Tom is the President of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. Tom is the President of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. Author Dan Pallotta spoke during the opening session of the SECF Annual Conference in Memphis this afternoon. Pallotta is author of the book "Uncharitable". He challenged the audience to think differently about the non profit sector. He argued that non profits are being judged by an antiquated system that does not measure the results of an organization's efforts to make impact but more about their spending ratio of program expenses to overhead. He suggests this is a flawed approach and I agree. It is also difficult for talented smart young people to consider the non profit field because of the stigma around the amount of money a non profit professional should be paid. Also, virtually no money is budgeted or even tolerated for non profits to invest in marketing and public relations. Most must rely on the obligatory public service announcement which often airs during the early hours of the morning. Although risk taking could reap significant rewards, non profits are often expected to limit risks often at the expense of potential success. I thought Dan Pallotta was thought provoking and passionate, I felt as though not all of those in the audience agreed with his views. I do agree that a few self appointed watch dog groups judging non profits is questionable. However, we can't get lost in a spending free for all without any attention given to expenses. What the number or percentage needs to be, I cannot say but I do see his point. We are never going to solve major social issues without some kind of system change and non profits need to have the tools necessary to affect that change. Otherwise, according to Dan P, nothing gets done and that is a real waste of time and money.
I have been reading a lot of different articles over the past few months trying to gain as much insight as possible about the woes of philanthropy and non-profits in an ongoing recession. I read that this recession will be a test of the fortitude and viability of the nonprofit sector and only the strong will survive. I have also read that donors are being more selective than ever and more focus is going to be implemented by Foundations across the country.
There is nothing wrong with focus and expecting results from your investments. However, a real balancing act for Foundations is the long term impact grants and the short term “crisis” grants. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that we trade impact grant dollars for crisis grant dollars but we cannot ignore the demand for them.
As a funder in a poor state, we have received more grant proposals in the last 12 months from Free Medical Clinics (9), Food Banks and Soup Kitchens (13), Homeless shelters and temporary housing facilities (14), and clothing venues (3) than in any single year over the past 13 years. People are hurting and they are lining up outside of these facilities in very large numbers. Meanwhile, these organizations are suffering the consequences of a poor economy as their dollars continue to dwindle.
The balance I referred to earlier is about paying attention to your social environment and filling the gap even if it does not have a long term impact. We are willing to invest some of the Foundation’s funds for these purposes.
Philanthropic scholars and theorists would likely tell us we are wasting our money because there is very little to measure with these kinds of grants and you really don’t show that you’ve made much of a difference. Well, so be it.
Let’s call it tithing to our religious institutions. We give 10% of our grantmaking budget for the purpose of basic needs and crisis situations because the demand is so great. In this community, all you have to do is drive past the homeless shelter or soup kitchen at 5:00 in the afternoon and the line goes on forever. Drive down to the food bank and people are lined up out the door and around the building. Those are all the indicators we need for those funds.
It is the true meaning of "evidenced based” because we have seen it with our own eyes. We all have difficult decisions to make and we certainly want to make the most pragmatic ones. Let’s not forget those who are victims and are faced with the consequences of all the things that have gone wrong over the last year or so. We can call it our own version of TARP or bailout money if it makes us feel any better.
There is nothing wrong with focus and expecting results from your investments. However, a real balancing act for Foundations is the long term impact grants and the short term “crisis” grants. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that we trade impact grant dollars for crisis grant dollars but we cannot ignore the demand for them.
As a funder in a poor state, we have received more grant proposals in the last 12 months from Free Medical Clinics (9), Food Banks and Soup Kitchens (13), Homeless shelters and temporary housing facilities (14), and clothing venues (3) than in any single year over the past 13 years. People are hurting and they are lining up outside of these facilities in very large numbers. Meanwhile, these organizations are suffering the consequences of a poor economy as their dollars continue to dwindle.
The balance I referred to earlier is about paying attention to your social environment and filling the gap even if it does not have a long term impact. We are willing to invest some of the Foundation’s funds for these purposes.
Philanthropic scholars and theorists would likely tell us we are wasting our money because there is very little to measure with these kinds of grants and you really don’t show that you’ve made much of a difference. Well, so be it.
Let’s call it tithing to our religious institutions. We give 10% of our grantmaking budget for the purpose of basic needs and crisis situations because the demand is so great. In this community, all you have to do is drive past the homeless shelter or soup kitchen at 5:00 in the afternoon and the line goes on forever. Drive down to the food bank and people are lined up out the door and around the building. Those are all the indicators we need for those funds.
It is the true meaning of "evidenced based” because we have seen it with our own eyes. We all have difficult decisions to make and we certainly want to make the most pragmatic ones. Let’s not forget those who are victims and are faced with the consequences of all the things that have gone wrong over the last year or so. We can call it our own version of TARP or bailout money if it makes us feel any better.
The Southeastern Council of Foundation's Annual Conference will be held in Memphis next week. It is an important time in philanthropy and this conference is a valuable meeting for those attending for a variety of reasons.
First, we can renew friendships with our colleagues and also make new friends. We can learn and grow through workshops, speakers, and with specialized sessions such as the legal update. Also, this is the first major meeting since the adoption of SECF's new strategic plan by the Board of Directors. There are so many innovative parts to the new plan and we will get a chance to learn about it and learn about the vision of the organization for the coming years.
I have personally been to 12 SECF Conferences since becoming a member and I have made a new acquaintance and learned a new lesson or technique at ever single one of them. We have all been hurt by the stock market in the last twelve months. It has required change for all of us. I can't wait to hear about some of your innovative ideas and plans through this need to change.
You won't find me on Beale Street or Graceland. I will be sitting in the lobby of the Peabody learning as much as I can from our members. Won't you join me?
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