Buying Bird Seed: Does the Public Broadcasting Funding Model Still Work?

"Is membership philanthropy?"
This was a seemingly simple question during the Ethics session led by Walt Gillette, ACFRE from WAMU and Roberta (Robbe) Healey, ACFRE at DEI's Public Media Development and Marketing Conference in July 2011. But given that this was a room of public radio people, it strikes at one of the core principles of the public broadcasting funding model.

How the Public Broadcasting Funding Model is Built
Funding for public broadcasting has been high profile in 2011 due to renewed attempts to zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). With all the attention Federal funding of public broadcasting has received, many of the general public are less aware of the private funding pieces.

Most public broadcasting stations are funded by a combination of sources in varying proportions. These sources may include:

A Remembrance for A Dedicated Volunteer

Amy set down her phone and raised her hand.

“May I have a moment? Teri’s gone.”

What followed was a deafening silence that probably didn’t last long, but felt like an eternity.

Jim was standing in front of the room, facilitating a portion of an all day board retreat for Flagstaff Community Partnership, a group of parents who provide peer to peer support for families with special needs children. He looked to me, and we both grasped for what to say to our grieving participants.

Teresa “Teri” Sanders was a strong advocate for the rights of special needs children. The board members described a passionate woman who was a force to be reckoned with. One person said, “You did not want to see her stand up in a meeting. One time she stood up and pointed her finger at someone, and I thought, ‘Good thing she’s on my side!’” Another board member elaborated, “Teri knew the law inside and out. She always knew what to say or do. What will we do without her?”

The people in the room continued their remembrances. Soon, it started to feel familiar. In my mind, I was transported back to the Quaker memorial service we attended for long-time Flagstaff philanthropist, Frances McAllister. I shared with our group what someone had shared then:

“If you continue to tell someone’s stories, they’re never truly gone.”

Interestingly, we had just worked on an exercise that the group had a difficult time completing. The group was trying to figure out the key stories for Flagstaff Community Partnership—what is your elevator speech? Whose stories do you tell to the outside world? What makes Flagstaff Community Partnership unique?

After hearing about Teri, we had our answer. As a parent of two special needs children, Teri had taken it upon herself to smooth the path for families, educating herself about resources, regulations and assistive services so that she could share the best of the best with others. She understood the difficulties parents of children with special needs were going through. She did all this as a volunteer, with no vested interest other than to make sure families didn’t have to unnecessarily struggle and had information that she didn’t have before. She embodied what Flagstaff Community Partnership is all about.

I like to think that Flagstaff Community Partnership will be telling Teri’s stories for many years to come. Jamie, the board president, said, “Teri’s definitely watching over us now.”

Although we never met Teri, we thank her for her dedication and service, and for being an inspiration for special needs advocates in Flagstaff for years to come.

Flagstaff Community Partnership:
http://www.flagstaffcommunitypartnership.org/

Teri Sanders’ obituary:
http://azdailysun.com/articles/2009/01/20/news/obituaries/20090120_obitu_189310.txt

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Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace

Staying True to Your Guiding Principles

Jimism #171 - "There is a difference between serving your community and protecting your commodity."

Most nonprofits are truly committed to serving their communities. They understand that the reason they exist is because there are real people with legitimate needs for their services and outreach. These organizations fully invest their funds and resources to meet those needs. When faced with difficult times, these philanthropies dig deep and make sacrifices all the while striving to maintain the quality services and the quantity of those served.

Sadly however, some nonprofit organizations forget their mission. They forget that they exist to serve. But let’s face it, organizations don’t make decisions, people do. And it can be devastating when a decision maker or influential board member begins to hamper an organization’s effectiveness in pursuit of their own agenda.

Why?
What might cause someone to pursue paths that seem contrary to their philanthropy’s mission?

Fear
Are they merely frightened? Do they begin to “hunker down” and impose a scarcity mentality that can be debilitating to their team, their volunteers and their constituents? If so, is their fear based on what’s good for the organization or on self-preservation?

Agenda
Is this a pattern of behavior? Are their actions temporary due to conditions or do they seem motivated by a pursuit of personal power or empire building? Is there a preoccupation with protecting individual legacy?

Identity Crisis
When these motivators are in action, decision makers begin to function more and more like a “profit before principles” business manager. They lose organizational vision. They become margin driven.

Appearances
Reality can be less important than the perception that is created by the right chart or graph. They’ll cut expenses to create an illusion of growth. They’ll restrict spending and diminish services strangling the organization and squashing the motivation of their team and volunteers.

If you’re a “business,” there’s nothing wrong with making a profit. But if profit is not your mission, if hefty balance statements are not a part of your vision, why should they guide your decisions?

Getting it Right
I started out by talking about what effective philanthropic organizations do right. They stay true to their mission of service. They remain guided by their organizational vision. They are dedicated to service before self. They are fortunate to have leaders that refuse to be only managers.

When times are tough, these individuals and organizations will be at their best.

---You can ride this wave too.

INNOVATE
Embrace change as a tangible resource that can redefine how you get your work done. Boycott the phrase… “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

CREATE
Nurture partnerships that can create greater efficiencies than either partner can deliver alone. Tear down the fences. It is a pointless park that no one gets to play in.

EXPLORE
Discover new value patterns. What can you do differently? What can you “refine” and do better? What should be repeated and what should be rejected?

We’re all facing difficult times.

So when you have to make a tough decision in your next meeting, pose this question…

“Are we serving our community or merely trying to protect our commodity?” Jimism #171

View more Jimisms at the GoalBusters Website.

Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace