What do Elizabeth Taylor and ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” teach nonprofits?

What is the lesson to be learned from Elizabeth Taylor and ABC’s “Secret Millionaire”?  If I tell you now you won’t read on…

Liz Taylor was instrumental in raising of funds for AIDS and giving voice to a cause, in the 1980s, that had been muffled by fear and prejudice.  Many feel that, because of her, the fight against AIDS made huge advances and, more importantly, other funding and other voices were brought forward to help in the cause.

ABC’s new show, “Secret Millionaire” is about rich individuals who go out into impoverished communities and learn about the nonprofits that are “doing good,” giving out money to various organizations.  I’ve seen an episode and I can tell you that it is not at all condescending towards the causes or the individuals.  Instead, it raises them all up to heroic status and, as one would expect from network television, tugs at the emotions. 

What both teach us about major donors is that is it all about passion.  Both Elizabeth Taylor and the Secret Millionaires are (or become) passionate about their causes.  And that passion comes from first-hand experience - or being touched personally by the cause.  In the case of Elizabeth Taylor, much has been made of her friendship with co-star Rock Hudson, who had AIDS himself, as well as others she was close to in the entertainment world.  The secret millionaires witness and share the experiences and struggles of leaders in the nonprofit world.  This experience grows into a profound respect and admiration for their cause(s).  It is because of the dedication and the giving they witness that they become so passionate. 

Nonprofits must always remember this lesson: that (a) personal involvement and (b) passion are key for engaging major donors and supporters.

  

Nonprofit Leadership for Disasters

The events that have taken place – and are still unfolding – in Japan certainly give pause when it comes to thinking about nonprofits.  There are many different types of nonprofit organizations and sometimes I think that, while our hearts pour out to the ones in desperate need, it’s important to think about disaster relief organizations and how the dollars that rush are being amassed and allocated.

I searched for writing on this subject and here’s just a sampling of what’s out there.

On Monday, the Chronicle of Philanthropy totaled up the donations and published them, noting that the American Red Cross had amassed the most, at over $19 million, and Save the Children had raised $2.5 million.  Many others, ranging from the Salvation Army ($980K) to Catholic Relief Services ($450K) were also collecting for the cause.

Bloggers like Joanne Fritz on About.com has some good nuggets of advice on how not to run a campaign based on her experience – advising the relief organizations on how not to frustrate their well meaning donors. But perhaps the most thoughtful was from Stephanie Strom, from the New York Times:

Disasters, particularly those epic enough to earn round-the-clock news coverage, are a fast way to get donors to open their wallets. So it was no surprise when nonprofit groups, starting with the American Red Cross and moving down to small charities, scrambled to raise money to help the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.  But wealthy Japan is not impoverished Haiti.  And many groups are raising money without really knowing how it will be spent – or even if it will be needed. The Japanese Red Cross, for example,has said repeatedly since the day after the earthquake that it does not want or need outside assistance. But that has not stopped the American Red Cross from raising $34 million through Tuesday afternoon in the name of Japan’s disaster victims.

As Stephanie asks, what is the best path for us as generous American donors to take?  Or, indeed, what direction should nonprofits take when it comes to helping in a world where some countries need more assistance than others?

Clearly, there are leadership roles that need to be asserted here.  Being true to the missions and goals of an organization are key.   Allocating resources (amassing resources) where they are most needed is another issue.  Perhaps more thought, and reasoning logic, behind what programs are most worthy – even in crisis - would best show how these agencies are “good stewards” of their donor dollars. 

Indeed, it is something to consider when opening your wallet to be generous and good, in the face of disaster. 

Empathy for those you want to influence

I’m a bit late to the party but I want to share an interesting article, Influence Without Authority, by Jenka Soderberg from the Stanford Social Innovation Review.  She writes about an experience she had role-playing in a class which she didn’t particularly like but which made her reflect on her own experience at a nonprofit.  While she helps people daily, she also took time out to work in New Orleans in the post-flooded days of Hurricane Katrina.  Here, she reflects on the class exercise as it related to her “office” reality: 

Despite my initial misgivings… {the experience} got me re-thinking the interactions I have with one particular co-worker that borders on adversarial. Having empathy with someone trying to exert control within the workplace is a bit more difficult than helping people stranded in a flooded city. But it’s definitely possible. And I think being able to look at any situation from another person’s perspective is always a good tool to have in my toolbox.

Too often I believe we think about leadership and influence in terms of what’s “out there” in public.  We consider leadership in our profession, our community, our greater network or society.  We forget that sometimes the hardest type of leadership happens every day, in the grind of working with the same people in an office or even at home, in our family environment. 

Perhaps it’s hardest to be a leader when you’re tired and worn out on a Friday afternoon.  Or early Monday morning.  Perhaps that’s where true leaders shine.   

Leadership and influence in these types of environments is partly about empathy, as Soderberg points out.  It starts with putting one’s self in the shoes of another and rising up.  Perhaps we should work hardest on this with the people we see every day.