Does your team look just like you?

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a six-part series exploring values-based leadership by Chris Hitch, director of the Gen. H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center. 

Gen. Shelton views leading with diversity as a great attribute for values-based leaders. When we listen to Gen. Shelton talk about his strong belief on diversity, we come to understand that he views diversity in a much broader sense than what is traditionally viewed. He talks frequently about how the differences in people-different qualities, attributes and perspectives result a much better solution than does an internal echo chamber in which everybody is alike.  

He notes that there are multiple differences (for example, age, education, ethnic background, nationality, gender, work history and perspectives) that we need to embrace and bring to the table in order to identify the challenge or opportunity and come up with the best solution. Gen. Shelton likens this to his work as the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He notes that "The Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force are all different. They have their own different cultures and ways of doing things, yet they come together to create the greatest fighting force in the world." He’s also seen from his work with corporate boards that a board’s effectiveness comes from different perspectives that help the organization continue to move forward. Each board member’s diverse expertise is tapped to help shape the direction of the organization.

One key point I take away from GEN Shelton’s ideas on diversity is that a key role of a values-based leader is to, as he states, “merge and meld the talents and complimentary capabilities of people from a diverse point of view.” We thereby grow a much stronger, capable and nimble team than we would if we only selected and worked with people who were just like us. I’ve learned and re-learned that a key function of a leader is taking the time to bring people in from different points of view and backgrounds, and then listen.  

An analogy I’ve picked up from watching, listening and learning is the leader serving as a host or hostess at a large party. The host or hostess first learns each guest’s interests and backgrounds and then connects them with other people to create interesting conversation. Similarly, a values-based leader needs to consciously and continuously look for ways to connect and bring people together from different backgrounds and interests to solve large and complex challenges and opportunities across organizations.   

Where have you seen diversity work as a strength in your personal or professional work?

Chris Hitch, Ph.D., is director of the Gen. H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center and program director of the Poole College of Management Executive Education at North Carolina State University.

Building a movement to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in philanthropy

Special to Philanthropy Journal

Kelly Brown

D5 is a coalition of organizations committed to making philanthropy more diverse, inclusive and equitable in its practices. But we are more than just that. We are a movement of dedicated people. And we are taking action.

As demonstrated in D5’s State of Work 2013 report, our movement continues to grow, as more people—from foundations large and small, individual donors, regional and national associations, and organizations that focus on diverse communities—recognize that advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy is critical for achieving meaningful impact. The new voices and ideas they bring to the table help to strengthen our work—by asking new questions, suggesting alternative approaches and bringing fresh enthusiasm to striving for a goal that many of us have been working towards for decades.

It is important to challenge each other to tackle tough questions and to inspire each other to take the next steps. As we keep expanding beyond our original core of foundations and philanthropic infrastructure groups, we must recognize the progress we’ve made, while doing the hard work of reaching consensus on strategies for increasing diversity, equity and inclusion.

As a movement, we have a mandate—and an exciting opportunity—to pause at regular intervals and reflect on our progress. That’s been the purpose of the State of the Work reports dating back to the first major D5 publication in 2011. Once a year we show how this movement is unfolding and share the lessons learned from the successes and setbacks along the way. These lessons can help all of us who are interested in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion determine the first step (or the next step) that is right for our organizations.

This year’s report profiles a variety of foundations who have taken action, so that we can all learn from our peers in the field. The featured learning profiles were drawn from a deeper analysis of the best policies and practices. They reflect the growing range of institutions that engage diversity and inclusion as an essential component of excellence and effectiveness. And, they answer the all-important question that many people ask when they hear our big goal:  “Where do I start?”

The profiles highlight the urgency of action. D5 is working with our partners to build collective will for increased diversity, equity and inclusion in philanthropy. We plan to remain a source of information and guidance by continuing to raise awareness and providing tools and resources for people who are ready to take action.

But the success of this movement ultimately depends on all of you. To increase the impact and relevance of our field, more and more individuals must take on this work in their organizations. We all know that a report, after all, is just that: a report on our collective progress—which we hope will provide inspiration and ideas. But it’s not the “work” itself.

This is hard work. But it is a vital effort, and together we are making progress. Regardless of whether this cause is new or familiar to you, I would urge you to reach out to others—the Joint Affinity Groups, your regional association, the Council on Foundations or population-focused funds—to share what you’re learning and to strengthen the community of people who have come together with common purpose.

Our collective action on diversity, equity, and inclusion put us on a path toward greater impact in advancing the common good. We hope you will join us in this movement to strengthen philanthropy.

Kelly Brown is the director of D5 Coalition, a five-year effort to increase diversity in philanthropy. The 2013 State of the Work profiles the many leaders across the country who are taking important steps toward diversity and inclusion. Featuring insights from executives of the American Express Foundation, the Baltimore Community Foundation, Access Strategies Fund, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Capek Consulting, Russell Family Foundation, and FSG, the report lays the groundwork for a more diverse sector going forward.

Pollination philanthropy: More is more

Special to Philanthropy Journal

Alissa Hauser

How I love a good TED Talk, especially when the presenter comes from the nonprofit world and talks about a new way to tackle an old problem. But have you ever wondered who funded that TED presenter when they first launched that inspiring idea? Who believed in the potential of the Nobel Prize laureate, or the Goldman Environmental Prize winner, or the Ashoka Fellow from day one – long before they ran an organization, had a business plan or their TED talk was circulating across the internet?

Pollination philanthropy focuses on seeding nascent social change projects and passionate and creative leadership. By dividing a large chunk of money into targeted micro-grants, more good work gets funded, and thus has a chance to grow and ultimately blossom in the world.  

To some, it may seem ill-advised to give in this way when theoretically one could give larger amounts to fewer, more established and proven nonprofits and focus one’s investment in one or two issue areas.  I’ve spent the past 15 years running and advising nonprofits that must rely on ongoing major donor and foundation support, so I know how important those anchor tenants are in a fundraising plan. 

But pollination philanthropy’s goal is not about sustaining an established organization. It is about believing in the power of people, armed with a calling, a passion, a practical vision, and sometimes a smartphone, to make meaningful and fundable change in the world.

Here are a few things that make pollination philanthropy unique:

Quantity   

As most of us learned in junior high, the survival of any plant species is first contingent on seed distribution. Some plants create few seeds and disperse them carefully to give the seeds the best chance possible to take root (like a fruit tree). Other plants, like dandelions, can each create up to 2,000 seeds to be carried by the wind.  

Pollination philanthropy is the philanthropic equivalent of a dandelion: it relies on making a high volume of micro-grants to viable projects and committed people, knowing that each grant has the potential to take root and form a whole new flower – and also knowing that some won’t. But each seed holds the inherent possibility of becoming something vibrantly alive.

Timing

Micro-grants can seem like a drop in the bucket when you have a big vision. For most social change ventures, a donation of $1,000 or less doesn’t go very far unless it is exceptionally well timed. At the formative stages of a project, a micro-grant often represents the validation and encouragement needed to move forward to the next phase. A timely micro-grant provides momentum for a project to raise more money and gain more exposure. It can pay for a product, service, or other stepping stone that helps attract further support.

One of The Pollination Project’s early grantees, Rev. Marjani Dele, recently launched the Sunflower Field School to train urban teenagers in the Washington, D.C., area how to plant, cultivate, harvest and then sell sunflower seeds. She received her first $1,000 grant just as she was planning her first training for the youth. When she told a local land grant college that she had raised some seed capital, they took her more seriously and offered her free farmland and student support for her project. Because of the timing, her little $1,000 micro-grant created more than $5,000 of value in about a week.

People

Pollination philanthropy starts with the belief that everyone has something to contribute towards making the world better. Our job is to identify the most motivated, passionate and committed social change entrepreneurs who are ready to make their game changing ideas a reality.

In a recent article on Philanthrogeek.com, pop-up art museum pioneer Michelle Delarlo said, “You might not think giving someone $1,000 is going to do very much ... I don’t think it’s necessarily about how much money we need to find in order to change the world. Rather, perhaps it’s changing money in order to find the people who want to [make the change].”

In a world where ordinary people with smartphones in hand, can become news reporters, art curators, salespeople and grassroots organizers, it is more important than ever to invest in the power of individuals to carry out their deeply ingrained passion for social change.

Diversity

Pollination philanthropy does not operate in a funding monoculture where only certain defined issues are supported.  Instead, pollination philanthropy looks at the values it wants to replicate in the world and invests in those values over the long term.

For example, at The Pollination Project, we strive, first and foremost, to promote compassion. We’ve funded diverse projects from affordable healthcare to climate change to restorative justice to animal rights.  What do they have in common?  They all promote compassion in the world. When you make donations based on a core value like compassion, then the seeds of compassion are dispersed across a wide spectrum of issue areas.  That’s where real change starts to happen.

Yes, it can be seen as “risky” to fund these emergent social change entrepreneurs. But when a vision takes hold, no matter how big or small, these social change entrepreneurs will dedicate themselves to it. They will create miracles beyond anything we could quantify or measure. They are like the dandelion seed ready to take flight: they just need some wind for liftoff.

Alissa Hauser is the Executive Director of The Pollination Project, a new foundation that gives away $1,000 a day, every day of the year, to individual social change visionaries. See related PJ story here.