Interviews of Remarkable Individuals in Philanthropy

Dr. Russell G. Mawby reflects on his life, education, and work on philanthropic initiatives.

Grand Valley State University libraries are committed to providing easy online access from anywhere in the world for the academic community and the general public. The GVSU Digital Collections adds new resources based on anticipated research value. This database includes a unique collection devoted to philanthropy. One of the most recent additions is a collection of video interviews of philanthropic leaders. Over the past three years, the Johnson Center conducted nine such interviews to expand the knowledge base of philanthropic studies. These video interviews captured first-person historical, philosophical and ethical views of leaders in philanthropy, particularly in Michigan. The videos with full transcripts are available online for serious research — or for browsing for curiosity.

Dr. James Smither, professor of history at Grand Valley State University and director of the GVSU Veterans History Project, defined the basic parameters and procedures for the interview project, and conducted the interviews. He had been doing interviews of veterans for several years, and had worked with the university’s archivist to set up a digitized collection of interview videos similar to what the Johnson Center wanted to create. Although he did not know much about philanthropy or the academic study of it, he had a lot of practice at getting people to talk about their own experiences using a basic biographical approach. Most of the interviews were with academics, with whom he had a certain amount in common, and several of them turned out to be veterans as well, which gave him another connection to draw on.

According to Dr. Smither, “The best thing about the interviews from my perspective is that all the subjects were remarkable individuals who came into the philanthropy business from very different directions, usually involving multiple career and life changes. That sort of thing makes for interesting stories, and several of them turned out to be good storytellers in their own right, which did not hurt.”

The popular video collection was viewed 290 times in September, 2012. Topics covered by these leaders include youth philanthropy, service learning, women in philanthropy, family philanthropy, and volunteerism.

The videos add to an online oral history project of Michigan philanthropy led by the Council of Michigan Foundations in partnership with StoryCorps, Michigan Radio and the Johnson Center. The Michigan Philanthropy Oral History Project holds twenty-eight conversations with 60 philanthropic leaders who have enhanced Michigan’s nonprofit sector.

Items referenced here are available online in the digital Johnson Center Philanthropy Collection.

Established in 1992 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is a university-based center serving nonprofits, foundations, and others seeking to transform their communities for the public good. The Johnson Center is recognized for its applied research and professional development benefiting practitioners and nonprofits through the faculty and staff of the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy, The Foundation Review, The Grantmaking School, Johnson Center Philanthropy Archives and Library, and Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services.

Grand Valley State University is a four-year public university. It attracts nearly 25,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is a comprehensive university serving students from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. Grand Valley offers 82 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs from campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and from regional centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships. Grand Valley employs more than 2,000 people and is committed to providing a fair and equitable environment for the continued success of all.

The Johnson Center receives ongoing support from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation,Dyer-Ives Foundation, Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For more information, contact Robert Shalett, director of communications for the Johnson Center, at 616-331-7585.

Johnson Center Hosts TEDxGrandRapids Speakers

Jose Bright

TEDxGrandRapids 2013 speakers Lucy Bernholtz and Jose Bright took time from their busy schedules to speak at the Johnson Center last week about their work. Bright was accompanied by Skot Welch, founder of Global Bridgebuilders and 2013 TEDx host and emcee.

Lucy Bernholz describes herself as a philanthropy wonk. She focuses on “The Future of Good” — how social goods are created, funded, and distributed in the digital era. The Huffington Post has hailed her as “game changer” for her extensive writing on philanthropy, technology, information, and policy. Her blog, philanthropy2173.com, is one of the most widely read in philanthropy circles.

Jose Bright founded the Teboho Trust, an educational support platform that is supported and owned by the community. The platform serves orphans, vulnerable and at-risk children and adolescents in Soweto. He is currently working on how to use 21st Century technology to serve and educate this population.

TEDxGrandRapids is celebrating its third year as a “local, self-organized event that brings people together to share a TED-like experience.”

Established in 1992 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is a university-based center serving nonprofits, foundations, and others seeking to transform their communities for the public good. The Johnson Center is recognized for its applied research and professional development benefiting practitioners and nonprofits through the faculty and staff of the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy, The Foundation Review, The Grantmaking School, Johnson Center Philanthropy Archives and Library, and Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services.

Grand Valley State University is a four-year public university. It attracts nearly 25,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is a comprehensive university serving students from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. Grand Valley offers 82 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs from campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and from regional centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships. Grand Valley employs more than 2,000 people and is committed to providing a fair and equitable environment for the continued success of all.

The Johnson Center receives ongoing support from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation,Dyer-Ives Foundation, Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For more information, contact Robert Shalett, director of communications for the Johnson Center, at 616-331-7585.

Teaching Nonprofit Management Abroad, Part 1: Poland

At the end of a semester, Polish students must stand in line to get their grade forms and “index books” (their permanent record) signed by each instructor. At many Polish universities, grades are not submitted electronically.

By Mark Hoffman, Ph.D., associate professor and director, School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration, Grand Valley State University

At GVSU’s School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration, about half our 450 undergraduate and graduate students are primarily interested in careers in nonprofit management. As I discovered during my 2011-2012 sabbatical, this is not true everywhere. During my sabbatical, I taught nonprofit management at three universities in Poland and South Korea. I may have been the first instructor to lecture on this topic at these schools. Why the big difference? While engaging in conversation with students inside and outside of the classroom, I was able to ascertain how attitudes differ from those of GVSU’s students. I will begin with my observations about Poland, and leave South Korea for my next post.

Session on Philanthropy and Differences in Religious and Secular Giving

Salvatore Alaimo, assistant professor in the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration, and Lauren Spangler, graduate student in the Master of Public and Administration program at GVSU, will present “Separation of Church and Philanthropy: Does Doing Good Require Religion?” on May 8, 2013, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Women’s City Club. The session is presented for the Center for Inquiry-Michigan and open to the public. Join in the lively discussion!

For more on the topic of faith-based organizational management, read Annie Osburn’s blog.

Three Ways Nonprofit Leadership Falters

By Terry Horton, senior program advisor, Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services

Since 2006, it has been my privilege to consult for two of the most outstanding nonprofit capacity-building organizations in the country: The Foraker Group in Alaska, and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over these seven years, I have met with and trained over a thousand nonprofit leaders, and I have worked with over 100 nonprofit boards. Here are a few observations on where nonprofit leadership can go awry:  

1. Corporate culture deserves proper care and feeding.

Having a shared core purpose and core values matters. Why? Because without this strong foundation, chaos, distrust, and micromanagement ensues. Amazing impact may still be occurring with programming, but it will be despite leadership, not because of it. Nonprofits that nail these two elements can hire staff and recruit the board based on them, which means creating a shared vision for the future is easier, and the management of staff is freer, more creative, and more collegial. When everyone inherently believes in what we do and where we’re going, we get to focus on the big stuff. The little stuff will take care of itself. Jim Collins says it well in his monograph for the nonprofit sector. The Zappo’s CEO says it pretty well too in his book about delivering happiness.

2. Strategic planning shouldn’t be a death march.

Julien Kouamé Receives Doctorate, Thanks Supporters

Julien Kouamé, research manager at the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute, received his doctoral degree in research and evaluation on Saturday from Western Michigan University.

MLive reported about the “magical” combination of Kouamé’s hard work and the generosity of many people. Kouamé overcame the death of his father, the burning of his family’s farm, and dropping out of high school to get to the Ph.D. hooding ceremony. ”Marianne Di Pierro, director of WMU’s Graduate Center for Research and Retention, called it an example of ‘what happens when a lot of people care.’” Eugenie Adon Brou, Kouamé’s mother, flew from the Ivory Coast to attend the ceremony in Kalamazoo, Mich. “I know I work hard, but in the end, something happened that is like magic,” said Kouamé. “I want to thank everyone for their support, for all they did to make today happen.”

Kouamé added, “My success (graduation) is the combination of many efforts. However this will not be possible without many people who care about others. I am a true result of philanthropy. That is why I think the Johnson Center is the right place for me to work. This is the way I can give back to the community. Those who supported and helped me do not expect anything back except for me to pay it forward. This is just what I want to do through my research and evaluation skills here at the Johnson Center.”

Established in 1992 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is a university-based center serving nonprofits, foundations, and others seeking to transform their communities for the public good. The Johnson Center is recognized for its applied research and professional development benefiting practitioners and nonprofits through the faculty and staff of the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy, The Foundation Review, The Grantmaking School, Johnson Center Philanthropy Archives and Library, and Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services.

Grand Valley State University is a four-year public university. It attracts nearly 25,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is a comprehensive university serving students from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. Grand Valley offers 82 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs from campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and from regional centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships. Grand Valley employs more than 2,000 people and is committed to providing a fair and equitable environment for the continued success of all.

The Johnson Center receives ongoing support from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation,Dyer-Ives Foundation, Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For more information, contact Robert Shalett, director of communications for the Johnson Center, at 616-331-7585.

Can Faith-Based Organizations Listen to God AND Engage in Strategic Planning?

CC image courtesy of toolstop on Flickr.

By Annie Osburn, program manager

In 2008, a Michigan church had a conversation with a church in Rwanda about the devastating cholera outbreak that took the lives of 500 people. This outbreak was caused by contaminated water. The Michigan church leaders sensed God’s calling to meet the needs of people without access to clean water. In response, the church developed a 501(c)(3) called 20Liters and set out to create a strategy that would make clean water a reality in a specific Rwandan village. Following an intentional strategic planning implementation process, this nonprofit organization has provided water to over 14,000 people in the village in just four years. The next three-year strategic plan will lead them to increase their impact by providing clean water to over 87,000 by 2015.

How were they able to create meaningful change and continue to increase impact over a seven-year span? Strategic planning, strategic partnerships, and strategic thinking. The organization effectively laid out who they were going to help, how they would help them, who they’d partner with, how much it would cost, how they’d evaluate the work, etc. The end result was intentional, meaningful impact.

Churches and other faith-based organizations are instrumental in meeting community needs. While this is true, it is all too often the tendency of these organizations to shy away from strategic planning, inhibiting impact. The popular phrase “fail to plan, plan to fail” comes to mind. When I interact with my faith-based colleagues, they express their fear that having a set plan means exhibiting a lack of faith and trust in God. Seriously? I think that strategic planning trusts that the Holy Spirit is already at work. As leaders of faith-based organizations we are simply entrusted to carry the work out. The book Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations, Rendle and Mann explain that part of the vocation of religious leaders involves spiritual discernment. This means that part of the planning is in listening to yourself and to God. The plan and the path should be developed within a discerning relationship with God. The authors go on to explain the goal of the planning process is to structure the conversation people need in order purse what they believe God calls them to be or do.

Effective planning is a prerequisite for success of any organization, including those that are faith-based. The reality is that church attendance and financial contributions to faith-based organizations are in decline. Strategic planning could be an answer. Engaging in strategic planning can actually be a key to fulfilling mission and can even guard against mission drift. Having a plan gives the organization greater integrity by keeping them focused and transparent. Being able to articulate a plan and report back on effectiveness of programs is essential for garnering support from donors.

Yes, churches and faith-based organizations can be leaders in meeting needs in the community but in order to maximize impact you must plan, act and think strategically. Every church and faith-based organization needs a strategic plan to live out its mission in its own way. While an organization’s faith-based mission and foundations never change, the programmatic forms they take must change in order to stay relevant. I hear so many faith-based leaders saying, “But where does faith fit in to all of this???” It is absolutely appropriate and necessary to prayerfully seek God’s guidance in setting goals and plans for your organization, but strategy is what will enable you to implement programs to reach goals.

In an article on organizational survival, the Faith and Organizations project at the University of Maryland notes that, “Strongly committed faith-based groups are vulnerable to what one sociologist has labeled, ‘Visionary Vision’. Their deep identification with the spiritual calling or belief that underlies their mission may blind them to the very real obstacles which have arisen [in their communities]. As a result of visionary vision, faith-based organizations may neglect regular, clear-eyed, examination of their mission and resources…” (See www.faithandorganizations.umd.edu.)

Strategic planning does not mean starting from scratch and totally reinventing the organization. It does, however, mean that your organization will need to become flexible and proactive in meeting needs in the community. A strategic plan gives direction, identifies short and long term goals, and uses data to that ensure the organization’s programs are aligned with immediate and critical needs in the community.

A good strategic plan includes:

• Organizational Assessment- What are the values and culture of your organization?
• Community Needs Assessment- What needs exist in your community?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your organization when it comes to meeting the identified needs? Have your services become irrelevant?
• Are there other organizations in the community you could partner with to maximize impact?

The tasks of strategic planning can seem overwhelming when you first begin, but with proper facilitation and coaching, strategic planning, acting and thinking can become a way of being that is critical to enable faith-based organizations to work towards their mission in the most impactful way possible. As part our one-on-one technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services team sees firsthand how churches and other faith-based organizations are critical in meeting community needs and we are passionate about coaching these groups through the strategic planning process to see maximum impact.

Established in 1992 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is a university-based center serving nonprofits, foundations, and others seeking to transform their communities for the public good. The Johnson Center is recognized for its applied research and professional development benefiting practitioners and nonprofits through the faculty and staff of the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy, The Foundation Review, The Grantmaking School, Johnson Center Philanthropy Archives and Library, and Philanthropic and Nonprofit Services.

Grand Valley State University is a four-year public university. It attracts nearly 25,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is a comprehensive university serving students from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. Grand Valley offers 82 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs from campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and from regional centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships. Grand Valley employs more than 2,000 people and is committed to providing a fair and equitable environment for the continued success of all.

The Johnson Center receives ongoing support from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation,Dyer-Ives Foundation, Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For more information, contact Robert Shalett, director of communications for the Johnson Center, at 616-331-7585.