Panhandling bans hurt some fundraisers

Panhandling bans hurt some fundraisers

“So ran a headline in the online edition of USAToday (today, September 17, 2009.

Continuing, the lead said, “Communities seeking to prevent panhandlers from venturing into streets are stirring controversy with bans that also prevent people from approaching vehicles to ask for charitable donations.”

The problem is fraught with bias. As if “panhandlers” aren't “people”, too. Wouldn’t it have been more responsible journalism to say, “... other people”? Likewise, “... other fundraisers”!

The Holy Beggar is not sure which side she is on, sides being one of the most important indications in American pop culture today ... it’s the accessory of the entree (“You want a side of fries with that?” Your meal comes with two sides.”), the call of the Unions (“Which Side Are You on, Boy?”) and popular in team sports. Being left-handed, The Holy Beggar is always also sensitive to this.

The article coves a variety of municipalities’ reasons for seeking legislative means to manage the affront of a beggar. The MDA folks who get firemen to pass around a boot to collect funds at traffic intersections (in L.A., too! I had to make a legal U turn to come back to do my slam dunk) said they were losing money when one such ordinance went into affect.

I don’t believe I’m saying this, but “Bully!” to the ACLU ... “David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, says ordinances that target panhandlers but allow others to solicit in streets are vulnerable to lawsuits. "Expression cannot be prohibited just because it makes people uncomfortable."

The Holy Beggar hopes that all of us will find nice folks who sit behind desks to beg for money on our behalf and that she will soon be hired to do just that.

Meanwhile, no matter what,

Don’t Forget to Ask for the Money!

Soldiers of Fortune: A Rock IN a Hard Place

It's time to examine everything, including our way of describing our lives in these complex times.

Thus, I propose that the situation of being "in between a rock and a hard place" is worth reforming as “being a rock in a hard place".

In my search for gain-/ meaning-full employment in the nonprofit sector, I have been asked by head-hunters, ill-informed executive directors and presidents of boards if I would accept a percentage of the funds I raised and/or if I was willing to defer their paying my fee until the money came in.

No! and No!

We professionals in the nonprofit field, whether fund raisers, program managers, chief everything officers or receptionists, cannot survive on the human equivalent of photosynthesis, even if there was one. Deferred gratification of basic work-for-hire (whether employed or retained) by hard-working, strategy-prone development folks should not be assumed. It is necessary to include in a budget the cost of hiring or contracting with a fund raising professional. It is not appropriate, nor ethical, to hire a development person to work for a "commission".

Unless a request for funds is tagged to unrestricted purposes, the appeal is specific to a project, element of a program or service. Donors (individuals, organizations, corporations, etc.) expect funds to be used for that purpose only. Most grant-makers have specified guidelines what they will and will not fund. Some funders are receptive to the reality that it costs money to raise money and may invite inclusion of the expense on a project’s administrative budget line.

In the mind-set of many boards of directors and staff, the title "fund raiser" sounds like an addressee for Soldier of Fortune magazine; no ethical professional wants to be considered a mercenary who prospers on the misery of the chronically or critically deprived. Donors are (or should be) suspicious of a person whose enthusiasm for the cause is compromised by their enthusiasm for their own personal gain.

Many nonprofits underestimate the resource development function within the administration of a nonprofit. Nonprofit leaders, whether paid or staff, usually well-intentioned individuals whose passions fuel their actions and who take their own funds to get things going, don't understand that they have to keep things going for the long-run of their mission. Finding the resources to do that is a full-time job and requires certain skills and takes effort.

Boards of directors need to understand that this is the cost of doing business, nonprofit or otherwise, and must insure that this budget item is covered.We have all heard that the lament that “the board isn’t a ‘fund raising’ board” or know of executive directors / CEOs who don't understand their pivotal position in the process of securing necessary resources (meeting donors, writing letters, leveraging relationships, etc.). Further, they don't understand why the development professional they hired needs to sit in on program meetings, to talk with clients and to be continually, formally educated in the field for which their organization provides a singular role.

I promise you, there is no magic. There is only engagement, collaboration and committment. What's the value of your commitment?

No matter what, Don't Forget to Ask for the Money

Welcome to the Holy Beggar! Life at the Crossroads

Begging for a Job: Institutionalized Compassion in the Nonprofit Sector

Every "village" has had a "Holy Beggar". A person who provokes his / her neighbors to exercise a daily dose of compassion. That simple act of tossing a few coins in an open hat or cup ... or even the empty hand ... wakes up the human side of ourselves. We never knew where s/he came from and ultimately couldn't remember life without her (or him). "There but for fortune ..."

Sometimes we are happy to meet those people (the beggar and the ultimate ME who “sees” him/her). Sometimes we felt annoyed, at best "Harumph!": "Grrrrrrrrrr. Why are you standing there?" "You need a shower." "You're making me miss my traffic light." "Your sign is upside down." "Are you really a ‘VIET VET’?" "Do you really need that cane?" "Are you on drugs or drunk?" "Will you to spend my coins to feed that hungry-looking dog."

I've been a professional resource development / marketing communications / PR pro (aka fund raiser, propagandist) who's been working in the nonprofit field for over 35 years. I was been laid off from my job of five years due to the economy (merger). As the "divorce" papers intimated (but never said directly ... silly them), my age put the final nail(s) into the coffin. It's not that the organization doesn't need my skills in raising money for its worthy cause. And, to make matters even more silly, part of the severance “deal” is that I can’t ever again be hired by this organization even if there were a job! After all my success on their behalf, it seemed hostile.

So here I am, begging for a begging job, a conundrum to be sure.

Begging for a job is two-faced: Do I spend my time looking for a difficult job in a horrible depression / recession to help someone else or do I work on developing my own campaign for the uber "cause celébre", c'est moi?

What I find ludicrous (read: insulting) is that the nonprofit professionals, those inveterate "enablers", are encouraging for-profit "suits", who have been disconnected from their heretofore secure six-figure salaries, to consider a shifting careers to the non-profit field. “Hey, over here! Yo!”

Do you hear of any for-profit corps encouraging us career non-profit pros to "c'mon down"?

Sometimes I have to explain to less "sophisticated" nonprofit execs that there is a difference between begging for them on commission vs. begging and getting a salary. The former is considered unethical by fund raising professionals for a good reason.

If I go out on my own, I have somethings to consider:

While free lance begging is quite different from institutionalized compassion (or is it?), I still need to undertake the hunt appropriately, beginning with research: What are the best street corners (already occupied?) to stand and beg, put together a compelling costume, develop the ultimate sign(s?) and see what props will work to my best interest. (Now, we're getting rhetorical). Shall I use a cup? Hat? Sock? Picture of my cat? Sing? Have a boom box? Show a little ankle? Calf? Knee? Thigh? More???

The opportunity to get sponsors may be more profitable. Perhaps a real estate company will pay me for my location (location! location!) or to ask me to jiggle an arrow-ed sign that says, "Estate Open House" with a little Can-Can high step in the direction of the foreclosed (mine?) property.

But what do I know about the dangers? I've sat behind a desk for several years, made calculated phone calls, taken lunch with big donors, reported to foundation boards and enjoyed the gym afterward. Will I get arrested? Do I need a license? Do I have to disguise my face if I would like to get a job somewhere nice again?

I shudder to think. And yet, it is very compelling. Can I walk my talk and demonstrate the value of having someone with a bit more than he/she needs give it willingly to someone who says he/she has nothing (or less)?

I decided to start a blog, "Life at the Crossroads: The Holy Beggar" to explore giving and receiving, charity and charisma, need and greed, in short, begging. (http://holybeggar.blogspot.com) I’m fishing for help ... but most importantly, a job.

No matter what, "Don't Forget to Ask For The Money."