A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

Week two for Oprah’s Big Give and I have to say I thought things improved. Last week I was disappointed in the families that were chosen and didn’t feel that they were representative of people in the States with the greatest needs. This week worked out better. For those of you that did not watch this week each contestant was given 48 hours and $4,800 to give away. In this case each individual had a larger amount of control over where and why they were giving which I appreciated.

After my post last week I have a few really insightful comments and thought this could provide an opportunity for some good continued discussion. I had a number of great comments last week there was an overall feeling that the show made fundraising look easier than it actually is. A comment from last week:

I work for a nonprofit organization that seems to think money is growing on trees and that all the development officer needs to do is go out and pluck it. Nothing could be farther from reality.

Raising money is hard work. Especially for small local nonprofits it can be really hard to build a donor base, secure corporate involvement, and create a major donor program. Wouldn’t it be an incredible day if in 48 hours you were able to call a group of complete strangers and raise over $25,000? But that is not the traditional fund development experience.

How can we work with our boards, executive team and staff to change their perspective on fund development?  This is a really hard thing to do, many organizations have a culture that is hostel to the work of the development office and it takes years of patience and trust building to start to break that down.  Sit down with your CEO/Executive Director and/or your board chair and explain to them the need to work as a team explain the potential funding that comes through working with board, staff and volunteer’s spheres of influence.  This is important, if you cannot secure the support of the executive leaders of the organization you will never be able to build your program or reach the funding potential for your organization (read my post on More About Using Board Members to Fundraise).  Ask them if you can start a monthly development committee with board members or high level volunteers.

What did you think of this week’s show? Have you had any negative or positive feedback or change in expectation from your nonprofit employer based on Oprah or the contestant’s ability to fundraise?  How have you responded to past criticism of your fundraising work.

I thought this might be an interesting topic to discuss with fund development professionals. What do you think of the new TV show “The Big Give?” Do you like it, dislike it?

From a fund development perspective I have not be very impressed. It takes a long time to cultivate donors and to raise money for a cause or issue. It would be neat if each candidate had more time to develop a larger scale plan. There are so many opportunities to use social networking, granting, business involvement that can raise a significant amount of money but they take a couple months to a year to develop.

I heard Oprah mention that the major idea behind the series is to show how easy it is to help people. And under that definition I think that the show was a success. However, with Oprah’s influence and wealth I was expecting something a little more spectacular. Why not use her money to hire 10 industry experts to serve internationally helping nonprofits and make the show all about how they are changing the world. Or tell America that everyone is eligible to be a part of the “Big Give” all they have to do is create a “Big Give” project of their own locally. Then the show could highlight the most impressive projects.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the first couple of episodes. I hope that they start to develop the story behind the families that are being helped. This last week I didn’t feel that student loans for a medical doctor or that paying for a penthouse suite that a family will have to move out of when the money is gone are “Big Give” type solutions. What did you think?

The (Red) Campaign is evidence of something even bigger going on here than just cause marketing. If our shopping in even a subtle tiny way can begin to make a difference, it makes me ask, “What else can?” I think that we are being provided the opportunity to look at fundraising and giving/donating as a lifestyle. The products we purchase the places we go can affect the world around us in a profound way.

One thing that (Red) has shown us is that businesses can do social good. I’ve been reading Bill Clinton’s book, Giving, and he has a chapter discussing this very issue.

“There are enormous opportunities for businesses to increase profits, and for NGOs to make contributors’ money go further, by organizing and enlarging [public good] markets.”- Bill Clinton, Giving

When businesses see a direct benefit to social good they start mass-producing this social good to a wider audience than the non-profit world has the ability to do. Look at the work that World of Good is doing. They have set up two organizations one that is non-profit and one that is for-profit. The non-profit organization sets up standards that any business can use to enact social good. The for-profit organization acts out those standards in a profit-making environment. They currently have a partnership with eBay setting up a community to highlight social good business ventures.

My point is that we live in a different world today where non-profits are having an impact in business. The (Red) Campaign in some ways is the forerunner of what I think the consumer world is going to demand more of. Already consumers tend to favor a product that is connected to benefiting a charity or cause in some way. As businesses continue to see this trend it could force them to take a real look at how they are giving. I think there is a real opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors based on how they run their foundations and charitable giving.

Have you heard of the (Red) Campaign? You have probably seen them partnering with huge organizations like GAP, American Express & Motorola. Basically the way the campaign works is you buy a (Red) product and they donate a percentage of that sale to the (Red) Campaign. They have received some negative press recently and I wanted to hear from you what your take on it is. For more details read:
The February 6, New York Times article
Joe Waters’, Selfish Giving, recent post
Susan Hyatt’s The Business Coach, Posting 1, 2, 3

One argument is that these organizations are spending more money marketing these products than they are giving money to Africa. Many say that shopping as a response to human suffering is disrespectful. Businesses need to be careful about how and why they get involved in cause marketing. I agree many businesses could do a lot more than they already are and that more money could be given than already is. It is important that businesses are transparent about how much they are actually giving.

Cause marketing is about more than just financial donation it is about raising awareness. The amount of air time, publicity, and recognition that (Red) has received is invaluable for The Global Fund. If no money was ever donated many charities will spend millions of dollars to receive the community recognition that (Red) has provided. Is shopping for a (Red) product disrespectful? If buying a (Red) product is all that you do and you think you are making a radical difference, maybe.

Ben Davis has started a movement called Buy (Less) CRAP and his idea is that instead of buying a computer to benefit Africa you should give directly to the non-profit and then all the money goes to the charity instead of just a percentage. Great idea, if we want to make a difference in our giving lets give to the source. However, we need computers, we need shirts, we need credit cards. Why not make a difference when I’m purchasing an every day product that I need in addition to my other giving.

Why did this issue make people so mad? I think that there is a larger question here. The problems in the world are bigger than our answers and often times we have a feeling of guilt that comes with our inability to save a life or make a difference. I’d love to talk to you more about the response I’ve found—send me an email and we can chat offline.