Social Change or Charity?
What is at the core of your giving? What factors motivate your decision
making? What is it that you would need to be more strategic in your
philanthropy? These are questions that help build a foundation for
conversations around personal giving. Before one can truly understand
the impact or focus of any gift, it is helpful to distinguish between
the types of organizations the gift supports. There is a significant difference in the characteristics of “Charity”
versus “Social Change” Philanthropy and understanding these differences
may make a difference in deciding the type of organization your gift supports.
Musings from the Minister of Chi
So for those of you who have not met me in my life as the Minister of
Chi, welcome to this musing!
I took on this role at the Women’s
Funding Network conference in Denver where there were hundreds of
folks working to elevate, enhance, and educate women on all levels. The
women’s funding movement is near to my heart and having been the self
described “Chief Inspiration Officer” for the past few years, I was well
prepared for this new role. The conference brought forth so many critical conversations around
leveraging the excitement of people focusing on investing in women,
celebrating what women’s funds and the Women Moving Millions
campaign have done to bring us to this tipping point, what do we need to
do to move into new circles, inclusion of more voices and people, and
more. I started the conference out facilitating the final session of a
year-long leadership cohort of 12 amazing women, soaked up some amazing
speakers, conversed about fundraising, led a “Shake Your Body for
Women’s Rights” session, and ended the conference with my first message
as the Minister of Chi.
Retaining the Next Generation in Philanthropy
Baby boomers are hanging on, and next generation leaders are waiting
-- and waiting -- their turn. According to Trading Power, produced in partnership with
the Council on Foundations, Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies'
21/64, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy and Resource Generation,
this is the first time in history that society is experiencing a delay
in leadership transition, as people live longer and retire later. The
economic recession has further delayed retirement plans, leaving baby
boomers in positions that even they expected to have left by now. And
some seasoned leaders are turning to a model of "leadership expansion"
rather than "leadership transfer," sharing leadership duties with younger employees.
|
