The Rundown - April 1, 2022
The latest news and notes from the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors
The Rundown - The April Fool’s Edition!
Happy April Fool’s Day Everyone! I’ll be the first to admit that I lack the creative genius to come up with something snappy or witty for a day like this that at least for a second might fool you into thinking something is reality, when it really is not.
Anyway, I hope you have a great today and have the chance to laugh at something that might have you tricked, even for just a moment. Thanks for reading and your input is always welcome. Feel free to like, comment and share this post. And of course, feel free to shoot me an email at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com!
Mackenzie Scott is at it again!
The Good News Network has a story that has been widely published in many other areas of print and digital media; Mackenize Scott continues to make break-neck donations to scores of nonprofit groups. This time the beneficiary of her work is Habitat for Humanity.
It has been widely reported that Ms. Scott has donated $436 million to not only the flagship Habitat for Humanity International operation (at $25 million), but to 84 of the network’s individual affiliates. Habitat for Humanity International’s CEO, Jonathan Reckford, called the gift, “a transformational donation.”
I would bet the 84 affiliates would call the gift more like “Manna from Heaven”. These local affiliates are on the frontline of a critical problem facing more and more communities - affordable housing. Just as a starting point, it was reported that the median home price in Tucson, Arizona has risen to $320,000. The real estate website Zillow reported that rents in Miami (30.6%), Tampa (28.2%) and Phoenix (25.6%) have skyrocketed over the past year. People are quickly becoming outpriced in the communities they live.
One of the major concerns is that there is simply not enough housing supply. With labor shortages and material costs moving higher, the cost of new homes is quickly moving up as well. All of which is a tough nut to crack.
The dollars given to Habitat for Humanity will be a huge help to address some of the problems with low-income and affordable housing. Here’s hoping others can step forward and address this critical issue as well.
The Permanency of Covid-19
This was a timely article from The Non Profit Times outlined some of the current struggles that nonprofits are going through, referencing a study entitled “2022 Nonprofit Industry Pulse Survey”.
The largest takeaway from the survey is that staffing challenges are being felt far and wide in the nonprofit field — 69% of respondents to the survey stated that personnel and human resources were their largest areas of concern. This is a marked change from the immediate financial impacts that were felt from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The article extensively quoted Hope Goldstein with the firm that authored the study:
“A lot of what nonprofit leaders did to survive in the last couple of years are changes that will become part of their go-forward operations, like having hybrid in-person virtual events, or leveraging board members and volunteers to fill staffing gaps. The challenges of the pandemic have accelerated initiatives that will power up the nonprofit sector’s future in what will be a new and more robust industry. Taking leaps that seemed impossible in the past are giving these leaders many opportunities to transform their organizations.”
One critical way that these organizations are being transformed is simply in the way these organizations are staffed. The survey reported that 47.7% of nonprofits plan to increase staff. This could indicate that service numbers are ramping up in the post-pandemic world or that current staffs are simply overworked and overwhelmed and new staff members need to brought on, or both.
Financially, this is going to take a huge hit in the nonprofit sector. The sector has a less than stellar record of compensating front-line employees, but as wages across the spectrum increase, the nonprofit sector is going to have to make corresponding moves. Rising wages in the nonprofit sector isn’t going to necessarily be a reflection of a new attitude to treat employees better (though that may be the case), rather it may be a reality that the price for talent has risen to a point where nonprofits must become more attuned to the demands of the labor market.
Sustaining Rural Philanthropy
Most of those that read this newsletter are from more urban areas, but we do have a fair number of individuals that are from more rural areas. This is an article that might speak specifically from those readers that came directly from the Inside Philanthropy website.
Our collective history on philanthropy largely derives from the idea that the urban environment was the cornerstone of charitable giving. In many ways, it makes sense. Urban cities have always been a refuge to under-resourced individuals; ancient Greeks huddled in smaller metropolitan areas that revolved around religion and commerce. Newly minted American immigrants were largely welcomed in large cities with diverse ethnic populations. Metropolitan areas are also largely home to cultural and educational institutions that largely drive philanthropic giving. Through all these episodes, rural philanthropy was left on the sidelines.
Why? The article generally spells it out:
Too much rural philanthropy sputters out because it fails to acknowledge that you can’t just add more responsibility to an already overloaded civic infrastructure.
The modern rural leader is faced with large problems that often plague suburban or urban communities; generational poverty, poor health outcomes, lack of necessary services (such as transportation, elder care, child care). All of these problems require some degree of support to address. Many of these rural leaders find themselves over extended to not only address the problems they can quickly grasp, but are often frustrated when there is no institutional support (or just other people) to address some of the more pressing concerns.
Often what happens is there is a push to institutionalize a response. A new fund is established at a local foundation or a new nonprofit established to solve a pressing problem. The existential struggle in the rural community is that these new institutions are often under the direction of the same collection of individuals that are involved with other pressing problems. The civic infrastructure often gets to a breaking point.
The problem can be compounded when those that are perceived to have potential resources can’t be readily called upon to provide critical assistance. Local governments often see social problems out of their sphere of control and therefore out of their sphere of influence. Local foundations often feel tapped out to provide money to an ever growing portfolio of groups that aren’t so much tacking large problems as they are trying to grow some degree of civic responsibility. The business community quickly points to the larger and deeper pockets that others have (such as government and foundations) as the balm to relieve civic pain.
Yet, the problems remain. Local nonprofit leaders on the front line dealing with issues that are sometimes typecast as “only happening in poorly run big cities” are trying to solve problems and easily get burned out.
If there is one thing I have learned, there is rarely a “golden bullet” that can help solve the problems that rural philanthropy can help solve. However, one thing that all leaders can do is help to instill an attitude of generosity in their own community.
One important lesson I have learned in my time working in the nonprofit field is that even those that are in depths of extreme poverty will still show a desire and even practice generosity. Often those in poverty live a daily life in which favors are continually negotiated; generosity becomes very easy in these environment (and surprisingly, it’s not all conditional, as might be imagined).
If there is one concrete action item we can take to improve rural philanthropy, it’s to simply encourage all people to live a life of generosity.
Now A Word From Our Sponsors….
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Interested in sponsoring “The Rundown”? Shoot us an email at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com to start that conversation!
What Can We Work on Together?
Did you know that Pinnacle Strategies works individually with nonprofit and public sector leaders to help them solve problems, achieve goals and gain confidence in their roles?
Why?
Because, this work is hard and it’s often a lonely road. Our nonprofit and public sector leaders need people that they can talk to to get solid advice and encouragement to do the work that is in front of them. If you feel that this can be of value to you, or a member of your team, please reach out to pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com and let’s talk.
A Quick Note of Thanks!
Thank you all for subscribing to this newsletter. The subscription numbers continue to grow and from what I am learning, this side job seems like it has “sticking power”; six months in and this is still going strong. By this point, many newsletters have faded away. This is only possible through your support - thank you!
I know many of you have shared this with your friends and colleagues and I am very grateful. Thank you! If you haven’t share it yet…..well, here is your chance….
Ready to Learn Something New?
Spring is a wonderful time to visit Indianapolis and it opens a perfect opportunity to sharpen your skills and meet new professionals in the field. I would encourage you to look at some of the offerings of The Fund Raising School at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University’s campus in Indianapolis. The professional development school has great programming both on-line and in-person both in Indianapolis and at other sites across the country. Take a look at their course offerings here!
Other Ways to Connect
Our coaching practice has openings starting here in 2022. If you are interested in working with me to get your nonprofit organization on a track to achieve the big missions you have for your organization, please reach out to me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
Here are some other ways you can keep in contact with Pinnacle Strategies!
Check us out on our LinkedIn Page
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