The Power of Food/The Power of Community

I went to a tasting today – or, rather, I went to an outpouring of love.

It was a dessert cook-off. People prepared their standout recipes, and competed for various prizes. They paid to get in – a sliding scale that started low and rose pretty high, with the only differential being someone’s capacity to write checks – and the rest of the community, the non-chefs, paid to come in as well.

What did we get?

A chance to peak inside the kitchens of our fellow community members; a chance to appreciate good cooking in the company of our peers; and a chance to laugh together as we attempted the absurd task of trying 50 or so desserts in an hour’s time.

And the ability to cheer each other on (especially the kids – there was a special Junior Chefs division with about 10 contestants).

Food = Love. An age-old theme.

But even more than that, this showed me, once again, the power of special events if they’re really well-designed for the community at hand. We all went home with a glow – and the organization raised some dollars, increased awareness, and created an even tighter bond between participants.

Now I have to come clean – my 12-year-old son and his friend won second prize for their delicious chocolate chip cookies, so the event had a very satisfying end for them. But even before that dénouement, they basked in the appreciation of the 100+ participants, supported each other’s creations, and marveled at the variety of chocolate cakes in the world…while having no idea they were involved in a nonprofit fundraising venture.

They were simply having fun.

We Have A Long Way To Go

That’s what the executive director of a group that’s been totally funded by government for the last 30 years said to me last week.

And amazingly enough, she said it cheerfully.

“We could be making so much more from our event – we make $25,000 and we don’t do a thing,” she explained. “We don’t even ask people – we have over 100 vendors and we don’t ask them for a thing.”

Once her eyes had been opened, she could see what a journey they could take – and the same can-do nature that enabled her to lead a nonprofit with over 100 social work staff kicked in to connect fundraising with her zest for the job.

It’s this can-do nature – so prevalent in the nonprofit universe – that makes change possible, and that, ultimately, leads to institutional resilience. We’re certainly not in it for the money; that same blind determination that leads some people to found nonprofits leads others to run institutions they haven’t founded, even in the face of adversity.

Somehow, we’re optimists – we believe we can make a difference, and that we will – that somehow it’s going to work out. Because it must.

Why else would we still be here, after the battering we’ve been taking for the last 24 months?

I myself am inspired by the fact that this ED saw the glass half-full – she saw where they could go, and how far they were from their destination – and instead of despair, she saw the opportunity for progress.

Now there’s a life lesson…

Is It The Money?

It’s an old truism that development is more than just fundraising.

In other words, you’re only doing part of the job if you’re laser-focused on the funds you’re going after.

Not that bringing in funds isn’t important – we won’t be here (tomorrow) if we don’t bring in funds (today).

But there’s more to life in the fundraising lane than chasing after immediate dollars.

Because there’s more to raising funds than raising cash.

Anyone who’s been in fundraising for awhile knows the importance of tending to relationships, expanding organizational visibility, and building the backbone of a cadre of askers. Among other big-picture agenda items.

But the $64,000 question is: how do you allocate your time, in an era of dwindling resources, to make sure you’re tending the roots of the garden?

And even more profound: how do you allocate the time of your advocates – your board, volunteers, committee members – to make sure the garden’s going to flourish a Spring or two away?

Relevant questions, in the (hopefully) waning days of winter 2011…

Fixing the Board

We’re getting a lot of calls these days to “fix the board.”

Mostly these calls are coming from staff, but sometimes it’s a frustrated new board leader on the phone.

Rarely is it the rank-and-file who’re the subject of the needed fix.

What’s my point?

That it’s about consensual governance.

That we’re not paid enough, any of us, to govern through hierarchy and strife – and that we need to create a climate that celebrates and encourages the best interests of the cause.

While the economy may be “rebounding” in some sectors, in many others, including our own, times are just as stressful as they’ve ever been. Board members are holding on tight, just as we are. Starting from a position that the board has been “lazy” or “uncooperative” or “unwilling” doesn’t call up the desired behavior, nor does it provide the stick that so many are hoping it will. People move towards light, because they see the reason why and they see the path how.

Someone once compared board-staff relations to a marriage, and here’s where I’m going to show my bias. The point is to get along and move closer to the goal – not to be right.

Get the garbage on the curb. Get the money in the door. Same idea…cooperating to create a path that works.