The Rundown - April 22, 2022
The latest news and notes from the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors
A Quick Editorial Comment….
I am always working to provide you with high quality information and content to help you in your role. A few weeks ago, “Thursday Thoughts” was rolled out and while the response has been very positive, I quickly learned that having newsletters come out on back to back days wasn’t very helpful.
First, it crammed the content schedule to create a lot of content in just a couple of hours in an evening. Second, while the content was good, the “Thursday Thoughts” always got less visitors on Friday due to the Friday edition on going out; it was almost as if the two editions were working against each other, rather than with each other.
So, the schedule here at Pinnacle Strategies is going to change a bit.
The flagship edition, “The Rundown”, will not change. That will continue to be a free edition that comes out every Friday at 7 a.m. What will change is that “Thursday Thoughts” will now be called “Deeper Dive” and it will come out on Tuesday at 7 a.m.
Our paid subscribers may want to know, “Tuesday is the day Pinnacle Strategies on Video comes out. Is that changing?” It is. Our paid video service will now come out on Thursday mornings. If you haven’t yet become a paid subscriber to the Pinnacle Strategies on Video service, you are really missing out on some valuable content. Right now, we are working through Peter Drucker’s classic text, “The Effective Executive” and discussing what lessons we can learn in the public and nonprofit sectors.
First (and Second) Family Giving
Americans just collectively ended another tax season and with each passing April 15th (or 18th this year) we get to scratch our voyeuristic itch and see how much the first (and second) family made and paid in taxes. I’m not big into knowing how much these folks made and gave to the government; but I am always interested to see how much their charitable donations were.
Well, here are the results.
According to White House documents, the President and First Lady had an adjusted gross income of $610,702 and gave $17,394 to charity last year (a total of 2.8% of income). The biggest beneficiary of their charitable giving was the Beau Biden Foundation, which received $5,000.
Vice President Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff reported an adjusted gross income of just under $1.6 million and gave $22,100 to charity (a total of 1.4% of income). The Second Family gave $5,000 to the University of Southern California, Howard University and the CSUN Arts and Communications Fund.
So, how does that 1.4% and 2.8% measure up? Actually, it’s pretty….average. Recently released data from LendingTree showed that 55% of Americans gave some type of donation last year. San Jose, California tended to be one of the most generous places where on average donors gave 3.5% of their income; Scranton, Pennsylvania was one of the least generous places where donors gave on average 0.5% of their income.
Elon Musk and his definition of Philanthropy
There is probably no more controversial entrepreneur out there than Elon Musk. The fifty year old South African has a net worth of more than $270 Billion and is known as the genius behind world-changing innovations - electric cars, space travel, tunnel constructions. All of these big amazing ideas can’t help but come from a mind that thinks a little different and a little deeper about things.
And that mind was clicking when he was recently asked about philanthropy in an interview with Chris Anderson, the head organizer of the TED talk series. The story from Business Insider has Musk making the following quote:
If you care about the reality of goodness instead of the perception of it, philanthropy is extremely difficult. SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, The Boring Company are philanthropy. If you say philanthropy is love of humanity, they are philanthropy.
In the most classical sense, Musk is right on - philanthropy is about the love of humanity. And I am sure every person who had a dream for a business is trying to improve humanity with their enterprise. So, maybe Musk is on to something.
Maybe in the more modern definition, it’s his enterprises that make his philanthropy possible. SpaceX, Tesla, et al., aren’t the end, but they are the means to the end. Then again, maybe he thinks his interventions are making humanity…better? Reinventing transportation to allow more people to explore, experience and gain financial independence is a laudable goal and maybe there is a strong sense of love behind it.
But, we can’t specifically reserve philanthropy for just the highest earners among us, and I am afraid comments like Musk’s does exactly that. Philanthropy is a love of humanity that all individuals can take part. Some give money, some give time, some give advice. All of which can be helpful and fruitful as we grow our organizations and our society and don’t necessarily need a new entrepreneur business start up to make happen.
Food Pantries Feel The Pinch
This article in the Washington Post chronicles the challenges of the Little Food Pantry That Could, a ten year old operation located in Nashville. The story talks about how this food pantry had shut it’s doors at the of March, leaving many families and the communities they live in scrambling.
The pantry was faced with a hot real-estate market and rising costs that made their operation fiscally unsustainable. Of particular note was this quote from Tim Delaney, the CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits:
“Right now I’d say nonprofits are facing a confluence of crises. We’re out here fighting, trying to find some balance with increasing demand, rising costs, and declining donations — holy cow! It’s too much for a system to bear.”
These are challenging times for nonprofits and that is not just limited to food pantries. Supply chain issues and rising costs are making challenging times in these days. The ongoing grind of higher inflation will no doubt cause more people to come through our front doors, no matter what service we are providing.
But, I do openly question declining donations. In normal economic times, study after study shows that a rising S&P 500 correlates strongly with growth in philanthropic giving. Last year, the S&P 500 gained over 25%. Over the last 12 months, the index is still up over nearly 8%.
And let’s not forget the tremendous amounts of cash that has flooded nonprofit organizations since the beginning of the pandemic. PPP loans, state and local programs all provided needed cash reserves to organizations. Influxes of cash to individuals from pandemic relief sources also saw increased donations to organizations as well.
Are there those organizations that are suffering? Absolutely. Are there those that are thriving? Yes. My hunch is that what we are seeing is that some nonprofits built on old service delivery models may not be working. Nonprofit organizations of all stripes would be well served to strategically think about their future.
Challenges such as funding, volunteers, capital assets, increased service numbers are faced by nonprofit organizations all the time. The good organizations think about what they are doing and what they need to do to change with the times.
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!
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.