“Tit-for-Tax-Break” - A Real Economic Stimulus Would Be to Give Tax Deduction for Volunteer Service to Nonprofits!

Why does pro bono work have more socio-economic value to the beneficiary nonprofit organization than to the person who donated her expertise?

Giving “charity”, with no expectation of benefit in return, is instilled within the foundations of many civil societies across time, space and cultures, and it comes in many forms. People in all walks of life donate their money, stuff and expertise to aid other folks, around the corner and around the world.

To his credit, President Barack Obama has made community service a key theme of his administration’s strategy for socio-economic change. There’s a lot to say for earning “social capital” or “street cred” through volunteerism, but the popular valuation of such civil service in support of the public “weal” needs real reform for real change.

One such area needed for immediate reform is the distorted understanding and valuation of pro bono work. USA's GDP still does not include “nonmonetized” productive volunteer activity for NPOs, not to mention unpaid housework and child-rearing. It is only being accounted for by a few countries, notes the United Nations (see footnote 1)

This can be seen most easily in the consideration of income tax itemized deductions.

“Out-of-pocket expenses giving services” (i.e. telephone calls, transportation, supplies, etc.) connected with volunteering for an NPO (i.e. board service, providing legal counsel, administrative support, clinical services etc.), are generally considered allowable by the IRS 1040 Schedule A (see footnote 2)

The value of volunteered “productive activity” by the donor categorically, is not. In effect, it has no “tax cred.”

But why?

If a person can be employed or hired as a contractor at a known rate (salary or fee) to accomplish the same task and pay tax on the income, why can’t the value of a volunteer’s contribution of her expertise and effort over time to an NPO be accounted and credited?

While the debate goes on about the need to evaluate housework (predominantly by women and especially for Social Security), clearly the value of the “productive activity” donated to an officially designated 501(c)3 can be “monetized”. NPOs are fast to parade budget lines bulging with the value of in-kind or pro bono services before potential donors and audit committees to demonstrate their lean costs of operations. Indices used to evaluate the work include Independent Sector's annually updated estimated quantifier of volunteer time (see footnote 3) and Points of LIght Institute's nifty calculator (see footnote 4) where, by job title, the value of professional work at all levels of engagement in the economy can be figured. “Professional” should be extended to include all colors of men’s shirt collars; if one can be paid for a task, it should be included in the list and GDP.

There’s nothing in the literal meaning of the term pro bono that states the work must be done for free!

Pro bono Is a Latin term that literally means for (the) good, rightly, morally. It has nothing to do with undertaking work without any compensation. It is good in its simple understanding. We may even need to redefine, if not altogether abandon, the notion of giving “charity”; no longer must we sacrifice something of our own to relieve the suffering of “others”. We may not have to suffer, but, rather willingly, gracefully give a bit of ourselves (expertise, time) for the common “weal”. There are no “others” left in the world. Income tax credit for volunteer work would smooth that out.

When so many NPOs are short staffed (due to lay-offs), over extended (due to greater demands for services due to government agency cut-backs) and financially strapped ... when so many qualified and talented people are out of work and want to continue to contribute to society, it would be “good, right and moral” to recognize our contributions of volunteer time in some way more significant than a plaque or pin.

In fact, it may be a profound and timely response to our dire our socio-economic predicament.

When Michelle Obama challenged the George Washington University Class of 2010 (see footnote 5) to engage in volunteer public service in exchange for her appearing at their commencement, they responded with overwhelming success. Holding up her end of the bargain, she then challenged them to make it a lifelong commitment.

It was a nice gesture, but she missed opportunity to do more. There are many graduates who will not find work in the nonprofit sector of the current economy, much less work at all. Some even think that they will never be paid a reasonable wage working for an organization or agency. “Why do you think it’s called ‘nonprofit’,” I’ve heard tell. It would have been more gracious, not to mention powerful, for the First Lady to announce that, whatever their first jobs would be, they would earn income tax credit for contributing their newly-acquired zeal for volunteer work. Even a waiter or file clerk who volunteers at a free clinic will appreciate the “tit for tax break”.

Then there are the rest of us whose successful careers in nonprofit service have been cut to shreds due to the recession. We are struggling not to fall through the bottom of Abraham Maslow's (see footnote 6) classic “Hierarchy of Needs” chart (see footnote 7). While we look for gainful (i.e. paying) employment, many of us continue to respond to the needs of others through professional, unpaid pro bono effort. Tax credits would be welcome for “good, real and moral” unpaid work. (Funny, or not, that the Father of Modern Management & Leadership by Employee Motivation never included volunteer or pro bono work on the great pyramid.)

As USA First Lady, Mrs. Barack Obama receives no salary, but serves as an “extension” of her husband’s executive responsibilities. Glad she can afford to. As for me, to paraphrase a pop tune, written by Ronnie Self and sung by Brenda Lee, “I need to be valued.” There’s nothing wrong with practicing random acts of kindness, but let us be thanked in ways more than in-kind, too.

-----------

Footnotes / Hyperlinks

1 http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/news/doc/volunteering-accounts-for-5.html

2

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_publink1000229674

3

http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time

4 http://64.236.54.83/resources/research/calculator.cfm

5 http://www.gwu.edu/explore/aboutgw/eventscalendars/gwcommencement/firstladymichelleobamacommencementremarks

6

http://www.abraham-maslow.com

7 http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp

From One Holy Beggar to Another

In a previous post I mentioned that I realized I was more a giver than beggar. (Critical thinking is so important: taking a long, higher, deeper look at the situation from other angles!)

I was then puzzled about my role as the Holy Beggar. Did I indeed have to get out on a street corner, begging bowl in hand, perhaps a dog or other attention - sympathy getter at my side, a compellingly designed and annotated sign professing my sincerity, need, etc.?

I recently saw such a fellow HB, he was about 30+, clean shaven, baseball cap, jeans and a T shirt, day pack, cardboard sign, "Need help. Please!" standing on the medial strip before a freeway on-ramp. I was on my way to my volunteer job.

Instinctively I plunged my hand into the Holy Begging purse and pulled out a dollar, signaled for him to come and gave it to him. He had a nice manner, thanked me. I then asked whether he was out of work (Yes. I'm a day laborer and didn't get work today. I need money for food.) I told him I was out of work myself, over a year. He agreed it was tough out "here" and thanked me, again.

The light turned green and I entered the roadway.

So, while I wasn't personally begging, I made a connection and felt that I empowered him to do it for me. He held my place and that of millions of we folks out of work in this miserable economy. Thus, I was doing what I did well and perhaps he was doing OK, too.

Something to consider. I think there's some sort of spiritual rightness about it. We are helping each other.

I really miss spending money doing mitzvot (good deeds) even in simple ways.

Unemployment Compensation Blues

Back in the 1960s I was an avid "folkie", playing my guitar every day, transcribing tunes from the static-ky Philadelphia fm station so that I could keep up with some of the more rooted but nonetheless topical songs of the period. Tonight I remembered one of my favorites, "Unemployment Compensation Blues", words and music by Les Pine, adapted by Jerry Silverman, copyright 1949 by People's Songs, Inc. that was transferred to SING OUT in 1957) and published in Sing Out! volume 3. It has a sweet blues-y tune that doesn't seem to salve my growing resentment about the current situation. The lyrics are not really dated (except for the fact that there are fewer requirements to have a meeting with an EDD staffer (thank heavens!)

I've got those
Unemployment compensation
What was your last occupation blues.
I've got those
How much money did you earn
Stand in a line and wait your turn blues.
They make me feel I'm committing a sin
To get back part of what I paid in.
I've got those
Have you had an interview
Come back in a week or two blues.

I've got those
Unemployment compensation
Please fill out an application blues
I've got those
State your weekly minimum
You don't wanna work you bum blues
And when I'm thru with my weekly routine
I spend my money on thorazine
I've got those
By the time I get my check
I become a nervous wreck blues.

I've got those
Unemployment compensation
It ain't worth the aggravation blues.
I've got those
Won't you wait, just have a chair
Nothin' in my frigidare blues
I'm tired of fellin' like a jerk
All I want is a chance to work
And lose those
Out of work humiliation
Unemployment compensation blues

I may update it with a few verses, including stimulus, extension, COBRA, online / e mail job hunt, etc.
Stay tuned (as much as one needs for folk music ...)

No matter what,
Don't forget to ask for the money!

Adopt-a-Pothole on Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

I am encouraged! The developing nation shall lead the arrogant ones!

Who will join me in this enterprise to repair Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles?

To wit: http://www.adopt-a-pothole.org/

The Adopt-a-Pothole is a new Social-Economic Enterprise, which addresses key fundamental needs in South Africa, being road infrastructure maintenance, and the alleviation of unemployment and poverty in local communities and promotes the principles of custodianship and leadership rather than ownership and entitlement.

The project has been designed as a practical business and enterprise development incubator, and it will recruit, train and mentor unemployed individuals as business unit caretakers, admin and support officers, and pothole doctors in the developing social entrepreneurship arena.

The project was designed using a multiple cluster model, with each cluster comprising of 5 independently managed business units positioned within a social-economic franchise model.

This programme is structured to leverage CSR, Social Economic and Enterprise Development funding mechanisms as well as marketing budgets of large and medium corporations. Profits generated will be shared between the programme expansion cost and pre-defined beneficiaries.

And then let's adopt-a-lightbulb for the streetlights that are out! It's so annoying to see that cluster of "art" streetlight poles at LACMA ... when the ones we need for visibility (and safety!) are out everywhere.

Wisdom From The Mirdrash

From the teaching of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz via Rabbi Arthur Kurzweil (www.arthurkurzweil.com)

Some people live in their own narrow world and are stingy to themselves.

But they do so not out of miserliness, for there are people who can realize that other people are in need but fail to see that they themselves are no less in need.

There is a story in the Midrash Rabbah about some scholars who came to a city to raise money for charity.

They sent one of their number to observe the household of a certain illustrious citizen in order to ascertain how much to ask of him.

The scholar came to the house and by chance over­heard the rich man scolding his wife, insisting that she buy a cheaper brand of lentils for their table.

The scholars therefore did not even bother to approach him for money but collected their charity from others.

They explained the reason, and he answered, 'Concerning that which belongs to me, I chose to be stingy, but about that which belongs to God I prefer to be generous.'"

So, as you can see, the following is so deeply true ...

No Matter What,

Don't Forget to Ask for the Money!

Holy Beggar’s Epiphany: I’m Really a Giver!

Hold on to your begging hats and bowls. My begging days may be over. While looking for that illusive next career move from Holy Beggar to HOLY BEGGAR, I understood the basic flaw in my premise ... I’m really much better a giver than a receiver.

In this world there’s giving and receiving, the host and guest, a thank you and you’re welcome, the latter being almost an endangered species. How many people do you know who say “You’re welcome” vs. “thank you”? I bet more the latter than the former.

Well, with a deep bow to retro-ness, I’m going to focus on the giving side of the philanthropy “equation” and make it simple, personal and, hopefully, impacting.

You heard it here first, dear reader.

Your Holy Beggar is going to undergo a transformation. Not because it is better to give than receive, although there’s a nice balancing ring to it, rather because it is possible to give. It may make me smile. It will help others.

More later.

In the meantime,
No Matter What,
Don’t Forget to Ask for the Money!

Chronicle of Philanthropy Features "Holy Beggar" Persona Jan 14, 2010

Can a blog's feelings be hurt?

You betcha!

The Holy Beggar’s letter to the editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the “Bible” of the philanthropic sector, garnered some attention to we professionals who have been laid-off from nonprofit organizations in the midst of successful careers serving others due to the economic turbulence.

Since November I was in deep conversation with a smart, compassionate, insightful staff journalist and the article came out January 14, 2010, page 15 etc. By all accounts, my colleagues who are still (and recently pink-slipped) employed, it was a good piece.

I agree, but there are a number of concerns (of course) that could have turned a reasonable article -- about the issue of the difficulties of finding employment not to mention keeping it during the recession -- into something provocative, dare I say strong enough to give us hope and wake up those higher-ups who still are employed.

One concern was that editorial policy mandated describing the for-profit "sector" as “business” ... as if multi-million dollar non-profits were a ... what ... hobby? I thought TCP was a trade publication, not one for weekend-warriors.

Further, the reporter was reminded many times by your Holy Beggar of this blog. The HB had commented frequently in TCP's online site. Yet the editor failed to allow the Holy Beggar, or this blog, to be mentioned by name! Just her creator's name (and likeness ... see P.S., below)

Are they afraid to “promote” something so benign as a simple, free blog, one that has fueled the article to begin with? How even more wonderful would it have been to invite the Holy Beggar to blog within the Chronicle itself.

Well, I'm sure that Mae West had a better way to say it but, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."

To all of you out there in non-business land, who feel a bit better that someone has honored your achievements and sympathizes with your plight, you're welcome, indeed.

Remember,

No matter what,

Don’t forget to ask for the money!

P.S. Seems it’s better to have a doggy (or kitty, or perhaps even your human child or the disadvantaged folks you help?) in your professional photo. You will get on the front page.

A Holy Beggar Koan

What's wrong with giving up?

No matter what,
Don't forget to ask for the money.

NPR GETS A LUMP OF COAL FOR CHRISTMAS FOR CRM ARTICLE

NPR GETS A LUMP OF COAL FOR CHRISTMAS FOR CRM ARTICLE

Today's (Wednesday, December 23) NPR "Morning Edition" included a twisted piece about CRM, cause related marketing. It presented the idea that when a nonprofit organization sells it soul to a corporation, the latter is hoping to improve its public karmic account. Why is this "news", Mr. van Winkle?

( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121718372#commentBlock)

Quoting Carol Cone, professed to be the founder of CRM, "Businesses must show their humanity," she says. "It's no longer a 'nice to do' — it's a 'have to do.' "

Your humble Holy Beggar been in the nonprofit organization fund development trenches too long to find this even good cocktail party dribble. The reporter misses the point by taking account of corporate citizen's ethics. While the notion "it is more blessed to give than to receive" is popular among those of us with a soul intact, corporations don't' worry about their karma. Corporations have never been about "nice"; it's all bottom line for their stockholders.

The story headline begs the notion of 'selfish giving' with the query, "Does It Count If You Get In Return?"

Count as what? Charity? Does it matter as long as there is money flowing from the haves to the haven'ts.

The Holy Beggar can assure all that it counts ... always counts ... big ... on both sides of the relationship.

Savvy nonprofits are happy to get funding from anywhere that is legit and in sync with its mission ... the marketing department, the CEO's discretionary stash, corporate employees' charity funds and matching funds. Back in the good "old" days of the ERA / feminist movement, Playboy Foundation / Enterprises was very happy to give money to women's causes ... but taking it was a matter of much conversation. The NPR story explained that Macy's is hooking up with Make A Wish Foundation; nice alliterative play.

Gone are the promises of a table for 10 at an annual dinner (and the back cover full page ad in the program book). In the most recent economic "down-turn", corporate budgets are being cut from brand hyping public relations, with a small balance redirected to product marketing, the latter promising more measurable outcomes, e.g. units sold. Scrooge's transformed largess in Dicken's fabled tome seems a higher level of consciousness when compared to recent corporate CRM targeted ads in The New Yorker.

The challenge to my NPO beggar colleagues is what to give as a thank-you gift to the corporate suits who have everything by the end of the year. The period between Thanksgiving and December 31 is holiest of begging holidays.

Your humble Holy Beggar, taking stock of her still unemployed socio-economic situation would welcome corporate sponsorship. How about utilizing the HB "likeness" to headline an endorsement campaign. In exchange, the HB is wiling to give out coupons for discounted merchandise for each donation placed in the begging cup from December 25 through the 31.

Silent Night? Don't be silly. Bragging rights! Shout it from the roof tops.

The Holy Beggar wishes all a good night anyway.

And remember,

No matter what,
Don't forget to ask for the money.

As I said, it's all fine when operations coffers are being filled and budgets met. But, what's more troubling is that once the corporations sink a sizable chunk of change into a single NPO, few others are able to get in on the generosity. It's especially sad when a well-run, impacting small NPO serving the neighbors of the HDQ can't muster up enough entitlements to warrant significant support.

Working for Charity

Working for Charity

Just like the premise for this blog ... begging for a job to beg for the organization ... the notion of "working for charity" is a two-way mirror. A general contractor friend of mine seemed surprised when I explained that I would not be willing to write grant proposals for his synagogue's programs with payment (a percentage, no less!) coming in when the grant was funded. I explained this is not speculative construction, where a builder will make an investment in a property, develop it at his / her own expense and then sell it for a profit.

Perhaps this is one of the easier ways to distinguish between working for a non-proft and a for-profit corporation. I've been explaining to a number of artists recently the reality that one can (not to mention, should) make a living (i.e. earn income) by being engaged by (or starting) a not-for-profit entity.

What is the nature of true profit anyway? Something "extra" is the byproduct of one's investment, perhaps. But how does one anticipate, much less value, the merit of an investment in compassion? Is it an hourly fee? "A little gelt at Chanukah ..."

The latter was the response to my serious question to a potential employer ... OK, it was United Jewish Appeal's national headquarters back in the late 1970s ... when I inquired in the interview process about the opportunity for a potential raise in salary. They didn't want to pay enough up front. Silly me ... I took the job and the "raise" was minuscule. When the distinguished gentleman said those words with his heavy Eastern European accent, I noticed a twinkle in his eye that practically pinched my cheek. My mind completed the sentence ... kindelach." (Yiddish for little child.)

Life for this Holy Beggar is very full, nonetheless. I've been turned down for many jobs after the second interview. I think it's an age thing ... stay tuned for the "mother of all blogs" about this.

In the meantime,

No matter what
Don't forget to ask for the money!

A tip of the Holy Beggar's Hat to the Harvard Business Review for the following article ...

"For a Charity or the Money? You Can't Work for Both"

May 18, 2009

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/pallotta/2009/05/for-a-charity-or-the-money-you.html

Michelle Obama's beautiful and impassioned entreaty to U.C. Merced students to give back and change the world raises an issue that it is time for us all to confront. By what economic rules must they be constrained in their efforts? We give young people horrible mutually exclusive choices. We tell them that they can pursue their dreams of helping the world's neediest citizens or they can pursue their dreams for their own economic futures, but they cannot pursue both. We say to students who choose charity, You must watch your classmates who chose the for-profit sector pass you by on the economic highway — buy homes in better neighborhoods, send their kids to better schools, drive safer cars, take better care of their aging parents, indeed serve on the boards of and direct the very charities that employ you — but you, because you have chosen to help the indigent, you must sacrifice — you can have none of this power, none of this security.

Purists will cry that the psychic benefit of working for charity makes up for the low pay. But is there no psychic benefit working for Apple? For Google? For the pharmaceutical company that might discover a cure for cancer and pay you seven figures while you work on it? And what about the psychic liability of working for a nonprofit that, aside from a low salary, offers you inadequate resources to measure the best of your talents?

A few years ago Business Week did a survey of Harvard MBAs ten years out of business school, at an average age of 38. Their median annual compensation was $380,000. The average compensation for the CEO of a hunger charity in America at the same time was $84,000. We're not going to get many people with a $380,000 annual earning potential to make a $296,000 annual sacrifice to run a hunger charity. It's cheaper for them to donate $100,000 a year to the hunger charity, get a $50,000 tax savings, still be ahead by $246,000 a year, and have a lifetime of huge earning potential still awaiting them. They can realize their economic dreams and get the psychic benefit of making a difference, but the hungry lose their full-time talents forever. Do we really think it is of comfort to the mother whose child just died of starvation to know that at least no one was making any money in the failed effort to save her son?

Critics will say we don't need Harvard MBAs — the nonprofit sector already has the best and brightest. Coca-Cola and Amgen beg to differ. And we cannot say on the one hand that corporations are greedy and all they care about are profits and on the other that they are gratuitously throwing profits down the toilet by paying Harvard MBAs across the board more than they are worth.

Yes, we can change the world. Yes, we must. But to do it we must right the injustice that allows a baseball player to be paid $5 million a year and have it celebrated in Forbes, but cries "foul!" when the guy running the charity trying to cure cancer makes $400,000. We must reject the dysfunction that calls a billionaire who spends all his time building his wealth a "philanthropist" but the three-hundred thousandaire who spends 100% of her time trying to end hunger a parasite for her six-figure salary. The notion that people should be compensated on the basis of the value they produce can no longer be denied to those who save lives while it is given freely to those who sell sodas and bounce basketballs.

It is time that our vision of change incorporated a vision of a whole person. We must allow those who dream a dream for others to dream a dream for themselves as well. The word charity, after all, comes from the Greek for "grace." It does not come from the word "deprivation." You and I, Mrs. Obama, were raised on this dysfunctional, compartmentalized notion of service. Let us resolve that ours will be the last generation abused by it, for the sake of our dreams of a better world and the very idea of dreams themselves.

New Year End New Year End New Year

Recently the Chronicle of Philanthropy posed the question, what’s a good year-end appeal strategy.

In fact, when is the "year-end"? Halloween collides with Thanksgiving and Christmas. New Year's and Easter seem more contemporaneous than ever. Jewish people have in fact several new years, including the one that floats around September-ish and another that's all about trees. Corporations and institutions have various fiscals, some even have program years that aren't in synch. My Japanese tea ceremony colleagues can hardly wait for the new year, but do put the old one to bed with bonenkai, a "say goodbye to the year" party. All of these sentiments impact one's emotional sense of conclusion and beginning, to be sure.

Thanksgiving would be a great time to solicit, if not for the fact that it is Thanksgiving.

Finally, good communications strategies would dictate that it's best to avoid the flood if one wishes to be noticed, but at the same time, why not be in the crowd that is hedging bets: lot of folks are considering the last-minute donation before the end of the IRS year. Most likely you are preaching to the choir with this appeal (unless your budget is huge and you can afford to take out ads, this is another story entirely.)

My most successful year-end appeals tackle the issue as if it were sweeping up after a major league play-off: they always have an envelope, a web address for online donations and a phone number. Year end gifts are usually more “rewards” for being good rather than reasons to enable the first fruits of the new year to ripen, so I like to add facts about what's about to happen on the first of the new year as well. Never speak about shortfall, unless you are about to go under for real for good.

More creatively, another way is to create a special new year for your organization. It may be more mission driven than December 31, 2009.

But no matter what,

Don't forget to ask for the money.

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!

Si Se Puede!

Si Se Puede!

A little soapbox "voguing" here ... (as if a blog isn't anything but that!)

I've been vigilantly commenting online about organizations that provide technical assistance to nonprofits (e.g. L.A.’s Center for Nonprofit Management) to spend an equal amount of resources (time, concern, etc.) on the plight of those of us whose professional careers have been whacked by the economy, making us victims of large scale layoffs in attempts to "streamline" operations.

It makes us appear to be the problem, not the solution to our growing social needs for sustainable change in this economy.

In fact "sustainability" is not necessarily what is called for in any case. And certainly, what seems to be coming out of the Obama Administration are new paradigms for examining the systemic nature of problems. At lest I hear people dealing with the realities that there are no easy answers, only better questions.

I'm thinking about calling the local office of my former union, AFSCME, and have a discussion with someone about the realities of sustainability and change, of a huge cache of untapped human resources. Even unions can reconsider their mission and potential in the 21st Century.

We are a force not only to be reckoned with, but who have enough experience and talent to change the world.

Si Se Puede!

'Nuf said.

No matter what ...
Don't forget to ask for the money!

The Holy Beggar's Honor Roll

The Holy Beggar Offers a Tip of the Begging Hat to the following for the thoughtful comments ...

Sandro Oramas

Ellen Sebastian Chang (via Facebook):
"Thank you for creating the Holy Beggar blog. I want you to know that it inspired me as the president of the PTA to use your concept with the children to raise money for their 5th grade camping trip. I didn't want the year to end without you knowing that you have touched my life and made a difference to some 5th graders. (Their all 6th graders now!)"

CATCH-22

CATCH - 22

I really don’t want to get negative about the nonprofit sector’s general attitude regarding the current economic crisis. Times are very difficult. Missions are starving for signs of board life. Caseloads are stratospheric. Clients – and a growing number of them -- are in greater need than ever before. And many more talented, professional, caring people are getting laid-off.

Oh, what to do?

A recent online query from the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles challenged folks to come up with ideas to make their organizations sustainable. To participate in the survey, one has to indicate one's title, and, I assume, an organization.

I was ready to fill out the form, but ... CATCH-22! I can’t because I was laid-off from my job of five years back in December. Consolidation. Making the organization more sustainable, I bet.

All this fashionable greening of the culture. Lip service? Whatever happened to recycling? ! I'm feeling like a plastic disposable picnic plate.

A truly healthy, sustainable socio - economic approach would be to actively find ways to “recycle” those of us who are career professionals of all experiences. And I don't mean give us back our old jobs.

Organizations such as CNM and Southern California Grantmakers, etc. might join the 21st Century and convene a meeting of us -- only folks who have been laid off and who have been heretofore actively working in the nonprofit sector -- to strategize new ways to restructure the sector to deal with the current needs and hopes of our community. Trying to sustain the status quo in the face of significant, holistic change is the mark of a dysfunctional organization. Lord knows I’ve worked for many. Otherwise, they did indeed throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'm not "victim" material. I see great waste and great opportunity.

Additionally, unions, such as AFSME which has among its ranks NPO employees, can convene such meetings as well. Perhaps we might even organize to create an affinity group of such significant number that the insurance companies might court our business. Certainly, the current discussion about health care can find a place for us, without our being considered potentially lead weights on the welfare system.

There are new paradigms to envision, and perhaps a critical mass of temporarily disengaged creative professionals are the ones to carry it out.

It's so exciting that I challenge anyone currently with a job to give it up and join us!

No matter what ... Don’t forget to ask for the money!

Hiatus: There's Begging and There's Begging

While I promised part 2 to the "Thanks" post (and it will come!), I found myself in the highly desirable situation of interviewing for jobs. Whew! While I was not ignoring the blogger's responsibility to keep writing, not matter what, nonetheless actually getting closer to employment did require a shift in consciousness.

I needn't bore you with this info, but thought it is important to the process of communications to acknowledge the situation head-on.

I did find myself in a begging mood ... more assertive, willingness to be "flexible", thoroughly accommodating, etc. I didn't stand my ground, as I would if positioned on "my" "regular" spot, defending territory from other potential beggars because I am convinced that it is the best spot possible. No, I ran around trying to find opportunities that others had neglected, in their own lax way.

More begging news to com. Yes, I remain conflicted as to whether to be employed as a begging agent (i.e. beg for someone else) or just do it for me.

In any event, no matter what ...
Don't forget to ask for the money!

BLOG OF HONOR

BLOG OF HONOR

I will recognize formally the names of all individuals who comment (constructive criticism is welcome) on my blogs, beginning today.

You may comment on any of the postings.
I will mention your name in full (unless you do not wish this recognition) on the first mention.
On all subsequent mentions, I will add an * ...

Thus, if I were commenting on two blogs, the recognition would be Holy Beggar*

Congratulations to the person with the most recognition *s.

Have fun ...

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

Thanks ... PART 1: Thanks Again!

Thanks ...

PART 1: Thanks Again!

On a recent excursion into the “wilds” of a city park with Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum of Azamra, a practitioner of the chassidus (mystical practices of Judaism), the Rav (an honorific term) gave us a “formula” for constructing a session of hitbodedut, the practice promoted by the great Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. It involves going out regularly and frequently into nature and speaking out loud directly to God. His suggestion was a “please” sandwich on “thanks”, (mayo and pickle, or not): begin with “thanks” and end with “thanks”, with “please” sandwiched in the middle.

“Is there a difference in the quality of the first “thanks” and the second “thanks”? I asked.

The answer is covered in fund raising 101: when there is a previous donor, one thanks initially for the past gift and ... makes a case for the current need (“please”) ... and, finally, thanking the, hopefully, renewing donor.

Nonetheless, my mind was inquiring from a deeper perspective of a spiritual relationship, and from within I will examine the distinction of “thanks” in two blog-parts (blog-ettes?).

Part 1 ... Thanks Again!

In the case of the first “thanks”, I feel we are coming from a “narrow” place. While we are humbly appreciative of everything we have been given to date, we wake up yet another day to find that it has not been “enough”. We feel depleted, lacking, even hungry and are asking again, for new, more, extra.

Chutzpah?

Perhaps, but fund raising professionals know that, unlike fishing (for fish) it’s more cost-effective (and perhaps lucrative) to spend our resources sustaining current donors than reeling in new ones. Thus, we continue to ask the same folks for support.

The Holy Beggar doesn’t profess to have long-term memory. I’ve never seen a HB sign that says, “Thanks for your past support.” or “I remember you helped me once before. Please help, again.” Rather, the plea is, “Hungry. Will work for food. God bless.”

Despite this fact, I’ve found that once I give even a little to the Hungry Beggar, I feel some type of “relationship” has begun. S/He stands on s/his spot day after day, simply asking for help. When I don’t see s/him, I might wonder (1) Has s/he taken ill or died, (2) My few pennies worked wonders! There’s no need! or (3) My pennies weren’t enough. S/He has moved on.

In the case of the latter, my simple gesture of giving, with its attendant entitlement of relationship, is cause for concern. Was my initial gift a tease. Did I offer hope of more and then let the Holy Beggar down?

Important questions when considering institutional appeals. Research has shown that people are now giving to people, not to institutions and organizations.

What can we learn from the Holy Beggar? Perhaps it’s not as important to project responsible stewardship, donor recognition, etc. Making our appeals personal will do wonders. We need to reach deeply into the souls of our “markets” (course but true term). When our patrons don’t hear from us, do they wonder, "What happened to that organization I helped once? I need to see if they are still doing that great work ..."

In our dreams!?

Well, maybe there's something to that "dream" thing. Perhaps this the future: high-tech virtual fund raising with no past karmic relationship implied.

To be Continued ...

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

The Handwriting on the Wall: Begging Just in Time, Not Space

The Handwriting on the Wall: Begging Just in Time, Not Space

Chances are that the folks you see studying intently the handwriting on the wall of donor ranks at your local performing arts hall or camp dining room are fund raisers looking for leads. It's almost tempting to tap the letter forms to see how much money was pledged (and, hopefully, paid!) for a three foot high letter (a font of 2592 points!). The really perceptive among us can almost scratch and sniff the serifs to determine how "fresh" this gift was! (A generation ago? Last year?)

Titling a building in recognition of a donation “in perpetuity" is a very tricky mode of donor stewardship. What happens when the organization outgrows and tries to sell its facility? With a new capital campaign pending, we need new blood! A new hero! Should (must?) we transfer the name to the new building if the previous gift doesn't keep on giving? Exactly how long is "perpetuity"?

Case in point! When the late oil tycoon Armand Hammer was planning to make perhaps the gift of his life time of his art collection to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, he put the kybosh on it when he found out that the collection would be placed in a building named within his own lifetime for someone else. He eventually set up his own private museum (now a part of UCLA).

Rather thank dig a hole in the otherwise uncluttered facade of a beautiful new building, only to have to patch it in or tear it down, altogether, I'm advocating a plan to recognize donors over stated periods of time, rather than space. Let the recipient organization manage the stewardship in a way that reflects the nature of the gift.

Organizations should take a lesson from public broadcasting, which equates $ = Y mins. of airtime on X location. A simple equation that can be negotiated in real time, and when time's up ... we can re-up the opportunity at mutual will.

The web is even better, because time and space are negotiable. It’s like renting rather than owning, and it feels terrific.

To this end, I’m thinking about how new, virtual technology can inform the decisions about recognition of bricks-and-mortar gifts. Low tech ones might looks more like a "silent" radio at the car wash or better still, super-titles at the opera. Higher tech could be a laser light that flashes the donor's name for a period of time.

Case in point, when first opened, the Museum of Contemporary Art at the “Temporary” (now the “Geffen Contemporary” and now not open at all, which is another problem!) had a laser light projecting into oblivion (and traffic!) from one of the corners of its building for a few years that read, in red, M_O_C_A_ on a timed schedule. It was very, very cool! It could have as easily read, in any color, Y_O_U_R_(D_O_N_O_R)_N_A_M_E_H_E_R_E

Likewise, there's only so much room on this Holy Beggar's signboard requesting a donation, and she doesn't carry a laser beam to project your name into the heavens.

So, please, let me whistle your favorite tune or corporate jingle for 20 minutes daily. No extra charge for premiere placement (i.e. red lights, of which there are 480 during an average weekday traffic pattern at my corner.) I don’t have a perpetuity rate, because I hope not to have to beg for a job too much longer. How about if, once I get my new job, that I whistle your jingle on my way to work when I stop at every red light for the balance of the scheduled time contracted for your kind donation? It's all negotiable and I've got time for everyone!

No Matter What, Don’t Forget to Ask for the Money!

Don't Believe Your Mission! Live Up to It!

Don't Believe Your Mission! Live Up to It!

Belief is a tricky thing. I thought I had to at least believe something before I could witness it. And then I saw, many times, shamans in Korea stand barefoot on razor sharp rice straw cleavers. I couldn't believe it, but there it was, before my eyes! They were doing this on behalf of a person who was deathly ill with a spiritual disease. No trickery. These blades were so sharp they attracted skin! And the people were eventually helped.

As a propagandist (and journalist, I know the difference!), one who is a promoter of missions, a fund- and attention-raiser for nonprofit causes, I can assure you that I can write a gut-wrenching, cause celébre mission statement, the heart beat of any appeal for funds. These words are palpable. One can almost smell, touch, taste, hear and see the need.

Too many folks in the nonprofit field think that perception is all that is needed to turn hearts and hands into a donation. What they are missing is the source of life itself.

It's important to live up to one's mission. We're not in the celebrity business, where the most hollow reason for getting someone's attention is good enough for the moment. We've got substance and a mission to support.

Here's a test: Write three headlines that you'd like to see on the front page of your local newspaper (or web log / blog ... in the case that your local print paper has fallen to the realities of communications and economic chaos of these times). What a dream!

• (Insert your organization's name) conquers (insert your raison d'etre)
  
• Community goes all out to (insert your raison d'être) with (Insert your organization's name)
• (Insert your raison d'être) is a thing of the past / has been achieved by (Insert your organization's name)

It's a great exercise for a board meeting, especially with a "seasoned" board. Yes, we want to believe that we're actually vital to and have engaged our community / constituency, that we're successful and that we're capable of being recognized. But neither we, nor our nonprofit organization can survive on the junk food notoriety of entertainment celebrities.

Nice. Now get down to work. It's time not to believe the mission, but to Live Up to It! Continuously refresh not just the commitment but the practice. Activate it, even in a small way. Keeping it vital is keeping the heartbeat healthy.

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