"New Dimensions in Grantmaking" Community Foundation of Boone County

(Bill Somerville gave the following presentation to non-profit executives at Ulen Country Club on July 29, 2003.)

We need to have higher expectations of philanthropy than we now have. By this, I mean for us to understand that the philanthropic dollar is a magic dollar.

As the law is now written, we can fund anything of a charitable nature – grants to individual artists, grants to non 501(c)(3) entities, grants to public entities, grants to a for-profit commercial enterprise that is undertaking a charitable event such as a food give away program.

I direct a foundation which gives out $4 million a year. We have no deadlines, no application, and we give grants on a 24-hour turnaround.

The secret is, this requires a lot of trust. I see trust as the lubricant that makes things happen. Let me give an example. I get together with someone. They tell me what their idea is. We discuss the idea with give and take and come to an agreement. I go back to my office and write a letter of agreement and send the check.

I call this “paperless giving”. Is it reckless? I don’t think so because I know you, your reputation, the accomplishments of your agency. What more do I need?

Some foundations do this now only under a different rubric. It is called the executive directors’ discretionary giving. The Packard Foundation has carried this a step further with sub-committees of the Board which can give grants up to $250,000 in two weeks.

The idea of having you wait nine months for a decision and a check is no longer acceptable. It is axiomatic that money given when it is needed can have the greatest impact and this is the secret of giving small grants because when they are given right away they can do more.

We sent a one-page notice to 44,000 teachers saying if they wanted a $500 grant for an excursion or classroom resource materials in science or art, they just needed to fax us their request and we give them a check in 24 hours. We have given out $1.5 million so far. Teachers call this the “fax grant” program.

We now have 16 fax grant programs for librarians, social workers, juvenile court judges, non-profit agencies. We call this immediate response grantmaking and people love it.

I do this to demonstrate new dimensions in grantmaking and show what can be done. So far it has had little impact on other foundation giving. Maybe this style of giving is too far out.

So I say to you, these are the possibilities in philanthropy and you should be more demanding.

Remember, a foundation can’t do its work without finding outstanding professionals and you can’t do your work without the financial resources you need. There is a symbiosis between us – we need each other.

Let me give some ideas on developing better working relationships between non-profits and foundations.

First, create a relationship. Invite foundation people over to see your work. Don’t invite us to open houses. Let us see you at work. Stay in touch. Call the foundation now and then with anecdotal items about your progress.

We give out one-time use cameras with our grants and ask you to send pictures of your work. If they are good, we use them in our annual report. We also circulate them at our Board meetings. Don’t wait for a camera, buy one yourself and send pictures now. Almost nobody does this and thus it sets you apart.

Share your successes and your failures. Doesn’t it make sense for a funder to learn what doesn’t work? Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a book of failures for Boone County? This would be a resource on what didn’t work.

Foundations should be far more tolerant of failures by non-profits and yet we all feel a sense of opprobrium with failure. Isn’t it as important to know what doesn’t work as well as what does?

Be willing to venture, to be creative, to take risks. Foundations beg for this. And if you do venture you will have some failures. Likewise, if you have no failures, you have not ventured.

Ideas are the commodity of exchange with foundations not problems. Don’t spend your time defining the problem. Spend it on developing ideas. What is it you want to have happen and how do you want to bring it about?

The creative process is such a precious item in our society. Most people say they’re too busy with day to day duties. Allow yourself the time to cogitate and come up with ideas.

I went to the Stanford University of Medical School and suggested the possibility of medical students, under the professors’ oversight, running health clinics in high schools. For the first time in 100 years, this is now happening. My friends, it’s called causative philanthropy because by taking the initiative, we caused something to happen. Do you take the initiative?

Why not ask the community foundation to convene people on topics of deep concern to you? All this is, is having a lunch for not more than eight people to focus on a topic and these eight people are highly selected for their outstanding work in the community.

The lunch has no agenda. I will bring youth workers together, and I might start the meeting by saying, “How can the private dollar be more helpful with young females?” and I say no more.

What comes out of the discussion are some great ideas, and new relationships between people because, it turns out, you all do not get together this way very often.

Because the foundation is neutral territory, it can call people together who don’t normally come together. I love these discussions because, with good facilitating, people are at their most creative.

Be willing to reach out to new population groups. Have you read “Nickeled and Dimed?” You should. It is about the millions of Americans trying to get by on minimum wage.

We need the finest thinking we can come up with in regards to social issues that vex us. Instead, it is my finding that paperwork processing has an inordinate impact on non-profits and foundations. We are reaching the point where the process becomes the product. This isn’t acceptable.

The theory of chaos is that it will create itself. It is the genius who can keep things simple. As I think back, I have never had an agency come to me saying they are having an internal program audit to simplify their work.

I have lots to say to you folks because I went to foundations for support for 14 years and I have run foundations for 30 years, but I want to stop and hear your questions.

-Bill Somerville

Additional Information and Assistance:

The Community Foundation of Boone County
PO Box 92
Zionsville Indiana 46077

Voice: 317-873-0210 or 765-482-0024
FAX: 317-873-0219
Email: cfbc@in-motion.net

This site maintained by , BCCN.