Are you the future of philanthropy? Meet Danielle Ward

May 12, 2015 erik Uncategorized

For the third year in a row, DonorDreams is proud to be hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival in May. On May 4, 2015, we published a call for submissions from non-profit bloggers across the blogosphere on the topic of “You are the future of philanthropy,” which stems from a 2007 TED Talks video presentation by Katherine Fulton. I asked bloggers to pontificate on any number of topics including the democratization of philanthropy, aggregated giving, social investing, and much more. If you are a blogger looking for more details, click here to read the May 4th call for submissions.
We will publish the May 2015 Nonprofit Blog Carnival on May 28, 2015 right here on the DonorDreams blog platform.
In addition to whipping the blogosphere up into a frenzy, we are dedicating our Tuesday and Thursday DonorDreams posts throughout May to people involved in local philanthropy. We’re videotaping donors, volunteers and non-profit professionals and asking them to answer the following question posed by Katherine Fulton at the end of her TED Talks presentation:

“Imagine 100 years from now and your grandchildren are looking at an old picture of you. What is the story? What impact did you want to have on the community around you? What impact did you make?”

Meet Danielle Ward
Danielle Ward opened her non-profit consulting practice, DMW13 Consulting, in late 2014. Prior to this undertaking she worked or volunteered for the following non-profit organizations or consulting firms:

Marklund
Meyer Partners
Lake Forest Symphony Association
Association of Lutheran Development Executives
Toast of the Fox Toastmasters
The Renewal Center

Danielle is a CFRE who loves philanthropy. She recently joined the Fox West Philanthropy Network’s board of directors. On her LinkedIn page, she announces to the world that she proudly supports the following organizations:

For all of these reasons, we thought we’d ask her to take a crack at answering the question that Katherine Fulton posed at the end of her TED Talks presentation.
Danielle’s philanthropy story?
[youtube=http://youtu.be/9QxX9hCZPg4]
(Note: If you receive DonorDreams via email you may need to click here to view today’s video interview.)
Stories from your community?
Katherine Fulton says in her TED Talks presentation:

“We have a problem. Our experience to date both individually and collectively hasn’t prepared us for what we’re going to need to do or who we’re going to need to be. We’re going to need a new generation of citizen leaders willing to commit ourselves to growing and changing and learning as rapidly as possible.”

Have you met someone in your community who you think embodies the future of philanthropy and is a member of a new generation of citizen leaders? If so, please scroll down and use the comment box to tell us about that person.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Are you the future of philanthropy? Meet Stephen Taylor

May 7, 2015 erik Uncategorized

“Imagine 100 years from now and your grandchildren are looking at an old picture of you. What is the story? What impact did you want to have on the community around you? What impact did you make?”

Meet Stephen Taylor
Stephen Taylor opened his non-profit consulting practice, Taylor Philanthropic Services, in early 2015, but he has worked in the non-profit sector for a lifetime. Starting in 1976, he joined the Boy Scouts of America as a District Executive and worked his way up all the way up the org chart to council Scout Executive, which is where he served three councils in Mount Prospect, IL; Spartanburg, SC; and Alexandria, LA. After 36 years and retiring from the BSA in 2012, he had stops at Bell Fundraising Consultants and DayOneNetwork.
Stephen is a CFRE who loves philanthropy. He co-chaired the Fox West Philanthropy Network’s Philanthropy Day in 2013 and 2014.
For all of these reasons, we thought we’d ask him to take a crack at answering the question that Katherine Fulton posed at the end of her TED Talks presentation.
Stephen’s philanthropy story?

(Note: If you receive DonorDreams via email you may need to click here to view today’s video interview.)
Stories from your community?
Katherine Fulton says in her TED Talks presentation:

“We have a problem. Our experience to date both individually and collectively hasn’t prepared us for what we’re going to need to do or who we’re going to need to be. We’re going to need a new generation of citizen leaders willing to commit ourselves to growing and changing and learning as rapidly as possible.”

Bon voyage

April 9, 2015 erik Uncategorized

cruise Starting next week, this non-profit blogger is running off for a few weeks of a well-deserved cruise through the Panama Canal. But never fear! Your DonorDreams blog community will continue providing quality content to help you generate ideas to improve the organizational capacity of your non-profit organization. In my absence, Marissa Garza will take the wheel and ensure everything runs smoothly. (That’s right . . . Marissa is the same person who wrote non-profit tech articles a few years ago for DonorDreams. Welcome back, Marissa!)
We’ve lined up some fun guest bloggers while I am floating around the Caribbean on my vacation. Here is some of what you have to look forward to while I’m gone:

Lisa Green is an aspiring blogger who will write about “The 6 Questions Nonprofits Need to Ask Before Hiring an Event Manager”
Denise Benages of HR Midwest and blogger at Don’t Bite The Apple will blog about staff retention strategies
Evette Simon of Alford Executive Search will write about compensation and how it factors into creating a strong team
Heather Eddy of Alford Executive Search will follow-up Evette’s post with an article on leadership and succession planning
Marissa Garza will thrill you with another one of her technology posts
At the end of the month, I’ll return with a “call for submissions” post because DonorDreams is hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival in May

April is shaping up to be a fun month with an important focus on human resources related issues!
Rest assured that I will be thinking of you while I decompress and recharge my batteries on vacation. While most of May’s blog posts are already mapped out, I promise to publish a “special edition” with pictures from my various stops in Aruba, Columbia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Cabo San Lucas.
Enjoy the next few weeks, and as always thank you for your readership.
Here’s to your health!
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

You don't own your non-profit brand

April 7, 2015 erik Uncategorized

The other day, I was in my home office trying to wrap up some work before dinner. The television in the other room was tuned to PBS and Charlie Rose was interviewing Warren Buffet and a few other rich guys. They were talking about the late Coca-Cola President Don Keough who recently died. I was trying hard to ignore the background noise and distraction, but then the following five simple words floating into my office:

“The people own the brand.”

These words came from Warren Buffet’s mouth in response to a question Charlie Rose asked about the time when Coca-Cola removed its Classic Coke from the shelves and replaced it with a reformulated New Coke and the public appeared to backlash.
These five simple words got into my head and have rattled around for the last few weeks. They bothered me, but they certainly sounded wiser than I ever might be.
It got to the point where I actually typed these five words into a Google browser, which is when I found a post titled “You Don’t Own Your Brand Anymore, Your Customers Do” over at iYogi Blog written by Sairam K.
I love the iYogi Blog post, and it is certainly worth a click from you. It crystallized everything for me and got me thinking about the following questions for your non-profit brand:

When is the last time you talked to your donors, clients, staff, and volunteers about what the brand means to them?
What are your key messages (and I don’t mean your marketing tag line) and how do they align with what people think about your brand?
How do you monitor your brand and what people are saying about your brand (especially on social media)?
Have you thought through how and what your responses might look and sound like in the event your brand comes under attack in social media circles? And more importantly, have you thought about the damage you might do if your strategy is simply “deleting” posts on your Facebook page?

I think the reason Warren Buffet’s words rattled me so badly was because I thought the organization owned the brand, but in reality staff and volunteers simply care for and steward the brand. The people (aka donors, community leaders, staff, clients, the community at-large, etc) do indeed own the brand.
What does this mean for your organization and your marketing/communication efforts? Please scroll down and share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Marketing experts weigh-in on how your non-profit can break through the noise

March 26, 2015 erik Uncategorized

Just the other day my spouse and I were sitting on the coach unwinding from another busy day when this Geico commercial came on television:

I blurted out, “Oh, I just love this commercial.” My partner’s response was “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one.”
Of course, this commercial has been airing for weeks, and it has taken a long time for it to break through the noise for my partner. It was this revelation that got me thinking about this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival theme “Breaking Through the Noise” being hosted by RAD Blog.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve scratched my head wondering what could I possibly add to this topic that smarter marketing professionals haven’t already said, which is when it hit me:

Go ask the experts!

Over the last year, I’ve had two amazing marketing professionals in my life. I decided to just ask them to say something wise about how non-profit organizations can break through the everyday noise and information overload that our donors, supporters, volunteers, and prospective supporters and donors experience.
This is what they very graciously shared . . .

Meet Noel Childs

noel I first met Noel more than a year ago when I signed a capacity building contract with Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra focused on resource development and board development. He is a board volunteer who currently serves as the organization’s Vice President.
As I got to know Noel, I discovered he is one of those creative-types who understands how people communicate. He is the President & Founder of 9ine, and this is how he describes himself on his personal website:

Designer. Artist. Father. Founder.
Arsenal FC Gunner. Guild navigator.
Dirt farmer. Marten herder. Folk hero. Lover.
Fighter.

Did that break through the noise for you? Yeah, it did for me too, which is why I asked Noel to weigh-in on the question of how non-profit organizations can go about breaking through the noise with their communications strategies and efforts.
Here is what Noel had to say:

Stay true to your core mission
Progressive non-profits are realizing that with institutions dying and culture in flux they need to innovate more then every before when it comes to marketing and communications. Changing with the times is essential, but not at the cost of your mission. Find new tactical ways to engage your stakeholders, but all strategy must flow from your purpose — your “why you exist“.
Assess your digital ecology
Take a closer look at all of your online channels, websites, social media, mobile initiatives, digital marketing, and advertising to make sure it’s interconnected without barriers. Stakeholders (both existing and potential) expect to easily flow between channels and if you’re digital ecology has disconnects you’re missing opportunities.
Identify online communities
Online users behave differently from one another. Conduct research to understand their habits and desires and group them. Seek out the influencers that are at the hub of these groups. They are your key to a higher level of engagement. Create communications that will connect at a deep, sub-conscious level.
If you can’t measure it, don’t do it
Cut out the marketing and communications that don’t have some metric tied to it. With a lean budget, not being able to assess a communication’s ROI is like burning money.
Authentic storytelling cuts through the noise
Traditional advertising and marketing is outdated. People are skeptical of being sold to. Millennials completely ignore it. Show the real value of your non-profit though true stories that connect via content marketing.

Meet John Mitchell

john mitchell John is the other marketing guy who has been in my life for the last year.
I first met John during a capital campaign project with Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington. He is one of the busiest cats I know, and he graciously agreed to serve as the chair of the Club’s capital campaign Communications Task Force. He is the Owner & Executive Director (and self-described ping pong guru) of Monarch Media Studios.
John has a very strong and powerful point of view when it comes to cutting through the din that everyone now experiences while watching television, sitting at your computer, driving to work . . . in fact just living.
Like Noel, I consider John to be a communications genius which is why I asked him to weigh-in on how your non-profit organization can break through the noise and reach those with whom you need to speak.
Here is what John had to say:

There is a worsening marketing NOISE developing that is causing the process of messaging to become both more difficult and simpler at the same time….I’ll explain.
While you’re reading this, you’re probably receiving an email, a push notification, and a news alert about something that you will likely ignore while promising yourself that you will find a way to unsubscribe when you have time.
It has never been easier to get your message in front of your target audience, but it has never been harder to make them pay attention. The most profound of messages will likely be lost in a sea of sports scores, political updates, cat videos, and free wal-mart gift card opportunities.
It sounds overwhelming, but the noise has actually provided an opportunity as well.
The opportunity is for a return to honest sentiment and simple truth. Whiteboard sessions that focus on semantics and tag lines can now be replaced with coffee house meetings over stories of real life change and passion.
Call me naive, but I believe the way to cut through the growing marketing noise is with simple, honest, clear, and real messaging. It stands out in a sea of swooshes, sexy hamburgers, talking animals, and 3-D billboards.
In this way, not-for-profit messaging has never been at a bigger advantage, when it comes to getting the attention of potential donors.
If I’m selling a widget, I have to dig deep to find a profound, honest message that speaks through the noise. This is why marketing has started to look more like visual gymnastics than like intentional messaging. When an organization has a message that is driven by human story (i.e Boys and Girls Clubs stories), passion and compelling calls to action become the low hanging fruit.
So, my advice to non-profit organizations (as a marketing minion who has done more visual backflips than I care to admit), is to lean into your advantage in the midst of the noise.

Look for the human stories. People make us care. Stories make us move!

Find the common denominators in your stories.

Speak clearly and honestly to your audience.

Good news . . . you have the power to break through the NOISE.

So, what did you think? Did the advice of these two marketing pros resonate with you? What is your non-profit organization doing to break through the increasing noise of the world around us? Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences.
A special thanks to both Noel and John for taking time out of their incredibly busy and creative days to share their thoughts. Won’t you please do the same? We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Non-profit bloggers for whom I'm thankful

November 25, 2014 erik Uncategorized

We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving, and I’m getting in touch with my gratitude muscles this week. If you’re anything like me then you’re probably a “lifelong learner” and love to read about bigger and better ways to engage donors and practice the art of resource development. One of the ways I feed my need to learn is reading other non-profit bloggers. Today’s post is dedicated to some of my absolute favs.
Joanne Fritz at about.com
I started following Joanne almost a decade ago, and I just love how she breaks down complicated non-profit things into really easy to digest bite-size pieces. She tackles the basics as well as the complicated. Click here to check-out a handful of her “fundraising basics” posts. When you’re done with those articles, I suggest you keep on clicking. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Joanne has been the “ring leader” for a monthly non-profit blog event called the Nonprofit Blog Carnival. She recently announced that she was stepping back and handing the torch to Pamela Grow. We all owe Joanne a debt of gratitude this Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Joanne! You are one of the best non-profit bloggers I’ve followed throughout the years. I so appreciate your point of view.
Pamela Grow at The Grow Report
As I just mentions above, Pamela is taking over “ring leader” responsibilities from Joanne as it pertains to the Nonprofit Blog Carnival. I think we all owe Pamela a big “THANK YOU” for stepping up!
However, Pamela is also the person behind The Grow Report, which deposits a weekly e-newsletter full of fundraising best practices in my inbox.
In addition to her weekly nuggets of wisdom, I’ve signed up for one Pamela distance learning sessions — “Nonprofit Monthly Giving: The Basics and More” — and I’ve purchased one of her eBooks — “Successful Fundraising for the One-Person Shop“.
All of Pamela’s stuff is simply amazing. If you haven’t checked her out yet, I assure you it is definitely worth the click.
Tom Ahern at Ahern Donor Communications
Tom has to be one of the foremost donor communications experts in our field. He can take a blah direct mail piece and make it sing. He can also transform your donor newsletter into a piece that inspires and raises money. He is simply a genius according to many of his clients.
I’m not sure how often it happens, but at least once a month I receive his “Love Thy Reader: About Donor Communications” e-newsletter. I just love Tom’s perspective on resource development and donor communications. His catchy subject lines and headlines always pull me into his stories. For example, his recent publication read “How the Evil Robot killed my monthly gift“. LOL! How can you resist opening that email?
I’ve participated in webinars featuring Tom. I’ve also purchased a DVD from 501 Videos featuring Tom. He is simply a treasure to the non-profit sector!
Click here to see some of his past newsletters. My advice? Keep clicking and then subscribe!
Chris Davenport at 501 Videos
I just mentioned how I purchased DVDs featuring Tom Ahern, and I did that through 501 Videos.
You know Chris Davenport . . . he is the guy behind “Movie Mondays for Fundraising Professionals“. His weekly FREE movies are awesome and always engaging. I especially like the fact that they’re usually around 5 minutes long and a perfect compliment to my first cup of coffee on Monday morning.
In addition to his free Monday morning movies, he sells tremendous DVD resources, and I’ve never been disappointed in what I’ve purchased. In fact, just this morning I received an email from Chris about something he is calling his “BIG BOX of EVERYTHING” offer. It is essentially 70% off of a lots of different videos and resources.
I’m giving this purchase serious consideration.
I know. I know . . . $489 is a lot of money, but I can seriously testify that his stuff is that good. I’m not sure what I will do, but I’d have to be crazy not to give this offer serious consideration.
Everyone else . . .
The risk of doing a blog post like this one is that you leave people out because you quickly run out of room. People like Dani Robbins at Nonprofit Evolution, my friends at Bloomerang, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America CEO’s Jim Clark’s blog, Gail Perry at Fired-Up Fundraising and many others.
Thank you to all of you who take the time to develop content and share it with the world for free.
ALSO . . . Thank you to those of you who take the time to read and comment on non-profit blogs. As I always say, “There is no need to re-invent the wheel. We can all learn from each other!”
Here’s to your health . . . Happy Thanksgiving!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

National Philanthropy Day is November 15th

November 11, 2014 erik Uncategorized

philathropy day Good morning everyone! I’m up early and running out the door to my local fundraising chapter’s National Philanthropy Day celebration in the Fox River Valley in Illinois. As I busily through things together and guzzle coffee, I’ve been wondering how you plan on spending your Philanthropy Day (which is officially on November 15, 2014).
According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day is described as follows:

“Philanthropy is “the love of humankind,” and National Philanthropy Day® (NPD)—November 15—is the day that thousands of people around the world come together to both (1) put that word into action and (2) recognize the change that word has brought to our communities.
NPD is a celebration of philanthropy—giving, volunteering and charitable engagement—that highlights the accomplishments, large and small, that philanthropy—and all those involved in the philanthropic process—makes to our society and our world.
National Philanthropy Day® is both an official day and a grassroots movement. Every year, since 1986 when President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed November 15th as National Philanthropy Day®, communities across the globe have celebrated by hosting events to recognize activities of donors, volunteers, foundations, leaders, corporations, and others engaged in philanthropy.”

For more information, click here to check out the Philanthropy Day website.
Here is the amazing thing about this special day. You don’t have to register for a conference or all-day special training event to participate in Philanthropy Day. In my opinion, here are just a few things you could do to have your own personal celebration:

Make a contribution to your favorite non-profit organization
Pick-up the phone, call a donor, and say thanks (or tell them how much you admire their commitment)
Volunteer a few hours at a local non-profit agency
Reach out and help a neighbor with something like raking leaves or driving them to an appointment

So, think it over and then scroll down to the comment box. I would like to hear how you plan on celebrating National Philanthropy Day this year.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Your agency's greatest asset? Your staff and volunteers, of course!

October 2, 2014 erik Uncategorized

Sorry, everyone! I’m on the run today and blogging doesn’t fit into the schedule. So, I dug up an old guest blog from my friend, John Greco. I think it is a great reminder of why non-your profit is wealthier than your balance sheet says it is. Enjoy the re-post!
~Erik

Cubicle Diamonds

By John Greco
Originally published on March 15, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
An African farmer heard tales about people who had made millions by discovering diamond mines. These tales so excited the farmer that he could hardly wait to go prospecting for diamonds himself. He sold the farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent searching unsuccessfully for the gleaming gems that brought such high prices on the markets of the world. Finally, worn out and in a fit of despondency, he threw himself into a river and drowned.
Meanwhile, the man who had bought his farm happened to be crossing a small stream on the property one day, when suddenly there was a bright flash of blue and red light from the stream bottom. He bent down and picked up a stone…
It turned out to be one of the largest diamonds ever discovered.
And his creek was full of such stones, not all as large, but nonetheless valuable…  The farm the first farmer had sold, so that he might find a diamond mine, turned out to be one of the most productive diamond mines on the entire African continent.
That first farmer had owned, literally, acres of diamonds, but he didn’t look there.
— Update, from a reader: From a lecture by Russell Conwell and popularized by Earl Nightingale many years ago.  Thanks Deb!

This is a pretty well-traveled story, with a pretty straightforward lesson.
Before you look out, look in. You may already have what you need to accomplish what you want.
I’m going to “mine” this differently.
There are diamonds of a sort all around you now. Can you see them?
Look outside your office. Down the hallway. In the cafeteria. Every single meeting you go to. And all the ones you don’t.
diamonds2 Jerry, the financial analyst, can make a mean bouillabaisse. Mary, the executive admin, is a Toastmasters organizer. Julie, in inside sales, does graphic design for her church’s marketing pieces. Peggy, in tech support, is a stand up comedian. Bill, in logistics, does resumes on the side for family and friends. Susan, in customer support, is on the board of a local non-profit. Judy, a software tester, volunteers at the local hospice. Christian, a call center agent, paints. John, an industrial engineering manager, blogs. Damian, a research analyst, is an actor in a local drama troupe.
Diamonds, all.

Our people are our greatest asset.

Indeed.
Too bad their added value is off the books.
Undiscovered, in cubicles, unmined.

Your non-profit can learn something from the Chicago Cubs

July 15, 2014 erik Uncategorized

Let me set the stage for you. It is a Sunday afternoon, and I am sitting in the bleachers waiting for the start of a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs (a team that I’ve been a fan of since my birth 44 years ago) and the Atlanta Braves. It is hot . . . VERY HOT! Then a song written in 1969 titled “Hey Hey Holy Mackerel” started blaring over the speakers. This song is intended to be a fight song. Never heard of it? Here are the lyrics words by I. C. Haag and music by JOhn Frigo):

Hey hey! Holy Mackerel!
No doubt about it,
The Cubs are on their way. (Hey hey!)
The Cubs are gonna hit today,
They’re gonna pitch today,
They’re gonna field today.
Come what may the Cubs are gonna win today.Hey hey! Holy Mackerel!
No doubt about it,
The Cubs are on their way.
They got the hustle.
They got the bustle.
The Chicago Cubs have come to play.
The Chicago Cubs are on their way.

Wanna hear it? Here is the YouTube version for your enjoyment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQyUhiV_Fdw
OK . . . the scene is set. Now image another Cubs game in the history books and the reality setting in:

They aren’t on their way
They didn’t pitch today
They didn’t hit today (well, maybe a little bit)
They didn’t field today
Did I mention that they really aren’t on their way?

The morale to the story?
Be careful about the promises you make because you might disappoint your fans! How is this applicable to your non-profit organization? Simple! Consider the following:

Your mission statement is akin to the Chicago Cubs fight song.
Your vision statement is also akin to Hey Hey Holy Mackerel.
Your marketing tag line and public service announcements are also rally cries, right?
And your donors are very much fans.

When you organization makes promises that aren’t delivered upon, you’re setting yourself up for trouble.
Don’t believe me?
Then go ask the Chicago Cubs who purportedly are selling one million fewer tickets this year than they did a number of years ago. Ouch! That must hurt. Hopefully, the promises they’re making as part of their rebuilding plan are things they will deliver on (and soon).
Are you assessing your agency’s effectiveness? Who are you engaging in that assessment? How are you assessing your agency? And what are you doing about it?
Don’t torture your donors and supporters for more than a century. Start your assessment and planning process today and include all of your stakeholders in that process.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

America was built on a foundation of philanthropy

July 1, 2014 erik Uncategorized

Every year for the last 15 years or more, I take the week of the Fourth of July off and head up to an old Boy Scout friend’s cottage in Michigan. Needless to say, blogging gets a little difficult when you’re looking out over Saginaw Bay trying to forget about the world. So, I’ve decided to re-post two older pieces this week pertaining to philanthropy’s roots in the founding of our country.
Enjoy!

Philanthropy and the Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July everyone!
As with most Americans today, I find myself reflecting back on our country’s history. While doing so, I became curious about how the history of philanthropy is woven into America’s story. After a little bit of googling and thinking, it is very obvious that one of very cornerstones on which we’ve built our country is philanthropy and charity. Consider the following facts:

In 1628, the Massachusetts Bay Company established the first ever American “board” to manage colonial business.
In 1630, John Winthrop preaches to Puritans bound for America that it is the obligation of the rich to care for the poor.
In 1638, John Harvard’s planned gift establishes a major American educational institution.
Throughout the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin is involved in numerous philanthropic projects including creation of the first circulation library in Philadelphia. He arguably plants the seeds of philanthropy throughout the founding of our country.

The list goes on an on. Click here to see a very interesting chronology of philanthropy published by our friends at the National Philnthropic Trust.
There is also a great white paper published on the website learningtogive.org that argues that the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution are underpinned by philanthropic principles.
First, consider that “philanthropy includes voluntary and active efforts to promote human welfare and well-being.” Look no further than the Constitution’s preamble that charges our new country with many things including providing for the “general welfare”.
Click the aforementioned link to read so much more about how philanthropy is woven throughout the American tapestry.
I encourage you to take a moment this Fourth of July to reflect upon philanthropy’s roots in our American democracy and pay tribute to how it has made us the country we are today.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847