Non-Nonprofit Blog

I will be the first to say that the last thing that we need in this world is another blog.

But here's an idea for one that I hope someone starts:

Non-Nonprofit Blog
Where margins feed missions

I did not come up with this idea, of course. I credit Robert Egger with V3 Campaign with being the most vocal advocate for the idea that "nonprofit is a tax status. We are businesses."

Why do we define ourselves by what we are not (i.e. "not-for-profit")? Is simply not making money our goal, or are we here to achieve something?

Incidentally, www.nonnonprofit.com and .org is currently available.

We need more conversation about the financing model that we use as "non-profits." We need to consider ways to change our vocabulary so that we think of ourselves as social enterprises . . . or, as I am tending to say, mission-based organizations.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What should we call ourselves?

• Nonprofits?
• Social Enterprises?
• Mission-based organizations?
• Care-based organizations (thanks to George Ellis and the Dallas Social Venture Partners for this one)?
• Community-based organizations?
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)?
• Charities?
• Philanthropies?
• Pinko commies?
• Loony bins?

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!

[where: 75223]

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

Do mega-gifts increase overall philanthropy?

Ross Perot Jr. claimed that, although the national economy is sluggish, charitable giving in Dallas has never been more robust. He then backed this up with a $50 million gift to the Museum of Nature & Science.

The problem with Perot's claim is that mega-gifts like this can easily mask a declining philanthropic environment. In a city like Dallas -- where Boone Pickens, Harold Simmons and others secure national headlines for their philanthropy -- it is easy for the general public to assume that charitable giving is up.

My concern, which I have seen borne out at Central Dallas Ministries, is that this gives many donors an excuse to avoid contributing: the attitude can almost be that "the mega-rich are taking care of that," followed quickly with a quieter "and they should."

For example: Central Dallas Ministries has raised over $25 million through public and private sources for the first phase of our capital campaign. Some of our donors have not realized that these funds are highly designated and do not help us to pay for operations.

As we have often joked in our office, "we could have marble desktops but be unable to afford the light bill."

Thankfully, overall fundraising is up at Central Dallas Ministries by more than 20% this year. This may not be the trend at other organizations: we benefit from a highly public profile.

Not all organizations are as fortunate, even though they are seeing the same increase in demand for services that we are -- the nation's food banks are reporting facing higher costs but feeding more people. At CDM, we have seen nearly 40% more people than at this same time last year.

What are you seeing at your organization?

Is fundraising up? More importantly, is fundraising up more than demand?

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