A Grant Maker Gets Real
This op-ed was posted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. On it’s face, the article seems almost therapeutic; a self-discovery of how a grant maker is committed to make 2022 better than 2021.
With the challenges of Covid, racial strife and other challenges that the philanthropic and non-profit sector has faced and is facing, this grant maker has said they are committed to making changes.
And that is probably a good thing. Last year, with the Covid pandemic, many nonprofits benefitted from relaxed requirements for funding from foundations. It was almost as if a non-profit just sent in a modest request, the request would be funded. It was a system that benefitted both the foundation (getting donors dollars on the street) and nonprofits (getting dollars to serve their missions).
Now that pandemic is waning, will those attitudes still prevail? Hard to say.
Many people I talk to thought Covid-19 would weed out weaker non-profits. That didn’t happen. Yet, the flexible and quick spending that foundations afforded nonprofits gave these organizations what they needed to serve their mission is new ways (that was necessitated by the pandemic).
As time marches on, let’s hope nonprofits and foundations continue to have deep conversations about how this pandemic changed the landscape and might invoke future changes in how both funders and nonprofits operate.
The Giving Pledge Enters it’s Second Decade
The Philanthropy Roundtable weighed in on the second decade of the Giving Pledge in this piece. In August 2010, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett combined forces to encourage other wealthy individuals to give their wealth to nonprofit organizations.
Now, in it’s second decade of existence, the effort is beginning to garner criticism from individuals that the Giving Pledge is not doing enough to demand that it’s signatories give those dollars in their lifetimes. Many individuals want these pledged dollars to be expended now to meet today’s problems.
And there is no doubt that today’s problems are huge; some of the problems are branded as existential level catastrophes that demand big and immediate responses. But, philanthropic giving, at it’s heart, is a voluntary act. People are moved through moral, religious, or other motives that precede the act of giving. And the amount, time and organizations that are a part of this giving are left to the desire of the donor, not the desire of those from the outside.
A strong philanthropic culture depends on the voluntary actions of people, coerced giving is not giving at all.
Are Donor Advised Funds Creating New Trends in Charitable Giving?
The Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University recently released some new data on how people are using their Donor Advised Funds for giving. In 2020, Donor Advised Funds accounted for 7% of all charitable giving in the United States; this is a figure that is growing as these tools become more widely available to individuals and families of all economic means. In full disclosure, my family and I do all of our charitable giving through a Donor Advised Fund.
When it came to cash and check contributions, religious institutions, by far and away receive the most amount of charitable contributions; nearly 31% of all contributions went to local churches and other religious institutions. But, in the largest studies of Donor Advised Funds, Indiana University found that 29% of all Donor Advised Fund contributions went to schools and other educationally focused efforts. Churches and religious institutions were given 14% of all Donor Advised Funds.
While it’s not clear what is happening, it could be a couple of things. Churches that have depended on the cash and check contribution may not have the infrastructure in place to receive Donor Advised Funds. Many of these funds only allow distributions to recognized organizations that are registered with them, which only takes a couple of clicks of a mouse. Many churches may not be listed on a DAF’s registry to receive donations.
A second thing that may be happening is that DAFs are being used by younger folks and we are seeing religious participation by these cohorts dwindle. These individuals may still want to make contributions that are near and dear to their heart, but the religious community isn’t making the cut.
Local News about the Duke Foundation
Here is a blurb in the Miami Valley Today about funding opportunities from the Paul G. Duke Foundation. It looks like the foundation will now start taking rolling applications from local nonprofits.
A Special Invitation for Non-Profit Leaders Like You!
I wanted to take a moment and let you know of a group that I am a part of that has really impacted me and my ability to be a leader, at home, in the non-profit I am at, and the community at large.
The group is called Truth At Work and it is a faith-based group where leaders come and talk about our work and our lives and challenge each other to do better work and to more present where we are at. The best part of the group is that, group members have seen amazing transformations in the personal and professional lives.
In our group, we have seen members earn advanced degrees, get promotions, move on to newer positions, start businesses, the list can go on and on. I would like to invite you to a short zoom call on December 16th at 3:30 p.m. to talk about this group. The session will be lead by our local Truth at Work Chapter President, Connie Stollar and I will also be on the call.
I do ask that if you want to attend, please RSVP to Connie at csstollar@yahoo.com. Of course, if you have any comments or questions, I would be more than happy to answer them!
An Excerpt from the “Tools, Tips and Tricks” Newsletter
The Pinnacle Solutions, “Tips, Tools and Tricks” newsletter comes out every Tuesday and is available for a paid subscription for as little as $7/month. Here is an excerpt from our last version:
Staff meetings are the bane of the existence of more than a few non-profit executive directors. They occupy time on our calendar and while we sit and talk, there are too many times we don’t feel like we are getting any value out of any of it.
Staff meetings are also great mileposts for self-reflection. If we feel that these events aren’t working well, are there are things we are doing as leaders that sabotage these events? Are we dominating the conversation too much? Are we not participating as we should?
If you are searching for good information that will help you manage and lead a non-profit agency, please subscribe to the “Tips, Tools and Tricks” newsletter! And of course, as a huge “thank you”, all of our paid subscribers will get a special gift.
What do you want to know?
One of the things I would like to add in these weekly emails is to take some time to answer YOUR questions about the non-profit world; fundraising, leadership, tools, whatever is on your mind, let me know. I’d love to dig into it! Send me an email to: pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com!
Other Ways to Connect
Did you can also be a paid subscriber to Pinnacle Strategies content on substack? Why would you want to? Through the paid newsletter, each week you will be given a tangible tool or deliverable that YOU can use to help you understand and serve your non-profit better. The first tool is about Giving Ladders. Huh? Well, become a paid subscriber for $7/month and you can learn more!
Also, our coaching practice has a few openings. 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.
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