Its Not the Subject Matter That Counts Most

Last week, Ken Saxon, the founder of Courage to Lead and our newly expanded nonprofit Leading From Within, was awarded the 2012 Man of the Year Award for his service to and impact in our community.  While I expressed what an honor it is to be working with Ken in my last post, this post is not entirely about him.

This post is about Ron Gallo's, President and CEO, Santa Barbara Foundation, speech just prior to the announcement of the award recipients.  In Mr. Gallo's speech, and I am working from memory here, he discussed that sometimes we don't take a stand because we are afraid it will be unpopular.  But, where would our community be if some of the prior Men or Women of the Year award recipients were afraid to be unpopular?  Accomplishments such as fighting for standards in Juvenile Halls and having women and minorities appointed to City Commissions might not have happened.

Mr. Gallo pointed out that wherever one chooses to get involved,  "It is not the subject matter that counts most, but rather the energy, the ingenuity, the commitment and the compassion one brings. "

TAKEAWAYS:

1) Sometimes I wonder if our town has lost the art of civil discord.  What are we not speaking up for because we are concerned about having unpopular views?  I am a strong supporter of Early Childhood Education for the underserved, but some of my friends feel those parents should not have had their children in the first place.  Do I do enough to honor their view while still making a case for these children who are members of our society or do I just politely end the conversation and ask about their child's last sports game?

2) Sometimes I have friends on a committee for a cause that is not high on my radar of importance.  I'd like to be sharing my volunteerism with these friends and connecting with them over committee meetings and other related social events, but I have to remind myself that my time is precious and I need to keep focused on the causes most important to me rather than on which of my friends are on the committee.

3) And while my friends and I do not always have the same priorities on how we give our time, and sometimes we do, I want my friends to feel supported and encouraged in whatever cause they pick because as Mr. Gallos says, "Its not the subject matter that counts most, but the energy, the ingenuity, the commitment and the compassion one brings."

This year's Man of the Year, Ken Saxon, did have to take a stand on an less popular issue.  He took a stand that community leaders cannot continue to expect nonprofit leaders to make the change we want from them if we do not give them the capacity to keep from burning out, if we do not invest in their personal development, and if we do not help them to maintain their soul with the role in a field where there will never be enough resources to feed the last child, or house the last homeless person.

What I've Been Up To

"With deep alignment of personal convictions with community purpose, applying ones knowledge and skills becomes irresistible.  There is a sense of acute purpose that stretches far beyond one's individual interests."

- Peter Karoff

This quote represents to me everything about why anyone is driven to be philanthropic.  I've had the pleasure of being introduced to and working with Peter Karoff over the last few months.  Peter founded The Philanthropic Initiative over 20 years ago.  TPI is a nonprofit organization that serves as an ally to donors who aspire to effective philanthropy, and promotes philanthropy through research, and education.  I can't believe how lucky Santa Barbara is to have Peter as an active member of our philanthropic community.

Peter and I are now working with a nonprofit called Leading From Within.  Leading From Within has been offering high quality leadership development and renewal through its Courage to Lead program for almost five years.  It was founded by another amazing community resource, Ken Saxon.  In the last six months Ken and I have expanded the organization to three programs which includes:

• Courage to Lead - now in its fifth year, a leadership development and renewal program for mid to late career nonprofit leaders
• Emerging Leaders Program - a new program for leadership development for the next generation of nonprofit leaders
• Katherine Harvey Fellows - a 12 year old leadership development program for future community leaders from diverse professional backgrounds run in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation

It has absolutely been my pleasure to work with and learn from these aspirational gentleman who have given decades of their time to making our communities a stronger place through the gift of their time to their thoughtful, reflective approach to their passion for learning.

While my blogging has and will slow down, I look forward to sharing the many lessons of philanthropy with you as we launch our programs in January of 2013.  

Giving in a Way I Never Thought Of

Sometimes you just need a break from saving the world.  Courage to Lead provides this break and more.  Last week, I had the good fortune to talk with Ken Saxon about the organization he founded.  I left with a completely new thought on a simple, yet impactful, way I could help give back.


Non-profit executive directors consistently manage where there is unlimited need and demand for their services.  They have limited supply so this need will never be met.  This leads to feelings of constantly letting people down and always having a sense of not doing enough.  This is not a sustainable model in which someone can maintain their passion.  The Courage to Lead program allows non-profit directors to invest in themselves so they are more capable of putting their mission out in the world and so they stay passionate about driving their organization to better success without getting burnt out.


TAKE AWAY #1

There is so much negative press about non-profits and overhead.  We can't continue to invest in program after program without an investment in the sustainability of the people and organization administrating these programs.  Any successful businessman knows this is vital need in a traditional business.  Non-profits aren't any different so we shouldn't be so quick to judge a non-profit for it's overhead, we shouldn't be afraid to invest in overhead, and we shouldn't be afraid to ask for more information from the organization about their overhead.


TAKE AWAY #2 

This is an idea that is so simple, but yet so powerful.  Take time to acknowledge the people who day in and day out are dedicating themselves to your favorite cause.   Some very simple ways to do this are:

• simply write them a note of appreciation
• bake them cookies
• pick flowers from your garden
• get them a gift certificate for something that will make them feel nurtured like a manicure, massage, facial etc.

Imagine the unexpected impact you will make on this person's day and their ability to stay motivated to keep fighting for your cause because they know they are appreciated.


MY GOAL:

DRI youth is currently doing an Flower Power Fundraiser where you can pay to have a series of four bouquets sent to the people of your choice.  I participated in this fundraiser and plan to send the flowers to the executive directors of my favorite non-profits.