The Rundown - April 15, 2022
The latest news and notes from the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors
The Rundown - The Easter Edition
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. (Mt. 28: 1-2, NASB)
Happy Easter everyone. A time of great promise, a time of personal renewal, a time of deep reflection. I point out the scripture above since I believe it has great relevance to our work.
The story of Easter isn’t possible until the stone is rolled away revealing the eternal mystery inside. And the reminder for us today, what stones do we need to roll away? What is it in our work, in our organizations, in our communities that needs to be revealed?
Repeated, effective and meaningful change isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s going to happen by small, incremental changes that we can accomplish. It’s going to happen by today’s hard disciplines that turn into tomorrow’s automatic habits.
Notice when the stone was rolled away, it was an earthquake; surely noticeable, maybe destructive. But it was not the large scale announcement one might reasonable expect. I often wonder, how many people actually noticed the earthquake for what it really was? Not as an announcement of a resurrection, rather just another run of the mill earthquake. Little did those folks know that earthquake have aftershocks that are felt to this day.
The things you are doing have significance and relevance - you might just not know it yet. Happy Easter!
The “Acorn Squash Problem”
Hat tip to reader Joel, who sent along this timely piece. As someone who runs a nonprofit whose flagship service is a food pantry, this one hits home.
One of the hardest aspects about running a food pantry is knowing that sometimes the things we get aren’t the best things in the world for our families to eat. A second challenge is that the good things we do get are sometimes the hardest items to move.
Case in point, we are blessed to receive a lot of donations from a large grocery store chain here in the Midwest. One of their distribution centers is a mere four miles away and we often get items from them that are in large quantities and often described as “unique”, “weird” or “exotic” - the memory of receiving four pallets of kohlrabi sticks in my mind.
Fortunately, we have developed strong relationships with other organizations in our community that can help us quickly distribute these items and find good homes for these items. On the rare occasion we have fresh items that start to go south, we have a network of farmers that have graciously donated to us in the past that have barnyard animals that love rotting vegetables.
All of this to point out, serving people is about serving people. It’s not necessarily giving people what they want, but it’s giving them what they deserve. People deserve to be treated with dignity and have access to foods that will give them healthy lives, not foods that will take away from their quality of life.
Promoting a Culture of Giving Down Under
This might be fortuitous, or just a run of the mill coincidence.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that this newsletter is starting to get a handful of readers from Australia (welcome aboard!) and just today there was this story from the website probonoaustralia.com.
It appears that Australians will be heading to the ballot box in a few weeks (and no, we are not going to talk about Australian politics) and one of the political parties is making a platform issue of increasing philanthropy down under.
This was a particularly colorful quote from a Dr. Andrew Leigh, who is serving as a shadow assistant minister for treasury and charities,
“I think we haven’t prioritized a national culture of giving. The fact is, our charitable fundraising laws were written in a pre-internet era when going online was something you did with your wet washing when you took it out of the machine. We haven’t updated those fundraising laws so it’s harder for charities to call on donors to support them.”
Data from Philanthropy Australia shows that charitable giving is 0.8% in Australia, compared to 1.8% in New Zealand and 2.1% here in the United States. Another data set showed that those individuals giving to charity has dropped between 2011 and 2018 from 70% to 61%.
Philanthropy shouldn’t be seen through a political lens. I would hope that individuals of all political stripes can see the value a philanthropic and giving society can have on the larger culture. Much of the quality of life we enjoy today in our own communities is directly related to a strong and vibrant philanthropic culture; whether that be quality of life initiatives, working for diversity and inclusion and ensuring a strong social safety net for our fellow neighbors.
Regardless of how the Australian elections turn out, I would hope we can all agree a strong philanthropic sector would be a benefit to the Australian people.
Faith in Giving
This season has many holy days for many religious groups - from Easter, Passover to Ramadan - people of faith are no doubt spending time in reflection and ritual at this time.
It’s no surprise that faith has been a driving force in philanthropic giving since the beginning of these religious traditions. This post from Philanthropy Roundtable outlines some data points on faith and giving that I found of particular interest.
In 2021, contributions to faith-based organizations accounted for over $131 Billion in donations.
Studies show a strong correlation between faith and higher rates of volunteerism.
Faith-based organizations provide as much as 40% of all funding for all critical and essential social safety net services is many communities.
Is This Event On Your Calendar?
The Mosaic of Community Leadership Conference, hosted by the Paul G. Duke Academy for Community Leadership and the Edison State Center for Leadership Development is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 18th at Edison State Community College in Piqua, Ohio. This is a wonderful one-day conference that will feature Dr. Karen Townsend of KTownsend Consulting and multiple breakout sessions.
Check out more at this link!
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”; seven months in and this is still going strong. Each day brings a new subscriber, a new phone call, a new experience; all of this built on my desire to help nonprofit and philanthropic leaders like you feel less lonely and more empowered to do the best work they can! 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
Check us out on the Celebrating Leadership Facebook Page.