SVP Blog

Written on Friday, October 24

I’m sitting at 6:37am watching the markets take another roller coast dive, Dow down 338 points in 7 minutes. I’ve had a number of thoughts rolling through my head for several days now (as I’m sure all of you have too).

It goes without saying that we are living through a period of time, who knows how long it will last, that is different than anything any of us have ever experienced. It seems destined to make the ’01 dot-bust look like a blip / dip comparatively. You all know that the social needs in our neighborhood, cities, region, nation, world are going to grow and the public funds are gonna concurrently tighten (they have to). Philanthropy can’t begin to replace but a fraction of those dollars and this is going to affect all of us.

When people ask me in the last few weeks how all his will affect SVP, I say I don’t know yet, it’s been so quick. I do know that in ’01 individuals were more persistent and stretched their giving longer and further than institutions did or could, though none of our wallets are bottomless.

But even more important than our financial capital, and I mean this 100%, is our spirit and our human capital. None of us can avoid feeling the stress and pain we are going through, but we can choose to not let it overwhelm and redefine us as human beings and citizens and philanthropists. I’ll share two thoughts I’ve received in the last few days –

“There’s plenty of reason for hope. Following a decade of record-breaking, boundary-spanning philanthropic efforts, bigger dollars and more people are engaged in philanthropy than ever before. By showing bold, effective leadership at a time of such global uncertainty, we could tap latent interest and entice others to join us in this collaborative effort to improve lives.” – Kathleen Enright, www.geofunders.org

“I will not be sending stock. (My gawd, it’s sooo LOW that would be crazy), but I will send a check tomorrow. And just so you know, I thought about backing off, but in these times, figured it was even MORE important to continue giving – at least to those orgs that are efficient & effective.” – SVP Partner, 10/22/08

What we can do is be role models, we can persist, we can be the kind of people that don’t lose hope and remember that history shows there is ALWAYS a new AND better day on the horizon, no matter how far off it may appear. America, SVP, each of you, and countless philanthropic and non-profit organizations WILL persevere and we will make a huge difference in the lives and institutions that we all care about deeply. Our wallets are not bottomless, but our courage, our optimism, and our fortitude can be.

At SVP, we have spent nearly 11 years building a model and body of work that has leverage, effectiveness, passion – we need to amplify and accelerate our efforts, not back off. We need to look upward and outward and work harder, not hunker down.

It’s 51 minutes later now and the Dow is down another 131 points … I was looking for one specific quote from Martin Luther King to close with – “The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where she stands at times of challenge and controversy.” And as I was searching for that one, I found many others that might speak to each of us personally and intimately so I’ll share a few of those too, just in case one of them speaks directly to one of you.

I suspect times will get tougher before they get better, but we have each other and we always have our hearts and minds and souls and strength to continue to make a positive difference in our world, especially when it is needed most. Carry on!

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle … A human can’t ride you unless your back is bent. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

Every person must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A human should do her job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.

Statement #10 - I have a great idea for a new program - I’ll start my own nonprofit.

It’s the last time we’ll say it – just don’t!  Or certainly make it your last option. There has been a proliferation of non-profits over the last 10-20 years, some of them quite valid and needed.  This also means there are more and more small organizations struggling to get enough resources to reach some level of sustainability and organizational capacity.

In short, it is much easier to start a non-profit than a for-profit company, but it is much harder to effectively sustain a non-profit over the long-term. When you have a new idea, please be sure to look around to see if anyone is already doing the work you care about; or if there is someone to partner with or someone that might want to take on a new “line of business.”

Paul S.

Lesson #9 - “I want to be sure our family foundation is around for a long time to come so I need to be sure to spend only as much as I have to every year”

There is nothing wrong with that approach, but you might want to consider what more and more philanthropists and foundations are doing now ( i.e. giving away their full corpus within a stated time frame.) Bill and Melinda Gates said 50-100 years, Warren Buffet said 10 years! Whatever the amount, the decision is driven, in part, by the good ol’ time value of money--a dollar spent today often has more value than the same dollar spent in the future.  If that economic concept applies anywhere, it should really apply to the application of philanthropic funding to social needs and problems.

Some causes and non-profits  might deliver more positive good in the world if they had the same amount of money sooner vs. spreading it over a longer period of time.  Again, this certainly is not a “mandatory,” but it is worth your strong consideration if you are creating a family foundation or some kind of permanent corpus.

Paul S.

Lesson #8 - “I have a great idea for a new program that XXX could try for kids. I just want to run it by them”

Whoa! Slow Down! Or more accurately, be very cognizant of what you know and what you don’t know.  

Be sure your suggestions are within your expertise, relevant experiences and interactions with nonprofits.  Given the range of pressures a non-profit faces from a myriad of funding sources, they have “big ears” and sometimes listen to and even act upon a lot of suggestions and “ideas.” Just be mindful of that.

Paul S.

Lesson 7: “Non-profits move so slowly; it takes forever to make decisions”

Yes, there are some non-profits that are inefficient, just like some for-profits. But more often than not, the pace and decision-making style of a non-profit is more consensus-driven because of its constituencies, communities, and clients.

Their missions and decision makers are, on average, more diffuse and varied and the goals more numerous. It is just a different context in which works gets done and goals achieved.  It dictates a different kind of strategy and tactics. This does not mean that any organization, non-profit or for-profit, should accept mediocrity, unnecessary bureaucracy, or ineffectiveness. It does mean that, as a donor, you need to know you are working with a different “industry” with a different set of norms and rules.

Paul S.