Opportunity for Next Generation Philanthropists

The Institute for Philanthropy is soon going to launch Cohort 2 of the Next Generation Philanthropy program. NEXT GENERATION PHILANTHROPY, NEW YORK

Next Generation Philanthropy is a program in strategic philanthropy for 18-30 year olds stepping up to a deeper engagement in their personal, family or corporate philanthropy. Developed through fifteen years of running the world’s leading donor education program, The Philanthropy Workshop, Next Generation Philanthropy was launched in London in 2007 to build the skills, knowledge and networks of young people, so that they could achieve more impact in their giving. Its success saw the program replicated in the US for the first time in 2009, and now we are delighted to be inviting participants to join the second group of Next Generation Philanthropy to be based in New York.

“For children of wealth, learning about and getting involved in philanthropy is essential. And it’s really important to be involved at a young age. A lot of people only start to learn about philanthropy when they are older and I wonder how differently they would have done things if they knew what I know now at the beginning of my career.” Valerie Gordon, Next Generation Philanthropy Alumna, Cohort 1

Next Generation Philanthropy is set over two modules; one of five days in the summer and one of four in the fall. Participants learn with a group of peer givers, and work with the civil society experts, activists and non–profit founders who act as innovators in the social sector. Facilitated by the Institute for Philanthropy, participants are guided through a mixture of case studies, site visits and strategic philanthropy frameworks, leaving them with a deeper insight into the issues they care about, the seeds of their own philanthropy strategy, and a growing cross-Atlantic network of peers working in a similar way.

The program is an excellent way of both connecting with the latest thinking in creating social change, and also of meeting other future family business leaders and family foundation principals who want to create impact with their giving. Following the program, Alumni continue to connect as the Next Generation Philanthropy Network for sustained interaction, collaboration and learning.

The dates for the next New York program are:

Module 1: July 28th– August 1st, 2010 Module II: October 21st – 24th, 2010

For more information go here for video testimony from philanthropists in the network who have been through the Next Generation Philanthropy program.

When God gives you an ash cloud, make bad tasting lemonade

I really, really wanted to be at the Global Philanthropy Forum Conference this week. But two small kids at home (young enough to miss me when I am gone and old enough to guilt me about travel), and an intensive travel schedule for the rest of April made this conference a no go. But luckily for you and I, there was an ash-belching volcano in Iceland that encouraged the Global Philanthropy Forum planners to offer a live stream of the conference. I'll be covering the Council of Foundations' annual conference in Denver next week, as well as the Association of Black Foundation Executives and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy pre-conferences. I'll be twittering about the conference (follow @tristaharris) and posting here, so check back often for updates. SPOILER ALERT: I'm pretty sure there will be postings about social justice philanthropy, payout rates, and there may even be an Al Gore sighting. Could this get anymore exciting?!

The world has lost a doer, who will step up?

"We African American Women seldom do just what we want to do, but always do what we have to do. I am grateful to have been in a time and place where I could be part of what was needed." - Dorothy Height

The world lost a civil rights icon today and I lost a fairy godmentor. Dorothy Height was the backbone of the civil rights movement and the only woman's voice that was included in the highest levels of leadership in the civil rights movement. She was an amazing organizer, mediator, and an unparalled fundraiser. It was under her leadership that the National Council of Negro Women purchased its new headquarters, the only Black owned building between the White House and the Capital.

Dorothy Height was my fairy godmentor because she took a seat at the table as a civil rights activist. She faced both racism and sexism but managed to achieve great things despite the many barriers that she faced. She was also was able to leverage her relationships with foundations and donors to bring financial resources to the movement.

She was a doer in the best sense of the word. Many of us get stuck in planning and thinking and never move to the action step. Even at 98 Ms. Height was still a doer, working for the next phase of the civil rights movement.

 I've heard many people say today that she has left big shoes to fill. That implies that there will be one person that must fill her place. Instead I think that she has carried all of us halfway up a mountain and it is our collective duty to finish that journey.

Fear of Philanthropy (Avert your Eyes)

Seth Godin has a great post about philanthropy and the sacrifice that is involved. From Seth: Peter Singer is famous for posing a stunningly difficult question, paraphrased as, "If you are walking by a pond and you see a child drowning, do you save her? What if it means ruining a very fancy pair of Italian shoes?" Okay, if we assume the answer is yes, then why not spend the cost of those shoes to save 20 kids who are starving to death across town or the world? There's really no difference. Or by, extension, invest in research or development that solves a problem forever... The issues are proximity and attention.

My take is that most people would instantly save the kid, but given the choice, probably wouldn't take the road by the pond again any time soon. We like to avoid these situations, because these situations make us uncomfortable.

Avert your eyes.

The reporter tells you, I'm going to show you a video of the meat you're going to eat for dinner being slaughtered. Avert your eyes. Or the fundraiser says I'm going to tell you about easily avoidable suffering in the developing world. Avert your eyes...

It boils down to a simple question, "how much is enough?" She knows that one iPod is all she needs, but she wonders how much philanthropy is enough?  And this is a key marketing question for anyone seeking donors.

Do I have to use up all my Italian shoes? How much is my share? ...and at some point, will we end up avoiding Singer's question altogether?

If you don't give anything to good causes, then you define enough as zero and you have no worries about achieving 'enough'. A sad but effective strategy.

If you give money to emergencies, friends with the guts to ask and the occasional feel good moment, you've also defined 'enough' in an easily achievable way. Your gift is a reaction to inputs.

What about people who make substantial, anonymous donations to long-term causes? How do they know what's enough? How do they decide that now it's okay to go out for a fancy dinner and not send the money to the worthy cause instead? If the solution isn't clear, if it's limitless, how do they avoid the temptation of avoiding the problem by doing nothing?

Marketers at good causes have a real challenge as they try to raise money from people who aren't billionaires. As they approach people with $10,000 or $100,000 in the bank, this fear of not seeing a limit is very real, and if it's not confronted, they will fail at both raising the money and generating satisfaction for the donor.

The Mormon Church says, "tithe". Loosely paraphrased, they say, "10% is a lot, and 10% is enough." This is actually very smart, because they've created a difficult but achievable standard, a way to be a member of good standing in their tribe.

Read the rest here.

What's your Motto?

In the last few weeks I have met with a number of fabulous people that I really admire and a common theme of those conversations has been that those people have a life motto. "Do Good Better" has been my motto for the last few years but I didn't realize that having a personal motto was a relatively common thing. I believe that having a motto is a grounding point that helps you become your aspirational self (uh huh, I got all Oprah on you, what do you think would happen after I've been on a staycation for a week?). Here are a few that I have recently heard:

Do or do not, there is no try- Yoda

It's only hubris if you fail-Julius Caesar

It's better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission

Go big or go home

All in

What's your motto?