Should Charities Operate Like Businesses?

A November, 2011 article in the Wall Street Journal sparked all sorts of debate. The article, "Should Philanthropies Operate Like Businesses?", offered two different responses to that question:


So what should you expect of your charities? Businesslike efficiency? Or something more intangible, less-easily defined?

Charles R. Bronfman and Jeffrey R. Solomon, chairman and president, respectively, of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, favor businesslike thinking. Michael Edwards, a distinguished senior fellow at Demos, a social issues think tank, argues that social values should take precedence.


Last week, I went to a forum sponsored by the DC Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP-DC), that explored this question. The panelists were: Mike King, President and CEO, Volunteers of America; Catherine Meloy, President and CEO, Goodwill of Greater Washington; and, Pat Nicklin, EVP/COO, Partnership for Public Service. The panel was moderated by Paul Berry, Founder, Paul Berry & Associates (and a former newscaster in the DC area).

Here are my somewhat stream-of-consciousness notes from that forum:

* One of the key differences between businesses and nonprofits is SPEED. Nonprofits are good at innovation, but they are not good at decision making. They are too democratic, and this can impact the speed at which people are hired, new programs are implemented, etc.
* Businesses are students of other businesses - they study their competitors, and then they change.
* What do you do when funders want input into the programs they are funding? While it's easy to say no, that's not appropriate, one panelist noted, "If they're paying for the dance, you gotta dance with them."
* Nonprofits are not always good at firing staff who are not performing well. (see slow decision making bullet point, above). But, if we keep someone on staff who isn't working out, we are wasting donated money.
* Nonprofits have to make time for R&D while developing multiple income streams.
* People used to say they didn't want to give to Goodwill because it's too big. Now, they want to give to Goodwill because of how it's run, i.e. it's a trustworthy organization. Trend of affiliating with the organization (Goodwill) and not the client population or the cause.
* Nonprofits need to do a better job of developing meaningful metrics, e.g. don't just count the number of meals you served in a month or year, but find ways to quantify how you changed lives because of those meals.

What are your thoughts? Should charities run like businesses?

I think there are business principles that charities can, and should, adopt. However, when your "bottom line" is changing lives, not earning profits, I don't think you can entirely run like a business. For example, one panelist said: How can you tell a parent of a severely disabled child that you won't serve that child because it's simply too expensive to offer services to that level of disability; that the cost-benefit analysis doesn't make sense?

What are your thoughts? Should charities run like businesses?

Homeless as Wi-Fi hotspots

People are in a LATHER about this!

Marketer Under Fire for Using Homeless as Wi-Fi Hotspots

I do like the idea of creating an opportunity at SXSW for local homeless people to interact with SXSW participants.

Would people be as upset about this if the homeless people were paid more than $20 per day?

Would people be as upset about this if it was local college students, instead of homeless people?

For those of you who went to SXSW, what say you?

Happy 100th Birthday, Girl Souts

Happy 100th Birthday, Girl Scouts! I loved my time as a Brownie and Girl Scout. Troop meetings at the church next to our elementary school, competing in the Troop Talent Show, selling cookies, doing community service, and BADGES! Oh how I loved my badges, and wanted to earn more and more of them (my determination emerged at an early age...) I remember the paperback book that had the available badges in them - there was a picture of the badge and then a list of all of the things you had to do to earn it. I'm so happy that my young nieces are carrying on the family Scouting tradition!

As an adult working in the nonprofit arena, I can say that Girl Scouts has one of my favorite mission statements:

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

I mean, really... How could you say it any better than that?

I posed a question on my Twitter feed today: What could I do to make my client meetings more like Girl Scout meetings this week? Give out Girl Scout cookies? Do craft projects? Award badges for new skills? Tempting, tempting...

Technology for Good

The February 23rd issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great section on Technology for Good. They highlight people who are using technology and/or social media in creative way to solve problems. I was especially intrigued by:

John Nesbit and Medic Mobile - he created a mobile phone app that helps improve health care in poor regions in Africa and Asia (in places, for example, where some health workers spent days walking between patients and doctors to convey information).

Rebecca Manson and All Hands Volunteers - she started a nonprofit that uses social networking sites, cloud storage, and more than 200 volunteers to help restore personal photos that were damaged and nearly destroyed during last year's tsunami in Japan.

I love my Right Brain Business Plan

It's the business plan for the rest of us!

I'm once again honored to be highlighted on the Right Brain Business Plan web site.

I created my Right Brain Business Plan this year (bottom) on the beaches of Tulum, Mexico.

Last year's plan was "hatched" in Moorea, French Polynesia, a.k.a. Tahiti (top).


I think Jennifer Lee is a genius and has created an amazing resource. You should check it out!

It's more fun to do it as a group...

The Washington Post's On Giving section has an article describing Giving Circles, which are pooled donation funds that choose various causes to support. Some giving circles are more complicated, with lots of rules, guidelines, and minimum gifts per member, while others are more informal gatherings of friends. Giving circles can be a great way to maximize your charitable giving - getting more "bang for your charitable buck" while having meaningful conversations about your values, priorities, and interests. Have you taken part in a giving circle?

What's the season about again?

"Tonight's the night we'll make history... honey you, and ... my year-end charitable gift contributions for 2011." (OK, I'm a child of the 70s. You get extra points in my book if you know that musical reference.)

Yes, I'm one of those people who makes a few contributions throughout the year, but really takes a look at the whole giving picture each December and decides how to divvy up my contributions. How do I make my decisions?

(1) What are my top three charitable giving priorities, and are my gifts aligning with these priorities? My priorities for this year are: cancer-related causes, local hunger and homelessness causes, and the youth group for which I serve as a Board member. I'll give to other things, as well, but these three priorities get the biggest piece of the pie.

(2) How did my business do this year, compared to last year? Do I have as much (or, hopefully, more) to give away? How do my expenses compare from last year to this year, and are there big expenses coming up in the first quarter of 2012? Can I at least match, if not exceed, last year's giving?

(3) I keep a spreadsheet of each year's charitable giving, and I keep a file folder right next to my desk where I keep all of the mail solicitations that I receive throughout the year, as well as items I have read in magazines, newspapers, etc. I look over the list of what I gave to last year to decide if I want to give to them again, and I look at the mailings and clippings to see if I want to add any new charities to the mix.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not giving away bajillions of dollars here! But I like to have a focused approach, and I like to keep my priorities and intentions in mind when making these decisions.

"The Best of Times!"

30 Ways in 30 Days

Love this! 30 ways to make a difference in the world over the next 30 days...

How will you be GIVING?

There are lots and lots of ways to put the GIVE back into Thanksgiving. Even if you didn't sign up to serve food at a homeless shelter on Thanksgiving, you can still find ways to give back on the holiday - no planning required. For example:

* Make an online donation to a local food bank or soup kitchen.
* Pick up trash at a park or stream.
* Check in on an elderly neighbor or friend.
* Go through your closets and gather gently used clothes to donate - drop them off at one of those parking lot donation bins.
* Ask everyone at your Thanksgiving table to name their favorite charity - email the list with URLs out to everyone that night or the next morning.
* Put leftover cans, disposable metal tins, and paper goods in the RECYCLING instead of the trash.
* Are you driving somewhere tomorrow? Just for kicks, drive at the speed limit, and let someone merge into your lane, for Pete's sake. Safer driving helps EVERYONE.
* Say thank you to someone. Especially someone who does not expect it.
* Go through your bookshelves and gather a few books, in good condition, to donate to your local library.

I need a 10th item for this list. Any suggestions?

Toucan Sam Relents and Shows Some Love

(logo of the Maya Archeology Initiative)

According to this article in The Detroit News, Kellogg Co. has decided to drop its threatened lawsuit against the Maya Archeology Initiative for the use of the Initiative's logo - which includes an image of a toucan that Kellogg's said was too close to its Toucan Sam - and will now donate $100,000 to the San Francisco-based nonprofit. The donation will help establish a Mayan Cultural Center in Peten, Guatemala.

Personally, I don't think the Maya Archeology Initiative's logo looks a darn thing like Toucan Sam. I never would have confused the two, and I bet it cost this organization a lot of time and money to deal with this issue. Bummer.