It’s not every day that you get to gather for a meal with true experts. But Giving Tuesday is no ordinary day. Today I had the chance to sit down and share experiences, hopes and counsel with a group of leaders in the communications and cause space. These are people who specialize in talking about charity – in all its forms. Representing organizations large and small, they shared some common themes and hopes about what it takes to engage people in a way that is successful, authentic and meaningful.
I am sharing just a few of the themes that jumped out at me during our productive meeting. It seems unfair to condense so much collective wisdom into such a short list, but I am offering this sampling in a spirit of sharing – and the spirit of Giving Tuesday.
- Organizations need to invest in communications if they want to truly serve their cause – and their constituents. There was consensus among the group that when working with critical issues on the frontlines of the world’s humanitarian, conflict or development crises, people often come up against a mindset that communications is an “extra” rather than a critical component of their operations. Organizations accept this mistaken idea at their peril. Any organization that wants to ensure efficiency and transparency should embrace the communications function as essential. This is as true for a charitable organization as for a Fortune 100.
- People in the philanthropic space are making decisions according to hard data, and their hearts. Much discussion was sparked by comments from a leading data scientist and researcher. He noted that some philanthropists (including those of major funds or endowments) look for data to back up their decisions but still rely on the values and beliefs that are close to their hearts. They are operating on two seemingly parallel tracks of decision making. Is this a bad thing? No. It means that decision-making in these organizations is complex. It also means that people care about getting dollars to the right place and ensuring that it is done in the right spirit. Maybe that is how it should be. The advice: be patient when leaders ask for both the hard data on effectiveness of their programs and the emotions and values they involve. Both matter.
- Measuring philanthropy by dollars is missing a big part of the picture. Some of the attendees talked about recent trends they’ve observed in global giving and acknowledged the ebbs and flows in donation amounts around the world. These fluctuate. And that’s natural. But one of the trends that continues to grow is the engagement of numbers of donors. More and more people are giving — perhaps not all of them as billionaire philanthropists, but even the small-dollar donors have voice and relevance. With thoughtful strategy and strong communications, a community of donors can be activated to do just as much when it comes to raising awareness around the world about important issues.
Giving Tuesday is a chance to encourage giving, to celebrate giving, and re-commit to giving. I left today’s gathering more enthusiastic than ever about the caliber of people who are leading the organizations doing important work around the world. And I was reminded that – even as we gathered for a family-style meal – this is a community that considers itself a family. If we recognize and build on that, we can be assured that we will all be learning and growing many Giving Tuesdays into the future.
