Dynamic Duos

“Philanthropy’s social and economic value in the region” 

This phase struck me as funny when I just read it.  So, I reread it, thinking I must have missed a word or 10 in the phrase; but, I didn’t.  Does anyone else see it, or is it just me?

It is impossible, yes, absolutely always impossible for philanthropy to have a social and economic value in any region on its own.  Philanthropy cannot and does not happen in a vacuum.  It can and does only happen in collaboration with other charities doing the very good and important work that philanthropy funds.

There are many things like this in our world, duos that are dependent upon the other half for their purpose in life.  A carriage without a horse is useless.  A message without a receptive audience is ineffectual.  A leader without at least one follower is nonexistent.  A criminal justice system without criminals has no reason to exist.  So it is with philanthropy and their service-providing colleagues.

What I find so incredible about the above statement, which appear in  a regional grantmaker association’s very appealing report to the public lauding its own good deeds is its shortsightedness—and, yes, its offensiveness.  While I know I would have had an equally strong and visceral reaction to reading that phrase no matter what the timing, it particularly hit home given what I had just experienced.

I read this phrase shortly after having moderated one of our semi-annual “Meet the Funder” panels, where we bring several grantmakers together for a moderated discussion, questions from the floor and then a one-on-one meet and greet for the audience members.  One of the messages that was hit home by every one of the panelists was not a new one, although it seemed to come with new force and urgency:  collaborate!  We, the funders, want to see you, the service providers collaborating in doing your work.  This did not sound like a “it would be nice”, which it has in the past, but more of a “you really need to.”

The new force of this message may stem from the new reality that has developed over the last several years.

1. Grantmakers:  we have flat budgets—if we are lucky.
2. Grantmakers:  we are required by those to whom we report to justify our work and prove the impact we are making.  Both of these stipulations are required of those who work for corporate giving entities, regardless of whether the dollars are being dispensed through a community relations department, separate foundation, dollars- for-doers volunteer programs, etc.  Corporate grantmakers must compete with the demands of customers and stockholders, the former wanting great pricing and the latter wanting great dividends.  Departments and employees who work in giving the corporation’s money away are a drain on both, so they best be having a strong, social return.

Foundation employees, however, must prove the social return of their work as well, helping boards of trustees feel good about the philanthropic work they are doing.  There is less pressure there to justify the expenses for the cost of doing that philanthropic work as that is the “goods” it produces.

1. Grantmakers:  we are being required, again by those to whom we report, to be much more strategic with the use of our dollars, whether that is strategically aligning with the goals of the corporation or the foundation’s strategic plan and/or with defining our impact.  No longer is it just prove your impact, but make sure that impact is aligned with what we do:  we manufacture healthy food so we will only fund work that is also promoting healthy lifestyles.  We are a paper goods company so we fund literacy, education and jobs training.  We are a foundation and we want to improve the overall quality of life in this one neighborhood community.  Whatever it is, you must be compatible or we can’t fund you because we couldn’t then demonstrate the strategically related impact that we must.
2. Facts:  growth of sector.  According to the National Center on Charitable Statistics, there were just under 1.6 million nonprofits in the United States in 2012.  The Urban Institute puts the growth rate of the nonprofit sector between 2001 and 2011 at 25%, far surpassing the growth rates of both the for-profit and government sectors.

No wonder there is urgency to the funders’ plea for collaboration:  the pie is truly zero sum and the number of mouths wanting to be fed has increased at an alarming rate.  I get it!  And to their credit, they say they are collaborating more amongst themselves—going in to fund a big project that is more than any one funder wishes to pay out, working together on a particular regional issue, etc.  So, they aren’t just talking the talk; they are walking the walk.

But funders, don’t  forget who your real partners are.