Hey John. :-) Comments inline; I'm kind of tired so I may meander.
John Hibbs wrote:
Can those doing not-for-profit work sell the idea that they reach
Movers and Shakers?
Aren't people who do not-for-profit work - aren't they 'Movers and
Shakers'? I suspect this is about finance, though, but I wanted to stick
that out there.
I recognize I am probably a minority on the list, but I think
self-sustaining non-profits are the way to go. Self sustaining in that
they are profitable; as Henry Ford said (paraphrased) 'a good company
makes more than money'. Thinking out loud - with a stretch, we can say
that non-profits exist because other areas do not provide value to
groups, and the non-profits are created to fill those voids. So when
looking for funding for non-profits, we're looking for funding from the
same groups that could not provide that value in the first place
(something I will carry over to a philanthropy list I am on).
Einstein did say that a problem cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking that created it. Maybe he was on to something. ;-)
That while it is hard to provide benchmarks and
absolutes it is easy to make the claim that good work supported by
good (for profit) companies is a /profitable/ undertaking? That the
direct links between the work itself might be hard of precisely
substantiate; but the linkage by way of conversation, dialogue, press
release, blog, list serv, video uploads have impact as favorable to
the sponsor as a Coke ad behind home plate during the World Series.
If Coke can make the claim more people drink their beverage based on
people interested in a baseball outcome, why can't non profits make
the same kind of claim?
Branding? One thing I have learned is that if one stirs the pot of
smelly stuff (PG list, use your imagination), you end up smelling like
what is in the pot. And then, even away from the pot, you are associated
with the stuff in the pot. If, for example, you are constantly looking
for funding - people will see you coming from a mile away. If you
disagree with something, you become associated with what you disagree
with. It isn't wrong or right - it is simply what it is.Branding can be
good either way.
But non-profit folk - like any other folk - like to hang out and talk
with like-minded people. It isn't a sin, but I often think it is
self-defeating in many instances, especially when it comes to
communicating to people 'outside of the group'. For the communication to
occur, the value has to be shared. That value is a funny thing. I can
explain open standards and open source concepts to a farmer in a
rumshop, but for some reason I can't explain the same things to an IT
Professional who wants nothing to do with 'open'. Unlearning, maybe, but
it has more to do with shared values. A farmer can understand the
importance of a tractor which allows one to open the hood and fix it, or
allow anyone else to fix it. An IT Professional may see that as a direct
attack on their bread and butter. I have an opinion on that which is
fairly well known, but it is an example.
I think what we're all working towards in our own way is a bit of
culture change around us. Maybe explaining things to 1000 farmers is
more important than explaining things to a single IT Professional.
--
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.knowprose.com
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/
Criticize by creating. — Michelangelo
The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine. -
Nikola Tesla
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