Deeper Dive - Leaving Politics at the Door - June 14, 2022

A recent study by Inside Philanthropy has me wondering about the state of our sector

A recent survey came out from the publication, Inside Philanthropy. You can find the survey here. One of the most interesting aspects of the survey was their discovery of the political affiliations and attitudes of those that responded. Here is what the survey reported:

Two-thirds of respondents said they held senior-level positions, 22% said they were mid-career, and less than 5% were early career. Asked to describe themselves politically on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being very liberal, the median response was 8. Just 13 respondents said they were a 1 or a 2 — the most conservative scores on the scale — while 114 said they were a 10 or 9. As for the focus of their work, respondents named a range of issues — including such niches as historic preservation — but the majority said they work in familiar top areas like education, healthcare, the arts and the environment.

A caveat is that perhaps in this line of work, and the areas in which respondents focused (education, the arts, the environment), the people that serve here are more apt to be supportive of liberal causes and home to more liberal thinking individuals. But, it is striking to know that in this industry for every one conservative thinking individual, there are ten that think just as strongly in a liberal fashion.

Maybe in some sense, it’s interesting to know this data, but I really want to know the answers to other questions that this data creates in my mind. Are those that are liberally minded happy to know that they are in a line of work with like-thinking individuals? Does our sector end up losing diverse opinions as we complete our work in our organizations?

Perhaps the biggest question of them all is….does any of this really matter?

I work in a human service nonprofit and never once have we asked about the political affiliation or those we serve or those who volunteer with us. Why? Because it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is a commitment to our cause. What does matter is a desire to see our mission being met on a daily basis. What does matter is being sold out on a vision in which we see families and individuals brought towards self-sufficiency.

These aren’t liberal ideas and these aren’t conservative ideas; these are human values. And that is what I love about philanthropy; it’s a pure expression of some of the most precious values we hold as people. Generosity, compassion, love. All of these are hallmarks of our work.

My biggest fear is that when we start asking and reporting on surveys about political affiliation and ideas, we are creating barriers that do not need to be there. We start to typecast and stereotype people that doesn’t help serve any purpose; in fact, it might make our work harder. We start becoming those things that we don’t trust in the larger society.

Politics has ruined more things than it has built. It has created more problems than it has solved. It has sullied more institutions than it has helped.

Let’s do our best to honor our neighbors, our donors and our causes by keeping politics at the door and focusing on our missions and visions.

I have had my say, what is yours?

Feel free to leave a comment and share this with friends and colleagues. At the very least, “hit that heart” below! It would be much appreciated!

Stay Well,

Bill