Today we have a guest post from Keneta Anderson, a consultant with the Quixote Foundation. I have been so impressed with the foundation’s decision to spend down its assets in its efforts to create real and lasting social change. From Keneta:

Early this month, Quixote Foundation announced its intent to spend everything, using the entire endowment between now and 2017.  Quite a few people have asked why this small family foundation would decide “not to go on in perpetuity.”  The answer?  Quixote Foundation is working in perpetuity—but that’s different than staying in business forever.

The folks at Quixote Foundation see the next few years as a landmark chance to make the most of their particular foundation’s assets.  They’re convinced their greatest impact will come from spending everything over a short term.  In their view, infusing all the money now will be more catalytic than doling it out in smaller amounts over an indefinite period of time.

This strategy means giving up the exacting control foundations often want to have over programs and results. It also means releasing a certain amount of social power, and the prestige associated with having a foundation.  But it doesn’t mean giving up anything at all in terms of legacy.

For Quixote Foundation, the point is to be an effective change agent, even if that means not being a foundation anymore in the institutional sense. They call their choice “spending up” instead of spending out or down, because who they are as a foundation will be fulfilled, not diminished, by putting more money into action.

Quixote Foundation was started by “Stuart” Hanisch in 1997.  Stuart’s son Erik says his Dad “Set up the foundation so when he passed away I had complete freedom to do what I wanted with it.”  Despite the founder’s strong affinity for specific grantees, he trusted his son to move the foundation’s goals forward without bylaws constraining that work to a particular form.  This wasn’t by any means a lassez faire decision, it was a thoughtful choice made at a strategic time to place Erik in charge of generating results.

In turn, Erik sees spending up now—investing everything in pinnacle opportunities and trusted leaders—as a way to create “Something that’s going to have a life of its own beyond our directives; continuing the spirit of the people who have come before and are with us now, and who carry it into the future in a way we can’t even see or envision.”

Quixote is a “family” foundation after all. Unless parents want to land in the tabloids, they can’t dictate a child’s actions forever.  At some point they have to relinquish authority and trust the children to carry on in their stead.  For some foundations, that letting go might be as simple as funding leadership networks or general operating support.  In Quixote Foundation’s case, it means spending all the way up into progressive causes.

There is quiet power in foundations willing to know their goals, choose their opportunities, spend everything, and trust others to carry the work forward more dynamically and effectively than if they’d tried to remain in control.  Asked what his Dad would think about the decision, Erik mused, “He’d say ‘Wow.’ He’d be amazed. He would have had no idea we’d ever end up with the results we’ve had so far, and in this particular place…and he’d be proud.” That, for Quixote Foundation, is continuing in perpetuity.

Keneta Anderson is a strategic, brand and communications consultant who works with Quixote Foundation and other progressive corporate and foundation clients.  Hear more from Quixote Foundation by following QuixoteTilts on Twitter.

I tweeted from the EPIP pre-conference that Robby Rodriguez mentioned love in his remarks and I was pretty sure that that was the last time that I would hear that word at this conference. The universe has a wonderful way of proving me wrong.

Speakers on the racial justice panel taking about putting love into your work to achieve real results, Crystal Hayling at the ABFE lecture said “you only have one choice, love or fear”, and the dessert and the lunch plenary had a heart design on the plate.

I get it universe, you can’t have philanthropy without love. This is the last time I make broad generalizations about philanthropy (for today).

Crystal Hayling, the former president of the Blue Shield of California Foundation was the 2010 Association of Black Foundation Executives James Joseph Lecturer this year and is subsequently my newest Fairy Godmentor. Crystal started her remarks with the idea that foundation staff need to take risks. Not the little risks like letting a grantee turn in a report two weeks late and suddenly feeling like some sort of maverick grantmaker but real risks that are personal and dangerous. If you aren’t sometimes ticking off your friends and allies because you have decided to work on an unpopular issue or you have taken a job that people think is too risky you aren’t trying hard enough. She said “the policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.”

She is also on my fairy godmentor list because she had the nerve to quote Chris Rock’s mom at a philanthropy gathering. In regards to people who are asking you to play it safe, Chris Rock’s mom said “if they aren’t paying your bills and they can’t kick your ass, why do you care what they think?”

In philanthropy we are often too afraid to accept the risks that come with not playing it safe, but that is where the best in all of us comes out.

Conferences have a way of wearing you out and this Council on Foundations’ conference is no exception. Despite my pained feet and elevation-induced headache, I am overjoyed at the passion and commitment that I have seen from my peers to use philanthropy as a tool to strengthen communities.

EPIP hosted a star-studded panel on racial justice equity in the field (we can have stars in philanthropy). One of the panelists said ” we need to lift up racial justice, diversity is no longer sufficient.” I think that was a telling refrain because we have moved beyond the point were diversity is enough. True justice in our community isn’t about counting the heads around the table, it’s about making sure that members of our communities are getting equal results.

I’m in Denver for COF’s annual conference, as well as for some amazing pre-conferences that the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) and the Association of Black Foundation Executives(ABFE) are putting on. It’s cold in Denver (36 degrees last time I checked) but the conversation in the sessions is keeping my brain warm. EPIP started their conference today with great presentations from Robby Rodriguez from the Southwest Organizing Project and Cynthis Gibson from Cynthesis Consulting, who were talking about talent and workforce issues in the nonprofit sector.

When I started in the field, everyone was talking about the leadership gap and the coming crisis as baby boomers retired. “There is no one talented enough to take over for the boomers” people screamed from the rooftops. Ouch! As a gen xer it hurts to have comission reports saying what a loser you are and that you aren’t going to step up to the challenge of leading the sector. As we all know the mass exodus of baby boomer from the field didn’t happen by 2006 as predicted by earlier reports and it really isn’t happening now as nonprofit and philanthropic leaders have seen their retirement accounts take a serious plunge with the stock market.

Robby Rodriguez, co-author of Working Across Generations, gave us some reasons why the logic of those earlier reports didn’t pan out. He said that if a lack of a leadership pipeline was the issue, then the solution is finding a people that fit into the various entry points of a pipeline and having them stand at the ready for when a senior leader steps down. He said that if it’s about a pipeline, you have to fit into the pipe, diversity of background and experience limits entry to those types of leadership development opportunities. There is also this idea that there are no leaders in the sector. This happens when you have a vision of what leadership has to look like i.e. a six foot two white man with a degree from an ivy league college. If we can’t broaden our vision of what a leader is and check our assumptions, there will always be a “leadership crisis”.

Are you seeing a “leadership crisis” in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors? If you are, what are some solutions?

The Institute for Philanthropy is soon going to launch Cohort 2 of the Next Generation Philanthropy program.

NEXT GENERATION PHILANTHROPY, NEW YORK

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

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

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

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

The dates for the next New York program are:

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

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

I really, really wanted to be at the Global Philanthropy Forum Conference this week. But two small kids at home (young enough to miss me when I am gone and old enough to guilt me about travel), and an intensive travel schedule for the rest of April made this conference a no go. But luckily for you and I, there was an ash-belching volcano in Iceland that encouraged the Global Philanthropy Forum planners to offer a live stream of the conference.

I’ll be covering the Council of Foundations’ annual conference in Denver next week, as well as the Association of Black Foundation Executives and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy pre-conferences. I’ll be twittering about the conference (follow @tristaharris) and posting here, so check back often for updates. SPOILER ALERT: I’m pretty sure there will be postings about social justice philanthropy, payout rates, and there may even be an Al Gore sighting. Could this get anymore exciting?!

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

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

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

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

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

Seth Godin has a great post about philanthropy and the sacrifice that is involved. From Seth:

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

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

Avert your eyes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read the rest here.

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

Do or do not, there is no try- Yoda

It’s only hubris if you fail-Julius Caesar

It’s better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission

Go big or go home

All in

What’s your motto?