I got for her.

They made the long walk to my office just to let me to know that they would be OK.

I gave them what little I had -- ten bucks, maybe. I also snuck them into the Resource Center after hours and got them each a bag full of food. I am not supposed to do that; but I did not know what else to do.

I thought I would have time to figure it out.

Time ran out today.


****


"Barbara is here to tell you that Joseph is dead."

Our receptionist's head had cautiously stuck itself into our Monday morning exec meeting. He delivered the words apologetically, as if we should not have been interrupted. I sat stunned as he read the words off a note in the same way that he might have told me that my parking meter had expired... as if it was something I should probably attend to, but not something so urgent that I would have to leave my meeting.

I suppose I should not blame him. We're in a war, after all. Only it's turning out to be more like Apocalypse Now than I'd realized when I signed up for this fight.

The shit piled up so fast in Vietnam you needed wings to stay above it.

Barbara and Joseph did not have wings. They, like the rest of, fell off their clouds long ago.

She had returned to tell me that Joseph had been electrocuted, probably while trying to steal some copper to sell as scrap. She still does not know where his body is being kept.


****


At this point, my mind returned to a conversation that I had nearly two years ago with another woman who was living on the streets. She was a Catholic, and came to the pantry in utter panic asking if there was a Catholic she could talk to. Somehow, she found me.

We prayed together, during which time she told me about how she had been attacked by a group of men the night before... and it had not been the first time. She went into the sort of detail that not even a criminal investigator would want to know.

I could not stop her. She told me that she just had to get it out. I wanted to ask how I could help, but she just kept telling me more and more of the things that had happened to her.

That's when I remembered that she'd asked for a Catholic. She was not looking for help: she was looking for confession, for Salvation.

She blamed herself for all of this happening to her. She said that she wanted to die, but that it was a sin to kill yourself.

I do not have the words to explain the horror that lived in her deep, dark eyes.

I finally got her to stop for long enough that I could ask her what I could do to help -- she had only one request.

"Just pray that they don't eat my body when I'm dead."

She was serious.

“They’re vampires. They’re going to eat me when I die. Please pray they don’t find my corpse.”


****


I was born rich and white. These two facts alone are almost enough to ensure that I will never become like one of my three friends above, all of whom were born poor and black.... and at least one of whom has died the same.

I have not seen my Catholic friend since that day. Our parting was a confused mix of tears and her shouting, during which I could not think clearly enough to even ask her name.

I will not pretend to understand how frustrating it is to be looked at differently on the street because of skin color, or how infuriating it must be to be denied jobs, housing and basic rights just because of race.

But to think that all of my hopes might be reduced to nothing more than a single desperate wish that a stranger will pray that my corpse be hidden forever in shade. . . ?

This is beyond anything I could ever fathom in even my darkest imaginings of hell.


****


I did not know what to say, so I grabbed Barbara and pulled her close. Our tears stained each other's shirts. We must have been an odd pair, emerging from the small warehouse room with red eyes... me in my suit, her in her torn and muddied clothes, skullcap pulled down tight in the hopes that she will look like a man.

She had not seen Joseph for two weeks -- I had heard a rumor that he had left one night with all of their money, plus some cash from their friends at the camp, to go buy some more crack. He had never returned.

Street justice is swift and harsh. The men took their revenege out on her. I won't describe what that entailed.

But the beast was not fully fed. Joseph would still have to pay.

Barbara tried finding him to let him know he was a marked man. Before she could, he was dead.


****

Barbara is a drug addict. So was her husband, Joseph. I am convinced that the only difference between me and them is that I am surrounded by friends and loved ones who would not let me throw myself into such a dark place.

"You're the only male friend I have in my life," Joseph had told me a few weeks earlier. We were talking about relationships, about our desire to take care of our loved ones, and about work. He shared with me like few people have before.

I gave him money to get a haircut. I assumed he would use it for drugs.

But before he died, I saw Joseph. He’d gotten a job helping out at the Farmer's Market. He smiled when he saw me, and proudly took off his hat to show me his hair.

He looked nice.

He looked proud.

He looked . . . hopeful.


****


Rest in peace, Joseph. I will never forget you.

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New Web Site for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

I received an email from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation about their impressive new Web site:

• "Our new home page lets you navigate easily to both our current strategic work and our vast library of publications.
  
• A new area—Assessing our impact—showcases our program evaluations and reports.
  
• Richer sections for each of our program areas feature interactive photo essays, maps and profiles, a current library of publications, charts and data, webcasts, podcasts and more.
  
• A revised Quality/Equality program area offers in-depth information on our recently announced $300-million Aligning Forces for Quality initiative.
  
• An updated Publications and research section collects thousands of learning and policy documents from our work across more than 300 topic areas—with advanced search options.
  
• A Grants section offers easy-to-find lists of our current funding opportunities."

Visit the site here:
http://www.rwjf.org/

Subscribe to their email alerts here:
http://www.rwjf.org/services/

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Open Society Institute Expands U.S. Programs Initiative

One of the projects of the Open Society Institute is 'Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster'

The Open Society Institute has recently announced that it will expand its U.S. Programs Initiative by $75 million annually.

Under the leadership of human rights advocate Ann Beeson, the U.S. program
will work to promote equality, ensure transparency in government, and reform
criminal justice and national security policies. To that end, OSI's new

Criminal Justice Fund will work to improve the administration of justice in
the U.S. and reduce the country's over-reliance on mass incarceration and
increasingly harsh punishment, while its

Transparency and Integrity Fund will work to restore credibility to key
government agencies, revitalize congressional oversight, and increase the
military's accountability. Other initiatives include the

Equality and Opportunity Fund, which provides support for communities of
color, immigrants, women, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community; and the

Democracy and Power Fund, which will work to mobilize youth and communities
of color across a range of progressive issues.

In addition, OSI has announced the launch of two three-year initiatives:

Black Male Achievement, which will work to confront the stigmatization,
criminalization, and exclusion of African-American men and boys from the
economic and political mainstream; and

National Security and Human Rights, which will challenge U.S. policies on
torture, surveillance, arbitrary detention, and racial profiling.

"In shaping these programs, we have tried to capture the sense of urgency and
optimism that our grantees bring to today's formidable challenges," said Beeson.
"U.S. Programs will use its resources to ensure that democracy can flourish and
that everyone in this country can participate fully and equally in society."

More info here:

“Recognizing Profound and Urgent Threats to Democracy, the Open Society
Institute Charts New Direction for Its Work in the United States.” Open
Society Institute Press Release 6/12/08.

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Must-see video with Robert Egger

Robert Egger -- who founded the DC Central Kitchen that I blogged about a moment ago -- continues to prove why he is the one of the smartest thinkers in the non-profit sector ... may his words inspire you to join the revolution.

Watch the video below, or visit:
http://www.robertegger.org/blog/?p=326

Help D.C. Central Kitchen to Fight Rising Food Costs

I received this message about a matching grant to the D.C. Central Kitchen and could not resist making a donation. I encourage you to do so as well -- they have the most remarkable donor stewardship system in place, which allows you to automatically login and see how much you've given. They also making it very easy to give a gift in someone's honor.

Help Fight Rising Food Costs
Food prices are rising and thousands of low-income families are in crisis. Every day, the number of people needing a simple meal is rising, yet the organizations providing those meals are strained.

With your support we can secure an affordable supply of fresh produce from local farms, and use that product to serve nutritious meals to those in need.

Our goal of $20,000 will allow us to purchase produce for the difficult months of June and July.

Act now and help us provide meals that will nourish the community.

Double your impact!
Your gifts will be matched up to $10,000 by Clark Construction

Learn more here:
https://secure.my-websites.org/supporter/donatenow.do?n=gFRg&dfdbid=1066491

And the winner is...(Philanthropassion Contest)

Thanks to everyone who responded to the Philanthropassion Contest! If you missed all of the entries, read them here ... and do not hesitate from adding your own! The contest is over, but the conversation is not.

Before I announce the winner, a few of the lines that really grabbed me:

• Ryan K: I get to live in and be accepted by two remarkably different worlds who share a fundamental humanity and a common path towards wholeness.
• Jeff Brooks: I love fundraising because every time I motivate someone to give, that person is transformed.
• Phil Cubeta: Accessing that moment of vision, that inspired self, that moment of grace in which the most surprised person in the room may be the client, as he or she hears himself say, perhaps for the first time what he or she most cares about, that is what I enjoy most.
• Bob Johnson: What (I) find most interesting is how truly people interested in philanthropy willingly share their knowledge and expertise with so many others.
• Jennifer Mills: My philanthropassion revolves around my own experiences and desire to change it for other people.
• Jason Dick: • (I) desire to help the world understand that no matter what their wealth they can make a difference and change the world.
• Beth Kanter: My passion for philanthropy is personal ... to give back to the beautiful country that gave our family our beautiful children.
• Dani Brzozowski: I (learned) through experience the domino effect compassionate acts of humanity have -- first on the initial recipient and then on those around him.
• Katya Andresen: What makes for the most powerful motivation is not how bad something is now but rather how much better it could be.
• Peter Deitz: I'm so passionate about philanthropy I don't even have time to write up why!
• Charles Kiser:My passion for humanity stems from my passion for a God who is the chief philanthropist. I serve humanity because it's the primary way I serve God.

Thanks to everyone for posting -- and now, for the winner... James Holcomb, CFRE, whose clarity of mission and sense of purpose inspire me on my own quest!

I have always felt that God endowed me with so much that I have a responsibility to give back. That is why I became involved with my first nonprofit organization 51 years ago, The Southern Baptist Radio-TV Commission. It has been a great run, and I have helped five nonprofit organizations raise the funds they needed to fulfill their mission and change the world. But there was something missing. I found that I could expand, enhance and multiply exponentially my mission if I mentored other fundraisers to become the best they can be. So now, I am having a greater impact on changing the world by helping other professional fundraisers realize their potential. This is my philanthropic passion.

I'll be posting an update soon to follow up to what I offered at the beginning of this contest.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted a response. You can review them all here:
http://theraiser.blogspot.com/2008/06/philanthropassion-contest.html

Philanthropassion Contest

This blog's audience almost entirely consists of people who are so passionate about philanthropy that they have decided to devote a significant portion of their life to it. I want to know:

What drives your philanthropassion?

Here is my offer:

1. If I get at least 5 responses, I will post the best response on the top of this blog for a month along with a link to any site that you want (your blog, your organization, etc.).
2. If I get at least 10 responses, I will also send a copy of Charles Collier's "Wealth in Families" to the person who posts the best response.
3. For every response above that, I will also make a donation of $1 per response to the charity of the best responder's choice. So, if I get 100 responses, I'll be making a $100 gift to whatever charity the winner chooses.

I'm taking a few days off to prepare for the CFRE exam and to fly to D.C. for the Hunger Justice Leaders conference. I look forward to reading about The Passion of the Fundraiser!

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12 Easy Ways to Build Your Nonprofit’s Email List

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide recently posted 12 Easy Ways to Build Your Nonprofit’s Email List.

The details of the list are worth reading, but here is the list itself to tempt you to click:

1. Send a regular e-newsletter to your list.
   
2. Include a simple sign-up box on your website, ideally on every page, but on your homepage at a minimum.
   
3. Make changing an address very easy.
   
4. Encourage readers to forward your e-newsletter to friends
   
5. When people register for your events, tell them they will receive your e-newsletter too.
   
6. Bring a paper sign-up sheet to all of your face-to-face events and include one at your reception desk if you get a lot of in-office foot traffic.
   
7. Let supporters decide what they get.
   
8. Offer a special download.
   
9. Sponsor a contest or drawing.
   
10. Collect business cards at presentations.
    
11. Ask for email addresses on all of your forms.
    
12. Offer great content!

Read the full list here... plus a helpful nugget at the end about building trust:
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/

Buffett's Motivation

Warren Buffett: Legendary corporate and philanthropic investor

There has been an interesting discussion over at Sean Stannard-Stockton's blog, Tactical Philanthropy, on the topic of "Why Do People Really Give to Charity?" You can follow it here:
http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/05/why-do-people-really-give-to-charity

The discussion is revolving around Warren Buffett's decision to pass on the bulk of his estate to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation while he is alive, a decision that reversed many of his previous plans.

One of the recent comments was from a guest named "young staffer, who pointed to this intriguing article in FORTUNE magazine... an interview of Buffet by one of his close friends, Carol J. Loomis (FORTUNE Magazine editor-at-large).

Among the gems:

• "The terms of Buffett's gift (require the Foundation) to annually spend the dollar amount of his contributions as well as those it is already making from its existing assets. At the moment, $1.5 billion would roughly double the foundation's yearly benefactions."
  
• Buffett on why he had not previously donated much: "Someone who was compounding money at a high rate, I thought, was the better party to be taking care of the philanthropy that was to be done 20 years out, while the people compounding at a lower rate should logically take care of the current philanthropy."
  
• Buffett has always been a good forecaster: "When we got married in 1952, I told Susie I was going to be rich."
  
• Buffett on why he is not giving all his money to his kids: "Dynastic mega-wealth would further tilt the playing field that we ought to be trying instead to level."
  
• And again: "A very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing."
  
• Buffett on why he gave to the Gates Foundation instead of one of his family's own: "I came to realize that there was a terrific foundation that was already scaled-up - that wouldn't have to go through the real grind of getting to a megasize like the Buffett Foundation would - and that could productively use my money now."
  
• Bugget on why now: "If I've found the right vehicle for my goal, there's no reason to wait."
  
• Buffet on his motivation besides immediate impact through his gifts: "I have some small hopes that what I'm doing might encourage other very rich people thinking about philanthropy to decide they didn't necessarily have to set up their own foundations but could look around for the best of those that were up and running and available to handle their money."

The full article is brief, well worth the read and available here:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/07/10/8380864/index.htm

What can fundraisers do to address systemic poverty?

SingleStop USA was called "The Best Poverty-Fighting Bet" by Slate Magazine, which also said that they hosted "the Google IPO event of the nonprofit world" here.

Today, my CEO's blog -- Larry James' Urban Daily -- addresses an amazing fact that is rarely discussed in our community:

Over 90% of the children in the Dallas ISD live at or below poverty.

Reread that.

There are 160,000 public school students in Dallas. Fewer than 16,000 are not living in poverty.

What can we, as fundraisers, do to address this? By arguing for more funding for our little organization? By shunning collaboration in favor of competitive grant-seeking?

Or should we start to realize that our jobs should not exist?

Should we start to think globally about the fact that we are here to meet needs, but most of us just raise funds to feed those needs rather than kill them forever?

Here is a question for the day:

How much better would your clients be if you could almost guarantee the majority of them an additional $5,000 in income per year?

Think I am dreaming? Perhaps. But take a look at this organization, SingleStop USA:

The Google IPO event of the nonprofit world. - Slate Magazine

SingleStop developed a quick one-stop shop at 59 sites across New York. In 15 minutes, the organization's software tools calculate a family's eligibility for a host of benefits—public assistance ... SingleStop counselors then provide families with tailored legal and financial advice...

The average family in a SingleStop program recouped $1,800 in tax credits and $5,000 in benefits that they weren't previously receiving

For every $1 invested, the program gives clients $3 in benefits, $4 to $13 in legal counseling, $2 in financial counseling, and $11 in tax credits.

This looks like an amazing organization. My hope is that they begin thinking collaboratively about how to work with the rest of us to roll out their product across the country.

Until then, remember that we are NOT marketers: we are not in the business of selling people things. We are in the business of securing and effectively deploying resources to address the root causes of the most intractable problems facing our society.

We are here to close gaps in the system.

We cannot do this by begging for dollars.

We can only do this by fighting for change.

The Caruth legacy continues to shape Dallas' non-profit scene

Portrait of a Donor: Mabel Peters Caruth (click here for full story)

Thanks to the far-ranging vision of lifelong philanthropist Mabel Peters Caruth, who passed on her estate to the Communities Foundation of Texas in 2000, the amazing legacy of her family's generosity will continue to grow.

The Caruth family, which has been a leading part of Dallas since 1948, donated much of the land that is now the home of the Southern Methodist University (SMU). Now, thanks to Mrs. Mabel Peters Caruth's final act of generosity, the family's house will become the new home to two of Dallas' most pretigious benefactors: the Hoblitzelle and Summerlee foundation, which are both currently housed in the same building in Preston Center.

The long partnership between all three of these foundations can only be enriched and deepened by this move, which bodes well for all non-profits in Dallas. Thanks to Brent Christopher and his staff at CFT for leading the charge to forge a better future for Dallas.

Here is an article with the details:
Dallas Morning News: Foundations to occupy restored Caruth home

Great Event: Fundraiser for Angela Hunt

Angela Hunt is one hot firecracker.

The campaign to re-elect Dallas City Councilmember Angela Hunt has just announced a very creative event for one of her first major fundraisers prior to the next election:

Celebrate Indepence Day with an
independent voice on the City Council!
Unfortunately, the event will be on June 26 instead of the 4th of July, but the tie-in to the national celebration is made through the following innovative sponsor levels:

• $2000 - Roman Candles (Couple)
  
• $1000 - Bottle Rocket (Individual)
  
• $500 - Firecracker
  
• $250 - Sparkler

Tickets are only $100 each. See the invite below, or visit:
www.angelahunt.com/








Not sure if Angela is your representative on the Council? Check out the (bizzaro!) Redistricting map here:
http://www.dallascityhall.com/government/council/adopted_map.html



Want to know who represents you in the State and U.S. Government? Go here:
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Profiles in Pride: The activist, Pam Gerber

Pam Gerber keeps it real for all dem suckas.

Thanks to Dallas Voice for their recent Profile in Pride: The activist on one of my personal heroes, Pam Gerber.

I recently blogged about Pam's work here:
Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas makes it easy to be good

She was also recently profiled by another one of my heroes, Catherine Cuellar, at Pegasus News:
People you s“hood" know: Oak Lawn's Pam Gerber | Dallas | pegasusnews.com

People like Pam make Dallas a great place to call home.

Follow up: Non-Profit Publicity

"Publicity for Nonprofits," by Sandra L. Beckwith

I recently blogged about Sandra Beckwith's book, "Publicity for Nonprofits. The author was kind (savvy?) enough to drop by and post this:

"Thanks so much for sharing these tips from my book! I also offer a free report with tips for generating publicity for a special event at http://www.nonprofitpublicity.com. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your name and e-mail address. You'll get an e-mail message with a link to the report."

Tickets now on sale for Sept. 29 show with Clint Black!

Central Dallas Ministries has just released tickets for our upcoming benefit concert, A Night to Remember 2008 with Clint Black.

Click here for more information and to reserve your seats for what will certainly be another sold-out show!

Event Details
Monday, September 29, 2008
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Show begins at 8:00 p.m.

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas makes it easy to be good

Ray L. Hunt, CEO of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., inducted into the EFNT "Ring of Honor" tonight

Tonight, I enjoyed yet another fantastic evening in the company of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas. The Foundation's Director, the inimitable Pam Gerber, consistently pulls off some of the best events in Dallas.

This evening's affair was the 7th Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Philanthropy!. I wandered amidst a crowd of more than 300 Dallas-area business, political and community leaders at this "exclusive event designed to highlight businesses that make 'good corporate citizenship' their competitive edge!"

The event honored local philanthropist Ray Hunt, who was formally inducted into the Foundation's "Ring of Entrepreneurs" with wonderful introductions by Pam Gerber, Brent Christopher of the Communities Foundation of Texas (the parent organization for EFNT), SMU's Dr. Gerald Turner and the events title sponsors, NexBank.

Ray Hunt's remarks were brief, as he said that prefered to avoid speeches in favor of Q&A sessions. His five main points, which have previously been the focus of a blog on
Larry James' Urban Daily, included:

1. Great companies develop a strong corporate culture, with shared values and a strong work ethic. "If you have a group of men and women with shared personal values and work ethic, they can do anything," Hunt said.

2. Great companies possess the ability to differentiate themselves from other groups. "If you are like everybody else, that means you're average," Hunt declared.

3. Great companies demonstrate adaptability. Change is expected, never a surprise. Hunt commented that he agreed with Darwin, that greatness was often defined more by being the most adaptable than simply the strongest, fastest or smartest.

4. Great companies adapt with amazing speed. It is no longer enough to be able to change or adapt. It is now necessary to be able to adapt as quickly as possible, and that as a part of normal operating procedures. Hunt commented that the increasing speed of worldwide communications has accelerated much of this.

5. Great companies are very willing to be contrarian. "If you see the whole industry going in some direction, you will not find us there," Hunt confessed. The sample he offered was that if the audience were told that there was a terrible traffic jam on the nearby highway, that very few of us would go there ... but he would, because our flight would ensure he had a clean drive.

The session then turned to Q&A. I stood up to ask a question, but we ran out of time before I could ask:

"Regarding your last comment on being contrarian, what are the most important philanthropic opportunities for 'contrariness'? In other words, is there an opportunity that no one is supporting but that presents a strong opportunity for a venture philanthropists who wants a great social return on their investment?" gifts

Part of the reason that we ran out of time was that one of the first comments was by former Dallas City Councilman Ed Oakley, who told the story of how Ray Hunt personally stepped up to support the families of the two firefighters who died in a fire at his home in 1981. After Oakley spoke, one of the firefighters who was at Hunt's home that day got up to personally thank Hunt for his work.

The words rendered Hunt speechless -- no small task, but one that caused an eruption of applause.

After the formal program, I greatly enjoyed speaking with Charles Wyly about his successful leadership of the campaign for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. We were waiting in line to speak with Mr. Hunt (something neither of us was able to do, sadly), and Mr. Wyly shared part of his vision for a Downtown that "was better for everyone" and that would "really brand Dallas."

Kudos to Mr. Wyly and his team for all that they have accomplished towards the $338 million goal for the campaign ($20 million of which came from Wyly himself).

Later, I also had the great pleasure of sharing a conversation with Tom Landis -- owner of Texadelphia and Pizza Patron -- and Tad McIntosh, owner of HumCap LLP and one of the evening's other award recipients; both gentlemen had attended Central Dallas Ministries' recent Prayer Breakfast with Mayor Tom Leppert, and were discussing their own involvement in local charitable efforts. Our community is healthier and more vibrant because of each of their companies, and especially for each of their lives.

Congrats to Pam Gerber and all of her team for the wonderful event!

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship is the signature networking event of EFNT, and thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and donors, the event is complimentary. Event sponsors include Title Sponsor NexBank, Platinum Sponsor PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Gold Sponsors Hall Financial Group, Executive Airshare, Tatum, and Peterson, Goldman & Villani. Other donors include VCFO, Bowne of Dallas, Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch, Andrews Kurth, Parkland Foundation, G & A Partners, KBA Group, Hughes Ventures, U.S. Home Team TelaDoc, Medical Services, Ambassador Kathryn Hall and Mr. Craig Hall Foundation and Wallace Companies, Inc.

For more info about the event, which raised nearly $100,000 to support EFNT's mission to promote corporate philanthropy, please visit:
http://www.efnt.org/content-events.asp?newsID=50

Tomorrow: Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher'

Thanks to the RELIGION Blog | The Dallas Morning News for writing about tomorrow's Urban Engagement Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher.'

For more info about this free event, visit:
www.UrbanEngagment.org

The book club is an important outreach effort of Central Dallas Ministries. Held on the first Thursday of every month, the event gathers over 100 people from all walks of life: CDM donors, staff, clients and friends... hope to see you there!

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Is there anybody out there?

Just wondering...

United Way gives $46M to N. Texas nonprofits

The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Business Journal both released stories on the big news of May for nearly 100 of the largest and most effective non-profits in Dallas:

United Way gives more than $46 million to 93 area charities

I am proud to say that Central Dallas Ministries received the largest increase of any of the 93 agencies, increasing its allocation to over $800,000 this year.



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High Impact Giving Opportunities

Arabella Advisors' "High-Impact Giving Opportunities" list

Thanks to Phil Cubeta at GiftHub.org for citing this powerful example of extremely effective donor communications:

High Impact Giving Opportunities from Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors:

Arabella Advisors produced the High-Impact Giving Opportunities: Philanthropy that Makes a Difference list to assist donors in assessing the urgent issues that are underfunded and/or under-recognized. These ten issues allow donors to make an impact, whether they are able to contribute $100, $100,000, or $1 million.

Arabella Advisors recruited a distinguished group of independent advisors, including opinion leaders, foundation and association executives, and business leaders to provide ideas and feedback on issues needing the attention of donors. Selection criteria required that the issues:

1. Address urgent needs;
   
2. Lack the attention they deserve within communities of donors, among policy makers, and in the general public; and
   
3. Provide donors with opportunities to have a significant impact.

The advisory group considered: What issues are timely but overlooked? What challenges lie on the horizon that might be mitigated with proactive support? Where can one’s contribution go the farthest in saving lives, educating children, preserving the environment, alleviating poverty, or addressing another urgent need? Where can donors see measurable return on investments?

For donors taking a more strategic approach to philanthropy, the answers to these questions are central to effective giving and to solving the most critical social problems facing our world.

View the press release announcing the inaugural High-Impact Giving Opportunities List, listen to a show about HIGO on NPR's Marketplace Money and/or download the full High-Impact Giving Opportunities: Philanthropy that Makes a Difference list here:
http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/pages/HIGO.html

TANO: Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations

The Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations calls itself "The Voice of the Texas Nonprofit Sector." More at www.TANO.org.

Today, I received the following from The Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations in their first issue of TANOgram:

"(We) envision a Texas Nonprofit Sector that works together to be among the healthiest and most vibrant in the nation. Our mission is to connect, strengthen and support the Texas nonprofit community for the public good. Welcome to TANOgram - a periodic compilation of information and resources to serve you and your nonprofit organization.

Their site looks promising:

Connecting, Strengthening and Supporting the nonprofit community for the public good - www.TANO.org

Uh oh... Tax Exemptions of Charities Face New Challenges

The New York Times reports that "Tax Exemptions of Charities Face New Challenges."

Could this be trouble for the sector?

Or is this another positive step towards better stewardship?



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Urban Village Newsletter

Central Dallas Ministries' May 2008 Urban Village Newsletter

Central Dallas Ministries just posted an online copy of its May 2008 Urban VIllage Newsletter. You can download a copy here:
http://www.centraldallasministries.org/uv/

I would welcome your comments, advice and critiques!

Do you know a Man of Influence?

The Family Place is now accepting nominations for its Man of Influence Award, which recognizes a North Texan who is leading by example to make domestic violence a “community issue” rather than a “women’s issue.” Through his lifestyle, he is setting a standard of compassion, support and commitment that promotes healthy relationships.

Download the 2008 Man of Influence Nomination Form here.

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The Two Most Important Words in Fundraising

I have enjoyed corresponding lately with Hildy Gottlieb, founder of the Diaper Bank. She recently pointed me to one of her blogs, which I think you will enjoy:

The Sound a “Thank You” Makes

Read Hildy's blog here:
http://hildygottlieb.com/

Keep up the great work, Hildy! And keep saying "thank you"!

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