When I hear the term "culture of philanthropy," I immediately have two thoughts:
- I know it when I see it.
- If this is the holy grail of organizational fundraising culture we're all looking for, we're going to need a better definition than that.
As I've worked to build this culture either within or in partnership to various organizations, I've come to believe there are seven common elements of a philanthropic culture. By focusing efforts on these items, we can build this culture in organizations where it currently doesn't exist. By holding ourselves accountable to these qualitative metrics we can track our progress.
1. Philanthropic revenue is valued and prioritized.
Leaders can't fundraise using just the capacity of the far corner of their desk. The CEO, the CFO and the board need to view philanthropy as a vibrant part of their organization's income. No matter the percent of revenue generated philanthropically, this revenue must be valued beyond just the dollars it produces as a testament to the value the greater community places in your mission and your progress in achieving it.
2. Donors are treated as investors and partners.
Donors should be as respected and valued as any of the organization's "customers." However, donors can feel it if they are being treated as the dirty little secret needed to fill the budget gap rather than the investors and partners they are.
Organizations with a culture of philanthropy build their budgets with philanthropy as a valued stream and treat their donors accordingly. The CEO and key program staff should know and maintain relationships with donors and not relegate it only to the development staff. It's OK to just visit the ATM when you need money. It isn't OK to only visit your donors when you have your hand out.
3. Staff at all levels can articulate the "elevator speech" version of your case for support.
In nonprofits with philanthropic cultures, I'm as comfortable with the janitor speaking to my biggest donor as I am the CEO. They have different views and different facts, but they share a passion and understanding of the mission, its importance, how to articulate it and why donors are an important part of success.
4. Board members can articulate the "elevator speech" version of your case for support.
Ditto the above and multiply by a factor of 10. Your board members walk among your donors and prospective donors every day. Empower them to tell your story and ensure they have the tools to tell it in the way in which you intend it to be shared.
5. Fundraising objectives are owned collaboratively by the board-CEO-CDO and they work together to achieve them.
If the portion of board meetings where development is discussed begin with all heads swiveling to the CDO, you've got a problem. Fundraising is a team sport, and while the entire organization is on that team, success and failure begin with and must be shared by the board-CEO-CDO.
6. "Our" replaces "mine" — our program, our organization, our donor.
Donors don't belong to the CDO, and the program doesn't belong to the COO. The team effort required for philanthropy begins with language and eradicating "me" from our vocabulary is the first big step.
7. People actually use the word philanthropy.
If we're orientating a team and building it around philanthropy, it would help if we all understood the definition and used it. "Philanthropy" is a higher-purpose-sounding description than "fundraising" or even "development." If it is being commonly used to describe the work of your development team and the support of your donors, it's a good sign the work and results are being valued appropriately.
Culture change is never easy, and you'll note there are no easy action steps or silver bullets described above. But if we start with agreement on what it looks like if we have a philanthropic culture, we can start taking actions that result in the behavior changes needed to get there.
