I always felt that having lunch with Harry McPherson was like having the History Channel to myself for two hours. He was one of those rare men who was not only filled with great stories he was eager to share, but who was equally curious to hear yours. Harry died this week at 83. He was one of the last of Washington’s wise men, a counselor to President Lyndon Johnson and a Democratic partisan but always civil, even courtly.
We had initially known each other through government and politics, because everyone in government and politics knew Harry, but we did not know each other particularly well. Then one day, when the Washington Post happened to have written a very flattering profile of Share Our Strength, I was browsing in Chapters bookstore on K Street at lunch time when Harry walked by, somehow saw me from the sidewalk, rapped on the window, and gave me the thumbs up sign.
When I got back to my office there was a message waiting for me from Harry saying that he’d love to have lunch some time. We did and continued doing so more than 20 years. He was fascinated by our model of creating community wealth, deeply interested in our work in Ethiopia where his law firm had been involved in settling some border disputes, and full of ideas about useful introductions he could make, which he did.
Harry was as animated in talking about the novels of Trollope (“You simply must read The Way We Live Now”, he insisted) and architecture and poetry as he was about civil rights, history and politics. He was one of a kind, and with 25 years on me, a wonderful mentor. I miss him already.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Can you afford to not do advocacy?
A new study backs up what Share Our Strength has learned through the success of its No Kid Hungry campaign in enrolling more children in public food and nutrition programs. The National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy’s new report called Levering Limited Dollars found that every dollar invested in policy and civic engagement returns $115 in community benefits. The report cites numerous concrete examples. It can be found at @ http://www.ncrp.org/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&Itemid=41&p=product&id=66&parent=1
For many years, we funded advocacy but did little ourselves. It was only when we realized that one of the primary reasons that children in America were hungry was that they were not accessing programs for which they were eligible, like school breakfast and summer meals, that we built a capacity to better understand and intersect with relevant public policy matters. We did not become lobbyists, but we did work to ensure that those we serve were more likely to benefit from the programs policymakers, with bipartisan support, had established.
Too many nonprofits assume that they can’t afford to devote limited resources to advocacy. But with a return of $115 dollars for every dollar spent, how can they afford not to?
For many years, we funded advocacy but did little ourselves. It was only when we realized that one of the primary reasons that children in America were hungry was that they were not accessing programs for which they were eligible, like school breakfast and summer meals, that we built a capacity to better understand and intersect with relevant public policy matters. We did not become lobbyists, but we did work to ensure that those we serve were more likely to benefit from the programs policymakers, with bipartisan support, had established.
Too many nonprofits assume that they can’t afford to devote limited resources to advocacy. But with a return of $115 dollars for every dollar spent, how can they afford not to?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Does Your Nonprofit Manage a "Social Strategy Supply Chain"?
When I was on the board of the Timberland company one of the major areas of focus for the senior management team was supply chain strategy. In its simplest terms the supply chain is the network of businesses who supply every material, part, piece, button, circuit, software, label, etc needed to make and ship a finished product. If the chain gets interrupted, if just one of perhaps hundreds of different suppliers drops the ball, something goes missing and the product fails. So might the enterprise. The fate of businesses rest upon supply chain management almost entirely. And so of course there are supply chain associations, journals, consultants, etc.
We don’t usually talk about supply chain in the social sector. But we should. Because solutions to social problems also depend on a highly integrated chain of inputs that might be thought of as a “social strategy supply chain”. New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman made me think of this when he wrote that “someone who really wanted equal opportunity … would support more nutritional aid for low income mothers-to-be and young children.” Instead of only narrowly prescribing changes in tax, trade and manufacturing policies, as President Obama did in his State of the Union speech, Krugman made the link to the critical ingredients across the entire length of the chain.
Some of the most successful, transformational, and rapidly growing nonprofits do exactly this. For example:
- The Nurse Family Partnership, aiming to break the cycle of poverty for low income fanmiles, advocates for not just one intervention, but for immunizations, breastfeeding, home visits, etc. and conducts randomized controlled trials that demonstrate better prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal education and employment.
- The Harlem Children’s Zone is built around a “project pipeline” whose focus is “cradle to college” supporting young people with the most comprehensive range possible of family, social, and health services for their entire journey
- Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry strategy is designed to surround kids with nutritious food where they live, learn and play and so it’s social strategy supply chain must include not only food assistance, but nutrition education for moms and families, resource maximization skills, public policy interventions.
Timberland’s supply chain team understood that it would be futile to try to produce a quality footwear product if any critical ingredient from leather to glue was missing. The same holds true in the social sector but because we are habituated to resource constraints we often overlook this central, unforgiving reality. That’s why the supply chain that the Harlem Children’s Zone calls their “pipeline” is such a refreshing exception to the norm.
When it comes to succeeding on behalf of vulnerable kids we need to think not only about the expertise we can provide but about the entire social strategy supply chain, how we maintain it’s integrity, and how each link in the chain depends on every other.
We don’t usually talk about supply chain in the social sector. But we should. Because solutions to social problems also depend on a highly integrated chain of inputs that might be thought of as a “social strategy supply chain”. New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman made me think of this when he wrote that “someone who really wanted equal opportunity … would support more nutritional aid for low income mothers-to-be and young children.” Instead of only narrowly prescribing changes in tax, trade and manufacturing policies, as President Obama did in his State of the Union speech, Krugman made the link to the critical ingredients across the entire length of the chain.
Some of the most successful, transformational, and rapidly growing nonprofits do exactly this. For example:
- The Nurse Family Partnership, aiming to break the cycle of poverty for low income fanmiles, advocates for not just one intervention, but for immunizations, breastfeeding, home visits, etc. and conducts randomized controlled trials that demonstrate better prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal education and employment.
- The Harlem Children’s Zone is built around a “project pipeline” whose focus is “cradle to college” supporting young people with the most comprehensive range possible of family, social, and health services for their entire journey
- Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry strategy is designed to surround kids with nutritious food where they live, learn and play and so it’s social strategy supply chain must include not only food assistance, but nutrition education for moms and families, resource maximization skills, public policy interventions.
Timberland’s supply chain team understood that it would be futile to try to produce a quality footwear product if any critical ingredient from leather to glue was missing. The same holds true in the social sector but because we are habituated to resource constraints we often overlook this central, unforgiving reality. That’s why the supply chain that the Harlem Children’s Zone calls their “pipeline” is such a refreshing exception to the norm.
When it comes to succeeding on behalf of vulnerable kids we need to think not only about the expertise we can provide but about the entire social strategy supply chain, how we maintain it’s integrity, and how each link in the chain depends on every other.
The Political Courage of A Governor and No Kid Hungry Champion
Because Maryland is of such great importance in our No Kid Hungry strategy, our focus in listening to Governor O’Malley’s State of the State speech yesterday was on whether he would include a reference to ending childhood hunger. He did. But the speech turned out to be well worth listening to for other reasons as well. It was not only ambitious in scope, but politically courageous.
O’Malley did what other political leaders rarely do: he told people what they did not want to hear, but needed to know. He said that creating jobs and investing in the future means there would need to be increases in taxes and fees.
The Governor tried to help legislators and voters think long-term and see the big picture:
“To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments: investments by all of us, for all of us. That’s not a Democratic or a Republican idea; it’s an economic and historic truth. It was true for our parents, it was true for our grandparents, and it is a truth that has built our State and has built our country….
"Everything has a cost. Failing to make decisions that are consistent with the interests of the next generation – this too has a cost," he said. "Progress is a choice."
Politicians don’t often say such things. But leaders do.
The Baltimore Sun coverage is at @ http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bs-md-state-of-the-state-20120130,0,6645505.story
and the speech itself can be found at @ http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/StateOfTheState2012.pdf
O’Malley did what other political leaders rarely do: he told people what they did not want to hear, but needed to know. He said that creating jobs and investing in the future means there would need to be increases in taxes and fees.
The Governor tried to help legislators and voters think long-term and see the big picture:
“To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments: investments by all of us, for all of us. That’s not a Democratic or a Republican idea; it’s an economic and historic truth. It was true for our parents, it was true for our grandparents, and it is a truth that has built our State and has built our country….
"Everything has a cost. Failing to make decisions that are consistent with the interests of the next generation – this too has a cost," he said. "Progress is a choice."
Politicians don’t often say such things. But leaders do.
The Baltimore Sun coverage is at @ http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bs-md-state-of-the-state-20120130,0,6645505.story
and the speech itself can be found at @ http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/StateOfTheState2012.pdf
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
How has your nonprofit prepared for the new economic environment?
The headlines of the past few days underscore why 2012 will be a year in which communities across the country need Community Wealth Ventures more than ever.
The lead story in the January 1 NY Times describes the Obama Administration’s decision to basically give up on getting anything significant done in Congress in 2012 except the extension of the payroll tax cut. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/us/politics/obama-to-focus-on-congress-and-economy-in-2012-campaign.html?ref=politics : “President Obama heading into his re-election campaign with plans to step up his offensive against an unpopular Congress, concluding that he cannot pass any major legislation in 2012 because of Republican hostility toward his agenda.”
The lead story of today’s NYT is about Defense Secretary Panetta’s proposal to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the defense budget driven by the Obama Administration’s vision of fiscal reality. If these kinds of cuts in defense spending, which are a foregone conclusion, just imagine the constraints we are going to see on domestic and human and social service budgets at all levels of government.
With government both gridlocked and broke, there will be greater and greater pressure in the year ahead for nonprofits and public-private partnerships to advance innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to community needs. As government spending shrinks, more nonprofits will be expected to help fill the gap, notwithstanding the impracticality, if not impossibility, of accomplishing more with less.
Given CWV’s track record of helping high performing nonprofits embrace ingredients of growth and transformation, achieve sustainability and scale, and create community wealth; we may be filling a need, and intersecting with the national conversation, in ways greater than once imagined.
The lead story in the January 1 NY Times describes the Obama Administration’s decision to basically give up on getting anything significant done in Congress in 2012 except the extension of the payroll tax cut. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/us/politics/obama-to-focus-on-congress-and-economy-in-2012-campaign.html?ref=politics : “President Obama heading into his re-election campaign with plans to step up his offensive against an unpopular Congress, concluding that he cannot pass any major legislation in 2012 because of Republican hostility toward his agenda.”
The lead story of today’s NYT is about Defense Secretary Panetta’s proposal to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the defense budget driven by the Obama Administration’s vision of fiscal reality. If these kinds of cuts in defense spending, which are a foregone conclusion, just imagine the constraints we are going to see on domestic and human and social service budgets at all levels of government.
With government both gridlocked and broke, there will be greater and greater pressure in the year ahead for nonprofits and public-private partnerships to advance innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to community needs. As government spending shrinks, more nonprofits will be expected to help fill the gap, notwithstanding the impracticality, if not impossibility, of accomplishing more with less.
Given CWV’s track record of helping high performing nonprofits embrace ingredients of growth and transformation, achieve sustainability and scale, and create community wealth; we may be filling a need, and intersecting with the national conversation, in ways greater than once imagined.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Encouraging evidence that we are broadening our base
Share Our Strength ended 2011 with a record level of revenues, and year-end on-line giving up more than 130%, exceeding $1.4 million. These are remarkable results. The donation I am most excited about however was one we received for fifty bucks.
In the last days of 2011 this $50 contribution came from eight teachers in Fairfax County’s Family and Early Childhood Education Program (HeadStart) with a note that perfectly underscores one of our strategic imperatives for 2012. : “Please accept this donation to the No Kid Hungry campaign on behalf of the eight of us, all Early Childhood Resource Teachers in the FECEP/Headstart program in Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA. We work with children and families of poverty each day and know their struggles. This year we decided to forgo our own gift exchange and donate to your cause instead. We appreciate all that you are attempting to do for these kids and their families!”
When teachers tell us that supporting our program is one of the most important ways of advancing their work, it is powerful testimony that ending childhood hunger through No Kid Hungry has the potential to become an education issue and with a larger constituency than we might have imagined. Childhood hunger and nutrition are health issues too. They are also tied to economic competitiveness.
Why is this so important? We’ve done a great job of capturing the imaginations and earning the support of those passionate about ending childhood hunger. But that universe of anti-hunger advocates, by itself, is not large enough to get the job done.
But it has given us a solid foundation from which to grow. Our strategic imperative going forward is to broaden our base, so that just like the 8 HeadStart teachers in Fairfax County who donated at year-end, those who are passionate about education, health care, and even economic growth come to see ending childhood hunger as a priority they should make their own.
All successful movements – from civil rights to the environment - succeed when they are able to cross over and appeal to a broader constituency than their original passionate but small base. It’s exciting to start 2012 knowing that those who work so closely with the most vulnerable of our children, such as the HeadStart teachers in Fairfax County, are reaching out to join our campaign.
In the last days of 2011 this $50 contribution came from eight teachers in Fairfax County’s Family and Early Childhood Education Program (HeadStart) with a note that perfectly underscores one of our strategic imperatives for 2012. : “Please accept this donation to the No Kid Hungry campaign on behalf of the eight of us, all Early Childhood Resource Teachers in the FECEP/Headstart program in Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA. We work with children and families of poverty each day and know their struggles. This year we decided to forgo our own gift exchange and donate to your cause instead. We appreciate all that you are attempting to do for these kids and their families!”
When teachers tell us that supporting our program is one of the most important ways of advancing their work, it is powerful testimony that ending childhood hunger through No Kid Hungry has the potential to become an education issue and with a larger constituency than we might have imagined. Childhood hunger and nutrition are health issues too. They are also tied to economic competitiveness.
Why is this so important? We’ve done a great job of capturing the imaginations and earning the support of those passionate about ending childhood hunger. But that universe of anti-hunger advocates, by itself, is not large enough to get the job done.
But it has given us a solid foundation from which to grow. Our strategic imperative going forward is to broaden our base, so that just like the 8 HeadStart teachers in Fairfax County who donated at year-end, those who are passionate about education, health care, and even economic growth come to see ending childhood hunger as a priority they should make their own.
All successful movements – from civil rights to the environment - succeed when they are able to cross over and appeal to a broader constituency than their original passionate but small base. It’s exciting to start 2012 knowing that those who work so closely with the most vulnerable of our children, such as the HeadStart teachers in Fairfax County, are reaching out to join our campaign.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Obama has an alternative to skirmishing with Congress: working with Governors on No Kid Hungry
The lead story in today’s NY Times describes the Obama Administration’s decision to basically give up on getting anything significant done in Congress in 2012 except the extension of the payroll tax cut. See: @ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/us/politics/obama-to-focus-on-congress-and-economy-in-2012-campaign.html?ref=politics
It feels like good politics more than good governing but also a reasonably realistic choice given the recalcitrance of the opposition party to compromise in any way, shape or form. But there is another route for Obama to get things done, and that is by more closely working with the nation’s governors, who while political, do not operate in the same insular culture of Capitol Hill, and are not subject to the same pressures to build or preserve congressional majorities.
At Share Our Strength we’ve seen first-hand the impact that governors can have in bringing Obama’s policy goals to fruition. When it comes to ending childhood hunger for example Democrats like Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and Republicans like Virginia Gov. McDonnell have been instrumental in helping close the gap between the number of children eligible for food and nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals, and those actually participating. Best of all, there are no budget battles to be fought because the programs are relatively small entitlements whose funding has already been assured with bipartisan support.
President Obama campaigned on the idea of changing the way Washington works. One way to do that is to reach out more powerfully to the state executives responsible for implementing programs the federal government has created. One result, even during this difficult economic period, could be an America that achieves the bold goal of ensuring there is No Kid Hungry.
It feels like good politics more than good governing but also a reasonably realistic choice given the recalcitrance of the opposition party to compromise in any way, shape or form. But there is another route for Obama to get things done, and that is by more closely working with the nation’s governors, who while political, do not operate in the same insular culture of Capitol Hill, and are not subject to the same pressures to build or preserve congressional majorities.
At Share Our Strength we’ve seen first-hand the impact that governors can have in bringing Obama’s policy goals to fruition. When it comes to ending childhood hunger for example Democrats like Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and Republicans like Virginia Gov. McDonnell have been instrumental in helping close the gap between the number of children eligible for food and nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals, and those actually participating. Best of all, there are no budget battles to be fought because the programs are relatively small entitlements whose funding has already been assured with bipartisan support.
President Obama campaigned on the idea of changing the way Washington works. One way to do that is to reach out more powerfully to the state executives responsible for implementing programs the federal government has created. One result, even during this difficult economic period, could be an America that achieves the bold goal of ensuring there is No Kid Hungry.
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