Here’s a challenge: next time you are on an international flight, grab the in-flight magazine and see if you can find an advertisement from a European or Asian country touting their ideal conditions for setting up a business.  Many of the advertisements discuss in great detail their pro-business policies and highly educated workforce as well as the necessary infrastructure to make your overseas enterprise successful. 

More than 1000 representatives from corporations, NGOs and governments gathered in San Francisco last week for the annual Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) conference.  The long-standing conference covered 4 days this year, beginning with pre-conference trainings on Tuesday and carrying through Friday with a series of keynote speakers, group panels, working sessions, and networking events.  As a rookie attendant, I found the event exhilarating and was particularly enthralled by two sessions that incorporated public-private partnerships.

If you are someone deeply involved in the nonprofit sector, you most likely receive daily emails, newsletters, or updates with some permutation of the following words: how to, nonprofit, survive, fundraising, downturn, results, and impact. It’s probably not a surprise that in this resource-constrained climate, many funders and donors are more targeted in their grantmaking and donating. They are demanding more data-driven results from grantees and less anecdotal evidence. In a recent survey, a group of 30-49 year-olds were asked to rank the importance of certain topics when considering donating through social media.

Your organization has likely done a masterful job of cultivating strong funding relationships with a cadre of donors who value the fine work you do in the community. These donors have meaningful relationships with your leadership team and with your board members. In fact, they may socialize with your board members and executive director from time to time outside of the context of your organization. Or their spouses are on the board of another community organization together or know each other from their college days. Regardless, their support of your organization is primarily based on strong social and personal relationships and an emotional valuing of your cause.