CHANGE MATTERS

The Atlantic Philanthropies foundation launched its series Atlantic Reports with a first selection, “Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations,” because “funding advocacy too often is the philanthropic road not taken, yet it is a road most likely to lead to the kind of lasting change that philanthropy has long sought through other kinds of grants.”

Philanthropic giving has played an increasingly prominent role in reform efforts. “Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations” surveys the landscape of a growing number of funders who support advocacy, raises critical issues, and illuminates the challenges of supporting advocacy for social change. This Atlantic Reports piece on advocacy is an important tool to make change itself, particularly change in the thinking of the donor community.

This is not surprising because the new President and CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies is Gara LaMarche, an influential, intellectual ambassador for advocacy. He has a long history of activism. He was Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs for George Soro's Open Society Institute. He also was Associate Director of Human Rights Watch, the Director of the PEN American Center’s Freedom-To-Write Program (when Salmon Rushdie’s Satanic Verses was published), and had a long career with the American Civil Liberties Union in their National Office, where we met, and at the Texas and the New York ACLU affiliates. Under his auspices, Atlantic Philanthropies is sharing lessons from their work and that of their grantees and other foundations.

Advocacy is broader than just lobbying. For example, various forms of advocacy that a foundation can support include research of public policy issues and policy development, community organizing, coalition building, litigation, regulatory activity, mobilizing public opinion, mass campaigns and more. Foundations have unique opportunities in that they can also convene grantees, constituents, and other stakeholders to explain why advocacy is important and to directly address social, economic and political conditions which bar access to participation in our democratic society.

When our federal government is dismantling its already inadequate safety net for children, the elderly and the poor, the willingness of charitable foundations to support the needs of those championing a cause is crucial. One bright example: OMB Watch helped generate 120,000 comments in opposition to a certain proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulation. While the EPA received very few comments in support of the regulation, but implemented it anyway, the effort helped build a movement and led to further action. “Twelve states ended up suing the EPA,” according to Gary Bass, Founder and Executive Director of OMB Watch.

A truly democratic society roiled by social and economic change will include provocative, even contentious voices of activists, policymakers, researchers, journalists, politicians and others. One of the tougher mechanisms of change for foundations to support is criticism. As W. E. B. Dubois said: “Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched – criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led – this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society.”[1] For example, the NAACP has strong disagreements with the Bush Administration over racial justice and equality issues, but, as Chairman Julian Bond has said about the organization, “We are non-partisan, but that doesn’t mean we’re non-critical. We don’t oppose political parties; we never have. We oppose wrongful policies.”

Atlantic Reports may give foundations a new vocabulary. Philanthropic organizations have a responsibility to ask the right questions before investing in advocacy. They should also be open-minded about the best path to change in line with their individual missions. By unleashing activists’ potential, foundations can unleash their own! In that regard, Atlantic Reports is an important addition to the literature of advocacy.
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[1] W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)

LEADERSHIP

We left the annual NAACP convention last week encouraged that its young president-elect can successfully bring the nation's oldest civil rights organization into a new century. Thirty-five year old Benjamin Todd Jealous* will become the youngest president in the history of the NAACP when he takes office in September.

As I sat with the great leaders of the organization and listened to Barack Obama, I was reminded of the Harry Truman line, “Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

To put Ben Jealous’ hiring in context, one needs to appreciate why the choice of CEO matters. Executives are in a position to have a significant impact on an organization's financial and program performance. They largely drive the culture of an organization. The interests, priorities and personalities of those who lead such a group are important not only for the members of the organization, but for the community it serves and the world beyond that community.

CEOs should be visionary. Mr. Jealous indicated that the most pressing issues for him include the country's incarceration rate, particularly of African American men and boys, which far outpaces the rest of the world. Less than 5 percent of the world's people live in the United States, yet the nation has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. He also spoke about segregated schools, employment discrimination and inner-city violence.

“To be successful as a nonprofit CEO, you must be able to effectively navigate oftentimes challenging waters,” said Pier Rogers, director of The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management, which hosted BootCamp 2008 for new nonprofit leaders last June 11-13 -- an intensive, three-day training program designed to arm new executives with the resources, tools, and contacts to make the first few years in an organization flow more smoothly. Mr. Jealous has to learn about and quickly adapt to the new culture of an organization celebrating its 100th anniversary next year.

Like all new CEOs, he should employ strategies that are culturally sensitive, taking into account organizational infrastructure, program preferences (in this case advocacy over direct services), personal histories and changing public policies. A mutually supportive and respectful partnership with the board of directors should be the ultimate goal of the board and the executive officer in order to move the organization toward fulfilling its mission.

During the first few months of a new leader’s tenure listening is the most important activity. Mr. Jealous is already getting to know the Board and regional and branch leaders and beginning to earn their trust. He will have to learn an awful lot in a relatively short time about this large organization’s challenges, aspirations and expectations. He’ll need to achieve an understanding of the diversity and intensity of the needs of today’s civil rights movement. Organizational stakeholders’ broader expectations of performance accountability now accompany those for fiscal accountability. He’ll need to develop appropriate priorities and program guidelines congruent with those expectations and what he learns.

As the new CEO, he will have to build strong and enduring leadership teams within the organization and lay out a road map for the Board and staff to grow the organization, including the role of development and its relationship to public relations, marketing, and other revenue-generating activities. Finally, he must challenge the board and staff to think outside of their comfort zones, but accept their pace and not get too far out in front of them.

Attracting and retaining talent is an important factor in an organization’s success. Mr. Jealous has received a very positive reception in all quarters. Lots of people are lining up to give him advice and he appears astute enough to listen.

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*At age 18, Ben Jealous began working for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as a community organizer in Harlem. His family boasts five generations of NAACP membership. He now is the president of the Rosenberg Foundation, a CA grant-making organization that provides economic support to working people. He was Director of Amnesty International’s US Domestic Human Rights Program and was the Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the country’s largest group of black community newspapers in 38 states. He has also served as program director for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; as managing editor of a newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi; and as an AFL-CIO community organizer in Mississippi and New York. He graduated from Columbia and earned a Masters degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. His wife is a constitutional law professor. Photo by Jeffrey Macmillan.

SERVICE

Last night at the NAACP Awards Dinner, Hill Harper was the keynote speaker. Mr. Harper has an impressive biography. His father was an NAACP Branch officer in Iowa for 30 years. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown, cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds a master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government. Barack Obama was a classmate. His two bestselling books are “Letters to a Young Brother” and now “Letters to a Young Sister.” He owns two restaurants and a few businesses. Somehow he finds time to be in films and star in the CSI-NY television series. Plus, he was voted one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive – and he was seated beside me!

Honestly, how can one person be so blessed?

Hill Harper’s message is all about becoming your best self. Part of becoming your best self is to be of service. He says, “Being of service is … not just about other people, it’s also about you. …whenever I serve, I’ve always wound up getting even more out of the experience than the person or people who I help do. Because by giving, you wind up being the receiver of the other person’s happiness.”

He truly believes service to others brings one great joy. In his mind’s eye, being of service is a key element in fulfilling our goals and dreams, which is why he knows he can “achieve anything” he chooses.

There are hard costs involved in not helping others. The Century Foundation has re-released its report on “How Neglecting Poverty Costs All Americans” that underscores the harm done by not serving the fragile among us. According to the report, between 2000 and 2006, the number of Americans in poverty increased by 4.9 million – from 11.3 percent of the population in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2006. As a matter of fact, today more than one in six children and one in eight Americans is living in poverty. No new policies have been enacted to help improve prospects for low-income households. Federal and state governments, hit with budget deficits, have been cutting back some existing programs. We pay for this neglect in numerous ways.

Today Hill Harper is going to Cook County Jail to share his uplifting message with 50 young inmates. Imagine the affect he may be having on other peoples’ lives as I write this and you read this. Last night was truly an inspiring evening for me, feeding my soul. I would like to know what motivates you. “Why do you do that thing you do?” Let me know if I have permission to share your message with others in a future blog: www.katmiller1000@aol.com.

McCAIN - DIVERSIFY YOUR SOURCES

John McCain spoke to the NAACP yesterday morning, making his case to a respectful but skeptical crowd appreciative of the simple fact he showed up - something other GOP presidential nominees, like George W. Bush in 2004 and Bob Dole in 1996, failed to do. He praised the NAACP for its struggle for equal rights and dove head first into one of the organization’s hot issues, school vouchers. McCain was guaranteed to be interrupted with applause by quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. three times (even though he did not vote to make King’s birthday a national holiday).

After McCain’s speech, his staff brought out handheld microphones for a Town Hall-like question-and-answer session with the NAACP delegates and guests - a format he noticeably handles better than delivering speeches from a teleprompter. The audience was clearly impressed with the move. Questions from delegates touched upon the federal government's response to natural disasters, faith-based initiatives, judicial appointments and the No Child Left Behind Act. McCain exhibited the ability to stay on message, sometimes avoiding a direct answer, while “nice-ing” his questioner out of contention. For example:

Marjorie Moseley, a former Head Start teacher now working for a Columbus-based chapter of the Service Employees International Union and wearing an SEIU OBAMA T-shirt, said Head Start workers were struggling to afford housing, gas, food or health care for their children. "We cannot continue this way," she said.

McCain responded that the point of his education platform was to boost pay for "a great and outstanding teacher like you" and other educators who are passionate about their work. "I want to reward good teachers," said McCain. How could she argue with that?

News accounts from McCain’s "Straight Talk Express" bus after the speech report that McCain couldn't tell whether he had won over a single vote. "I came here to assure all Americans that, if I am their president, I will represent every American." As with his speech to the National Council of LaRaza earlier in the week, he is reaching out to audiences whose votes, while not in large numbers, might make the thin difference to put him over the top in a few key states.

He’s attempting to diversify his constituency just as non-profit organizations must do with their funding bases. Look at your income pie chart. If you lose your largest grant, what could that do to your organization? If your largest benefactor refuses to renew their gift, what would happen to your special project? If your fundraising event is a flop, how would it affect your constituency, program and staffing? What does your asset sheet tell you? Is your endowment fund large enough to help you weather a storm while you seek funding? Would a loss of investment income seriously hamper your program? What are your weakest links? This type of scrutiny should not be left for a rainy day or months from now when you revisit future budget planning or in the aftermath of an emergency.

Professional fundraisers, the income generators for non-profits, need time to cultivate sources of support and, thus, should be in the thick of strategic planning. Like McCain, fundraisers look for ways to pick up financial support that can make the difference in key areas of the organization.

Aside: McCain also had nice words about his opponent. He said Barack Obama "…has inspired a great many Americans, some of whom had wrongly believed that a political campaign could hold no purpose or meaning to them.” Whatever the outcome in November, he said, "Senator Obama has achieved a great thing - for himself and his country - and I thank him for it."

One thing I have in common with McCain -- Graeter’s black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream is my favorite, too!

OBAMA - CONTROLLING YOUR MESSAGE

News headlines of Barack Obama’s speech last night to the NAACP’s 99th annual convention were all about “Obama Tells NAACP Blacks Must Take Responsibility.” Responsibility was a small portion of a 23 minute presentation punctuated by thunderous applause and standing ovations. We were all curious as to how Obama would address the issue of personal responsibility that touched off Jesse Jackson Senior’s ire.

No one knows about responsibility better than an NAACP member. NAACP members’ forefathers and foremothers were responsible for the economic engine of the old South. Their forefathers and foremothers have been the backbone of the backbreaking work of modern America. They want the rights that go with responsibility.

Obama urged ALL parents, as well as government and corporations, to be more socially responsible, leading by example, doing more in our own lives and in our own communities. He also spoke about health care and education and employment and taxes and much more.

You can’t control the press – and in a free society no one should. Just as news organizations can pick and choose what they want to highlight or report, we in fundraising can carefully craft our messages for our captive audiences. We can control our messages. However, communications that are not coordinated between service providers, public education departments, management or the fundraising arm of the organization become less effective. At worst, we can shoot ourselves in the foot!

Marketing, public relations, communications of all types, including for some advertising, are integral parts of a Development Plan. Call me if you’d like to discuss yours – 847/227-7174.

HEART AND SOUL

It's a good thing to nourish your soul on a regular basis, whether hearing a great speaker or reading a good book.

Next week I will be attending the NAACP’s 99th Annual Convention in Cincinnati, OH. Chairman Julian Bond always delivers a thought-provoking address. Both presidential candidates are scheduled to speak. I will keep friends and colleagues apprised of what is feeding my soul with the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

As Edmund Wilson said, “No two people ever read the same book.” Debate alone about good books is enriching. Results of a Netscape opinion poll, which AOL called “The Ten Books To Read Before You Die,” was rather disappointing. Among them were “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” The Stand” by Stephen King, and two Dan Brown novels. I’ve read these books and enjoyed them, but has any one of them won a Pulitzer? Let me know what is on your summer reading list.