Big Give Excitement...and the heart of philanthropy

I tuned into the premier of Oprah's Big Give, and as a development consultant by training, I had my many doubts. With all of my insight and non-profit baggage I thought I'd be immune to reality based "do good" programming. I didn't actually cry, but I came close.

Not because I was overwhelmed with what I saw, but out of sadness for what the format would do for the time consuming and intense nature of true philanthropy. One hour doesn't give you much insight into the reality when $50,000 checks are presented after one phone call. Don't get me wrong, the catalyst for communication and debate is healthy...and anything that spurs interest in giving has some innate good to it. The essential issue for me is what it says about non-profit agencies and the true work of development. If people think that it just takes 5 days and you can launch gifts of substantial amounts to any one and any thing - we're in trouble. If, however, people are prompted to do something with impact, purpose and sustainability let me sign up a few hundred of those right away.

The local television station here is conducting its own Big Give of sorts, and I'm thrilled about Big Give Indiana. I think that there is tremendous opportunity for $10K to be used by 2 groups to leverage resources to agencies. I'm not posting more about it because I'm thoughtfully considering which group of people I can mobilize to be competitive. I'll post more on that this month.

But....if I had my druthers, I'd ask for someone to host Big Give Michigan. I have yet to work with an agency that excites me as much as Community Housing Network. Located in Troy, Michigan the agency is a diamond in the rough....heavy emphasis on the diamond.


Why are they great you ask? Well even though I no longer live in Michigan, if I had the chance to do a volunteer project and leverage resources for an agency, they would be at the top of my list. (15 years in the industry, and my list is pretty short.) I believe in non-profit effectiveness and making a difference in the lives of people .... and CHN has been doing both with incremental growth and success, with excellent leadership and a full understanding of impact. No, I'm not their publicist or an employee, but I have had the chance to work with the agency. Outside of our church donations, they receive the largest amount of support from my personal dollars in 2007. That says a lot right there - given private tuition for 3!

Community Housing Network has a team of diverse and committed staff members dedicated to doing their jobs really well with programs that work. When something doesn't work, they evaluate it and they change it - a key to success in any area.

Originally funded by larger grants and contracts, they have created a fundraising strategy that works to include everyday people. This transition is key to the growth of non-profit agencies who intend on lasting longer than any cyclical funding trends. They understand intentional progress over perfection.

Real lives are changed in their fight to end homelessness; as they provide quality affordable housing alternatives and opportunities for people to meet key needs for family stability. Their staff is reflective of the people they serve, and leadership actually cares about the office culture and the direction of staff growth. I have often said, if I must go back to work full time for someone other than myself, I should move back to Michigan. They are an agency I'd love to be affiliated with.

At some point, I thought I'd rant about the Big Give being too idealistic and simplistic. That isn't quite fair unless you look at the power of possibilities when a show focusing on something other than the lowest human denominators attracts such a wide viewing audience. I decided (for all of my 15 regular visitors) that I would devote my energy to what the Big Give can do. It has the ability to launch a conversation and action on behalf of groups and people who are deserving of a hand up. If you are wondering what you could do - SEND A CHECK TO COMMUNITY HOUSING NETWORK IN TROY, MICHIGAN.

If you want to launch a team driven exercise for raising additional dollars for a deserving group, let me sign up. If there was seed money, a time crunch and a t.v. camera - I'd be championing what I know for sure - really good people still do really good work, most often without the media or big corporate donations ever coming close to the power of individual support. (One $25 donation at a time.)

Financial contributions can be made in several ways:

• Mail a check made payable to Community Housing Network to:
  570 Kirts Blvd., Suite 231, Troy, MI 48084.
• Make a credit card donation by telephone by calling 248-928-0111. Ask for the Accounting Department. CHN accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards.
• Visit the CHN website.
  
• GIVE BIG.
  

Barack Raises Donations & Development Awareness

The New York Post captures what fundraisers know about the reality of the dollars as it relates to Barack Obama's campaign. Obama Built Donor Network From The Ground Up speaks to what community organizers, central city churches, start up non-profits and effective entities have long realized - the little guys and gals really are important.

I started my community organizer training at the Center for Third World Organizing in Oakland, California. I will probably never qualify as their typical graduate or the featured alumni, as I was thinking about getting out of organizing very soon after getting fully into it. The work was hard, exhausting even, and I couldn't see how I'd ever pay my student loans with this wonderful work that I loved in many ways. The pay was low, the days were long, and with the many lessons that I learned - effective fundraising was the methodology for social justice movements, not for organizers aspiring to the American dream. I imagine no one at CTWO is surprised at Barack's strategy either. He's raising resources from real people who are engaged and committed to his audacious hope for the future.

I didn't learn about non-profit work at Purdue University, it wasn't on the minds of the office that helped graduates plot their life course. The Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) program did however offer me hope for my future in the midst of indecision. Learning the role of leadership in a technology driven world made me view the future with hope - as a leader I believed, I had the potential to change my world.

I didn't quite know what I wanted to do - I was certain however that I wanted to bridge mission driven work with business practices that made sense. Years later, as an organizational and development consultant, I reflect on the principles that have guided my career. Never underestimate your audience is a lesson taken straight from my Summer at the Minority Activists Apprenticeship Program (MAAP) at CTWO. Those $5, $10, $25 donors surely matter.

I, just like any of my fundraising counterparts, would happily take $1,000,000 from anyone who would like to donate it. I can write grants with the best of them and any campaign without large donors is incredibly unbalanced as well. Yet, if I attend one more meeting, one more board training, one more volunteer function where people submit the idea that we will just get the "money people" to write large checks - I'll just cry. If it was that easy and if the money was just falling out of the trees, then there would be no need for effective strategic resource development professionals. Effective being the operative word. In this lack luster economy however, you can identify a number of Development Officer positions ripe with a salary of under $75,000. People simply don't get it. If you have to work that hard to do the job, you should at the very least be able to live comfortably in the work that you do. That is another post.

An effective development staff person realizes that a diverse fundraising strategy must compliment a solid infrastructure that can handle real resource development. If there is the perception that small donations don't matter or that the money is falling from the trees - everyone should just run. It doesn't work that way. Raising money isn't about the money at all. It is about connecting people to the mission and work that motivates them at some core level. CTWO realized that and they taught me to think bigger and broader about the hard work of funding a movement. Barack Obama is in it for the long haul, he gets that. Send your $25 today.

If professional fundraisers and development staff were surrounded by people who got it - then turnover in development offices would not resemble a revolving door. True development takes time, investment, understanding and a true mission and cause that people can get behind. The hours are long, the work is hard and the end result provides resources to create change. That is the power of those $25 donations. People underestimate the additional benefits of building a donor database in the same way that you build a beautiful home - with a vision from the ground up. I am more heartened to support Barack Obama each day. The lack of understanding about fundraising has long been a pet peeve of mine, now its a criteria for political candidates to gain my support. Don't underestimate those of us that can only give $25 today....tomorrow it will indeed be more. Non-profit organizations should take a page from this book - and let the investment in ideas for the average person begin.