Archive for August, 2008

Celebrity Fundraisers

August 28, 2008

Many charities would like to inject some glamour or get some extra media attention for their fundraising event. Enter celebrities. For good or bad, they continue to headline the big events and be the most visible charity supporters.

Some celebrities (and, of course, non-celebrities) seem to regard charity fundraisers as nothing more than an excuse to hold a big party without all the guilt that inconveniently accompanies conspicuous consumption.  Others are clearly committed and genuine.

To paraphrase Hilary Clinton: are you in it for the celebrity? Or are you in it for the cause?

I’ve always thought it would be fun to combine the glitz of a celebrity event with a pared-down, work-a-day reality of most organizations in the sector.  So have people pay $500 a plate to eat hot dogs and potato chips while wearing black tie attire.  Maybe use a prom theme, with crepe paper decorations and a cheesy-fun theme like “I”ll stop the world and melt with you” for a nonprofit fighting global warming.  Have the nonprofit staff “spike” the punch instead of an open bar.

This kind of approach might work especially well if you’re targeting the two groups that Stephanie Sandler of the Giving Back Fund says are the most influenced by celebrity involvement: young people and sports fans.

Proceed Cautiously

Before giving you some resources to actually reach out to celebrities, I feel compelled to make sure you’ve considered carefully whether it’s the right thing for your organization.  I think there’s some danger in making a celebrity headliner the focus of your fundraising event.  It may draw some short-term attention but not much follow-up, from either the celebrity or the people who came to gawk at someone (semi-)famous. Maybe that’s fine, but just consider your long-term strategy to develop sustainable support and consider a celebrity fundraiser just one tactic.

I’m also always cautious of charitable causes being used to “greenwash” or otherwise gloss over problems of people and organizations.  I think I’ve told you how, when I wrote to him protesting his acceptance of campaign contributions from a company I found objectionable, my congressman pointed to the company’s charitable donations.  Ick.

If you’ve thought about it and you’re sure you want a celebrity presence at your next event, then I won’t stop you.  Read on for some resources on how to make it happen.

Resources

If you decide you want a celebrity to contribute to your cause in some way, here are some key tips from experts that I’ve heard repeated many places (Including the Chronicle discussion cited below).

  • You might want approach some “local” celebrities–cuz George Clooney has lots of offers, but the local DJ, columnist or news anchor, minor league team, artist or author may connect with your cause and be a far more active supporter. Check out this short piece from Fundraiser Insight for ideas on how to showcase local celebrities’ time and talent in your fundraisers.
  • Make it easy for them to get involved by being well-organized and having a plan.
  • Give them several levels of involvement to choose from.
  • Start small and develop a relationship before asking them to be the national face of your organization.
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropyjust hosted an online conversation with some celebrity-affiliated fundraisers and they gave great advice on how to approach celebrities to support your cause, and how to make the relationship successful on both sides.  You can find the transcript here.
  • One of the panelists in that Chronicle discussion is from www.looktothestars.org, which chronicles and celebrates the charitable involvement of celebrities.  This site is fantastically useful because it can help you search by cause, research what celebrities have supported in the past, and see other celebrities who support the same causes.
  • If you just want autographed memorabilia for an auction or thank-you gift to volunteers, try searching for a specific celebrity at www.fanmail.biz.  This site includes free access to known addresses that are useful for requesting autographs and other low-threshold items.  Fans seem to keep the addresses updated by providing dates and details of “successful asks.” The instructions give guidance on how to maximize your chances for success.

Thanks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Peter Panapeto for the idea for this post, which came from Peter Tweeting about the panel on Tuesday.  You can follow the Chronicle on Twitter by clicking http://twitter.com/Philanthropy

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Posted in Celebrity Philanthropy, Raising Money | 2 Comments »

Vote With Your Pocketbook

August 26, 2008

When it comes to endorsing corporate practices, they say we vote everyday with our pocketbooks.  I have often wished I knew who or what I was voting for.  Here’s a concrete, present-day resource for the socially-conscious consumer: it’s called alonovo:

“Think of the power of a large database that collects information about how corporations behave and then integrates that data directly into the shopping experience. When you are about to purchase a TV, shoes, socks or an IPOD you can not only consider the price and the quality of the product, but can easily see what kind of behavior we are “buying into”.

What alonovo does is combine the breadth of online giant Amazon.com with third-party research about the social responsibility of the companies offering those products.  Every item for sale on Amazon is accompanied by information about the company behind it, where available.  Using a 5-dot ranking system, you can see how the various companies stack up.

Your values, your rankings

If you register on the site, you can even personalize your values so that alonovo can better tell you which companies meet your criteria.  Categories where you can rank your values include social responsibility (like giving to charity) healthy environment, fair workplace, business ethics and customer focus (benefits to disadvantaged).

As I set my own values, I found that the amount the company gives to charity, for example, was far less important to me than whether they provide employee benefits. 

Pick a Beneficiary

alonovo also donates a portion of their proceeds from your purchase to a charity of your choice.

“Beyond helping to shape social, environmental and political practices of businesses, you are also directly helping non-profit organizations that need funding for their critical work. We, the alonovo.com community contribute between 50% and 100% of what we earn (based upon your purchases through alonovo.com) to your cause of choice.”

It’s a left-leaning list of charitable recipients, but not exclusively so.  I picked worldchanging.org, a charity that shows you how to incorporate green practices into every aspect of your life (your home, your city, your shopping, your stuff…)

How will this help?

If enough consumers start to “vote” for companies with high CSR ratings, then companies with low CSR ratings will start to change their practices.  But this “theory of change” depends on one thing: critical mass.  We, the masses, have to use the information, and prove that we use the information, in order for companies to make positive changes.  I’m planning to make alonovo my homebase for online shopping (instead of going right to Amazon.com).  I’m also hoping to learn about companies through alonovo and using the information to inform real-world purchases.

“When you purchase using alonovo.com, you are doing your part to send a clear message to businesses—we want blue skies, clean water, a fair and growing economy, intelligent use of our natural resources, safe and humane workplaces and sensible partnerships with local communities.”

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Membership Has Its Rewards: $1.5 Million Bucks!

August 25, 2008

“As many as 1/3 of the world’s estimated 300,000 child soldiers aged 4 to 17 serve involuntarily in the drug cartel and government armies of Southeast Asia. The lack of alternatives caused by the cycles of illiteracy, poverty and dependence upon growing drug crops perpetuates the exploitation of children as soldiers. Demobilizing these children is critical, but when the target region’s literacy rate is 1% and the two major employers are the drug lords and their army, the future is still bleak.”

Think a project to rescue, educate and provide farming skills and land to these kids deserves $1.5 million?

How about an online portal that allows students to indicate their personal characteristics and find scholarships for which they can apply –all at once, using a single, consolidated form? Would that deserve $1.5 million if it eliminated stories like this one?

“I work with a young woman, a gifted artist & excellent student, who was accepted to the college of her choice but was struggling to pay for it…The school failed to mention 3 available scholarships that she was uniquely qualified for & when she did discover them the deadlines had passed, the money was left unclaimed & reapplication was not an option as they were only for incoming freshmen.”

If you are an American Express card holder, you get to help decide where the company will distribute $2.5 million to support projects like these.  Just go to www.membersproject.com and log in using your online account usename and password.  You can browse by topic and choose to “nominate” as many projects as you wish before September 1.

How it works

They say “nominate” a project because it’s not voting, at least not yet.  Members are nominating projects for inclusion in the top 25, which will actually be chosen by an expert panel using ‘input’ from members. 

The expert panel, I will say, is impressive in its representation of well-informed philanthropy: Ed Skloot, formerly of Surdna Foundation and now at the Center for Strategic Philanthropy at Duke University; Vanessa Kirsch, of New Profit, Inc.; Jane Goodall, who needs no introduction; the leaders of Alvin Ailey and Harlem Children’s Zone; and, representing the youth factor, the founder of Free the Children and Oprah-approved role model Craig Kielburger.

The composition of panelists makes me predict that, despite allowing projects in five categories in any part of the world, the winning project will have a social enterprise bent and be focused on Africa.  I think that’s great.

The expert panel will select the top 25 projects, and starting September 9 the members will actually vote to narrow it down to the top 25 and then the top 5.  The top 5 projects receive different levels of funding from AmEx, from $1.5 million to $100,000.

The Catch

Here’s where I see the catch: if you submit a top idea, American Express matches your idea with the organization of its choosing to carry it out.  You can make suggestions for the implementing organization, but AmEx reserves the right to choose whoever they want.  And those people design the implementation plan. 

I certainly don’t mind AmEx exercising oversight, it’s the responsible thing to do.  But taking the project away from the originator and handing it to another organization? Ideas for social change are all about the execution.  As the winning project designer, to be shut out of that process would be enormously frustrating. I’m just saying.

Get Out the Vote!!

Here’s my other prediction for the Members Project: the winning project will be originated or sponsored or otherwise promoted heavily by folks with a strong social media presence.  Although AmEx may have a reputation as the credit card of the wealthy (and presumably Luddish*), I think there are plenty of members who are online.  Online channels like twitter, blogs, Digg, badges, Facebook groups, etc. could be powerful ways to “get out the vote” for your project.  Even non-cardmembers can help rally support through social media.

So find a project you would like to see implemented (and don’t mind not knowing who will implement it or how), and tell your network to spread the word. 

 

*the proper term here might be “Luddite-ish” but I thought “Luddish” more elegant.  Don’t you agree?

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What Book Got You Hooked?

August 18, 2008

I remember reading a series of books by Noel Streatfeild growing up.  I called them the “Shoes books.”  Each one was about a little British girl, or a few sisters, usually growing up poor but talented. Well, poor enough to have hand-me-down “frocks” but wealthy enough to have a nanny.  They find family, and comfort, and sometimes fame, in the performing arts.  I read them all: Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Theater Shoes, Movie Shoes. Man I wanted to be poor but talented with a British accent and a nanny. I was none of these things, so I kept reading.

You can enter your story about what book got you hooked on reading and then ”vote for the state to receive 50,000 new books for children in need” at the First Book web site.

Charity Begins at Home?

I voted for Arkansas.  Although my new home state of Illinois also has lots of children who need books, I feel confident there is also lots of funding focused on Illinois.  Rural areas like Arkansas historically don’t get a lot of attention. 

According to the National Center for Family Philanthropy report on rural philanthropy, “Current grantmaking behavior and trends are skewed heavily toward support for urban-based or urban-focused programs.” The places where wealth is created also see the greatest share when that wealth is redistributed through philanthropy. 

Even worse, in all geographies, relatively little of the charitable dollars given each year are earmarked for those in need.

The Least Among Us

According to the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, “Only 8 percent of households’ donated dollars were reported as contributions to help meet basic needs–providing food, shelter or other necessities. An additional estimated 23 percent of total giving from all sources went to programs specifically intended to help people of low income–either providing other direct benefits (such as medical treatment and scholarships) or through initiatives creating opportunity and empowerment (such as literacy and job training programs). “

Vote for the Underdogs!

Back at First Book, the voting results to date show there aren’t too many people out there giving the love to Arkansas: it was 44th in the voting this morning.

Here’s the current top ten.  Rally the troops!  Get those books for a state that needs them!

  1. Nebraska
  2. West Virginia
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Kentucky
  5. North Dakota
  6. Illinois
  7. Tennessee
  8. Vermont
  9. Florida
  10. California

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Posted in Giving Money, Giving Things | 2 Comments »

The Girl Effect

August 15, 2008

“When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.”

-Phil Borges, with foreword by Madeleine Albright, Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World [New York: Rizzoli, 2007], 13.

This reinvestment leads to community-wide benefits known as “The Girl Effect,” which is also the name of a new project aimed at getting a greater slice of the development pie directed to girls.  Investing in girls is, according to experts, a powerful way to leverage greater change for lifting communities out of poverty. 

I stumbled on this project via a YouTube video that explains The Girl Effect. 

According to their web site, “The Girl Effect is rooted in the work of the Nike Foundation, which has been joined by the NoVo Foundation in a shared mission to create opportunities for girls, and for the world.” (The NoVo Foundation is run by Jennifer Buffett, who also Co-Chairs the organization with her husband Peter Buffett, son of Warren.  Jennifer is also on the board of the Nike Foundation and other partners in The Girl Effect.  She’s clearly playing a strong leadership role in this effort. Love it.)

The web site for the Girl Effect is itself effective at building awareness and a feeling of urgency among readers. 

What’s less clear to me is what I can do now.  I can make you aware, and I can send money, but don’t you often feel frustrated of wanting to DO something more? 

In the short term, you can send all the girls you know to check out The Girl Effect and use its logos and graphics and wallpaper. Show them their power to change the world. 

Personally, in the short-term, I’m going to change my IM graphic to the logo below.  When I figure out the long-term, I’ll let you know. (Suggestions Welcome)

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Posted in Giving Money, Involving the Next Generation, corporate philanthropy | Leave a Comment »

Top 5 Celebrities Using their Fame for Good

August 9, 2008

I almost never forward stuff.  But Rich Krasney had brought to my attention the fabulous video “Where the Hell is Matt?” on YouTube and I was in love.  I actually forwarded the link to my friends and family and demanded they watch it, assuring them (and you): it’s safe for work viewing. I even made someone who worked for me come into my office and watch it, which I know is obnoxious and cruel because he can’t really tell me to buzz off, but I couldn’t help it.  It’s that great. 

So how excited was I to find that Matt Harding, the videogame programmer turned world-famous awkward dancer, is using his travels and his fame to raise money to buy laptops for children and then plans to go to Rwanda to teach them (thanks to Howard Lake for this tip-off). You can follow Matt at www.wherethehellismatt.com

In honor of Matt,  I’m compiling a list of the people who have done the most good for the world using the attention they received for other reasons. Being a philanthropic advisor, my list leans heavily toward those who inspire others to philanthropy, I acknowledge others may be accomplishing greater results with their direct action. This list is about leverage.

  1. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.  She used to be considered a crazy, possibly incestuous oddball.  He guest-starred on Jackass (I know because I watched that show.  Now you know too much about me).  They have now done more to bring attention to the global poverty and health issues, and the ongoing plight of New Orleans, than any government agency or nonprofit ever could.  People flock to their movies and they continually command the world stage, as much for their family and philanthropy as for their acting.  And their money is where their mouths are.  I won’t hear a single word against them.
  2. Bill Clinton. The Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting draws committed philanthropists and passionate activists. Everyone there makes a public commitment about what they are going to do to make the world better.  The next year, if they haven’t made good, they can’t come back.  Recent additions to the Clinton Foundation list of programs include CGI U, for bringing the next generation of social leaders together, and the Millenium Network, for young professionals.  Politics aside, he’s bringing together people who don’t just talk, they ACT.
  3. Bono.  I seem to recall various studies that show some embarrasing percentage of Americans can’t find South Africa, or even the continent of Africa, on a map.  Thanks to Bono and his (RED) campaign, and his collaborations with celebrity pals, the marketing power of some of the world’s largest companies is being used to tell the developed world about the problems of Africa.  I believe in the promise of (RED): that teenagers made aware today become active tomorrow.  Does buying stuff solve the world’s problems?  No.  People do.  But before people will act, you have to let them know about the problem.  Bono is a rock star. 
  4. Oprah Winfrey. There was a lot of whining among philanthropy professionals about how “The Big Give” made it look “too easy.”  I thought those folks completely missed the boat: the point is to make it look easy, because the point is to get people to think of themselves as philanthropists and to look for everyday opportunities to practice “random acts of kindness.”  If Oprah featured a regular philanthropy guru on her daily show (a Nate Berkus or a Dr. Phil of doing good), she’d be number one on this list. 
  5. Princes Will and Harry. I was too young to understand the Princess Diana thing.  But her sons move me and make me focus on the better half of the Jekyl and Heidi personality of “the people’s princess.”  I loved their charity concert last year, and Prince Harry in particular has carried on an enormous dedication to Sentebale, the charity he founded to build schools in Africa.  Check out the MSNBC story on his work here. Given the British obsession with the royals, I guarantee these young men are setting an example for their entire generation across the pond.

Honorable Mention: Jet Li.  I read an article recently where Jet Li, who has the title role in the just-released Mummy III, spent his interview talking about his philanthropy rather than his acting.  He was just more excited about the philanthropy.  A huge star with enormous range in Asia, he’s a major inspiration and has the potential to be a rallying point for Asian philanthropy.

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Visit Dairy Queen TODAY.

August 7, 2008

No Tivo built up in my new house yet, which means I am watching live TV (horrors).  Last night, during the fabulous Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice (thank you darling husband), I had to sit through the most horrible commercials ever.  All aimed at women, the target audience for Oxygen.  Some unwatchable birth control thing using cartoon versions of synchronized swimmers, promos for reality shows for Tori Spelling and Janice Dickenson, just garbage*.  Ah, but then there was the commercial for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Or was it a commercial for Dairy Queen?  After images of children with cleft palates, facial burns and leg braces are transformed to happy, healthy children (succinctly capturing the work of the CMN), the spot encouraged me to visit Dairy Queen today, August 7, where each blizzard sold will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. 

According to the site www.miracletreatday.com “Blizzard proceeds from participating North America locations will benefit your Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Proceeds are sale price minus cost of ingredients.” Other than that sentence, the web site seems badly broken. Instead, I typed “Dairy Queen” and my zip code into the Google maps function and found a location near me. 

I never need an excuse for ice cream, so I won’t accuse Dairy Queen of pushing ice cream as the solution to the world’s problems. And the Children’s Miracle Network is not a fraudulent organization so I’m not going to analyze their financials or look for evidence of whether they really changed these kids’ lives or whether someone else is doing it better.  For once, I don’t want to overthink this one. Instead, I’ll just encourage you to avoid the peanut butter cups in your blizzard.  I find the chocolate too plastic-y when it gets cold. Stick with Oreos, my friends.

*The only good commercials, I have to admit, were the ones from Swiffer where your broom and mop are courting you to “baby come back” after you switched to Swiffer.  I love the rose petals leading to the broom waiting in the hot tub.

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“I Thought of You Today”

August 5, 2008

With my family’s big move from Connecticut to Chicago in the last week, I’m having difficulty finding time to focus on philanthropy in my everyday life.  So when I received this email update from the 29-Day Giving Challenge, it was just the message I needed to hear. 

The giving suggestion of the week comes from fellow giver, Debra Doyle, who reminded us all today on the forum: sometimes it’s as simple as a thought. ”I find that a simple ‘I thought of you today,’ is a comforting message many people enjoy hearing,” said Debra. “So, I invite you to e-mail, send a card or make a phone call to someone today and just say those simple words. You will put a smile on their face and yours.”

What a great reminder that sometimes the simplest gifts are appreciated just as much as the grand gestures.

If you haven’t checked out the 29-Day Giving Challenge, I encourage you to do so.  You’ll find a whole community of lovely, like-minded people who aspire to infuse a love of humanity into their everyday life. Since my last post when I joined the challenge, the community has tripled from 250 to 770.  Become member #771.

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Men vs. Women: Motivations Part II

August 5, 2008

What a fascinating follow-up on my earlier post on the different genders having different motivations to give to charity:  according to researchers in the UK, men are more generous in the presence of women, particularly in the presence of women they find attractive. Signaling their suitability as a mate through generosity, hypothesize the researchers.  Maybe we’re more evolved than I thought.

What does this mean for charities trying to raise money?  Bring both the wife and husband along for the “ask”?  Hire pretty women to be major gift officers? 

And what does this mean for us as donors?  Men, how do you feel about these findings?  Do you fit the bill of a generous suitor?  Is this correlation without causation?  Share your thoughts.

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