Philanthropy, 2020 - Post # 3

As foundation leaders, what will be the greatest opportunities and the most daunting challenges in the decade ahead? The January 14, 2010 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy decides to take an educated guess. This is the last post on the topic.

Increase in Charitable Business

For profit companies and nonprofit organizations currently occupy two ends of the spectrum. What about the middle? This article predicts that by 2020, many more hybrid entities like L3C's (low-income limited liabilty companies) will be the rule and not the exception. The millenials are already questioning the status quo. Will they succeed in driving corporate culture away from the single mindedness of shareholder value towards a lower-profit, more socially conscious model of operation? The authors of this article certainly think so. It is a simple matter of following the current trend lines.

In other words, some charities will become more business like, and some businesses will become more charity like. The lines between the two will blur. And the result for nonprofits? Despite their favorable tax status, they will no longer entirely own the charity space.

Philanthropy, 2020 - Post # 2

As foundation leaders, what will be the greatest opportunities and the most daunting challenges in the decade ahead?  The January 14, 2010 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy decides to take an educated guess. This is the second of three posts on the topic.

Technology Gets More Interactive

What will be the impact of technology on the nonprofit sector in the next decade? This article in the January 14 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy tries to envision this.

According to some United Nations research, 6.3 billion people, or a whopping 83% of earth’s population, will own a cell phone by 2014. This ever increasing connectivity and resulting networking and access to information will certainly modify the nonprofit world’s fundraising activities, communications with donors, and program evaluations. It will also enable donors to better understand how their dollars were spent.

Of course, there’s a predicted downside as well. There will be increased competition from other entities who will find it increasingly easy to attract resources to their causes.

I personally enjoy the challenge of staying on top of our technology communications game. But technology is just a tool. Like community foundations everywhere, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia works hard to more deeply understand the needs of our community and focus philanthropy on them. It is our primary purpose. If we do that job well, then the technology tools we choose to communicate the resulting knowledge is just a question of organizational process.

Philanthropy, 2020

As foundation leaders, what will be the greatest opportunities and the most daunting challenges in the decade ahead? The January 14, 2010 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy takes an educated guess at this using known demographic data. This is the first of three posts on the topic.

The Graying of America

Today, 13% of our population is over 65. That percentage will rise to 16% by 2020. The graying of America will continue to present both opportunities and challenges.

First, the opportunities:
1. The over 65 population in the next decade is going to offer quite an impressive cache of skills and experience. The volunteer opportunities alone are significant, let alone the part time employment pool.
2. The “explosion” of philanthropic wealth is staggering. The article says that baby boomers will pass on $41 trillion to their heirs before all is said and done!

Next, the challenges:
1. Funding the increased demand for health care services will certainly be a huge challenge.
2. Growing philanthropy to help address multigenerational issues will also be a trend.

Chronicle of Philanthropy - December 10 Article - Charities Trying to Spark Year-End Gifts

The December 10 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy includes this article about year end giving in 2009 – with the bright spot being found in a study by Convio, a fund-raising software company, that found donors will give $4 billion online this holiday season!

The Chronicle of Philanthropy - December 10, 2009 Issue

Charities Look for Ways to Unlock the Benefits of Social-Media Tools, by Caroline Preston

This article in the December 10 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy takes a look at the growing skepticism at online social networking as a fund raising tool. By one estimate given in Philanthropy Action, an online journal for donors, 74% of midsize charities surveyed raised less than $100 using social network sites. A general consensus exists that social networking may be good for raising small donations over a brief period of time and spreading the word about the organization.

Having started a Facebook page for the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and this blog about foundation leadership, I think it is good for all community foundations to be in the game of social networking, even if its entire potential has not yet been discovered or unleashed.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy - December 10, 2009 Issue

10 Emerging Forces:  What the Nonprofit World will Face in a New Year

This special report from the December 10 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy presents a daunting list of challenges facing the nonprofit world in 2010. The authors go so far as to say that “By every measure, 2010 could be far more painful for charities and the people they serve than any other they have known.” Highlights:

1. Government in Crisis. The spending/budget cuts and the end to Stimulus money is terrible news for nonprofits that rely heavily on government grants and contracts.

2. Strains in the Safety Net. This refers to the time that occurs in recovery from a recession and the strain that places on the lives of the unemployed, new poor, and the nonprofits that serve them.

3. Full Court Press for Modest Gifts. We will work twice as hard for half the contributions.

4. Grim Grants Outlook. Endowments have been hit hard, and most foundations will give less away in 2010 than they did in 2009 because of the 3 year rolling average many use to calculate their grant budgets.

5. Rising Donor-Charity Tensions. Donors want to direct their gifts and obtain good feedback on their impact.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy - December 10, 2009 Issue

Foundations Need to Take Greater Chances in Hiring Leaders, by Pablo Eisenberg

In the December 10 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Pablo Eisenberg, a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and a fascinating foundation world pundit, writes an insightful article about the current thinking and process of hiring foundation leaders.  He cites the increasing reliance on professional recruiters to fill the top slots from external candidate pools, a practice that is pervasive today.

Eisenberg argues that problems exist with this process.  First, executive recruiters normally would not promote a candidate that is “edgy” or a risk taker. And by weeding out such candidates, the executive recruiter basically substitutes its judgment for that of the Board. Mr. Eisenberg blames this practice for “the selection of so many mediocre, lackluster people in the nonprofit world.” Second, the process ignores the well qualified talent within, such as successful program officers who already have great relationships with donors and grantees.