The Rundown - March 11, 2022
The latest news and notes from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors
The Rundown - Let’s Go Dancing Edition
It’s March and with it comes college basketball. Now, I can’t tell you the last time I actually sat and watched a college basketball game, let alone what teams are good or not. Nor can I explain how I won a small “March Madness” pool a couple of years ago.
However, I am a proud graduate of Wright State University and they received their invitation to the big dance by winning the Horizon League tournament earlier this week. We will find out Sunday who they play in the National Championship tournament. Go Raiders!
In this edition of The Rundown, we go through some of the latest thoughts and ideas on workplaces giving when we are working from home, some unfortunate stories of nonprofits behaving badly and a new report on trends in global philanthropy that will hopefully keep you informed in the public sector world!
Workplace Giving When We Are Working From Home
If you have a few minutes, I would strongly recommend taking a few minutes and watch this video from Dr. Gen Shaker and Dr. Bill Stanczykiewicz from The Fund Raising School at Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.
This video goes into some of the latest research in the world of workplace giving. Like most everything in life, the pandemic has changed the world of workplace giving, primarily because, well….it changed the workplace.
At some point in the last two years, 1/3rd of workers ended up working from home. A quick glance of new job opportunities are showing job opportunities that are strictly remote. The world of virtual work is here to stay.
And how does this change workplace giving patters? Even before the pandemic, some workplace giving programs were seeing decreased participation and less dollars raised. New employees that were philanthropically minded may have given to causes on their own. Retiring employees that were reliable givers may have been replaced with newer employees that were earning less money and therefore giving less.
A few highlights from the video:
Throughout the pandemic, employees still gave to workplace giving programs
Young Professionals were giving at a higher participation rate
Small firms actually had higher percentages of participation that larger firms
One of the fascinating insights is that most of the giving is being facilitated by third party vendors using online platforms. These platforms that are company supported help facilitate giving to organizations and employees that have more choices in where there philanthropic donations go seem to have higher proportions of participation.
And while the future of workplace giving seems rosy, there are still some significant challenges. Those challenges are going to be felt most by smaller, community-based nonprofit organizations. As workers stay home, they may not have the desire to give to a workplace giving program in the community where they are physically located; rather they may choose to give to a program that supports programs where they live or in some cases, in larger national non-profits that are more recognizable in the work they are doing.
Nonprofits Behaving Badly
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden made a comment that his Justice Department was going to go after those groups and individuals that have committed fraud when it comes to the dollars the federal government spent through a flurry of pandemic relief packages.
It was an interesting line, but I didn’t think much of it. And yes, we all heard stories of someone individually applying for aid that ended up buying an expensive sports car or a new house, or even this story about a guy who bought a Pokemon card for over $50,000.
But then this story shows up in the New York Times about an alleged conspiracy dealing with feeding kids out of Minneapolis in which two nonprofits conspired to bilk taxpayers out of at least $3.2 million.
The story was interesting not just for the massive amount of fraud involved or the jaw-dropping denials of wrongdoing, but more for the systemic failures that existed in the systems that funded these programs.
Nonprofit organizations are sometimes called upon the government to help vet potential applicants and create accountability for federal funds being used for certain programs. These sponsor organizations help act as a buffer between the federal government and local nonprofits. Many times the system works. The federal government needs help in tracking the work funded nonprofits are doing. Nonprofits (especially smaller ones) need help in navigating federal rules and regulations to ensure they are doing right.
But what happens when it’s the sponsor organizations that act unethically and perhaps undertake illegal actions? Who watches the watchdog?
Perhaps the response will be what we expect that happens in times like these.
The government will show righteous indignation and set forth a new policy that will clamp down on sponsorship programs (or perhaps even eliminate them altogether). Years will go by in which a bloated bureaucracy can’t properly monitor field-level small nonprofits. Then a response will be to create a new sponsorship model. A few years will go by in which unscrupulous actors will find a new way to game the system. Repeat the cycle though spending more time and more money in the process.
We need more accountability in the public sector, for sure. But in the end, every sector (public, private) will always have bad actors not acting in good faith.
Global Philanthropy Trends Upwards
This article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on new research that shows that global philanthropy is becoming easier and more philanthropists are now giving to causes across international borders. It’s interesting to note that this study comes out right in the middle of the heightening geo-political chaos that is enveloping Eastern Europe. There is no doubt that the horrific images we see in newspapers and on television are encouraging nonprofit organizations and individuals givers to respond to the crisis. Ensuring that there are platforms that can safely and effectively transfer money across international borders is key to make these efforts successful.
A few key points from the research indicated:
One-third of the 79 countries surveyed saw a decline in their political environment due to factors such as political instability, restrictions on foreign funding, state harassment, and negative campaigns, especially against human rights and watchdog organizations.
Among the six factors explored in the research, ease of operating a philanthropic organization scored the highest, and the economic environment scored the lowest. Researchers noted that the onset of the pandemic was likely responsible for the relatively weak showing for the economy.
The political environment showed the largest score increase worldwide, demonstrating a world-wide improvement in political conditions, while the environment for cross-border giving experienced a slight decrease. (At first glance, this seems counter-intuitive)
Global philanthropy efforts ranked highest in Northern Europe, the United States and Canada and Western Europe. Efforts ranked lowest in Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Now Hiring!
The YWCA of Dayton is looking for a new Vice President of Development. You can check out the job announcement here!
The Springfield (OH) Foundation is looking for a new executive director! Take a look at the job posting on LinkedIn here!
If you have a position you are hiring for, please feel free to email pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com and we will run an announcement for three weeks!
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!
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.
An Excerpt from the “Tools, Tips and Tricks” Newsletter
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A Quick Note of Thanks!
Thank you readers! I am not sure how it happened, but ever since the first of the year, this newsletter has taken off, subscriber growth has more than doubled this past month! And many of you have reached out to me and it’s amazing to see that this newsletter has readers in Canada, Italy, Kenya, India, the United Kingdom and all over the United States. To say that we have an international newsletter, is not an exaggeration!
I know many of you have shared this with your friends and colleagues and I am very grateful. Thank you!
Other Ways to Connect
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