The Rundown - January 21, 2022
The latest news and notes from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors
Thanks for subscribing to the Pinnacle Strategies’ weekly newsletter, The Rundown. Each week, you are getting the latest news and notes from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors which is designed to get you up to speed and in the know with the latest happenings in this little corner of the world.
If you have found this to be a helpful piece of information, please feel free to share this with your friends and colleagues. The nonprofit world is a tough space and the more we can help each other, the more we can all benefit!
Philanthropy Gets Skinny
Is your New Year’s Resolution to get back into shape? Well, this piece from the Connecticut Post is asking that question of the philanthropic world.
The piece is diving on the recent giving made by Mackenzie Scott and Jack Dorsey as they have given out millions and millions of dollars through a more streamlined process, as compared to some of the processes those in the development world are more accustomed.
And the piece has a ton of merit. When the Covid-19 virus first hit our communities in the Spring of 2020, the philanthropic sector responded and responded quickly. The sector knew that they were a lifeline to the nonprofit sector (which statistics show employ roughly 1 in every 7 Americans) and the sector needed help.
Foundations and donors responded not by throwing a new application procedure to those nonprofits that needed help, rather they threw unrestricted grants to help these organizations weather the storm. The help has been greatly appreciated and those nonprofits that survived are probably in better fiscal shape now than before the pandemic hit.
The question is now, how will the relationship between funders and organizations look going forward? Funders are still right to look for and determine whether the organizations they are helping are the right groups, solving the right problems at the right time. Organizations are still in need of quick access to unrestricted funds that can help them pivot when circumstances change.
Covid-19 Impact: Is America Losing it’s Religion?
This piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy was one that I found was particularly interesting as it seems to be one of the better articles written about the impact of Covid-19 and the religious behavior of American society.
Even before the pandemic hit, American churches and other places of worship, were seeing a decline in weekly attendance and a resultant drop in the collection plate. For many churches, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the trend.
There were a couple of pieces of data that really hit me, but this one immediately grabbed my attention:
With at least half of the nearly 15,300 congregations surveyed in a 2020 report by Faith Communities Today reporting weekly attendance of 65 or fewer.
Most people attend just a handful of churches. Most churches are barely keeping the doors open. And what makes this data even more interesting is when we peel back the layers, it’s sometimes these older churches that are sitting on large assets (as the story points out).
Older, more established (and more often than not, dying) congregations may often be sitting on prime real estate or having facilities that may outsize the need of the congregation. It’s also not a stretch to think that these older churches may also be custodians of large endowment funds that have been given by those souls that have been departed generations ago.
I don’t want to sound morbid, but it reminds me of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life, when Mr. Potter informs George Bailey that he is worth more dead than he is alive.
Perhaps, that is the situation where many churches are finding themselves these days; sitting on tons of assets to keep a small (and sometimes older) congregation thriving. These are tough decisions that need to be made.
Philanthropy Comes Home
Anytime there is a disaster, the call goes out for everyone and everyone to chip and help those areas that have gone through a disaster. Hurricanes and earthquakes seem to be two of the most popular severe disasters that international help is often rallied around. In fact, efforts are underway to help those in Tonga dealing with the aftermath of the Hunga Tonga volcano explosion and resultant tsunami and ash storm.
Bur, rarely, if ever, do we ever hear of stories of international efforts to help Americans going through natural disasters. Well, we can add one to the list.
This story from the Tuoi Tre News website in Vietnam recounts a recent donation of $100,000 from the Government of Vietnam to those victimized by tornadoes last month in Kentucky.
Take a moment and read the story, it’s actually quite interesting.
Public Media takes a Plunge
Chicago Public Radio Station WBEZ made a huge splash this week when it made the announcement that it was buying the Chicago Sun-Times, the daily tabloid-style newspaper that boasts of a 120,000 daily circulation count.
The merger was brought back in September, when the WBEZ Board (more formally known as Chicago Public Media, Inc.) took steps to investigate what purchasing the newspaper would look like.
It’s no shock that the newspaper business has been hit hard; in just the last couple of years, the Chicago Tribune, another Chicago daily newspaper, was bought out by a venture capital firm, left it’s landmark building in downtown Chicago and had it’s staff gutted.
As outlined in this release from WBEZ, immediate plans for the Chicago Sun-Times is to have it’s own board of directors, with the inclusion of both some Chicago Public Media, Inc. board members and some new independent directors. The publication will also hire a new Executive Director/CEO. Both shops would have their own staff and news rooms and still hold it’s own editorial independence.
Could this be a new wave of how the nonprofit sector is going to preserve local journalism? It’s certainly possible. In radio public broadcasting is changing to be more than just NPR branded program, as some stations are using a non-profit to run the station. Some businesses and foundations are actually giving grants to local news outlets (such as newspapers) to ensure that local stories are still being told. It’s a trend worth watching.
Local News You Can Use
The Piqua Community Foundation is still accepting nominations for their annual Hinsch Community Service Awards. If you know of someone serving the Piqua community, check out this information!
Want to be a Board Member?
If you live in Western Ohio (particularly Van Wert, Auglaize, Logan, Shelby, Darke, Miami, Champaign, Preble or Greene Counties) and would like to serve as a board member for a youth-based non-profit, please let me know by emailing me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com! Council on Rural Services (CORS) is looking for board members in the region. CORS is best known for being the Early Head Start and Head Start service provider for pre-school children in Western Ohio.
Is your New Year Resolution to Learn Something New?
If your New Year Resolution was 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!
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:
I was asked by the local Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Day Planning Committee to deliver some remarks at the local MLK, Jr. Day Celebration.
I offered the following remarks via video for the event. Individuals that saw the video thought it was a good message. One that was really meant for this time.
We need to welcome the concept of responsibility back to our world. We need each man and woman to wake up every morning and understand that we play a role for the world we live in. For every problem we see, we have created some of the conditions for that problem to exist. For every opportunity we see, our humble hearts should give gratitude to God and to others for what we can enjoy.
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
and Check out the Celebrating Leadership Facebook Group for almost daily content and interaction with other leaders!
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