The Rundown - June 10, 2022
The latest news and notes from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
The Rundown - Tornado Edition
This was quite the eventful week here in this corner of Ohio! On Wednesday afternoon, a tornado ripped through a huge Meijer distribution center in the community of Tipp City (just a few miles from my home).
As the tornado sirens blared we watched on television as the tornado tracked south of where we were as it barreled through the Tipp City community and further into the rural parts of Miami and Clark Counties. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries or deaths, though property damage was widespread.
One of the more interesting sights I had was later in the evening, my wife had asked me to go to a local farm to pick up some honey. On the way, there were huge mounds of yellow insulation (no doubt from the damaged building) that had fallen on farm land a good three miles from where the damage took place. Amazing!
Learning About Ourselves
This was an article that really caught my attention this week on the Inside Philanthropy website. The article outlines a recent survey of 350 professionals that the website recently undertook to better understand the mood of those that are in the trenches of philanthropy. Most that responded were front-line fundraisers, either as a member of a development staff team or or as a nonprofit executive. A quarter were from grant making institutions and a few were consultants and about 3% were large donors themselves.
In terms of work history, 2/3rds held senior levels, while about a quarter were mid-career professionals and 5% were early career. I found statistic particularly interesting, I have always thought of this line of work being fairly “young”. However, I wonder if the younger folks we have in this line of work get burned out early and end up leaving the field? I also know that those that stick in this line of work end up sticking for a long time. It doesn’t seem like there is a great deal of growth and career potential in this line of work, especially for smaller non-profits. This might be something that this sector needs to reckon with in the future.
Perhaps one of the most surprising results is how ideologically diverse this field isn’t. Respondents to the survey were asked to define themselves politically on a range of 1 to 10. 1 being extremely conservative; 10 being extremely liberal. The average score was an 8. 114 respondents claimed to be a 9 or a 10; extremely liberal. 13 respondents claimed to a 1 or 2; extremely conservative.
In other words, for every one extremely conservative person in this line of work, we are finding 9 extremely liberal individuals. I am not sure of another profession where the divide is this…..stark.
Now, I will be first to admit, I am on the more conservative side of the ledger; I wouldn’t call myself a 1 or a 2 for purposes of this survey, but my score would definitely be below a 5.
And in all honesty, I am not sure where politics comes into discussions about philanthropy or nonprofit management. As long as were clear about our missions and treat our neighbors, our staff members and our donors fairly and equitably, I am not sure why it matters where our political ideologies lie.
I mean, I have never met anyone that is “pro-poverty”, or “pro-animal abuse”, or “pro hunger”. Now, our ideas and thoughts on how to solve these problems may vary greatly and are worthy of discussion, but the ways to solve these problems aren’t best solved by looking at these issues through a political lens, but through a lens that values understanding the problem and working with people to create their own solutions.
Growing the Next Generation of Philanthropists
One of the things you can quickly learn in this line of work is that philanthropy and nonprofit management is more “caught” than “taught”. Very people that sign up to end up running a non-profit organization or serving on a board every have any degree of formal training on how to best contribute or lead these organizations.
Well, our friends at Texas A&M University are out to change that. Students in the university’s business (emphasis added) school recently completed a semester in the program’s Strategic Philanthropy course.
This past semester the class, with funding from George and Barbara Bush Foundation, Aggieland Credit Union, The Philanthropy Lab in Fort Worth and a generous alum, gave funding to seven separate non-profits in the Brazos Valley region of Texas. The class met with nonprofit leaders to discuss their goals and operations and made decisions, much like any funder would undertake.
Kyle Gammenthaler, who created and taught the class stated:
“Those dollars have a dual benefit. The money goes to nonprofits, and that would be great if it was just by itself. But the primary beneficiary are students having autonomy to make very real decisions. I think donors that have bought into that idea have latched on to the very real, practical nature of getting to train the next generation of generous leaders.”
You can learn more about the class from this article on the Texas A&M website.
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”. I am not getting inquiries and calls from literally all over the world wanting to partner and work together to create value for you, the non profit and philanthropy leader. I feel very excited about the future of this newsletter and if you have any ideas or comments, please feel free to share them with me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com
I know many of you have shared this with your friends and colleagues and I am very grateful. Thank you! If you haven’t shared 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.
Want to help support this newsletter?
I hope you have found value in this newsletter. If you have found it valuable and want to help, the best thing you can do is “hit the heart”! By liking this post, you help other people interact with it. Also, sharing and commenting is very helpful as well. Thank you!