Blog #15 Who’s Greatness Is It Anyway?

“I have someone I would like you to meet. She is a great person, but is not yet engaged with our organization “– says to you your CEO.   In our line of business often we receive leads about people to engage with. It may come from our trustees, board members, from our supervisor, CEO, colleagues in the organization or from another donor. What typically follows next is the “first meeting” followed by our efforts to turn a person who knows little about our organization and is neither a supporter nor a believer to a supporter and believer who sees the great things our organization has to offer.

While we don’t typically think about this first meeting as an opportunity for different  wherewithal , we often try to leave a strong impression which would lead into a long and lasting (more personal) relationship between this new prospect and us and through us with our organization.

As you approach your first meeting with the individual you recently were referred to and contacted, a key question you should be asking yourself is: What is the focal point for this (first time) meeting? Or as I am asking you to look at in this 15^th blog: Who’s Greatness are you focusing on? Think it’s simple or know the answer ?! Keep reading to find out if the answers are indeed simple…

This is your opportunity to continue looking at fundraising through an unconventional pair of binoculars – yours.  I suggest that this frequent situation of meeting a new prospect and starting a journey of future fruitful cultivations will jumpstart the question: “Who’s Greatness Is It”?

Your goal in this meeting is (indeed) to achieve a great supporter and a believer for your organization.  And there is nothing wrong about using the word Great or feeling bad about your work. For most of us this means talking about the great or most appealing achievements of our organization. Our work is about passion and the greatness of what the organizations we work with do. Let’s not forget the Greater Good is about one of the greatest things life has to offer. And when we read about being created in the image of G-d – it is about the ability to do this Greater Good that makes us in G-d’s image.

We enjoy doing “this”; it is almost intuitive and free-flowing. For some it means talking about the things that brought us as individuals to the organization and the work we do. For others it is about (as I started describing above) talking about the great work of the organization. Both are good ways to introduce ourselves in a first time meeting with a prospect or a donor whom we meet for the first time as long as we let ourselves be … ourselves and include the person we meet for the first time in shaping the way the meeting shapes up to be. Could there be a third option where the greatness reveled and the one you are focused on has initially little to do with your organization or your work?! And if so, could it still include your experience and where your knowledge of the organization and its services are exceptionally important? Could there be such an option?

You are focused on trying to engage long term someone new. Plan to bridge a new-comer with the magnitude of an organization, its individuals and services of which greatness you know very very well. In fact if you take a minute and think about this (yes now!) there is such a discrepancy… You know so much about the organization you represent (partner A) And you are about to build a partnership between your organization and this new (wonderful new person – partner B) And yet, more frequent than not you know so little about the person you are about to build such a significant collaboration with.

How are you supposed to construct this donation-bridge without any significant knowledge and moreover how is this bridge supposed to last long term?! Aside to the initial discrepancy, do you already see some direction that I am pointing you to? Oh well – let’s go back and go through the three options I referred to in the opening of this blog.

Option One

Greatness of the Organization is where most people go when they meet with new people. Free talk or a constructed presentation, sharing stories, people who visit from the field, various methods etc.

However it is done, the main purpose here is to leave an impression that the organization we represent is doing a great job, worthwhile engaging with and supporting. While there is little wrong with this approach to the “first time meeting” consider that most of the information (to be honest) can be found on your organization’s website, YouTube and other media and often is relayed better. (hey – don’t take this personally: This is going to be on the person’s HD iPad viewed on his time  and pace …) Another thing you need to keep in mind, and you have to either trust me for doing this numerous times (yes I LOVE talking about how great is Federation, JDC, Riverview Towers etc) or accept this as my opinion… Once you are “into” broadcasting the greatness of your organization most of your capacity (both sides of your brain!) is dedicated to “doing” exactly that. While many of you are multi-talented, “receiving” while “transmitting” is a bit hard (Unless you think that you can be both a passionate “talker” articulating the greatness of your organization while being passionate listener receiving the greatness of your party in this first time meeting.)  This, I found out is especially hard!

Option Two

You could dedicate yourself to a more “small talk” style, giving the person you are meeting for the first time an opportunity to get acquainted with the fascinating and unusual individual that you  are and the amazing journey you had. The big plus in this approach is multi-folds; Existing or donors to be, see in this setting an opportunity to build relationship, they also see uniqueness in this approach because it feels more “friendly” “personal” and typically receives genuine appreciation. The down side embedded in this approach, while negligible, has to do with commitment towards the organization you represent. There is a long distance leading between “your story” to a financial or other commitment towards the organization you represent, thus it may become a lengthy process. PS – This one (option two) is likely the one I have used throughout my career often. It builds strong long term relationship with people and there is nothing wrong about this approach. (So you understand that I do not disregard nor mock any of the options…)

Option Three

You could dedicate yourself to learning as much as possible about the person you are meeting or donor you are meeting for the first time. What is great about what she does for the community (not necessarily your organization) and what s/he does that made him so successful in business. How come this person you are meeting is so xxxx wise?! You can dedicate the entire meeting to trying to reveal where is the “stash” of his/her wisdom hiding? In other words: If you needed to give an elevator pitch about this individual (you are just meeting with for the first time) what would you say? Why is she – so unique?

In this suggested option #3 you are going on a scavenger-hunt, finding all the pieces of the puzzle that make the greatness of this new person. AND – while doing this, since you already know so much about your organization, you could slowly, and very very carefully (most likely not during the first meeting) see how to construct (using your own skills) the bridge that should hold between the greatness of the individual you helped connect and the needs and greatness of the organization you have such a strong passion for.

In other words…This first meeting is mostly for you! You are already very strong maybe even brilliant in one area: Your organization, its work and the impact of the services and how these change the world/community/individuals. You understand how your organization is connected to the Greater Good. To my mind, the goal of this first time meeting is not for you to share how your organization does that. This is up to the person you are meeting to find out down the road. Allow her/him “space” to engage. Finding the places that make your organization great are good places to “engage”. For that to happen sometimes in the near future, you first need to level the playing field between two greatnesses where a bridge is supposed to be built. Your role is to help build this bridge. But you need, as the architect and engineer which your organization needs you to be, to see clearly and share the greatness of the NEW partner you are bringing in.

I am about to bring into a halt my effort to share with you the way you tap into the greatness of someone else in this first time meeting. This is about your greatness not mine. You go out and use it to highlight the greatness of others.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

steinerpgh@gmail.com

Tikun Olam – Opportunities – or Missed Opportunities

I have news for  you.  We need Tikun Olam (healing of the world) because of one main reason – the world is NOT perfect…in fact it is broken, cracked and needs a lot of healing.
To explain further, I see the world around us as a broken “vessel” (as I call the world, the life in it and the things around us), with more cracks than  neither you nor I can fix!

From my perspective, things are even more complicated — the imperfections in the world.  In fact, in most  cases I have no idea how to fix the “broken” things that require healing.  The imperfections I see: hunger, poor and suffering people, things that others deserve and don’t have, dreams others have and cannot achieve, sorrows and suffering — all of these and so much more – I have no idea how to fix them.  The world is not perfect and things are more complex than I can figure out ways to fix.  God (thank God!) gave me the sensitivity to see these imperfections but did NOT give me the ability to figure out ways out of all the miseries!  Even if I had a way to know all the answers … I don’t have the ability to implement all the solutions.  Beyond the wisdom of seeing solutions, I also need the capacity to implement programs.  I am not the Sharon Stern, Josh Donner, Sue Linzer, Aryeh Sherman and many others whom I have worked with who are the people in this world who are so good at doing things.  In fact, I have someone in my family “just like that”.  Thank God I am also married to her!

Before I spell out (for you) my approach to Tikun Olam, a possibly unconventional one (just as the title of the Blog), let’s stop for a minute and see what could be the alternative to my suggestion here on what can be Tikun Olam. Let’s try and demonstrate it through an example:

An organization pitches to prospective donors an area of need where they are asking for their support.  Their pitch is the following: “There are children in need in orphanages in Russia. We are an organization who has a track record of working in this field. Write us a check and we will do all the rest.  We know how, we will send you reports every X months to update you on what we are doing with your money, and you will be able to follow your dollars…etc.” (Naturally they say much more to donors on how they will work to help the children – I did not go into these details here.)

Coming back to the proposed approach to Tikun Olam, allow me to use a real-life example.  You may ask yourself what does this type of example mean?  A real-life example means that I am giving you a REAL example to demonstrate the concept of my work with Tikun Olam throughout the last two decades.

This is important to make clear as I want to make sure I do not preach, but share ideas and examples that you could try yourselves. I once needed to make a difference in the area of victims of terror; a complex area in many ways.  There are many reasons this area is complex (and I don’t only mean because terror has many treacherous faces!), but because it impacts individuals in so many diverse ways.

Making a difference and helping victims of terror requires an approach which is creative and helps victims of terror (VOT) in ways that gives each of them a feeling of “difference” in a very special way.  Think of impacting a needle in a haystack…without going too much into the details of the program or its needs, it was clear that a program like this requires an approach which is “different”.  Leaders to engage with those that have built-in diversity in their background, people who have seen ups and down, people who manage very diverse businesses, who have the sophistication of running international businesses but also street smarts, people who have the ability to make you feel like you’re with the best social-worker/psychologist you ever met. Once the Jewish Agency for Israel – director of the Victims of Terror Fund – Eli Carmeli and I met such a couple here in Pittsburgh, this approach to Tikun Olam was implemented.

How was it implemented?  Instead of coming up with a list of well researched and thought out solutions by our (top-notch) planning professionals, we met with the prospective donors, where we introduced the need, shared the difficulties and frankly said that we don’t (yet) have a clue how to make a difference.  The only thing we know is how to give the victims checks identical as those from social security, but if we want to develop a more diverse, personalized program that will address each
of the victims needs – we need to go together and “figure this out”.  The prospective donors agreed to travel and survey the area of need; meet victims of terror, visit with school children who have been impacted by terror and interview professionals who could shed light on this critical need.  This…while my role is to learn together with them, help sort all of this out and follow up on the many issues that are left open from every meeting we engage together in.

I am not sure if you are getting the gist of the picture:  As we move along and learn about the area of where Tikun Olam is necessary (helping victims of terror in this case), we also naturally build a significant body of relationship (are you seeing this?) versus coming from an organization (be that the Federation or any other organization) to prospective donors with an “approach” where we already believe we have many, if not all the answers.   Hard to build momentum or long-term relationships this way.

Tikun Olam is an opportunity to heal the world in more ways than meets the eye. If we recognize the greatness of opportunities that it embodies, if we recognize that the vessel in which we have a part is broken, that we have a significant role in fixing it and yet not in a simplistic way – only then Tikun Olam can become a meaningful part in our life as we engage others and therefore also turning Tikun Olam into being so meaningful for us.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

Donor Development

Through 16 years of experience I have developed a Donor Development process. Working with the potential philanthropist to develop a vision, objective, strategy and operating plan and even going so far as to identify organizations they can choose from to see their  vision become reality. All this is accomplished through this unique Donor Development process.

Every one of these projects and programs have made a unique difference around the world as well as in the local communities where the Philanthropists reside. This engaging philanthropic journey has made a substantial difference in the lives of these Philanthropists and their families.

The philanthropist who went through a Donor Development process, not only became successful at identifying  a giving opportunity that works and is unique
for them…..they came to feel a welcome ownership for their projects and have also become amazing ambassadors on behalf of the community causes their
Philanthropy now benefits.

For some of the donors as well as some of the organizations engaged in the Donor Development process this process turned to be a significant and positive change in the way they operated before.

You are welcome to take a listen ( http://www.youtube.com/improsteiner ) to some of the Philanthropists in their own words expressing the change in their lives and engagement with the causes they have created as it emerges through the donor development process and what all of this means to them.

Some of the videos posted are my reports from field-trips to different places around the world. Some other videos are reports from places around the world in which I have worked with Philanthropists as we discuss the state of their projects.

You are invited to join me on these journeys. I hope you enjoy the videos and that you can see the value of working with a partner to help you whether you are an individual or a corporation to find the charitable giving opportunity that resonates most with your desire to give in a unique and meaningful way to you.

To learn more about Donor Development and how it can make a difference for you please contact Michael Steiner at steinerpgh@gmail.com

Can Frugal Be Sexy?

I want to ask you something… but be honest (with yourself…) Am I right that there is something unbelievably appealing (if not sexy!) about people who GIVE? Isn’t it so admirable…..?! Now go the other way…. say they don’t… they can, but they DON’T.  Isn’t there something unappealing in this?!  OK, but if this is the case (and without additional background information…) how can we say that being frugal is SEXY or APPEALING?!

Questions about being “Frugal” are good questions. Especially since most of us in the non-for-profit world work as a result of moneys that are contributions, hence we should be cognizant and sensitive on how we spend these moneys.  But in the context of the appealing of giving… Is there anything less sexy than being frugal?

So while being sexy and being philanthropic may have something in common, where is the link between being frugal and being charitable?  Or is being frugal simply dreadful?!  Is spending a sin or is it the other way around?  Are you getting a migraine and have you lost your passion altogether?!  Wait – this is a discussion about philanthropy and not about something else.

Let’s see if we can move this (somewhat) complicated issue forward, by asking (yet) another question.  What if someone is charitable and frugal?  Can this work?  Well, in the last decade or so, we have seen a rise of a new generation of major donors who come with an idea of managing their philanthropy like a “business”.  While I don’t think that they are thinking in “frugal” terms the result is, in many ways, often managing (almost) every nickel and dime.  Running cash flows, managing budgets, projecting expenses, requesting approvals on every expense etc., often things that we did not need to do in the past!  Comparing this to what we used to do in the late 80’s and during the 90’s,  this certainly feels different in terms of working with donors.

A couple of questions on the above: (for purpose of clarification)

1. Q: As a result of this new style of work with donors, do donors give us less money either for expenses or for charitable activities?

A: Absolutely NO! Neither for the first nor for the second.

2. Q: So if this is the case, what is the big deal / big difference between this way of running with the ball (donor’s moneys) today than a decade or two ago?

A:  A HUGE difference! We spend the money more effectively and more business-like.  Frankly, and I often/almost every day say it to donors I work with, I spend the money as if it were my own money.  Learning frugality teaches us to run the business very, very carefully when it comes to spending money.

3. Q: Is this all?

A: No – Not at all! (more to come about changes in the Federation and inside culture).

This blog is focused on an area in donor development Steiner had a hard time not only in writing but many of us have a hard time in practicing: Managing and controlling spending (and whatnot) of other people’s money.  Bold statement…but lucky for Steiner, and lucky for the internal mechanisms that the Pittsburgh Federation has… he could learn.  And some of this is in this blog.

We are still left with the question of questions unanswered: Can we do philanthropy with a much tighter hand on spending and still be appealing?  Can frugal be sexy in philanthropy too?  Howard Rieger, who trained generations of us here in Pittsburgh would probably say: “Ask the donor”.  Would you be comfortable enough to ask your donor the following:  “Here is what I have put together for you. I am titling it as a draft. Is this appealing enough for you and me?”  “Should I continue to work on it?”  Hint : Do we have a choice ?!

For this blog, you (my readers) and I personally owe a big thank-you to Ron Lieber, a writer at the New York Times.  Ron published an article on August 20, 2010 titled: “How to be Frugal and Still be Asked on Dates”.  When I read this article, I finally had the guts to write this blog about a topic in which I found it hard to get myself to openly tackle.

I also need to make clear one more point on being frugal and sexy.  In the reality of working for a non-for-profit, “being frugal” to my mind has to do very much with the strength of one’s financial management.  A moment of honesty: before joining the Pittsburgh Federation, most of my experience had been in marketing, management and work with major donors.  Work that included the financial responsibility is something I had to acquire first at JDC (in Moscow, Russia) and later here at the Pittsburgh Federation.  In this area, I was especially privileged to work in the last 12 years with 3 individuals (Harvey, Milo and Tracy) who have taught and mentored me, instead of taking an approach of superiority in an area in which I knew so much less than I know now, both in finance and the management and responsibility of financial affairs. They have always had an approach of “open door”, and were always there to help and teach me how to do things better without making me feel bad.  Without even feeling that I had growing pains, they made me grow.  They are the most learned and team-player individuals I have ever worked with.  When I deal with helping donors manage their philanthropic endeavors, this is an important asset in which I can rely – the strong support system behind me that I can count on and know will help me face the financial challenges out there.  If this sounds to you as just a manifestation of “being nice” – check this fact out!

Much of this frugal/donor development/sexy was up until now nice and mostly easy.  Is it all a smooth ride?  Are there challenges along this ride of staying frugal and still appealing to our constituents.  ABSOLUTELY!  I could name a few… I could give you more than a few!!!

For one, part of what we do has to do with touching places never before touched, with excitement, with surprise etc. If you really think that this can be done by being constantly “frugal” …well… we need to have a talk :- )

Also, just for you…I am including the following example, one of many from when I managed to work things upside-down.  Frugal, schmugal… things just did not work out right for me and I managed to do the wrong thing.  See if you can figure out what you would do and what I did do!

I am traveling with two donors on a trip.  In that trip, which is accomplished in some very generous ways, we are going to a restaurant which is good yet a relatively expensive one.  Not high-end, but expensive.  You get the picture, or maybe not: $150 per person with wine. This dinner is scheduled towards the end of the trip (the last evening) and 3 professionals who were part of the planning & making of the overseas trip and thus were an important part of the trip are asking to join the dinner as a surprise to the donors, and as a way to say thank you and good bye to the donors who are leaving the next morning to go back to the US.

What do you do?  You ask the donors ahead of time for permission to have the extra guests?  By that you ruin the surprise… You table the tab on these 3 additional professionals (the Federation pays for them)?  To the donors you just upped the bill by about $450.  You take on the extra sum to the Federation?  You don’t allow them to join the dinner?

I am letting you debate this question before I tell you what I did and how this ended (badly…).

This blog is not so much about providing you with answers to a list of questions or situations (although it could be fun for you).  I would like you to see some of the issues we face.  And I would, more importantly, like you to see the options you have on how to approach and handle these same issues.

The key question to ask here is what is more important – isn’t it?  The damage from not inviting the 3 additional professionals?  The damage from surprising the donor with an extra cost?  The damage from taking the extra cost to the Federation?  What are you willing to “buy” as the minimal “damage”?  Maybe, when the discussion, which started with something nice such as surprise guests at the concluding dinner of an overseas trip with your major donors, you will “just” come to the conclusion that the entire problem is about COMMUNICATION!  That your best strategy is to approach the donors and share with them that 3 of the professionals are asking if they can join for dinner tonight and leave it up to the donors to decide.  Let go of the burden and allow the donors to have their say.  Their money – their call.  You want to pay?  Don’t ask and go ahead and pay.

Can you guess what I did?!  I am sure you can :- ))  I invited the guests without asking the donors… and was scrutinized afterwards since the donors felt compelled to pay for the additional guests as well but were surprised, and rightly so!

So what do you need, to not lose sight of your sex-appeal, and yet be in tune with the times of spending less…hence, being frugal?  Here are couple of suggestions from what I see in the field and things that work for me.

1. Work on having an excellent flow of learning opportunities from the financial team inside the organization you are part of.  If there is one lesson learned in this blog it’s about how essential it is for the output of an organization to build a learning work relationship between the development team and the financial team inside an organization.  Being frugal and strong means learning from the strengths of your financial team. 

2. Share, Share, Share.  You would be surprised how many times I have enjoyed the additional pair of eyes of someone else when not sure about expenses.  Different people see different things.  It does not necessarily have to be in your “chain of command”.  It can be from the team in number 1 above.  It can be someone else in the development team.  It can be someone from your organization, or often it is the donor that I consult with when I am not sure about something and seek her/his insight.  Your hesitation is an asset not a weakness.  You are seeing something…not missing something!

3. Surprises – In the good old days, surprises used to have a price tag attached to them.  The atmosphere was much more loose and there was not much of a problem with the spending that went along with the cost.  The marketplace of philanthropy is different, as is the appropriateness of “surprises” with the price tags that come with them.  If you feel like surprising a donor that has a price tag attached… FORGET IT! Trust me, I tried it enough times to tell you that it ends painfully no matter how amazing the surprise is.  Here is the advice though:  You have to funnel your surprises (the sexiness!) towards things that don’t have price tags attached to them, while having all the things that do have a price tag be pre-approved by your donors.

This has to be loud & clear: Expenses need to be pre-approved!!  Don’t surprise anyone!  And if I wanted to be rude about it, I would write that this is about being sexy, not about screw-ups.

4. Let the donor run the expenses and pay them directly.  We used to pay many of the expenses of the donors through the Federation and through projects.  Makes it hard to be efficient and hard to demonstrate it.  No one knows better than the donors themselves how to best be frugal with their own resources.  Why not let them run this by themselves.  We have been doing this more and more, which enables less friction and more control of our own doing.

5. Transparency is a famous word all over the place and when it comes to our work with donors, but it is also important in the work we do with their charitable work.  Let them see what you do, how you come up with your decision, say things next to them, and invite them as openly and as frequently as you can to be part of the process (scary?!), so that they can see that you indeed run their affairs in a frugal fashion.  This goes back to working like a business… they are your business partners (or investors) in many ways, and that requires them to see how you work, and how you come up with your decisions, but if you don’t feel comfortable in this environment… well… they will take their money elsewhere or seek to replace you.

6. Lastly – and I have already alluded to this — make the donor your teacher, your mentor.  Let your donor teach you what is the best, most efficient way to be frugal with their money and even … (Yes! You guessed it J)… how Sexy you need to be while being frugal with their money.  Sound “sick” ?!   Not really; really practical.

Where is being frugal an uphill battle (and a curse sometimes) and where is it a blessing and the best thing that happened?  I would dare to answer: if you go home and you also manage your home affairs this way… you’ve got your answer!  Or in other words (along the line of that famous expression): don’t do to others what you would not do to yourself.

And good luck in staying attractive in what you care for.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

steinerpgh@gmail.com

The GIVE (Part IV)

Our last blog on GIVE (yes!… all things do come to an end and conclude) will also include a couple of suggestions which I may have been shy about mentioning in previous blogs. This series of blogs is about giving you a choice within the world of what I titled GIVEs… the reasons people give.  Although many of the reasons here have been taken from the work with major donors, they do relate to any of us.  Simply check them out on yourself, or on any of the people you know and see if this is indeed the case.

Where do we begin the conclusion process?  How about with the 14^th GIVE. Our next GIVE is maybe the more puzzling of them all.  One of the donors I work with once answered me when asked why he is contributing to a certain organization “because as you know Michael, I cannot take the money with me up there” while pointing his finger towards the heavens above.  I am not sure if you can read into his answer, but this is what is called in the world of philanthropy Altruism.  Giving because one feels like giving, and not because of any other specific reason. There is nothing funny, strange or wrong about Altruism.  And yes… some of the more significant donors are altruistic.  They give because they want to give.  If you are reading this and feel like saying: there must be more or there is more, and I am sure that had I looked fully at the future I would have found more reasons… then good luck!  While you keep looking, allow me to move forward to the next GIVE and I will catch up with you later… see ya!

Our next GIVE has to do with Compassion.  But wait… don’t get confused. This is not about compassion towards something.  You are going the wrong way.  This is about the people (donors!) who are people who have a very large amount of compassion and want to express it through philanthropy.  NOW you’ve got it :- )  GREAT!  This GIVE is about the people who are the angels among us.  They are compassionate people and share their compassion while giving.  As I write, I know exactly who I am writing about and as you read, I know that you have in front of you people you know who are exactly like that.  Beautiful people who can only be described as one large quantity of kindness walking on our planet.  I have to mention someone here.  Sorry…  I cannot avoid this, although I don’t typically do this in my blogs.  I met her for the first time in the spring of 1999.  She was (I think…) the incoming Chair of the board of the Pittsburgh Federation.  I met with her for an hour.  We talked about the work she was involved in with African-American youth, with Partnership 2000 (in Misgav and Karmiel) and with JDC in Kishniev.  This was first of many meetings to follow with Karen.  I found myself weeping in that meeting.  Her amount of kindness was unlike anything I have seen before and I felt I was meeting an angel.  I have had the privilege of working with and witnessing how compassion makes Karen Shapira be one of the most memorable leaders and donors I have worked with.  I am sure she still makes a difference up there with the angels above.  And others who worked with Karen would likely agree that Karen’s GIVE was indeed the one of compassion.

Our next two GIVEs take us to somewhat practical places.  First is the Value for Money. There are many newer donors in philanthropy who make a difference.  They make a difference and “change the face of the land” in philanthropy in many ways; in how we run our organizations, in how they engage, in how they give and in many more ways. One additional way in which they have added value is looking at philanthropy as a “semi-business”.  They have taught us to look at philanthropy as “venture philanthropy”, and this view has become more and more popular.  Part of this approach is about engaging donors in running projects and enabling donors to feel that philanthropy is also a part of their daily  “business”.  This newly-shaped venture philanthropy provides certain donors with a feeling that philanthropy gives them great value for their money. They see philanthropy as a great investment where the return is as strong as in their other lines of business.  You have to be there in order to see it this way.  Since I have worked with more than one donor who saw things this way, I understand this way of thinking.  I am not saying that I see it this way… but I know what they are saying.  Take my advice… try and see it, don’t try and own it all.  This is not about selling you stocks in companies.  These “companies” are already owned by “others”… the donors.  All I am asking you is to read the paper which reports about the success of these companies!  Got it!?  There are no stocks that you need to buy… they are all owned by the donors J … be loose!

Next and almost last… something of very different nature from the things we talked about in spirit and in practice is our next GIVE.  A feeling of Authority is what this next GIVE is about.  Wait…I think I can guess what you are thinking of.  I want you to expand your perspective.  Look at this from where this can develop.  See this as running an enterprise.  The more you give the more you have an understanding of how things work, who the players are and how to achieve your goals.  The more the donor understands the process, the more the donor feels in authority of the results and of the resources. Authority is not all bad if we are willing to share it.  Ouch… am I stepping on anyone’s toes?!  I certainly know I am…  In any case, if you don’t mind sharing authority, this one is going to bring more donors to your pool.  Unless you already work in a place where to start with, the culture is that authority is part of what donors and leadership have and therefore you will likely progress with less pain!  I don’t know of many places like this.  I have spent the past 11+ years in such a place and therefore sharing authority is a no-brainer.  Naturally, your willingness to share authority does not mean you are going out tomorrow to promote it… this GIVE is slightly more complicated than that.  Your donors need to own it first.

We have reached a milestone. The 18^th of the Chai GIVE.  I have chosen to close the list with the basic and yet not the least of them.  Giving is so important to donors because it makes them Feel Good.  Very few things that we do, that combines both emotions and our intelligence give us so much satisfaction.  That other thing, if you’ll excuse me for not getting into a comparison, as adored as it is, has way less I.Q. in it.  The JOY of Philanthropy is how we end this list of 18 GIVEs. The 18 jewels in the crown of why people do so much good across the world.  The joy that it gives to them is second to none.  Watching them closely is what I have done for over 15 years in 3 countries on 3 continents.  I have heard them speak in at least three languages about this joy.  And the one thing that comes across is that they LOVE it.  Nothing can be compared to GIVING.  As I have written in one of the other blogs…I have spent more time with major donors than I have with professionals or with organizations. There are many downsides to this – no doubt about that, but I certainly know I can attest to two things: the joy that the people who give receive when the process is done right and consistently, and the abundance of reasons pertaining to why wealthy people give.

I hope that to some extent this serves as a framework for you.  What is missing is now up to you.  In using this, in further expanding this list, please know that I would love to hear back from you as to what you see missing so that the list can be expanded for all.

Please keep giving and help others GIVE.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

ujfddd@gmail.com

The GIVE (Part III)

Our third installment in the area of Donor Development on why donors GIVE takes us to a more emotional place this time.  As you will see in this installment, we are dealing with issues often associated with the soul, with emotions, and will require us to take a closer look at elements we typically don’t pay too much attention to.  You may need to put on your psychology hat or a pair of special glasses to look through – you will need them.

Our first GIVE is reminiscent of a major donor I have been working with.  Quiet, low-key, talking less and often last; this is how I would describe him.  In meetings, one needs to wait for the right time for him to speak… and yet – take him out in the field to meetings about his family philanthropy, and he becomes a very different person.  Something in his involvement in Philanthropy gets him to assume a very different Ego and Self Esteem.  Without sinking too deep and going too far into the psychology of ego and self esteem, I do want you to delve (a bit) into the notion that so many of us grow up with “issues” and differences in how our self esteem has evolved.  There is nothing wrong with embracing it — which impacts directly on how we see ourselves – hence, our ego. But here in the world of Healing the World, in the world of Philanthropy, we deal with a more clean slate.  Think about this further and please follow along with me a bit.  You are almost “born again” in Philanthropy, not carrying your pains and suffering… you can start all over again and can feel good about yourself.  And that, my friends, makes GIVING a very attractive business and makes this reason (Ego and Self Esteem) one of the most important reasons why people give.  Do you now see the connection between giving and “feeling good” in a different way?!  Do you now understand what this feeds into…?

I am going to leave you here with your thoughts on this GIVE. There is much more to be said on this, but there are also other reasons why donors GIVE and I want you to move forward with me. 

Moving onward to our next GIVE… which has to do with the one thing that we cannot acquire (or can we?): Our Quest for Immortality.   Reading this, depending on where you are in “life” you may smile and know that this has crossed your mind, one way or another.  For example: “How do I leave my mark?”  YES – this is also seeking immortality… what did you think leaving your “mark” meant?! :- ))  Once we start asking these kind of questions we are in this beautiful (and if I may say – legitimate) search.  And then we understand what motivates people who search for projects that will carry them (and others connected to them…such as their relatives) beyond the life that their physical ability cannot but their philanthropy can.

I am reminded of a donor to the Pittsburgh Federation who is an ongoing contributor to our annual campaign.  A good and wonderful person.  Solid guy.  One day, he showed up unannounced, and asked our CEO if there is a building that needs to be named.  He was looking for a building that he could put his family name on.  Nothing “funny” about this. He woke up one morning and realized  there is this “mortality thing” and for him it meant a building.  We have a few beautiful programs with his family name which do wonders.  And now with the building name, the mortality issue is resolved.

I want to pause for a minute here and make sure you are correctly reading our look into the insight of the psychology of giving.  This is about understanding what motivates people, like you and me, to give.  This is NOT about going to major donors and asking them if they want to kick up their self-esteem or if they are looking for some immortality.  I assume it is clear here that the ability to read through our own sensitivities does not mean starting to turn this into a small ‘talk” tomorrow. (Thank you!)

Getting back to the GIVEs… here is one more powerful GIVE.  Last night, I participated with two of the donors I work with in an international video conference taking place between their project from Moscow (the Russian Federation one) and Florida (the US one).  While only five minutes into the live video conference, I found myself crying.  I could not avoid it.  The content was so touching and meaningful that it simply hit places deep – deep inside of me.  Some time later, I noticed that the voices of the donors were sounding as if they could hardly speak and were with tears in their eyes.  Sitting in Moscow and seeing the major donors I am working with in Florida, I saw the profound power of Emotional Response which philanthropy has, which I have witnessed numerous times firsthand.  This is not something which, as demonstrated in this example, works only on donors.  It works on us professionals as well.  Years ago, one of the donors I work with shared with me and openly explained  that I would be surprised to hear how rare it is for him to find this kind of emotional response in other aspects of work and in — however it matters – life in general.  I was surprised.  I thought he was sharing something very painful with me.  But the truth is he was simply sharing with me a very important insight about the essential value of philanthropy –value I was too “young” to comprehend then.

I am still surprised as I continue to discover the profound impact of the Emotional Response philanthropy has on donors.  I do not think that most of us realize that it is unique to our work in philanthropy, but it is, and therefore makes our work special.  But wait… this is if you aim and design the work you do to include these kinds of emotional responses.  Take the time to think about this remark, otherwise the door I just opened for you will lead you to little or no results.  Some of my best friends think that there is no need for this…they would argue that this is an indulge.  Good luck to them and you make your choice.

And again onward we go to the next GIVE, as there is so much more to cover.  As we move forward in life, we often tend to recognize those to whom we feel obligated.  This is the case of the next GIVE.   In Memoriam is about recognizing and honoring those we want to honor.  Having attended quite a few ceremonies in memoriam, they tend to have a special effect which really minimizes the role of those who are recognizing and maximizes the role of those who have passed.  And most often I am impressed by the genuine care to leave a legacy through a philanthropic deed by those who act.  How we approach people who are here, to think of making a difference by leaving a legacy in memoriam of those who died, is where we can be very creative.  Not everyone is thinking about their…   Read this and yes, ask yourself the question I hope you are thinking.

I am going to end this third installment (of four) about GIVEs with two GIVEs that are “siblings”. I am going to introduce them together, although I would like you to be able to see them as independent – which they truly are.

The first of the siblings is Vested Interest in an Organization.  This is when a donor has an earnest interest in an organization.  What kind of interest, you could ask.  Well… it could be that the organization is his or her Alma Mater and therefore the donor is interested in seeing the university continue developing and enriching the next generation of students.  The interest could be that the organization medically treated a family member of the donor and the donor wants to make a difference in the lives of other future patients, so that other lives are also saved.  The interest could be that the donor knows someone who works in the organization and trusts that person.  And so on and so on.  I could show you how the word INTEREST can change shape and form or how it can range from effects that you feel are all-good to sometimes saying oh-well, but all in all, keep in mind this is about a donor making a difference in an organization and they have all the reason to make their choice as they see fit.  The question that you should ask yourself is if your organization is included in the list above… (Get over it and just do something about this…)

The sibling of the previous GIVE is Identifying with the Cause.  This is a straightforward GIVE.  I don’t have to go far to explain this one.  Take the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Changing the world in such a significant way.  Do you know in what way?! In giving children immunization shots!  Or the Oprah Winfrey Philanthropy, which is about… a girl’s leadership academy in Africa.  These and so many others have a specific philanthropic cause.  They have developed something which is theirs.  I have had the privilege to work with a few donors who have made a journey like this.  Developing an idea of their own and taking a philanthropic journey which then turns into their cause. Some donors love going this way.  This is a hard and unique way to go, but recently more and more donors are going this way.  It is often called “venture philanthropy” and it often attracts the younger generation of donors, although in my experience I have had the opportunity in Pittsburgh to work with both generations and see how it can fit both.  I have also seen how this works amazingly for the newer generations of donors in Russia, and this becomes their new way into philanthropy – but this for another blog.

What is so interesting in this Identifying with the Cause approach to philanthropy, which drives the philanthropic passion of some donors and feeds into their giving, is that in return for this specific cause (for making a difference!) becomes part of the “skin” of the donors.  The cause becomes the donor!  Or in other words, not only that the name Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft, but because of the work of Melinda Gates (who leads the foundation), so does Bill Gates develop into one in the same with global childhood immunization.  Think about this.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

The GIVE (Part II)

Should we do some counting (or maybe accountability?!)?  No, No, I am not taking you to the next GIVE.  This is not about accountability – not at all, at least – not at this point. I just want to make sure you know that we have already covered GIVEs previously in Blog #8 and are about to approach the next round of reasons to WHY donors GIVE. Reading this, you may feel that some of these GIVEs may already be part of you now as the reasons you yourself GIVE, these (reasons) may have been part of you for some time or some may have just evolved within you.  Don’t be troubled by how I use the concept of GIVE.  As I wrote in my previous blog (that I hope you read), I am not trying to be literal when using the term GIVE… this is NOT about giving… this is about you getting used to a concept: “The GIVE”.

Before we move on to the next GIVE allow me to share with you another example as I typically do in many of these blogs.  One of the donors I have been closely working with is a very methodological business person, focused, detailed and a whole list of words could describe how closed and often isolated this individual is.  In my work with this donor in their philanthropy, something very unreal happens: again and again over years of work, whenever engaged with their philanthropy, this donor turns warm, open and engaging, and recipients of their philanthropy are literally warmed by their spirit and kind soul, as if something deep within comes into the daylight through their philanthropy.  I am not going to add to this point; I think I am providing enough guidance here to provoke thought.  Lastly, on this point, I have seen this in more than one donor in order to make the case that philanthropy makes people shine… (PS: that may include you too).

Our next and fourth GIVE is quite different from things we touched in previous GIVEs. And “touch” is a word I would like you to keep in mind as I move forward to describe the next GIVE so that you get the utmost from it and again not get steered in the wrong direction.

Personal or Family Connection to the organization or cause is our #4 of GIVEs.  You could be reading this and say “Wait, is this about giving because a family member works in this organization?”  This certainly is an option, one of million, but not the one I am referring to.  The more obvious one is that an organization or a cause has “touched”… made a difference in the life of you or of someone else you know and that causes the GIVE.  Another beautiful option is that you have a family member who comes home and cannot stop talking about an organization (as in my case) and through that family member you become more and more familiar, engaged and literally “fall in love” for that organization and cause.  Do you now see this fourth GIVE?!  I am sure you do… this GIVE is what works so unbelievably well for… did you jump and say it?  Yep… the universities.  Without going into analyzing their fundraising strategy… when they call us every year, their graduate, to make sure they have their records of us right, whom they know will often feel connected to their Alma Mater and will have that personal link that they would like to connect to since they made a difference in your life.  Then it’s time for us to use #4 and GIVE so that they can change the lives of more students like they did ours. 

Our next GIVE takes us from the practicality of family connection, and the word family makes me smile – you will see why in a sentence or two, as we make a 180⁰ turn.  The next GIVE, to my mind, is one of the most phenomenal of them all.  If it was up to me, I would dedicate the whole blog to this one GIVE!  That is to say that I have seen this GIVE unfold so many times, in so many different ways, shapes and choice of words in donors that I have realized how significant and beautiful this GIVE is.

Now, I am going to do something unusual, which I have not done in previous GIVEs… caution you on the title of this next GIVE. The title of this GIVE is an effort on my behalf to bring together many similar GIVEs.  I am NOT saying that they are all the same, but for the purpose of this blog I am combining them under one heavenly roof.  GIVE #5 is GOD.

I could have made it “softer” for you and called it religious affiliation (or “religion”) as I do in my donor development training, and it certainly has to do with a religious belief. This so vastly popular GIVE is used by so many of us when we feel that we have a “calling”, a “drive”, heavenly inspiration and many, many more such titles… something that commands us to do a good deed.  One of the most inspiring donors at The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said to me, when I asked her how she got involved in a project which is one of the most successful philanthropic projects I have ever seen, that her late father told her in her dreams how important it is for him that she continues his legacy. 

I am quite aware that some of my colleagues may argue with me that I should, even based on the example I just gave, consider calling this GIVE “inspiration” or use other “terms”, and I will answer.  I have worked with enough donors to be able to claim to have developed the intuition to identify what it is that they are saying.  And while I am not claiming that “suddenly” everyone is a believer, religious or holy, I certainly do recognize the powerfulness of GOD in us as it pertains to giving.  Believe as much as you can, but I know… I have seen people GIVE joyfully, looking around and gazing upward when talking to me about the calling that drove them to it – and I am happy to share it with you.  So many donors call it “Calling” and I am not going to try and “package” it in any other way just because it may not sound popular.  It is what it is!  GOD encourages people to GIVE – and this (to my mind) is fantastic.

Our next in this series of GIVE takes us back by way of the Enterprise – “Beam me up Scottie!”  Remember why I started writing this series of GIVE blogs?  Because so much is written on the ASK – and so little on why people give.  Number 6 of the GIVEs is Because we are Asked!  There are many ways to look at and understand this GIVE.  Here is one way to view our number 6.  People are busy, so much on their minds, their plate, Facebook, email etc.  We are in the era where we start talking about the “too much noise in our life and how to get some space” (sounds familiar…) Too much multitasking going on, too many gadgets… you get the point I am sure!  And so since this is the story of this era – where is the place and space for “good causes”? How can they get uncovered with all the noise around?  It really requires a very unusual person, a one-of-a-kind to pursue a cause, often without a prior connection to the “future” donor.  The more typical way this will unfold is for the organization representing the cause to initiate a communication between you and me; otherwise we have so many other things on our mind and so on.  Nothing to do with the good-soul or good intentions we each have, just to do with the fact that unlike the iPhone or iPad– we can not operate endless Apps all at the same time :-)) we get distracted, we forget, and we also promised someone to do something else.  Or in other words: come and ask me so that you help me – help me help you because I want to and I just never get to it.

Moving onward and upward again and yes again into the heavens (but no – not into the heavens we already have been at before.)  This time we are visiting a place which is interesting by itself… the incredible and amazing brain we have. I know, you are asking, now what does the brain have to do with the GIVE?!

Let me get you there, if I may… we LOVE opportunities.  Number 7 of the GIVEs is Tax Benefits and other breaks and opportunities.  This one is about the structure of how our tax system is put together, but more importantly, how it keeps changing.  Oops, this is something I don’t know if you thought about.  Tax benefits you know about and as such some around the world question this as a “legitimate” giving reason.  Or in other words (as I have been asked when traveling outside the US): Are you giving because you care or because of the tax benefit?  I am not going to go into this argument (nonsense!) as I have not even once met or worked with one single donor who did not care and gave only because of tax benefits.  What is important to understand here is the beauty of the profession and especially around the work done by and with foundations (and if you live in Pittsburgh check out the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Foundation), because organizations that are foundations have opportunities such as tax benefits and tax breaks that we LOVE.    In other words… why spend more if you can spend less and at the same time you can make our world a better place.  And don’t we all like this concept… hence our smarts (brain!)

I am about to close this second in series of blogs about the GIVE, with a brief reminder. This is not about “them” (the donors).  It may sound at times as if it’s about them, but it is first and foremost about me and you, which leads me to the final note in this blog. Nothing here is meant for you to feel like it is “written in stone.”  Some of the 18 GIVEs (more to come in future blogs) will feel right, now; some may feel wrong, now.  Some you may now feel indifferent to and feelings towards these GIVEs may change as you move forward with your life and fundraising.

Think of giving (and asking) as pieces of a quilt.  Pieces which are each special and that throughout your lifetime you are connecting into something very, very special.  Think of that important quilt that you are creating and I would hope this blog encourages you to keep creating your own quilt and making it as beautiful as you are and as the causes you touch and that touch you.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

ujfddd@gmail.com

The GIVE (Part I)

The Giving Pledge, announced recently by some of the wealthiest families in America, where these individuals and families commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice, reminded me of a story I share in my Donor Development training session on “Why Do Major Donors Give”.

Some years ago when approaching a donor, I asked him to walk me through what he would want to see on the sign at the building he had funded for over 90% of its cost with a robust several million dollars of his own money.  He gave me (and I will never, ever forget) a stern look.  He turned red and his body language said everything but understanding.  He was annoyed, angry and I thought I was about to be kicked out of his office some 20 flights straight down!  Everything in my own body language (as in your reading eyes and forehead!) was saying: “What did I do wrong?”  The donor did not stay shy for too long and stepped in to explain.  Michael, he said… you don’t understand…I had a dream, and in the dream God told me to build this building for the community.  I am simply following what God told me to do in my dream.  I see no place, added the donor, for a sign with my name on the walls of this holy building!  This is the part where both your and my jaws fall to the floor!  I did not in my lifetime or years of work with donors, expect such a surprising answer.

Why am I telling you this introductory story in this first of several installments on The GIVE… trying to help us better understand why people give?  I am sharing this story because I wanted to surprise you – at least a bit.  I wanted to make the point that to my mind, there is always something surprising in the reasons why people give.  I have been working with donors for quite some time, you could say almost 20 years of give and take.  Most of it… with BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!  What makes this work especially beautiful are the reasons these individuals engage in philanthropy.  These reasons, or the GIVE as I call it, are as wild and as amazing as movies of Harrison Ford or James Cameron – or use your own example.  Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to give you more than handful or two of examples of these beautiful people and their reasons… the full-scale examples really belong to training sessions where we can talk in-depth about Giving.

Allow me to start in no particular order with the first of the GIVE:

We GIVE because there is a Giving Tradition.  This giving tradition is often related to our family.  Our parents gave, or as the first donor I met on the job as director of donor development for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said to me in August 1999: “My father used to give and I follow in his footsteps”.  She shared with me and with the then CEO/President of the Federation the riches in the footsteps she was following.  What was special in this meeting with this specific donor was to watch how enthralled she was when she spoke of the footsteps she said she “only” followed.  This tradition was indeed inspiring.  Many of us feel we have a giving tradition we follow and also try to pass on to our successors.  But the Giving Tradition as the “why” people give can also be the Giving Tradition at work.  Many companies in Pittsburgh have this “tradition” and I am sure this same tradition exists around the country.  The Giving Tradition has also become part of the culture of many of the leading companies around the world.  Not only that they contribute, but that they engage themselves in the giving in order to participate in making the world a better place.  The Giving Tradition is a contemporary idea as much as it is a part of something we follow from others of our own heritage.

Look at the Giving Tradition as a serious business, way beyond what most of us realize.  It starts with what we see and share at home but goes way beyond that.  For some of us it is a transitional phase where we still say “I do it because my ______ did it” but when that giving becomes so strongly embedded in us, then that ‘because’ may or may not continue to be strong in our reasoning and other rationales may come to shape and lead the way we articulate our GIVE.

It is time to move on… so onward the second in this list of why people give.  Number 2 in our list of GIVE, in short, is Pay Back or if you want… as in the original way I typically say it in my training: Repaying to the Community.  This is based on something which was said to me by yet another donor who is young and who explained to me in all seriousness that he feels and strongly believes that it is because of the community that his family was able to succeed.  He believes in it, and therefore – so do I!  He wants to make a difference in a way that feels like “paying back” and his way of paying back is charitable giving.  By the way, he also said that he believes that moneymaking as well as a charitable giving arm needs to be very similar to one and the other in almost every way.  A rather unique and phenomenally gifted donor I have had the pleasure of working with for over 5 years.  In fact – one of the most gifted I have worked with.  He shaped one of the most successful charitable international projects I have been involved with, which is presently operating, and yet he envisioned it within minutes, while it took us few years to put together.  This type of donor, many of us may or may not know, not only has the ability to sign checks – many of them, regardless of age and background, have a mind which I find often is the “other” explanation as to how these wealthy people made so much money.  Because they are brilliant, and that brilliancy can also do wonders in the arena of charitable giving, above and beyond the giving itself.

But, getting back to Pay Back (to the community), I have heard this expression many times, by young in soul and by young in age, by donors who shared with me the stories of how their parents were helped by others in Pittsburgh.  We make a mistake and judge the package by just the words “pay back”.  Major mistake!  Let’s go further and deeper into this one, so that I contribute something to your thinking process and not just provide you with “a GIVE list”.  The idea here is to enable an interaction between a feeling in oneself and “something”…  Let me help you a bit….

Think of any relationship you have been blessed with… family, at work, friendships… any.  A relationship where one day you develop a feeling and that strong feeling wakes you up and tells you: “Oh God, I have been so lucky – so blessed”, when that strong feeling in you is clearly identifiable in its direction, in other words….it is a person generating this feeling in you (versus just an emotion without a specific meaning… retailers are sometimes the other lucky person in this case!).  But when that strong feeling is more general where you just feel lucky and blessed, if it’s not so specific we often look around and say: “Thank You!” and we do something with this “Thank You!” so that it does not only stay within ourselves but becomes something tangible.  And although I simplified it, in a nutshell this is GIVE #2.  And if you are an organization (hint hint…) you want to be around when this feeling comes about in a major donor!  (Hint #2: read my Blog “To Be and How to Be – That is the Question” to be published in early 2011).

It’s time to move onward again… I find it hard to move on; I don’t know how you feel, but each of the GIVES feels so real that moving on feels so hard. One reason is that each of the GIVES is a real person… real donors, real people, like you, like me, real giving.  Number 3 used to be tough for me.  I first got acquainted with it (surprisingly?!) in Moscow, Russia in my office at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.  One of my coordinators of work with the local community came up with the idea in 1995 to put together a cultural club for Russian Jewish businessmen.  Have social lunches (there in Moscow in 1995!) and talk them into contributing to the local community.  The idea that local Russian businessmen who knew almost nothing about charity would contribute through Socializing sounded so strange to me, and to be honest I did not think it would work.  Credit goes to Lena who initiated this concept over 15 years ago – her idea still operates and is successful in Moscow and also is extremely successful all over the world.  Donors all over the world respond to socializing.  You can look at this GIVE rationale from various angles.  Here is something I would like to again contribute to your thinking. Think about teamwork.  Hmmm – we love doing things together – it does something to us.  We love being together and we love being with the people that we love being with.  The ego within us makes us do (among other things) some great deeds. The importance of socializing is not necessarily overstated, especially if it causes us to carry out some marvelous things as a result…

Donors I have met and worked with, and one specifically who I am still very fond of, a fascinating businessman with a banking empire both at his fingertips and in his brain (and who also knew by heart poems of great American, English, and Irish poets!) whose first sizable gift was $250,000 was due to his stated desire to be “part of a group”. 

Having the privilege to watch major donors closely has enabled me to understand the piece of the puzzle called Socializing as a GIVE.  I now understand that people who give because of this socializing seek a sense of belonging, of value, through the social element, which is something we all live and breathe day in and day out.  Think of Facebook and the role it plays in our life and you will understand socializing as a GIVE in a better way.  We all really want and need the socializing as part of “being”, even in philanthropy.

Lastly, which is where I am going to end this blog with 15 more GIVES to go (WOW!!!), I doubt if any of us give because of one GIVE only.  I think we have a Hungarian-Cube type of giving realization within us and we keep working with it as it evolves.  It is complex and can be displayed in many, many ways.  I do believe we keep picking up the GIVES all the time and that the factors change constantly.  We will talk about this in future blogs but meanwhile, think about the first 3 GIVES.  See how they feel for you and keep looking for the next round of GIVES in the next Donor Development Blog.

Yours,

Michael Steiner

From Spongebob to Bobbe Meisses

A few years ago, I was traveling with a representative of the JDC (The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) on field trip in Crimea Ukraine looking for the next site for a Hesed on behalf of a Pittsburgh family and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.  I had a plan to visit a local person to assess the need, one on one, through a home visit.  The gentleman I was visiting shared with me a story which took place towards the end of World War II.  Throughout his lifelong career, he was a professor of languages at the regional university, specializing in the German language.  One day, (he shared with me), he received an unusual call to the Dean’s office, who proceeded to show him a telegram ordering him to report immediately to Moscow at the headquarters of the Red Army.  Our Jewish Professor asked himself—as did I and as do you—what does philology have to do with the Red Army?!   When he reported to Moscow two days later, he was told that he was assigned to be under the command of Marshal Zhukuv, the head of the Red Army in Berlin. He was put on an army plane and flown to Berlin, while the war was still taking place.  When he personally reported to Marshal Zhukov, our Jewish Professor (who when I met with him for the first time in 2002 was a Jewish Home/JDC Hesed client) was told Marshal Zhukov wanted him to be his formal translator from German to Russian and vice versa in the surrendering negotiations with the Nazis.  His plan was that a Jewish translator would be the best way to thrust into the face of the Nazis that they had lost the war!

So there I was, sitting in this man’s home, swallowing every word of his unbelievable story and feeding him Grandma Goldie’s Mandelbrot from Pittsburgh which I had carried with me all this way and felt I should share with him.  He continued to share with me details about the negotiations with the Nazis and I continued to share with him the Mandelbrot which had been baked with so much love and had so many stories around it that Grandma Goldie had shared with me, one story weaved into another creating a quilt.

This story about the Jewish translator causes me to remember every detail of the home visit. The person I met, his attire, his smile, his beautiful second-to-none personality, everything about him and his home, even the scents at his home.

There is something about the story that he shared which makes it much more memorable for so long, and I believe that this is a key point to pay attention to.

Maybe one conclusion we can draw right here and now is that stories are an important part of our life because they act as magnets. They attract things such as sounds, images, and emotions, which turn “dry facts” into vivid and multi-dimensional ones, rich and engaging, and as we already noted, develop into a long-term memorable collection of information.

If you feel you need any proof that stories do sell, think of a sponge, and if you are an American a specific one: Spongebob Squarepants.  This one is nothing like a sponge; it’s almost greater than anything else in our understanding of what toys are.  It’s even bigger than Thomas the Tank. 🙂  In fact, I am almost sure that if I organized a quiz on this unbelievable phenomenon, which began in July 1999, most children (and adults!) would likely score more facts right about Pineapple Husk in Bikini Bottom than about the Congress and the Senate in Washington D.C.

I was not born in the US, so when I was preparing for the citizenship exam, I invested my time in learning about the House on the Hill, not the one in the central Pacific Ocean (I apologize to the child spirit in all of my readers…), and found material which helped me prepare…through stories!  Before we leave the world of children and children’s stories, I want to make note of the work of Sally Hogshead in her (fascinating!) book: “Fascinate”.  Sally delves broadly and in-depth into understanding how fascination works.  First, she walks us through the purposeful world of selling toys to children such as The Little Engine That Could, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Buzz Lightyear and many others.  Hogshead’s book is a great opportunity to truly understand how essential the role of stories is in the matrix of fascinating people.  I am allowing myself to use one small quote of this remarkable book which I found a must-read: “Stories, not facts, are more powerful messages than facts. They allow others to participate, and draw their own conclusion”.  A beautiful statement…read it more than once…

Allow me to add to the wise quote from Sally Hogshead’s book a suggestion that I would like you to consider.  A conclusion could be that your organization is most worthy of the donation you have already received, but a story you will share with the donor and with others about what the donation enabled will facilitate the participation of others with your organization.  And if you truly understand Hogshead’s wise approach, it’s this talent that would turn the participants—the ones who read the story—into your next significant donors.  And if this is all you take from this blog, this would be a good conclusion point.  But this blog about Spongebob and Bobbe Meisses is not done yet– the story is not over yet…

I did not yet touch on the topic of grandmother’s stories, or as the title of this blog calls them, Bobbe Meisses (Yiddish for “Grandmother’s Stories”, which could also be understood as “Fairy Tales”).  What are these Grandmother’s Stories/Bobbe Meisses? We typically think of such stories containing elements of morals & values, history, religion and sometimes things that have to do with feeling better, health, family background and whatnot.  In preparation for this blog, I asked my friend (and also a donor I work with), who is a librarian at our community Synagogue, to obtain for me the book “My Grandmother’s Stories: A Collection of Jewish Folk Tales” by Adele Geras, beautifully illustrated by Jael Jordan.  Reading the book while visiting my mother in Warsaw Poland, I found myself enjoying the book more than I ever expected.  Every grandma’s story in this book turned out to be a gem.  Every story felt as if it was told personally to me. I found myself laughing and smiling so very often throughout the book, and even hiding a few tears.  After all, they were “just” grandmother’s stories :-)) and the funny thing was that this was not even MY grandmother.  So maybe the power of well-told stories is that they make us feel as if they are told especially and personally to us, enabling us to remember them well.

And so Adele tells the Bobbe Meisse about the very poor Dvora and Chaim, who promised each other to save a penny right before the Sabbath so that at the end of a year’s time they can buy one cake and enjoy it.  What happens to them and what happens to the cake…you will have to find out for yourself when you get the book and read this beautiful story yourself!  Thank you, Adele Geras.

Why am I telling you so much about stories, so much Bobbe Meisses about….Bobbe Meisses?  WELL…all so that I can quote yet another donor I’ve work with for almost a decade.  He says it almost every time he and his wife (a brilliant marketing and media mogul) speak about the work they do with organizations like the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and other organizations both in Pittsburgh and overseas.  It’s all about stories!  Stories, Stories, Stories!!!

I have had the experience of working now for over 20 years with not-for-profits in 3 different countries, in more than 3 languages and in certainly a wide variety of cultures. Here is the punch-line conclusion (like it or not!):  If you want to raise money from donors, philanthropists, communities etc., you have to be a storyteller.

Tell the stories of those you serve, tell the story of those who serve your recipients, and keep searching for the best ways to tell your story.  Don’t just share facts, as they are the real Bobbe Meisses (the Fairy Tales) in the ears and eyes of your prospective donors.

Facts don’t last in the memory of those you want to make an impression with, they don’t engage and mostly they don’t affect the behavior you want to achieve.  I have to assume that in most cases financial support, or in other words donation to your organization, is the behavioral change you are looking for.  Stories on the other hand, do just that!   That is why I wrote this blog about stories and not only about Bobbe Meisses and Spongebob.  Get it?  Not sure?

Here is a short story to help you remember the punch-line…

Remember the story we started with about the Ukrainian Jewish professor who translated the surrendering terms between the Nazis and the Red Army?  Once the Americans heard about this, they decided that this was a “bloody good idea” and they brought in their own Jewish translator to facilitate the translation on behalf of General Dwight Eisenhower. And so our story ends with the two victorious army leaders, Marshal Zhukov and General Eisenhower, finalizing the terms of the end World War II with the two translators on both sides being Jewish.  Now this…this is a good and memorable story!

Yours,

Michael Steiner

The R Word

When making Pittsburgh the place to start my family’s life in America almost 11 years ago, I thought of the famous business mantra: Location, Location, Location.  The famous L word!   In the for-profit world, business gurus would swear that everything goes up or down depending upon this concept of location.

Getting back to the Steeler Nation…shortly after moving to Pittsburgh, my wife and I together with our two kids were invited to a neighbor’s home, who later became close and dear friends of our family.  During dinner, our new friend mentioned that she wanted to introduce us to “her” elephant.  Sure that I was losing something in translation, I did not give it too much thought.  Shortly after dinner we were introduced through a series of pictures and mementos, to the elephant the family had adopted through the Pittsburgh Zoo.

“Adopting” an elephant should be considered here as an understatement. We were introduced to one of the most special relationships, richly and well-thought through by the Pittsburgh Zoo. This family was embedded in this beautiful relationship with an elephant they had adopted through the local zoo; visiting, celebrating birthdays, taking care of, comforting in times of sickness, having parties and whatnot.  I want to admit that we joined one of these “take care” visits and saw firsthand how much this relationship really means both to the family, the team working at the zoo and to (as you would probably guess) the elephant too.

Just in case you have any doubts… I am as serious as can be about the intent, the performance and the relationship ingredient entrenched in the success of the Pittsburgh Zoo’s marketing and fundraising. I look to this example and I think that there is something here that we can learn about from them…

A few years after that occasion I became aware of the amazing philanthropic undertaking Oprah Winfrey started in South Africa by creating a “dream school” for girls.  I have seen various videos about the process of putting the school together, which is a leadership school for teenage girls.  Oprah may have had in mind to put together a Carnegie Mellon-level college for impoverished girls and started a journey of building a magical relationship; networking with fragments of families in vastly remote and distant villages in South Africa to reach young women, many of which had no hope left in their sick body and devastated soul.  Realizing that running a school, very much like her own TV show, requires a top-notch professional team behind the scenes, Oprah started to build (in Africa!) a professional team of educators, all directed to the masterful achievement called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.  Not only saving the lives of young women by giving them an academic and professional future they would have never been able to receive in their part of the world, but would most likely not be able to achieve elsewhere in the world.

There is more than one way of looking at Oprah’s amazing philanthropic achievement in South Africa– Conviction, Passion, Care and more.  None of these (to my mind) completely explains the success of putting together something which is as amazing as this school. Oprah’s achievement in my mind stands on her amazing ability to see through …

I am sure you noticed that I am leaving both of these stories incomplete, giving you an opportunity to either see it or argue it.  Get it or avoid it.  Maybe this is exactly the point in a relationship.  You either see it, or avoid it; you either get it or argue it all the way through.  I am certainly not writing this blog to preach about how you see or define what a relationship is.  What I am trying to do, using two of many examples I could give you and avoiding examples that I have been personally associated with, is to relay to you the incredible power of relationship in philanthropy.  I would like for you to view the power of relationship-based philanthropy in a slightly broader way than maybe you typically do.

Let’s accomplish this by using this blog to ask a few questions.  In your line of work in philanthropy, what role does relationship play? I know….many of us will answer that we build (you know foster, promote and all the other “nice words”) relationship with our supporters/donors, customers etc.  This is nice.  I like this answer.  But this is not good enough, not in this age and time when people adopt elephants and your work here is outshined by the lives that are being changed so beautifully in Africa! (I know…it may be hard for you to read this…don’t give up, keep reading!)

Let me take the question couple of steps further… who exactly is the relationship between?  On the one hand, inside your organization, is the answer clear or is it confusing?!  Is it one person?  You?  Or your CEO?   Is it coordinated among your team members?  Are you competing with each other in the relationship with your donors? (Oh My God – I am so surprised….)

In the relationship you are fostering, are you including those your organization supports…your recipients?  A good example is that the zoo who supports the elephant decided that the best way to build relationship is between the elephant and the family in Pittsburgh and not a relationship between the veterinarian who works at the zoo and the family. Think about this and what this means in your line of work and your organization.

Going back to relationship and what it stands for in your organization, if I asked if you are the same in relationship with your constituents as those of the Oprah’s Leadership Academy, would you say yes?  I bet your answer would most likely be no.  You are different and special because of your unique work, mission statement, your team and most likely first and foremost in your leadership and constituents.

I would like to add to the thought of the connection between your uniqueness and how you shape your relationship-based philanthropy with one final suggestion in this blog…if relationship means something that keeps your work and organization together.  Consider asking yourself and your team to harness your achievements in everything that you do to create a relationship mission statement. What makes you unique in your relationship?  Answer this question and create such a document. This document creatively created, reviewed, and periodically revisited by your team in this era of social networking is going to be your organization’s imprint of a relationship mission statement.

You know intuitively and practically how important relationship is to everything you do. You also know that it should not be scripted…one size does not fit all in a philanthropic relationship.  Before I bring this blog to its conclusion, allow me to close with a bit of caution.  Do you just want to read all about the amazing things other organizations have been able to achieve through the powerhouse of relationship-based philanthropy (and the methodology) that I have had the privilege to work with in the past 15 years?  The better option for you is to create your own extraordinary imprint in the amazing world of relationship-based philanthropy.  Know how to do it yourself?  AWESOME.  Don’t know?  There are enough of us who have been in this for some time, even though it is a relatively new methodology, who can and will guide you as you create your own imprint on it.

Whatever you decide to do, and however you go about challenging yourself in the pursuit of better relationship-based philanthropy, you will come out of this process with bigger ears without turning into an elephant!

Yours,

Michael Steiner