One of the ways nonprofits can meet needs by trading value for value, instead of just value for need, is through a concept called 1-1-1.
Consider Trump. Yes, the Donald. While he is perhaps not the first person others think of as it relates to philanthropy (Mother Theresa just barely edged him out of the top spot), he has spent countless millions on charitable causes that he values. So if someone says something that influences him on nonprofit giving, I pay attention. Read More »
The experience started much like any other random conversation. My wife and I were on a walk on a beautiful Colorado day. We decided to turn a different direction than we normally go, just for a change of pace.
Or so we thought. Read More »
Today, I cam across a blog in the LA Times detailing the plan associated with President Obama’s change in charitable donations encompassed in the larger budget.
While the budget continues to be reviewed, today’s buzz proves to be very significant for those non-profits already reeling from the economic downturn. More importantly it is pivotal to donors –the very stakeholders of our common conscious - amidst the uncertain landscape of massive bailouts. Read More »
It happens on a weekly basis and it baffles me every time. The Faith Community is way behind. We drag our feet with every new transition – whether dealing with leadership, organizational management, communication or technology. If we do change, we do it reluctantly, and we call it “conforming to the world.”
One of the inherent challenges of ministry and nonprofits is the trading of value for need, instead of the commerce model of value for value: to the business mind, contributions to not-for-profits come with no tangible return that can be recorded on the balance sheet.
This is not an indictment against nonprofit or ministry work; quite the contrary, these missions are by-and-large necessary and, in many cases, fill voids that business and government can, or should, not. It is also not meant to say that works can’t be accountable – again, just the opposite is true; metrics, progress, key indicators, and the like are becoming more and more widespread, contributing toward efficiency and success.
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One thing I loved about being done with my High School and University education is that I imagined gossip spreading would cease. Why was I not warned that this fault in human nature does not show favoritism with age? Read More »
Conventional wisdom states that the threat of loss is a more powerful motivator than the prospect of gain; that we are more likely to comply when faced with higher costs than with increased reward. While it cannot be disputed that coercion is a potent tool, its effectiveness begs the question of how much better cooperation is. I would argue infinitely, though not necessarily expeditiously. Read More »
“If we are the body,” a popular Contemporary Christian song asks, “why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing? Why aren’t His words teaching?” The questions are rhetorical and cross-reference both Paul’s symbolism in I Corinthians 12, as well as Christ’s teaching in the third parable of Matthew 25. Paul taught of the whole of Christendom as the body of Christ, while Christ instructs his followers that whatever they do to the naked, thirsty, hungry, or in prison, they do unto him. The song is, by and large, the anthem of the modern social gospel; regardless of one’s thoughts about that approach to ministry, the questions are still valid. Read More »
George Bernard Shaw wrote the play “Pygmalion” in 1913. It tells the story of Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics who bets his friend Colonel Pickering that he can successfully pass off a Cockney flower girl by the name of Eliza Doolittle as a refined society lady. He proposes to do this by teaching her how to speak with an upper class accent and training her in etiquette. In teaching Eliza to surround herself with expectations of a better life, he believed she would be inherently drawn toward becoming a woman of high society.
The story makes the point that expectations and environment play a critical role in outcomes; this came to be known as the Pygmalion Effect. Ministries and faith-based organizations in America can learn from this.
“What do we do from here?”
I have had countless conversations over the past several weeks from peers, mentors, clients, and friends – all in their own area of expertise sharing the same conviction: we are in unprecedented times with an unknown future. My own observations are much the same, though humorous for me to speak into the economic missteps and incredible greed that precipitated our current reality, as it is just simply foreign to me. But where I do see a difference – and one that is striking – is that we have been given a privileged opportunity: an opportune time for unity.
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