How New Jersey Non-Profits Are Combating Covid
This piece in The Sand Paper out of coastal New Jersey, I thought was pretty insightful, reported about seminar a local Chamber of Commerce put on for nonprofit organizations. In the article, it was reported 40% of the state’s nonprofits stated that their organization’s circumstances were worse in 2020 than in 2019; 29% said things were better. But, the nonprofit world, ever hopeful, believe things will get better; 62% of respondents to a survey expected improvement in 2021 over 2020.
There were also some interesting tidbits about communication with younger generations. Millennials and Generation Z are folks that aren’t wild about picking up the phone, but prefer text messages. It makes me wonder, will we see the desk phone disappear before 2030? Why have something on your desk that will never get used?
Mackenzie Scott opens up on transparency
American’s latest big-time philanthropist is making waves. Here she explains how she is struggling with being transparent on how she gives.
Over the summer, Ms. Scott gave millions of dollars to a number of small and medium sized nonprofit organizations across the country. She would also highlight her giving through her own blog. Well, earlier this month she made an entry which really talked about the value of philanthropy (which should be required reading for anyone in the field). A few highlights:
70% of Americans reported giving both labor and money to people they know, and half reported doing the same for strangers.
The total donated to U.S. charities in 2020 was $471 billion. Of this, nearly a third was given in increments under $5,000 dollars.
There was $68 billion in financial support to family members in other countries
Staggering numbers indeed. But, why point them out?
In our world of ultra-transparency, the only things that are truly transparent now are the high end givers. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, but there is SO MUCH good that is happening under the radar that it barely gets noticed.
It reminds me of a story my dad told me when I was young. “Bill, grow up to be a philanthropist, if you have enough money to give away, you are doing okay for yourself.” From a guy who grew up a pretty hard-scrabble life, maybe there is some wisdom in there. But, I am sure when he thought about philanthropy, names like Mellon and Rockefeller were in his mind. In his mind, Average Joe and Jane American aren’t philanthropists, even though they are more than likely to give to family, strangers, churches and causes in small (yet terribly meaningful) ways.
The fact is….we are all philanthropists. If you don’t believe me, just ask our friends at the Lilly School of Philanthropy.
New Study Supports Family Foundations
This blog post from the Philanthropy Roundtable reported that Family Foundations are doing good work in their communities, just like their Community Foundation counter parts.
Current Federal legislation is being considered that would prohibit these foundations from having administrative costs for family members that work for the foundation. One of the arguments is that these family foundations have outrageous administrative costs (especially compared with their family foundation counterparts).
The research commissioned by the Philanthropy Roundtable found that wasn’t necessarily the case. In a review of both family and community foundations, family foundations were found to have an administrative expense ration of 11%, while community foundations had the same expense ration of 13%.
A Challenge for You Today!
If you are going to do something today, make sure you take responsibility for one thing that makes our world better. If you do that, you are already ahead most of the people you know and most of the organizations in this world. But that's not the best part.
The best part is that you will have confidence to do something better tomorrow. And then you will do something better the day after that. If you are on that track for a month, you are unstoppable. A year, you are a hero. Three years? A legend.
So, what are you going to do today?
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:
By all measures, story telling is probably the method of communication that has been around the longest. It probably has existed long before language, I mean, we have seen the pictures that pre-historic peoples have etched on stone walls.
And as we tell these stories, we begin to think about how we should think and behave in the situations we were in or will encounter in the future. Through stories, we can gain a perspective about where we are and where we are going.
So, what about story telling? What does any of this have to do about different perspectives?
In short, everything.
Who do you have in your professional network that can just sit back and listen and give you the time and the tools you need to sort out where you are?
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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