Leadership at Every Level
Date Published: July 15, 2010
Leadership at Every Level
Initiatives e-newsletter
July 2010
Philanthropic Leadership - An Oxymoron?
Take the Pledge?: How to Keep the Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge Percolating
High-Impact Corporate Signature Initiatives
Taking Up the Mantle: Women and Philanthropic Leadership
Recasting the Usual Suspects for Leadership Development
Learning to Lead: Taking Peer Learning to the Next Level
Cultivating Local Leadership
This is a topic that I’ve been wrestling with for a long time and especially since the party ended 18 months ago. I’m not talking about leadership of the philanthropic sector itself – as important as that is – but about leadership by philanthropists and social investors in service of a goal that usually takes lots of actors to achieve and lots more money than any one philanthropist has to offer. And about leadership in uncertain times when all we know for certain is that things have and will continue to change in a big way. In this context, how can individual, family, corporate, community or institutional donors take on truly effective leadership roles in navigating through the stress and using this as an opportunity to develop bold, new, non-intuitive solutions to critical problems? And what are those leadership roles? There are some who would argue that the presumption of foundation leadership is trollop and hubris and not the right role for philanthropy at all. I would counter that it is not only fitting, but essential, especially during these volatile – dare we way game changing – times. And that these times demand leadership in many guises and generated by individuals at the top, middle and sideways of their organizations and communities.
It’s a slam dunk to acknowledge the leadership role taken by the Gates Foundation in improving global health through higher vaccination rates. In our hometown, we can appreciate the pivotal role played by The Boston Foundation in growing the charter school movement in ways that didn’t always win them the applause of key stakeholders. But what about the quiet leadership role taken on by one family member of a TPI client to persuade her family – over time and through running many different experiments – that a strategy focused on the unpopular and distasteful plight of incarcerated mothers and their kids was worthwhile? Or the mid-level corporate philanthropy staff member who stuck her neck out to propose a radically different approach to solving the youth violence prevention problem in the headquarters city by collaborating with other companies, foundations and the government?
In this issue of Initiatives, we invite you to join us in looking at leadership through different perspectives in hopes of sparking new ideas or simply encouraging a few moments of reflection on the potential roles we could all be playing.
Ellen Remmer, President
The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc.
(back to top)
Take the Pledge?
How to Keep the Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge Percolating
Perhaps the most visible gesture of leadership in philanthropy since Ted Turner’s call to arms in the 90’s, the Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge has certainly raised the level of dialog around philanthropy. But will it work? We actually think that the billionaires will sign up…but that it may take some time and effort.
Many were quick to point out that the amount of giving is irrelevant without good strategy. Of course that’s patently true, although we at TPI are big believers that donors can and usually do move along the curve of philanthropic growth towards increasingly effective strategies and great impact. Inspiring them to jump in the pool and actually get seriously engaged in their giving is the precursor. Once they are engaged, strategy follows, usually after a series of experiments and learning from success, failure and a smart circle of social entrepreneurs, peers, staff and advisors. Witness our friends Bill & Melinda Gates or Warren Buffett. Not much strategy at the start. Looking pretty good right now.
At TPI, we really like the leadership cornerstones upon which the Giving Pledge has been built. We like how it is peer-based – in fact, this model of donor leaders is essential. We like its aspirational qualities; let’s think big. We like how it seeks to stimulate the conversation about giving for those who clearly have more money than they can spend and probably than they want to give to their kids. And so we offer the following suggestions to build upon these three cornerstones:
-
Peers – what we call ‘donor leaders’ – need to stay visible, accessible and inspirational, without being judgmental of those who are still on the sidelines. Tell your stories – fears, warts, lessons learned and shining lights all. Invite peers to dinner, to travel, to learn – all in a safe, but inspiring space. The Giving Pledge will need to support donor leaders and learn from donor leaders to keep the momentum going.
-
Keep the aspirations high. The 50% challenge is a pretty big gulp for many, even though we understand that the organizers saw the 50% call as a palatable compromise from 90%. We would like to see some requirement of lifetime giving. (punting all the giving to a bequest can hardly be called deep engagement.) Donors in other countries whose tax structures and cultural norms are geared towards perpetuation of wealth through family businesses are even more likely to be stopped short by it. That’s ok. They will get used to it over time.
-
That is, if we keep the conversation cooking. The Giving Pledge will need to be proactive and creative about keeping the conversation going, visible and relevant. This will be a combination of strategy and opportunity. It might mean some high profile events; it certainly means active involvement of donor leaders. Regardless of the tactics used, it will certainly take careful and continued attention.
The Giving Pledge is out of the box. Let’s get it out into the world.
(back to top)
We continue to hear comments from private foundations and others that are dismissive of corporate philanthropy as “philanthropy lite”. These observers feel corporate philanthropic efforts are increasingly driven by marketing and image-building goals, and fall short in achieving lasting social impact.
We are happy to report that TPI’s experience has been different. We have had the good fortune to know and work with many companies over the years whose leaders genuinely care about the double bottom line – social impact as well as enhanced reputation for the company – and many are using Signature Initiatives to achieve these goals.
We define "high-impact signature initiatives" as philanthropic strategies that:
· Address a clearly defined social goal;
· Enable the company to play an important leadership role within a distinctive niche; and
· Leverage financial and other corporate resources in creative ways that maximize impact and visibility.
A high-impact signature initiative usually goes beyond a strategic partnership with a single organization, a signature sponsorship of an event or program, or a cause-related marketing effort – although strategic partnerships, signature sponsorships, and cause marketing can all be components of a well-designed signature initiative.
Our work with signature initiatives started twenty years ago when we brought rhyme and reason to the individual efforts of Melville Corporation’s portfolio companies including CVS Pharmacy, Marshalls and Kay-Bee Toys. Since then, we have worked with a wide range of companies. More recently, Walt Disney Company turned to TPI to promote creativity in learning through what became the Disney Learning Partnership, and Boston Scientific Foundation turned to us to shape their Health Disparities Initiative that enables community health centers to undertake innovative patient self-management approaches targeting homeless patients and migrant farm workers.
In TPI’s experience, there is no “typical” planning process for creating a high-impact signature initiative. In an ideal world, the steps include internal discovery, external research, creative exploration, a deep dive into the substance, and development of the strategy and implementation plan. But the process is rarely linear and straightforward. Indeed, the best initiatives can come out of a planning process that is highly creative, iterative, and messy.
Moreover, it’s rare for a company to go through a planning process and come out with a fully developed signature initiative ready for launch on Day 1. Companies are more likely to launch a core initiative that evolves and expands over time.
While the specifics of the resulting strategy flow from the signature initiative goal combined with the company’s unique “DNA” – and thus are unique to every situation – some of the elements may include:
· A grants initiative, with organizations often identified through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, and other types of strategic partners. For example, if a signature initiative is national in scope, it may consist of several grants to support efforts in targeted cities or regions, along with one or more national partners that have a broader reach.
· Leveraging strategies that engage corporate resources beyond cash grants (e.g., employee volunteers, in-kind donations, corporate communications)
· A branding and communications strategy to bring visibility and build awareness among key stakeholders, and in some cases among the general public
· An evaluation strategy
· Other components that will be specific to the initiative and how the company can achieve greater social impact
There is no shortage of challenges facing our communities, our country, and our world. We at TPI firmly believe that corporations have the capability and responsibility to lead and to move the needle on some of these issues. There is a place for responsive grantmaking and other philanthropic efforts that give back to the community and support effective nonprofit organizations – but companies can do so much more. For companies that can and will step up to the plate, what is the social issue that makes sense for them to take on, and how can they best leverage resources and exercise leadership to achieve social impact? We believe this is the challenge and the opportunity for the next generation of corporate philanthropy leadership.
(back to top)
Women will in large part shape the future of philanthropy. Women are increasingly controlling the world’s wealth—in this country, they control over eighty percent of consumer spending, and the IRS reports that nearly half of the nation’s top wealth holders are now women. Thirty percent of working wives out-earn their spouses—double the rate of twenty years ago. More women are becoming corporate leaders, and research has shown that women business owners are more likely to volunteer and encourage their employees to volunteer than are their male counterparts. More women than ever are leading major civic organizations, including large foundations. The Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University has conducted several studies that have concluded that women are more philanthropic than men—single women being the most generous, followed by married couples, and then single men. And research conducted for Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund showed that women are increasingly the primary influencer in a household’s charitable giving decisions. Finally, women still outlive men by over five years and so, by virtue of pure demographics, will control an enormous amount of the massive intergenerational transfer of wealth that is taking place. While the global picture lags the U.S. situation, the status of women is strengthening in many places around the world.
While it is somewhat politically incorrect to say so, we do believe that there are some gender differences in philanthropic motivation and practice. Let’s call it the 80-20 rule, as there are always exceptions. But generally, women like to affiliate more with others in their giving, women are drawn to causes focused on the less advantaged and with global impact, and women tend towards inclusive or “transformational” leadership. Transformational leaders serve as role models, mentor and empower others, and encourage innovation even when the organization they lead is already successful.
So, if women are in this position, how will or might they take up the mantle of leadership? And what are the implications for our communities and the world?
Most important, we believe, is for women to recognize that they have this opportunity and be inspired to seize it with gusto and a profound sense of responsibility. Movements like the Women Moving Millions campaign, sponsored by the Women's Funding Network, which has raised over $175 million from over 100 donors in support of women and girls are exactly what we need. Groups like Rachel's Network, a "good ol' girls network" for women committed to environmental stewardship in their giving, play a vital role. And we need more - more for aspiring female philanthropists, for women who suddenly come into wealth through widowhood, for women who are in corporate positions or who have retired but bring corporate expertise and connections, for the emerging group of women philanthropists. Movements, resources, inspiration, networks and leadership advice that help women donors use their unique gifts to tackle society's biggest challenges and transform their own lives in the process.
(back to top)
The election of Barack Obama clearly caused a shift in how we think about who our leaders can be. But while the election of a man of color as President of the U.S. gave hope to many, it did little to change the trajectories of most young people growing up in poverty. A mind boggling number of young African American men still land in jail and the circumstances of someone's birth continue to be a huge determinant of his or her life prospects.
How can philanthropy impact these realities? One way is to provide direct support to young people who demonstrate leadership potential. The College Success Program (CSP), one of several college access and success programs designed by TPI on behalf of our donor clients, seeks to do just that. It provides a variety of supports to selected graduates of two NYC high schools - one in Harlem and one on the Upper West Side. Recipients are selected based on a number of factors, including academic success and leadership skills. Many come from low-income households and are the first in their families to attend college. CSP students receive monthly stipends for living expenses not covered by financial aid, book money, a laptop computer, and money to travel home for the holidays. Each student is also paired with an advisor who helps with individual challenges and provides ongoing guidance. And the program subsidizes summer internships at non-profit organizations to help our students make the kinds of connections that traditionally help more privileged young people enter the professional world.
Today Gregory Herman is a member of the student government at the University of Vermont. Carmela Santos holds leadership positions in her sorority at Syracuse University. Brenda Goff (Skidmore ’12) is inspired by her internship at Montefiore Hospital to become a social worker and help low income children. Megan Ollivierre (Baruch ’12) is working as a Teen Leader at New Heights Youth. Asked what it means to be a leader, Megan replied, “I can’t just come in and tell the younger kids to listen to me. I have to act like I want them to act – to be a role model.”
Each of these young people has managed to beat the incredible odds against them, making it through high school and into college. But they still face huge challenges - academic, cultural, emotional – in getting through college and entering a professional world that is not traditionally inviting to low income people of color. The College Success Program demonstrates that a relatively small and direct investment can help to change the odds and help these young people realize their leadership potential.
(back to top)
Learning to Lead
Taking Peer Learning to the Next Level
No one can deny the power of peer learning. Who else can really understand the challenges that you face as well as peers? Who better to offer ideas and suggestions than someone who has done this before you or shares your experience? As paid advisors, we think that we have the smartest, freshest and most relevant suggestions to give you, based on our many years and breadth of experience. But we have often noticed that it is from peers that donors, executives and staff members are most eager to learn.
Self-organized peer learning - prevalent through the web - can be useful. However, it can also be sporadic, unfocused and, if you are on a list serve with many members, produce massive information overload. We believe that a far more helpful peer-based model is more structured, facilitated Cohort Learning. Participants in successful learning cohorts not only learn a great deal for themselves, but they contribute to each other, build community, practice leadership and add value to the field at large.
One of the first learning cohorts TPI supported was the Excellence in Family Philanthropy initiative, comprised of senior staff members from 20 community foundations. For nearly 3 years, this group came together not only to develop their own skills, knowledge and tools for working with family donors, but to develop a professional development curriculum and resource database for the community foundation field at large. Cohort participants then co-hosted and co-taught regional workshops for their peers with TPI as partner and facilitator. Members of that original group continue to provide a leadership role in their field by advocating for more learning for donor services staff.
TPI’s client, State Street Corporation, is supporting a cross-sectoral model of cohort learning. Their Youth Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative includes 3 working groups, each co-chaired by a private business or foundation and public representative. Each is focused on a different strategy to prevent the rising toll of youth violence in Boston’s toughest communities. The 3 groups have spent the last 8 months learning from each other and experts, building community and developing shared purpose. One group has already responded to an urgent funding gap posed by the financial crisis and raised $635,000 to augment the Boston summer jobs program with 423 additional jobs.
Today TPI is working with a number of other learning cohorts – including some community foundations interested in developing better international grantmaking systems and New England International Donors (NEID), a network of donors that seeks to enhance the quality and quantity of international philanthropy originating from New England. Our role within these groups varies, but can include: the catalyst to launch the group; primary facilitator of meetings, webinars and conference calls; research arm; secretariat; and fiscal agent.
Cohort learning has often been applied to grantee groups, but we believe this is a powerful model for the philanthropic community. Why? Learning cohorts provide opportunities for powerful applied learning. Individuals come to learn and act together over an extended time period, not just a single meeting or workshop. They build community and develop shared purpose. They participate as teachers, learners and coaches. And in the best cases, individual members learn to practice leadership within the group and the cohort actively provides leadership to the field.
(back to top)
There is a surge of interest in growing a culture of philanthropy, civic engagement and social investment around the world. As TPI reported in its Promoting Philanthropy: Global Challenges and Approaches, a new generation of practitioners, activists, and researchers are exploring strategies to grow philanthropy at home. These philanthropy promoters are leaders for change.
In 2008, TPI was privileged to meet Mario Valdivia, a Chilean businessman serving a fellowship at Harvard's Kennedy School, who decided that he wanted to do something about growing a culture of philanthropy in his home country. Mario teamed up with TPI and the Hauser Center to offer a seminar on strategic family philanthropy for Chile's wealthiest families. The seminar, far more successful than Mario ever imagined, became the springboard for a variety of efforts to promote philanthropy and spurred others to take on leadership roles.
TPI recently interviewed Mario about his motivations, his vision of success and his perspective about what it will take in Chile - and in other countries around the world - to build a philanthropic sector.
What inspired you to bring together these families for the first convening at Harvard?
It’s a long story. I was living in the US and working at the Kennedy School; one weekend one of my daughters and a friend decided to sell chocolate chip cookies in the neighborhood. I was happy about it because she was learning about work and money at a young age. This went on for several weeks and at the end they asked me to take them to a nonprofit – an animal shelter – where they could donate the money. I was shocked. This was not something people did in Chile. On the way home, I asked my daughter’s friend why she had wanted to donate the money. She couldn’t think of a reason. It seemed that the action was natural for her. A few weeks later I asked her parents about it and they told me that they had a small family foundation and had been making small contributions to nonprofits for years. I realized philanthropy was simply a part of US culture and I wondered why the same wasn’t true in Chile.
Chile is very family centered and has seen a lot of success in recent years, but we are not very philanthropic. I looked into the history of nonprofits in the US and realized that its beginnings were driven mostly by entrepreneurs of the late 19th and early 20th century, such as Carnegie and Rockefeller. I saw a parallel between those times and where Chile is now and thought a seminar might help to advance the field.
Understanding change can be gradual, has the initial gathering lead to any subsequent activities?
I didn’t have many expectations for the seminar, but in the end a lot of people showed up and I realized that the topic was important to them. I built upon this momentum and helped to organize a second event in Chile with Charlie Collier, Senior Philanthropic Advisor at Harvard and Senior Fellow at TPI. Charlie spoke at the Boston event, but people wanted to hear more of what he had to say about legacy and engaging families in philanthropy.
Some of the families in attendance at the events started their own foundations. Most participants didn’t have a foundation before the seminars. They were donating money, but not in any organized way. All of the families are at different stages and I’m working with a few of them and helping them get organized, find the right resources and make connections for those interested in initiating a formal process. There is also a membership organization composed of family businesses that decided, after the seminar in Boston, to take on the issue of family philanthropy too. They hired a manager and are trying to hold events a few times a year. I am supporting them and others, but a lot of the efforts that came out of the seminar have been through independent leadership.
What are your hopes for the future of philanthropy in Chile?
My hope is that enough families will react to this challenge and form foundations to the scale that Chile needs to become a model for others. I want the momentum that we have now to help propel us to promote change. I know that it will be difficult and will take a lot of time. The results will probably not even occur in my lifetime, but at least things have gotten started.
What challenges are facing Chile?
There are a number of challenges that philanthropy faces in Chile right now. For one, the nonprofit sector in the country is very underdeveloped. A lot of this has to do with the current laws. It can take up to 2 years to create a foundation and a tax exempt foundation must get presidential approval. There are also strict inheritance tax rules, which hamper the ability to donate money and most gifts are taxed. I’m working with others to change some of these laws, but it will take time. The good news is that there is now a broader group of leaders trying to make these changes and build philanthropy in Chile.
The other challenge is changing the giving culture of Chile. The culture of entrepreneurs in the country right now is focused on the need to create jobs. This needs to expand to include a desire to create a legacy. Legacy will help ensure long-term giving and a transfer of values to the next generation.
There are also some great foundations in Chile that were founded more than 50 years ago, but the challenge is for the current generation to replicate this. Individuals tend to donate money, corporations make donations throughout the country and Chileans are active volunteers, but I would like to see these actions taken on by even more people, especially families.
What advice do you have for donors or foundations who want to invest in growing local leaders?
Every situation is different. The US civic sector was a good source of inspiration for me but there are other models too. I think it’s important to realize that you don’t need to invent things if others have been successful doing something similar. My advice is to learn from others and then adapt as needed to your country’s own unique environment.
(back to top)