The power of influence in philanthropy
Dear Diary,
As I conduct research on prospects and donors, I am always intrigued by philanthropic motivations – how and where philanthropists learn or gain their understanding of philanthropy, who are their muses, who inspires them, and who do they want to become or emulate? I think it all adds to how the individual learns the meaning of philanthropy, and its larger role in sparking their giving journey.
Let’s start with a fictional prospect, Louise Smith, who states in an interview that her parents’ family foundation exposed her to grants and philanthropy at an early age making her hands-on and engaged in the giving process. Today, Ms. Smith’s philanthropic interests continue to align with her upbringing and have only slightly changed based on greater global needs.
When I come across situations like this, several things come to mind and are added to my analysis – Louise, as a child, knew she had the power to give money to those in-need, and her parents influenced her understanding of charity. As an adult being solicited by a nonprofit, knowing her journey would be a fundraiser’s way into cultivating a relationship with her. It would also be a way to unpack her ingrained philanthropic interests. You can also assume that based on how she was influenced, she would most likely pass those traits on to her own children, and peers.
Fictional prospect, Victor Mince, is a billionaire and has a global private equity firm. He has recently signed the Giving Pledge, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. In his letter that explains how he wishes to allocate a percentage of his earnings and wealth to philanthropy, he talks about how other well-known philanthropists like the Gates, Buffets, Benioffs, Bezos, and others inspired him to join the cause. Seeing his peers give away their money for the greater good of the world made him realize who he needed to be and the role he needed to play if he ever wanted more for the future generation.
I think about the power of influence when I read things like this because the stage in which you stand on, is always a platform that can either bring about positive change or stagnation. Mr. Mince and many more like him tend to frame their next moves and decisions on the impact their peers are making. They look at industry leaders and how they are changing communities, and then they look at themselves and try to see where they can fit in.
In recent years, I think the nonprofit world has really seen a stronger group of philanthropists rise, and charge themselves with the mission of driving impact through their giving. They have made us revisit our metrics, and our impact. They have made us face the issues that are important to them, and then analyze how we cast that change forward into our communities through advocacy and programming. Impact-driven philanthropy is influenced by personal motivations, the socio-economic and political climate of a country, and the need for change. And as one is directly or indirectly effected by social or systemic, or global issues, there is a need to give either small or major gifts to an organization that is making strides in specific focus areas.
What matters here is that making an impact is influential.
Until next time, April 15th!
