tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22787195640280969662024-03-13T19:51:13.504-04:00Geoffrey Platt Consulting - BLOGProviding Assistance of Value to NonprofitsGeoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-52825193391409149972020-05-11T12:59:00.000-04:002020-05-11T12:59:23.645-04:00Corona Chapter One
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I am writing this from home ending week 8 of Covid-19 virus
-induced “sheltering in place” that began<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>on March 14. I have been dancing around about starting a post, probably due
to shell shock or perhaps, as my father used to say before beginning public
remarks: “ I am like the mosquito in a nudist colony- I know what I have to do,
but don’t know exactly where to start.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I will start with this from the 17<sup>th</sup> century
French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal: “ I have discovered that
all human misfortune <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>comes from this,
being unable to sit still in a room.” Right now, a large number of states are going
against medical advice and relaxing lockdown guidelines so, in the case of
Georgia, people can go back to gyms, tattoo parlors and hair salons. There the
pent up desire to get out of the house, to not sit still as it were, prevails despite
experts’ concerns that such moves will enable virus spread. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Americans, it seems to me, are largely an
impatient society and one that favors instant gratification.</div>
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The Lt. Governor of Texas, one Dan Patrick (R) called for
the re-opening of the country with this: “there are more important things than
living” e.g. the economy. He joins Trump in tone deaf and misleading statements
about the current deadly crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The effects of the pandemic in the country, even at a relatively
early stage, are catastrophic. To date over 80,000 have died, millions put out
of work, businesses ruined and peoples’ retirement savings in the stock market
savaged. An hour a day watching the T V news tells the grim story. And when we
need a Churchill, a FDR or even a Reagan to lead and encourage us in a crisis,
what we have instead is a mentally deficient, clueless and feckless narcissist. </div>
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Our lives and society are upended. When I was a kid there
was a large blowup vinyl figure, called I think a Bop Bag, almost life size,
weighted<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the base, so that when you
whacked it , it bounced right back . My hunch is that our nation, like that play
figure will, in time, bounce back, but like that figure, hit many times, it will
have lost some of its buoyancy. </div>
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I think nonprofits, of which I have written many times in
these posts, will play a big part in the recovery, although ironically many of
them may not survive, especially the smaller ones. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reasons for their importance have to do
with their missions and their human capacities. </div>
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The broad range of their missions, - health care, feeding
the hungry, soothing the soul through the arts, research, religion, education-
touched<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>every aspect of our society when
it was healthy and will need to again as it recovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for their human resources, nonprofits have
traditionally been led and staffed by bright and, most importantly, resourceful
talent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the best of times, although sometimes
unsure of the source of their next dollar, these organizations rose to their
missions’ calling. I hope you will think of the charities you love and favor
them with whatever you can spare nowadays. They will be needed to help fashion
the “new normal.”</div>
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I am going to stop now although I will, like so many others,
comment on our current and evolving situation in the future. This horrible
tragedy will inspire much work from writers, artists, musicians, politicians and
pundits. One theme is likely to be how the pandemic has laid bare the great
economic and social disparities in our nation. I live in a suburban (to DC)
neighborhood. Here, when outside, there are many walkers, children are learning
to ride two wheel bikes and their sheltered in parents are training newly
adopted dogs. But not many miles away families are lining up to get charity food
bank dinners. </div>
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I count myself lucky and hope you are too, and those whom
you love. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many are not so fortunate; let
us not forget them.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this and
other posts that may be seen in the archive to the left are welcome at:
gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
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<![endif]-->Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-38073728660045225522020-02-24T16:14:00.001-05:002020-02-24T16:14:18.929-05:00Rebuilding the Public's Trust in Nonprofits<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Public trust in nonprofits is sinking to new lows, according
to a study cited in a recent issue of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Chronicle of Philanthropy</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 2019
Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual study of institutions, found that only 52
percent of Americans believe nonprofits will do “what is right.” Furthermore, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a Better Business Bureau survey reported that
seventy percent of respondents stated that trust was essential before deciding
to make a donation to a charity, but that fewer that 20 percent “highly trust”
nonprofits. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why this worrisome and surprising trust deficit? What can be
done to narrow and erase it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not
rectified, charities’ missions will be damaged, with fewer donations and lessened
ability to attract talented staff, followed by the diminishment of any positive
impact a charity might make.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the most part, nonprofits have long basked in the rosy
glow of public approval. They do “good work,” by taking up the slack of weakening
government support of important functions in our civil society, whether it is
in health, education or culture. However, as the statistics above bear out,
they are not immune to an important attitudinal shift in our country- growing distrust
of institutions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The tip of the crumbling trust iceberg is scandal. The
Catholic Church (sexual abuse), Universities (dodgy admission and fundraising practices),
Corporations (Boeing 737 Max ), and Major League Baseball (sign stealing) are
just a few of the ivory<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>towers in
fracture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Pew Research Center cites
millennials as being particularly distrustful of institutions. The cynical
phrase “OK Boomer” encapsulates the divide between generations and the tendency
of younger people to fix blame on an older generation for present day society’s
divisive ills. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And where does government fit into the institutional
distrust diagram? You need look no further than our nation’s elected leader,
whose record of lying and grifting defies description, for a symbol of why
government is an ever present symbol of the public’s loss of confidence in not
just institutions, but authority in general. The antics -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>perhaps that word implies a undeserved degree
of activity - of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congress adds to the
mix. Where there is activity, such as the recent Senate impeachment trial of
President Trump, the reputation meter sinks even lower. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it is no wonder the charitable sector, aside from its own
peccadilloes, should be tarred with the same anti-institutional brush. It is a
generalized mistrust and when people are asked about specific organizations the
results may be very different. For instance, the American Red Cross suffered a
black eye for its handling of its part in the Hurricane Katrina crisis, whereas
The Salvation Army is held in high regard. Some nonprofits lose public
confidence if the perception is that they are too centered on high overhead fund
raising at the expense of doing their charitable work. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As any regular TV nightly news watcher knows, many broadcasts
end with a happy, “warm and fuzzy” segment to soften the blow of our having been
treated to almost 30 minutes of natural and manmade disasters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final segment is often a story of a small
group of adults and/or children that see a community need and raise dollars or
in-kind donations to meet the need. What’s more, they deliver what is needed, say
clothing or food, themselves. That’s core philanthropy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gaining back trust, or even acquiring it in the first
instance, is most effectively achieved person by person, organization by
organization, from the ground up. Nonprofits, especially smaller ones, often
find themselves living isolated in a silo or a bunker-like <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>existence, beset by scarcity of financial and
human resources. Larger and well known institutions exist in their silos too,
but some are happy to be ensconced in their exclusivity. Each type of
organization could benefit from a greater transparency as a means to gaining
the public’s trust.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are a few ideas for trust building. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a substantive annual meeting for members (donors).
Often these gatherings are used to puff up an organization’s accomplishments
and “reward” their donors with cheap wine and canapes. Instead, leadership
should use meetings to describe forthrightly the opportunities and challenges
ahead. Corporations have annual stockholder meetings; nonprofits should as
well, even if they attract, like corporations, an occasional controversy and stray
hothead. The old adage: It is better to have them inside the tent, wanting to
get out; than outside wanting to get in. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listening to supporters is an important step
to take. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same concept applies to board meetings: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>organization should open portions of board
meetings to the public, including the media. Board leadership has the right to
control the agenda and attendance. If matters are controversial, would you
rather have them revealed in the way you choose, or leaked?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consider a “public member” of the board, a person nominated
by the public or membership. Board membership is traditionally self-selecting. The
board membership chooses itself, tempting insularity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The public position could be non-voting, if
necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charities enjoy nonprofit and tax exempt status granted by
the Federal government, which is funded by public taxation. Members of the public
also voluntarily support nonprofits with donations. The point of the measures
suggested above, or others like it, is to create a relationship of openness
with the public, who supports them and whom they serve.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The matter of public trust of nonprofits must be taken
seriously - then aggressively addressed by nonprofit leadership, organization
by organization. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this post,
and others that may be read in the archive to the left, are welcome at:
gplatt63@gmail.com </i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-32137337477733287892019-11-21T16:49:00.000-05:002019-11-21T16:49:17.392-05:00The Big Bad Donor and Anonymity <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Imagine you’re a university fundraiser charged with raising
millions of dollars annually to fund the work of your institution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much do you want to know about the source
of a donor’s wealth, the use of that wealth, or for that matter the personal
life and mores of the donor? If you find disturbing information, will such
knowledge cause you to break the relationship with the donor or will you turn a
blind and perhaps rationalizing eye in favor of the support such money will
provide for your institution? </div>
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<br /></div>
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A recent case involving the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) brings this question into sharp and discomfiting focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has the elements of a drama with a
colorful cast of characters, and a plot centered on questions of cover-up, poor
judgment and the plain old fashioned chase for money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The setting: The prestigious MIT and its illustrious Media
Lab program. The cast: The Lab’s star Director Joichi (“Jo”) Ito, MIT’s top administration,
its development department and the late financier and convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein. Prominent Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig plays a
small, but significant, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>role. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the wings, with possible walk- ons, are
Microsoft’s Bill Gates and finance wizard Leon Black. The plot and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mise en Scene</i> is created by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Yorker</i> magazine’s investigative
journalist Ronan Farrow. </div>
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On September 6, 2019, the magazine published a piece by
Farrow entitled “How an Elite University Research Center Concealed its
Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Pulitzer Prize winner Farrow, the son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, has
developed a reputation of uncovering sexual abuse allegations of notable
figures, most prominently the movie producer Harvey Weinstein .</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the article Farrow
details how the MIT administration and its Media Lab star Jo Ito hid the
identity of Jeffrey Epstein as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a major
donor to the Lab of $1.7 million, while knowing full well of his 2008 Florida
conviction for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. The article was so
damning that Ito resigned from MIT less than a day after its publication. He
also left positions on the boards of the MacArthur Foundation and The New York
Times Company and as a visiting professor at the Harvard Law School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During his tenure at Media Lab, described by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> as “a sort of
academic skunkworks,” Ito had helped raise $50 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The brilliant Ito, described by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> as a “tech evangelist and master networker,” allegedly
also brokered, through Epstein, a major donation to MIT from Bill Gates and
Leon Black. Throughout, MIT ‘s administration concealed the deep relationship
it had with Epstein. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Then, if the Ito resignation was intended to end the matter,
the waters were roiled again by a friend of Ito and Harvard Law School
colleague Professor Lawrence Lessig. Within days he published a 3500 word essay
on the blogging platform “Medium” in support of Mr. Ito. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lessig, noted as an expert on intellectual
property and industrial corruption, argued that MIT’s keeping Epstein’s donations
anonymous was good as it avoided “whitewashing” his reputation. Another storm
of protest ensued.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Lessig defended his position in a September 17 interview
with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i>: “ ..the
suggestion of the Ronan Farrows of this world that somehow there’s something
terrible about the anonymity – no! If you’re going to take the money, you damn
well better make it anonymous. “ </div>
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<br /></div>
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That begs the question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should you take the money in the first place?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On this matter Lessig provided in his essay a
provocative template as a guide. He outlines four donor types institutions
might encounter :</div>
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<br /></div>
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“Type 1: People like Tom Hanks or Taylor Swift, whose wealth
comes from nothing but doing good.</div>
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Type 2: Entities like Google or Facebook or people whose
wealth comes from those companies of ambiguous good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Type 3: Criminals, whose wealth does not derive from their
crime, such as Epstein , who no one suggested that his enormous wealth was the
product of blackmail or sex slavery.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Type 4: People or entities whose wealth comes from clearly
wrongful or harmful or immoral behavior, such as the RJ Reynolds Foundation, the
Sacklers and the Kochs.”<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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Lessig believes universities have taken donations from all of
the aforementioned categories. The MIT case, however, presents an opportunity
for soul searching by university administrations, which should begin with an
analysis of the motivation for a gift. Is it to advance the work of the
institution or is there any evidence the donor is looking to cleanse a
reputation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donor types in categories 3
and 4 above would be suspect if it is the latter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lessig argues that such gifts must be declared
anonymous so that any whitewashing can be blocked. That was MIT’s and Ito’s intent
in accepting the Epstein money on that condition.</div>
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As he admits, that strategy “was a ticking time bomb.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when it went off, the damage was
compounded. The Lab staff was reportedly traumatized by learning of Epstein’s involvement
with MIT, hidden by the MIT hierarchy and especially by their boss, Jo Ito.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Lessig’s essay is remarkable in its emotional honesty. He is
a close friend of Ito, had prior knowledge of the MIT-Epstein connection and
what’s more, was a victim of sexual assault himself. He had to post several
clarifications to deal with the backlash to the essay specifically the
implication that he condoned universities accepting contributions from Type 3
(criminal) donors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asserted he does not,
but if a university decides to accept such gifts they should be listed as anonymous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further uproar ensued, and, in the language
of today, Lessig<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>soon “walked that back”
to declare<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>such donations<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>should never be accepted.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The tortured Lawrence Lessig saga should not been seen as a
sidebar to the MIT drama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At its core, it
lays bare a moral and ethical dilemma facing those responsible for raising
funds for nonprofits when confronted by offers of money from donors with
dubious backgrounds. Equivocation and rationalization are temptations when
faced by the bald-faced need for money . MIT hid behind donor anonymity as the solution,
with the rationalization that at least Epstein’s reputation would not be
enhanced by revelation of the gifts. But these days there are few secrets that
can be hidden.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The simplest solution: Don’t accept blood money regardless
of the need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as Lessig points out in his last rejoinder postscript: tell that to the
development department, .
And then be prepared to expect resistance from that quarter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the university sets such a “Just Say No” policy regarding big bad donors, think of
how much grief it will avoid in having to explain away tainted donations if,
and when, they are revealed. Along the way it would also have to deal with the
public relations damage that could affect the attitude of lower profile donors,
such as devoted alumni- the bedrock of any university’s support. So “No" is the
way to go. Fund raisers - are you listening?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this post
and any others found in the archive to the left are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-86196124311884698632019-08-29T12:27:00.000-04:002019-08-29T15:03:37.471-04:00Sweepings from a Blogger’s Floor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;">For this end of summer post, I am going to present what my
mother Helen used to call “Sweepings from the Floor.” She was a knowledgeable
music lover and when she heard a composition that she thought was not up to the
composer’s usual standard, she’d say, for example “Oh that was Sweepings from
the Floor of Beethoven.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The image is
that of the composer gathering up scraps of torn up manuscript paper from the
floor and cobbling them together in order to meet some commission deadline or
another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping #1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried
to engage this summer in what the Dutch call Niksen,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the translation for which<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“doing nothing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Dutch consider the concept of Niksen an
art form, as a way of combating stress. According to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i>, a psychologist Doreen Dodgen Magee, whose specialty
is boredom, likens Niksen to “a car whose engine is running but not going
anywhere.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gazing at the mountains or
the sea during visits to Colorado and Maine this summer was good for my Niksen aspirations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping #2: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was struck
by a line in a report last spring on the political demise of UK Prime Minister
Theresa May. A colleague of hers said: “She is very hard working. She can’t
construct a song, or write poetry. And if you’re driving big change you must
infuse that either with drama or with lyricism.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This criticism evokes unfavorable comparisons
to Winston Churchill, John F, Kennedy, Dr. King and Barack Obama who had those qualities.
At the same time, we are daily reminded that our current president clearly does
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping #3: I just discovered a profession that, should it
be espoused widely, might help leaders with expression deficit. In a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i> wedding announcement August
18, the groom’s job at a solar-energy equipment installer in Rhinebeck NY was
listed as “a creative content producer and story teller.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I had that job description during my
career as I did just that frequently and I guess I still am trying with this
blog. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At my 50<sup>th</sup> prep school
class reunion dinner, after I told the story of having to deal with a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>guest orchestra conductor with bad BO, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the prep school master who tried to teach me
Greek declared: “I always knew you’d be a raconteur “– a great compliment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">In the same wedding announcement the bride was named as a
great-great-great-great granddaughter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of
a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>19<sup>th</sup> century publisher
whose importance I’m sure can be found somewhere in the mists<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of time. Maybe it’s the influence of Ancestry.com
but shouldn’t there be a limit to how far back you go to impress the
reader in such announcements?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping#4: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An
update. I have been writing about the opioid epidemic, the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sackler family , and the family’s connection
to museums - http://geoffreyplattconsulting.blogspot.com/2019/04/ . <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In July the art world was surprised by the
announcement that The Louvre had decided to strip the Sackler name from the
famed facility in Paris, namely the Sackler Wing of Oriental Antiquities. The
advocacy group P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), which was
active in demanding similar action in the USA, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was part of a demonstration outside the Louvre
Pyramid on July 1. The Louvre announced its decision July 17, later claiming it
was done in concordance with a policy that limited naming rights to 20 years.
The Sackler donation was made in 1993. As the prestigious Louvre is the most
visited museum in the world, look for other institutions that thus far have declined
to scrub the Sackler name, to think again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping #5: On a cheerier museum note, and one very much in
tune with disappearing summer, let’s applaud the decision by the Museum of Ice
Cream to build a permanent space in New York City’s SoHo. The museum has previously
been very popular with pop-up installations in New York, as well as San
Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles. The 25,000 square foot building will feature a
“Hall of Giant Scoops” and a “Sprinkle Pool.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yippee!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are smart they won’t get into the
naming game.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweeping #6: According to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Agence France-Presse </i>(via <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Week</i> magazine) two professors from the University of California, Berkeley, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have installed what they call the “Teetertotter
Wall” –three pink seesaws across the U.S. Mexico border wall between Sunland
Park, N.M. and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that enables children on both sides of
the border to play together. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Professor
Ronald Rael, one of the designers, said the seesaws clearly illustrate that
“actions that take place on one side have direct consequences on the other
side.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">To which I add - “As well as having fun,” which I hope you
will be having these remaining days of summer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I welcome comments on
this post, and any of the others seen in the archive to the left, at:
gplatt63@gmai</span>l.com</i></span></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-10505840586012100402019-06-11T15:56:00.002-04:002019-06-17T16:02:15.773-04:00Teachers Matter<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">A father visited his son's fourth –grade classroom in rural
Wellington, Kansas and came away with a vivid description of what he saw from use
of the new web-based curriculum developed by Facebook engineers. ”We’re
allowing the computers to teach and the kids all looked like zombies,” the father
told Nellie Bowles of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times </i>in her April 21 article
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Silicon Valley Came to Kansas. It Didn’t
Go Well” <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">The Silicon Valley in the article refers to an educational
program called Summit Learning, now used in some 380 schools nationwide. Summit
is funded by Facebook’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife
Priscilla Chan through their philanthropic organization the Zuckerberg Chan
Initiative, which has committed $99.1 million to Summit since 2016. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">School districts in the mostly rural areas outside Wichita,
where schools are primarily small and underserved, adopted the free Summit system
in 2018 in an effort to boost student performance. Using laptops, students individually
access lesson plans and tests online, completing them at their own pace. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teacher roles in the Summit system are to supervise
and guide special projects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">But there are drawbacks to replacing the human touch of
teachers with the flat screens of technology, as the Times reporter discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">Within a few months of the program launch, a rebellion grew
among some user students and parents. The community concerns regarding Summit
centered on the reduction of personal interactions in the classrooms: teachers
with students and students with students. There were also complaints from
students of headaches, hand cramps and increased anxiety from immersive use of
the computers. There were some classroom walkouts, parents pulling children out
of schools, and protests at school board meetings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Home-made yard signs popped up such as “Don’t
Plummet with Summit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">This is not the first time the generous Mark Zuckerberg has funded
attempts to improve the public education system. In 2010, Zuckerberg announced with
great fanfare on national TV, along with then Newark New Jersey Mayor Cory
Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a $100 million gift to create The
Foundation for Newark’s Future to repair the Newark public school system, so broken
it had been taken over by the state in 1995.The gift was subsequently matched
by another $100 million from various philanthropies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">After five years, as planned, the foundation closed down. Analyses
of the completed project by various studies concluded the results of the
massive investments were minimal. The 2015 book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Prize</i> by Dale Russakoff, explores the project in depth. She writes
that what was left behind afterwards was “as much rancor as reform.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2018, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka analyzed the
experience: “You just can’t cobble up a bunch of money and drop it in the middle
of the street and say “this is going to fix everything.” You have to engage
with communities that already exist – to parachute folks in, it becomes
problematic.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">It would seem the adoption of the Summit program in Kansas
is an example of “parachuting in.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the
subsequent reaction shows that engaging “existing communities” such as teachers
and parents apparently was not a priority for the planners. The human factor is
critical to successful children’s education and where that is diminished or
even replaced by screens and technology it should not come as a surprise when
there is some resistance from students, teachers and parents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people would
name a teacher or two when asked who was important to their development into
adulthood. I certainly would. A teacher who recognizes some spark in you, who
can help unlock a hitherto hidden storeroom of interest and curiosity, can
makes a huge difference. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">But the “top down” approach, such as seen in Newark and
Kansas, to remedying the public education system, especially in underserved
schools, has its drawbacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare that
to a “bottom up” approach such as the “School Turnaround” program that supports
and mentors the principals and teachers who are on the front line.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">I know that difference as I serve on the board of a nonprofit
The Rensselaerville Institute, or TRI , whose School Turnaround program helps
schools improve performance from the “bottom up.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">Under contract with school districts, TRI specialists<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- all are former teachers and/or principals- work
closely with principals and teachers in low income population elementary schools to finds ways to improve performance mainly in math and reading. Concurrently
with, and in support of, School Turnaround, an auxiliary TRI activity called Community
Sparkplugs encourages and funds adults near the schools to develop programs to
engage students in nonacademic enterprises. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">TRI is result-oriented and is judged accordingly by the
contracting school districts. The ultimate beneficiary of TRI’s work with the
teachers and principals is the child.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">The TRI school and community engagements are focused and intense,
and not easily replicated wholesale.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>But
the concept of helping public education<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>succeed
by first supporting the teacher should be spread abroad widely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tech emphasis of Summit Learning in
Kansas and the mega “top-down” approach in Newark downplayed teachers important
role –except, ironically, in Newark where the Foundation spent millions buying
out contracts of teachers judged to be underperforming.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">Like any other enterprise, public education has its share of
people who do their jobs poorly in classrooms or administrative offices. Performance
can be improved with encouragement and support of those on the front line. Concentrate
remedial efforts for public education on the people upon whom we depend to make
the difference for our children- the teacher. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parachutes and checkbooks can follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">We want our fourth graders arriving home through the front
door smiling because a teacher had encouraged them or praised them or they had
learned something new and cool. We don’t want them coming home looking like
zombies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Comments on this post
or any of the others found in the archive to the left are welcome at: </span></i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">gplatt63@gmail.com</span></i></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Thanks to those who
comment on my posts in advance of publication especially to a very good copy
editor my daughter Lucy Platt Weeks. She can found at </span></i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">lucyfplatt@gmail.com</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;"> for those with editing needs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-47862493090830641442019-04-05T13:17:00.004-04:002019-04-05T13:17:44.304-04:00Knee Jerking?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Every day it seems someone is publicly outraged about
something. People channel their disapproval of an institution or person, dead
or alive, into media campaigns to remove a name from a building, banish a
statue from a public square, or fire those they declaim as responsible. There
is no shortage of targets, reasonable or unreasonable.</div>
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Now, these so-called SJWs ("Social Justice
Warriors") are coming for the museums. Specifically, they are taking aim
at mega-donations that support major new projects and exhibits. The latest
outrage campaign, against the family who made a fortune on the best known drug
blamed for America’s opioid epidemic, has sparked new conversations about
donation acceptance and recognition policies and how museums should balance
gifts with potential controversies about their givers.</div>
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One purpose of these campaigns, aside from attainment of any
specific objective, is public shaming. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recent
news articles have helped me understand this phenomenon. In the March 10<sup>th</sup>
edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> there is
a piece by Salvatore Scibona entitled “The Industrial Revolution of Shame.” His
thesis is that new technologies have made it possible to expansively make and
distribute products. The particular product Scibona fixes on is “our judgment
of one another.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The writer expands: “ Media culture has found a sweet spot
in the collective psyche – outrage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
which he adds: “Technology has so multiplied the outrages confronting us that
they crowd out our ability to discuss much else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These perceptions allow me to examine one
particular shaming campaign in a field with which I am familiar – museums.</div>
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Prominent photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her
advocacy organization P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) has embarked
on a campaign against museums that have benefited from donations <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the Sackler family who, in return , have had
galleries, buildings and programs named after them. The Sackler family founded
Purdue Pharma, the maker of the addictive drug OxyContin, which is largely
blamed for the horrendous opioid epidemic that has resulted in the loss of
thousands of lives across the nation. Since the drug was introduced in 1996,
sales have generated $35 billion for Purdue and $4 billion for the Sackler
family, members of which still make up the majority of the Pharma board of
directors.</div>
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The museums targeted by Ms. Goldin, on social media and by dramatic
demonstrations on site, include New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where
there is a Sackler Wing and The Guggenheim, whose education department bears
the Sackler name. The art museums at Harvard are also on P.A.I.N.’s target
list. P.A.I.N. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>demands that the Sackler
name be stripped from the museums and for Pharma to fund programs combating
the opioid epidemic. </div>
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Prominent among the family’s museum naming and another
campaign target is the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in
Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with its neighbor
The Freer Gallery of Art, it comprises the Smithsonian’s national museum of Asian
art. The Sackler Gallery was founded in 1987 and named in honor of Arthur
Sackler, whose foundation donated his superb collection of Asian art along with
funds to establish the institution.</div>
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Arthur Sackler’s daughter Elizabeth has been vigorous in
pointing out that a) Arthur Sackler died in 1990, six years before the
invention of OxyContin, and b) his brothers Raymond and Mortimer bought out his
share in Purdue shortly after his death. Yes, Arthur was a Sackler and yes, he
was one of the founders of Purdue but he had no connection with OxyContin. So what
is the rationale for demanding the removal of his name from the Gallery at the
Smithsonian, which has stated it has never removed a name from a museum and has
no intention of doing so in this instance? </div>
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A statement by Dominic Esposito, a sculptor associated with
P.A.I.N. provides an answer. He said “Sackler has gone from a legacy of arts
and culture philanthropy to (one of) death and destruction.” Clearly that transition
is the intent of the campaign, if not the clear result at present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a public shaming effort designed to
obscure the extended Sackler family‘s generosity to museums, hospitals and
universities going back decades and to punish the family for its profitable
association with OxyContin.</div>
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The likelihood of names being removed from structures or
professorships is marginal, as there are contractual issues. The same would
apply to return of funds. In the Smithsonian example, taking it to an absurd
conclusion, I suppose there might be an asterisk placed next to Arthur
Sackler’s name, much like how <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Major League
baseball record holders suspected of performance drug enhancement are
listed:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"* Sackler Gallery not directly
connected to Oxy-Contin."</div>
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The campaign appears to be having its effect. Recently The
Tate Gallery Group and the National Portrait Gallery, both prominent British
museums with long associations with the Sackler family, announced they would no
longer seek or accept donations from the Mortimer and Raymond Sackler branch of
the family. Sackler gifts to Tate have amounted to about $5.3 million over the
years. The Portrait Gallery has suspended a planned $1.3 million donation from
the Sackler Trust. Significantly the Tate group stated: “We do not intend to
remove references to (the Sackler) historical philanthropy. “ </div>
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Meanwhile in New York City, the Guggenheim announced on
March 21 it would also no longer accept gifts from the Sackler family, who
donated $9 million to the museum between 1995 and 2015. The museum added it has
no plans to change the name of the Sackler Center for Arts Education, as the designation
was made by contract. </div>
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Purdue Pharma , still largely owned by members of the
Sackler family, is facing some 1600 lawsuits over the purported <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>connection of OxyContin to the opioid crisis.
It is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy to protect the company while
litigation drags on. On March 25<sup>th</sup>, Purdue settled, out of court, a
claim by the state of Oklahoma for $270 million. Notably a large portion of the
money will go to funding <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an addiction
and treatment center at Oklahoma State University.</div>
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P.A.I.N. asserts that the Sackler philanthropy was purposely
designed by the family to mask the “blood money” derived from the sale of
opioid drugs. But as several museums have pointed out, much of the philanthropy,
and the family tradition connected with it, predates the sale of OxyContin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is too fine a point for the P.A.I.N and
it would dilute its objective: to besmirch the Sackler name and by association
institutions that have accepted the family’s money. </div>
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The museums that so far have decided to cease accepting
Sackler philanthropy are bowing to negative publicity at the expense of any public
benefit the uses of those gifts might have produced. While I don’t think It
does any<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>good to second guess such<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>judgment<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>calls, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do agree that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ex post facto</i> removal of the Sackler
name serves no purpose except the public shaming one. That outcome is already on
its way to some success, given the recent actions by the Guggenheim and two British
museums.</div>
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Finding positive aspects to this tragic situation is worth
the effort. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Sackler family is
increasing its funding of opioid addiction treatment programs. And
conversations are underway in the charitable sector over the balance between
“mega” gifts and their sources. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art for instance is
reviewing its donation acceptance policies). The public scrutiny of the
relationship, by the way, is not new. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the Gilded Age, the gifts of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were
called into question citing their history of union-busting and ruthless
monopolistic practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet their names
today are in in the philanthropy Parthenon</div>
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As for the general public I would urge resisting the common
“knee jerk” reaction to public outrage issues. I have often wondered how much
electricity could be generated if somehow the knees of America were attached to
a generating source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Salvatore Scibona in
his article in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> suggests
that rather than sitting in judgment, the observer should become more of a
witness to allow a calmer opportunity for formation of a balanced moral
response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That way shaming is not the
objective but rather working towards deeper solutions to the crisis itself –in
this case <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the devastation the opioid
crisis has wrought on thousands of families and its effect on our national
sense of self-worth.</div>
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<i>Comments on this and any other blog post found in the archive (viewed to the left) are welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com. And Happy Diamond Anniversary! This is my 75th posting since I started the blog eight years ago.</i></div>
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Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-37605132195843197372019-02-12T12:06:00.003-05:002019-02-12T12:06:41.970-05:00Plutocratic Housing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Recently billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin
set, as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> (January
24 2018) put it: “ a new standard for conspicuous consumption by paying a
fortune for an unfinishedpiece of property in the sky.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fortune: $238 million (later adjusted at
closing January 23<sup>rd</sup> to $239.958 million), the unfinished property: a
24,000 square foot penthouse at 220 Central Park South in New York City. The
transaction is the most expensive residential sale in U.S. history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It’s not as if Mr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Griffin lacks for housing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>He
already has a penthouse in Miami ($60 million) and a mansion in London ($122
million). He is based in Chicago where last summer he paid $58.5 million for a the
top four floors of a building in the affluent “Gold Coast” neighborhood, in
addition to the four other houses he owns in the city. He collects real estate as
ordinary mortals collect stamps or bottle caps.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Mr. Griffin who has net worth of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$10 billion has been philanthropic,
reportedly donating to date $700 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beneficiaries of his generosity include universities – his alma mater
Harvard got $150 million in 2014 – and museums – The Museum of Modern Art
received $40 million. However he has declined to sign the “Giving Pledge”
organized by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett where 150 billionaire signees
so far have pledged to give away a majority of their wealth to charity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Speaking of Mr. Buffett, the contrasts between this
legendary investor and Griffin are striking, especially in the life style
category. Buffett, whose net worth is estimated at $85.6 billion, continues to
live in the same house in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that he bought in 1958 for $31,500. He does
have a house in California valued at $4 million (doghouse scale for Griffin)
and reluctantly purchased a private jet he nicknamed “The Indefensible” for his
corporation. He is 88 years old after all. So far he has donated $35 billion,
much of it to the Gates Foundation.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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A follow-up article in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
New York Times</i> of January 26 offers another contrast, generational and
sociological. Brooke Astor (1902-2007), the New York socialite and
philanthropist, was content to live in a 5000 square foot Park Avenue
apartment. Her wealth, peanuts compared to Griffin’s, was inherited. David Rockefeller
( 1915-2017) and his wife Peggy’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>65<sup>th</sup>
Street town house was 10,000 square feet , but it was their primary residence
where they raised their six children. I would venture to say that the real
estate activities of Mr. Griffin would be viewed as distasteful to these old
money philanthropists. Their personal acquisitions tended more to art and
country estates.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This current period of vast wealth, with its yawning societal
income gap, has been termed “The New Gilded Age.” Certainly the Vanderbilts and
Carnegies liked their real estate too. The 54 room Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde
Park NY, now a National Historic Site, was only lived in a few weeks a year by
its owners Frederick Vanderbilt, and his wife Louise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was built in the late 1890s when, it must
be emphasized, there was no income tax, which was not made law until 1913. Today
the top marginal income tax rate is 37 percent, whereas between 1945 and 1980,
during prime Astor and Rockefeller time, it was between 70 and 80 percent.</div>
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<br /></div>
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With the additional tax cuts promoted by President Trump,
along with the assault on the Estate Tax (renamed the “Death Tax” by repeal
adherents),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rates on the very rich may
well drop even further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there will be
even more cash for the billionaire to spend, some perhaps on philanthropy but
also on “toys,” such as the $100 million + yacht complete with a certified Imax
Theater recently purchased by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Perhaps
on board he will enjoy big screen replays of his football team’s dismal 7-9 season
record in 2018.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let me end this post with uplift, for as you have read I am
not a fan of conspicuous consumption. If you are with me on this, this story from
<i>The Chronicle of Philanthropy</i> may provide an antidote. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George Ellis, a small town doctor in the Midwest never
forgot his time during the period of WW2 earning his M.D. at the University of
Buffalo (UB ) School of Medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
the war he moved to rural Indiana where with his wife as nurse set up a
practice in his aunt’s house. He practiced medicine there for years, keeping in
touch with the UB Medical School, attending reunions and striking up a
friendship with the school’s vice president for advancement David Draper. Over
the years, Draper visited Ellis in Indiana 50 times where they discussed how
“Doc” Ellis might achieve his wish to help his beloved alma mater.</div>
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The Ellis couple was childless and lived simply in a two
bedroom ranch house. They drove Buicks and Oldsmobiles. He drank bourbon
(Buffalo Trace, of course) from a coffee mug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When he wasn’t tending to patients the doctor spent time at the public
library teaching himself about the stock market, researching and investing,
with a small inheritance from his father as a starting point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along the way he set up charitable trusts.
All the time his aim was UB Medical School and UB knew that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no one in his small city had a clue of
his wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died age 87 in 2010.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2011 UB announced the receipt of an endowment of $40
million, established by a donor (Dr. Ellis) who wished to remain anonymous .His
instructions were that his identity <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>as
the donor could only be made known after his wife’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time his estate was settled in 2013
the donation had grown to $45 million. His wife died in 2018 whereupon the
three trusts Ellis had established years before yielded another $11.8 million.
The gift from Dr. Ellis to UB Medical ended up totaling $56.8 million. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have told similar stories over the years I have been
writing these blogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were about
quiet philanthropists unknown during their lifetimes, living simple lives, but
driven by the need to help places or institutions they loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There ought to be a Hall of Fame built dedicated to them.
Perhaps it could even have an IMAX theatre to tell their stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing conspicuous about them was the
purity of their generosity and they should be honored.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The definition of the word philanthropy bears repeating. The
Greek root, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">philanthropia, </i>means<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>love of man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philanthropy is the act of desiring to help
humanity and is most often associated with providing financial support. I wish
I could coin a word for the love of collecting real estate (suggestions
anyone?). I further wish those who have that unnamed condition cure the urges
by redirecting more of their vast resources to helping others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of what the $238 million spent on the
penthouse in the sky could do for those in need who live on the streets below?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Comments on this and previous posts (see archive to the left) are always welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com </i></div>
<i>
</i><br />
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<br /></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-44458846871929513682018-12-28T16:30:00.000-05:002018-12-28T16:30:44.945-05:00How to Find Harmony in the Congress<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Quite enough ink has been spilled, and lips flapped, about
how our country is bitterly divided politically. I will not add to such
analysis but will instead suggest a modest idea that might get us off on a
better foot for 2019.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The 116<sup>th</sup> Congress will convene January 3, 2019.
All 435 Representatives will assemble in the House. They will be sworn in,
their families looking on. There will be a prayer and then important business
to transact, such as the election of the Speaker. But before that business, I suggest
the House - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Democrats, Republicans - pause
to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">join together in song.</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b> </div>
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There are numerous studies that outline the benefits of
singing. Some are scientific in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is widely believed that singing releases endorphins, the chemicals
that affect the sense of happiness in one’s brain. Singing relieves stress by
reducing muscle tension. These and other benefits are magnified by singing in a
group.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A 2015 article in Open Science, a journal published by the Royal
Society (UK) entitled <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Singing and
Social Bonding” suggests evidence of “an ice breaker effect of singing, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in promoting fast cohesion between unfamiliar
individuals, which bypasses the need for personal knowledge of group members
gained through prolonged interaction.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That certainly fits the situation in the
ceremony of gathering and swearing in of a new Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of ice is ready and needing to be
broken.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I call upon Speaker-In-Waiting Nancy Pelosi and the Minority
Leader Kevin McCarthy to demonstrate a simple act of bipartisanship and set the
tone for a new Congress by agreeing to schedule group singing by all attendees
at the ceremony on January 3, 2019. They might even<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>find making the decision a distraction from
the government shutdown crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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What to sing? An obvious choice is a patriotic selection. Not,
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the “Star Spangled Banner.” Our national
anthem, because of its wide vocal range, is difficult to sing for the ordinary
person, thus the need for a trained soloist to render it before events. Cameras
catching crowds at stadiums during its rendition will see some singing part of
it, some lip syncing and some blank faces that want to shout “play ball”
instead. If you want an example of a crowd getting into singing its national song,
check out on YouTube 70,000 Welsh fans before a rugby match belting out “Bread
of Heaven ” (Cwm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhondda).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>.</div>
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The music for the “Star Spangled<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Banner” was first composed for a British
men’s social club in 1773. Called “Anacreon in Heaven” It soon became a popular
drinking song, which may have it made its musical challenges less daunting to
its original singers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It became well
known in the U.S. Amateur poet Francis Scott Key, inspired by the flag still
flying at Ft. McHenry during a 1814 naval battle in Baltimore wrote the lyrics to
fit <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with “Anacreon” that ultimately became
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our National Anthem. </div>
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<br /></div>
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For the congressional group singing I suggest instead the
patriotic song and hymn<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“America The
Beautiful.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My reasons have to do the
ease by which its lovely melody can be sung by amateurs and by its lyrics,
which were composed originally as a poem in 1895 by Katherine Lee Bates, then a
professor of English at Colorado College. She was inspired by the views she
enjoyed from a visit to Pikes Peak (“O Beautiful for spacious skies, for amber
waves of grain”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was later set to
music originally composed in 1882 by a New Jersey church musician Samuel
Augustus Ward .</div>
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<br /></div>
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As contrasted to the militaristic nature of the Star
Spangled Banner (“rockets’ red glare, bombs bursting in air”) America the
Beautiful, as its title suggests, celebrates the beauty of our vast land (“…for
purple mountain majesties. Above the fruited plain.”)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In its clearly patriotic emphasis it also several
times calls upon the Almighty for help: “America! America! God shed his light
on thee.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely that appeal would be welcomed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>these days, especially in the House
Chamber.</div>
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<br /></div>
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All four verses should be sung (when was the last time you
heard or tried any but the first verse of the National Anthem?) as they have
important messages for this ad hoc choir. Consider these excerpts:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“ America, America, God mend thy every flaw, confirm thy
soul in self control. Thy liberty in law” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And crown they good with brotherhood, from sea to shining
sea”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The singers may need some initial encouragement so I suggest finding
a chorus in support. To avoid partisan bickering over which one or where it’s from,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>let’s settle on the glee club from The U.S. Naval
Academy from nearby Annapolis. But its participation must not take the place of
everyone in the chamber singing together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guarantee a robust rendition by all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe this way there will be a few minutes
of harmony in the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>House of
Representatives. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Comments on this and other posts to be found in the archives to the left are welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-10165776032619564272018-11-14T16:46:00.000-05:002018-11-14T16:46:55.934-05:00Slow Down! An art museum's solution...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It doesn’t need to be said: we are all going too fast, in
our cars, in our lives, in our frenetic need for access to information. From
Paul Simon’s lyric “Slow down, you move too fast, you got to make the morning
last…” (1966) to Wordsworth’s “The world is too much with us; late and soon,
getting and spending, we lay waste our powers” (1807) poets have long chided us
for our desire to accelerate and acquire</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One art institution is making a counter statement. Glenstone,
the creation of wealthy collectors Mitch and Emily Rales, is a museum of world
class contemporary art that opened in 2006 on their 230 acre property in
Potomac MD and which, after months of work, has been dramatically expanded. It now
features five times its original gallery space, new landscaping, outdoor art
installations, walking trails and an online reservation system, very busy since
the re-opening of Glenstone in October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, presently the earliest reservation you can get is for <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">February 2019.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why? The Rales couple purposely caps Glenstone’s
admission-free attendance at 400 per day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want to provide a contemplative
experience for their visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
attitude is counter to the populist approach museums have had for years. Throw
the doors open and y’all come. Even with steep admission prices, such as the
Met and MOMA, the galleries, especially for special exhibitions, are jammed.
But aside from the fact that you “got in” how much time and visual access do
you have with the art displayed? I experienced the infamous “Mona Lisa Moment”
cited recently by the Washington Post’s critic Phillip Kennicott at The Louvre
some years ago. If you’re lucky, you might get a glimpse of the iconic painting
by peering over the shoulders and raised cameras of hundreds of visitors
jostling for position. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Kennicott equates the careful pacing of the Glenstone
experience to the Rales’ interest in the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>growing “slow art” movement, in which some
curators and designers are looking to offer visitors a chance for “sustained
attention” to works of art. For instance the new indoor galleries at Glenstone were
designed to offer 300 square feet in which to move about, as opposed to the
average of 32 square feet at the Guggenheim in New York. What’s more, there are
no stanchions or barriers between the art and viewer to impede the feeling of
connection and immediacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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It should be noted this special experience is due to the
Rales’ great wealth and generosity. It is a small institution compared to the
behemoth METs and MOMAs, with huge curatorial, administrative and maintenance
staffs and facilities that need constant feeding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, the Rales are asking: what
comes first - the attendance numbers/income or the visitor’s experience?</div>
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<br /></div>
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The October opening of the new Glenstone received widespread
national media attention and praise , hence the backlog in securing a
reservation. I look forward to December 1 when Glenstone<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(at www.glenstone.org)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will start accepting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>online reservations for February
forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we all better act fast, to guarantee a reservation for a slow experience. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
p.s. while waiting for December 1 and the Glenstone
reservations to open up try the video site <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Slow TV</b>
premiered by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an antidote to the action hero milieu in
the media so popular today, there you can experience, in its entirety, a 9 hour
train ride carefully filmed solely from the engineer’s cab. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this post
and others in the archive to the left are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-27796988530030396522018-09-20T11:56:00.002-04:002018-09-20T12:07:39.417-04:00In the Matter of Libraries <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am writing
this blog post at my local public library, Little Falls Library, part of the
large suburban Montgomery County, Maryland system (21 branches, not counting
the one at the prison). It is 5 minutes from my home, and I come here almost
daily. It has practically become my office, but better, as distractions such as
phone calls are not allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
especially enjoy the “Quiet Room” - where talking is prohibited, and people sit
reading or writing. It is in this room where I have just finished an article in
the September 9 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i>,
entitled “Why Libraries Still Matter.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have
always loved libraries. If you love books, why wouldn’t you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are like a free candy store for those
addicted to sweets. I was first turned on to literature by the librarian at my
middle school. “Why don’t you try this Geoff,” the librarian Mrs. Rose Baldwin said
as she handed me “Johnny Tremain “ by Esther Forbes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I devoured this historical novel set
during the American Revolution, then it was on to “Red Badge of Courage” by
Stephen Crane, a classic Civil War story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was hooked. Mrs. Baldwin became my personal
book chooser through eighth grade.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Times</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> article by Eric Klinenberg, a Professor
of Sociology at New York University, begins by citing a 2016 Pew Survey
statistic that about half of all Americans 16 years and over used a public
library in the recent year and that two thirds surveyed said closing their
local branch would have a “major impact on their community.” Despite the strong
endorsement of the value of libraries seen in this poll, Klinenberg points out
there are far too many instances where libraries are being shuttered or their budgets
cut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He blames
this disconnect on a lack of understanding by some public officials of what libraries
have become, beyond their traditional role as loaners of free books and other media.
Libraries are an example of what Klinenberg calls the “social infrastructure”
that influences how people interact with each other. He describes how libraries
provide a valuable place for social interaction for older people, children and
those who cannot afford to patronize other public/community<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>venues, such as Starbucks. Public libraries
tend to be welcoming places, and their mission includes serving their community
through active programming. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance
my small local library offers events that include Storytelling in Spanish, Tai
Chi classes and numerous book discussion groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These activities bring people of diverse
backgrounds together and away from the temptation of their small screens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It might be
useful to characterize the Little Falls Library and others like it as
“community libraries” to distinguish them from the large research libraries such
as the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress, although in the
cases of such major urban libraries their branches fulfill a community role. I
am among the thousands who have found reading, researching or writing in the
Rose Reading Room of the New York Public Library or the Main Reading Room of
the Library of Congress just plain inspiring. These institutions are cathedrals,
whereas my local library is more like a country church- each beloved for
different reasons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end
of “Why Libraries Still Matter”</span> <span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Professor Klinenberg cites an illustrative story. This past summer
Forbes magazine published an article by an economist who suggested public
libraries no longer served a purpose and should not receive public tax support.
The author suggested instead that Amazon’s retail outlets take their place,
claiming that Americans favor free market options. The negative outcry from the
public was so overwhelming that Forbes was forced to remove the article from
its website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I love
seeing a child at my library engrossed in a book or an older adult leaving the
building with a pile of novels that will be likely read within a matter of
days. There are not many better examples of good use of public tax revenue than
a public library. So the next time you hear of a measure threatening to close
or curtail your local library, don’t stay silent. Contact your community
decision-makers with your protest. Cite what a library means or has meant to
you, and be especially mindful of what libraries may mean to your neighbors and
their importance in the fabric of your greater community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Comments on this and other posts seen in the archive to the left are welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com</i> </span></div>
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Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-67552047955156733702018-07-05T15:48:00.000-04:002018-07-05T15:51:09.315-04:00What the World Cup Suggests about Nonprofits<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span style="color: #6e1627; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; text-transform: uppercase;">note: aS tv NETWORKS OFTEN BROADCAST RERUNS DURING THE SUMMER. i AM rE-POSTING THIS PIECE WRITTEN FOUR YEARS AGO IN jULY 2014. tHE MESSAGE IS STILL APT.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="524844129509247115"></a><b><span style="color: #737373; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.5pt;">
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<span style="color: #737373; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">On July
4 a friend, and loyal blogee remarked to me that he enjoyed my posts
especially when they point out the error of some nonprofits’ ways. They
are useful object lessons, he said. It's not as if I go out
of my way to highlight scandals or wayward missions, but sometimes
they are hard to ignore. And if discussing them can be helpful, then I see no
reason not to continue to bring them to your attention from time to time.<br />
<br />
It got me thinking - what is at the core of these disasters, such as the
shutdown of major institutions, like the Corcoran Gallery of Art or the
New York City Opera? What about the various embezzlement scandals that are
revealed in the media it seems almost weekly. There is always plenty of blame
to go around but if I were to sum up the reason in one phrase I would say"
sloppy oversight." And whose responsibility is it to exercise
oversight at a nonprofit? In my opinion it is unquestionably with the
board of directors/trustees. That is where the buck stops. <br />
<br />
The job of the nonprofit board is to govern the institution, oversee its
operations, financial stability, strategy and mission. Ideally its
work focuses on policy, leaving day to day operations to the staff, headed
by the CEO/Executive Director, who it hires and whose performance it evaluates
annually (or should). Much has been written about the individual duties of
board members. Here I want to concentrate on how a board, as a corporate body,
can be made most effective. <br />
<br />
As someone who has served on as number of nonprofit boards and served many
others in a staff capacity, I am a veteran of board meetings. Whether it
meets four, six or, heaven forfend, twelve times a year, a typical board
meeting scenario might look like this. The board assembles, sometimes
in straggling formation. Most haven't seen each other since the last
meeting. Following what is hoped to have been an agenda sent out in
advance, the Chair guides the meeting. If the Chair and executive director have
given it some thought, the meeting might have some meat, rather than a series
of droned reports. By "meat" I mean discussion of a policy issue
or strategic initiative. Votes are taken, including for some the most
important, the one to adjourn. Members then disperse, until the next
meeting. <br />
<br />
Some work has been done, but is it effective? Does the board think of its self
as a body rather than a collection of individuals, elected for a variety of
reasons - skills, relationships, wealth? My experience suggests no - with
the subsequent impact on the board's success in governing.. <br />
<br />
Like many, and to my surprise, I was riveted watching the recent World
Cup. I don’t think I have seen a better demonstration of team work in any
endeavor. So if a nonprofit board is like a group of talented soccer players,
how is to be formed into a true team? We don't have coaches, but we do
have a mechanism that has come into favor in recent years. It is called a
governance committee. It grew out of the nominating committee process. Some
people began to ask - ok, we have good new board members, now what? How
can they and other board members work<i> together</i> to further the
organization's mission?<br />
<br />
The purpose of a governance committee is really board quality control -
internally guided by board members themselves. Aside from retaining the
nominating function, including care to have a succession plan in place for
board officers, the committee should be engaged in education and evaluation.
Education takes the form of being sure that board members know their roles
and responsibilities and that new board members have thorough orientation before
service begins. Periodic presentations should be made on new trends in
nonprofit management (including fundraising) along with knowledge
updates on how programs are supporting the organization's
mission.<br />
<br />
Evaluation is setting in place a process of reviewing how the organization
is making best use of board member's skills and interests, including
an analysis of participation, The board should also engage in
self-evaluation annually - asking itself: "How are we doing?" <br />
<br />
Few dispute the need for such a committee. The challenge is to how to make
it work, given the time demands on board and staff working on other
committees directly associated with, for instance, raising money, marketing or
planning. The reward will come in the development of a cohesive governing
unit, which, in turn, can make the other function-related tasks more effective
and personally fulfilling for individual board members.. <br />
<br />
Another important aspect is the social one. There should be at least one annual
get-together of board members - no agenda but to have a glass of wine and get
to know one another. Social relationships are helpful glue for team
work. Some organizations attach such events to an annual retreat. Not
everyone likes that kind of artificial sequester. One of the better
board chairs I had told me he would agree to take that position as
long we didn't have retreats: "no disappearing into the woods and
brainstorming, please."<br />
<br />
There are various techniques that can be utilized to build a board team
but the point is without a group to encourage and guide the process chances of
success become haphazard. So if your organization doesn't have
a governance committee (some now call it a board development
committee) encourages its formation and support. Doing so increases
the likelihood of hearing around the table frequent
cries of "GOAL!!" </span></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-12928892907656425372018-04-23T16:24:00.003-04:002018-04-23T16:24:46.681-04:00Rockwell Art Sale Resolution and an Unusual Major Gift<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I. Last November (http://geoffreyplattconsulting.blogspot.com/2017/11/)
I wrote about the contentious dispute regarding the intent of the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Berkshire<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Museum in Pittsfield MA to sell works of art (“deaccession”) in order to
cope with a large deficit and fund new, non-art strategic initiatives. The
estimated value of the art was $55 million, the bulk of which was represented
by a single painting by Norman Rockwell, “Shuffleton’s Barbershop.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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National museum groups decried the proposal on ethical
grounds. Such sales are supposed to fund art acquisitions, not deficits. Local
museum patrons, including several of Rockwell’s sons, filed suit to block the
sale at Sotheby’s. At the last minute a judge ordered the sale delayed to give
time for the Massachusetts attorney-general’s office to examine the matter.</div>
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In February 2018, the state announced it had reached an
agreement with the museum that would allow the sale but modified from the
original proposal. “Shuffleton’s Barbershop” would be sold to another, as yet unnamed
museum for an unknown sum, but would always be in public view. The painting
would also remain in the state for 18-24 months at the nearby Norman Rockwell
Museum and be made available for display in other Massachusetts museums. The Berkshire
Museum would be limited to proceeds not to exceed $55 million from the art
sale, the amount it claimed needed to stabilize its finances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any funds realized<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of between $50 million and $55 million would
be required to be set aside for acquisitions of art. </div>
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In his April 5 decision allowing the agreement to go
forward, Judge David Lowy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
acknowledged the “serious concerns” raised by sale opponents but concluded it the
sale was vital to the museum’s survival: “the museum’s charitable purpose of
aiding in the study of art, natural sciences and cultural history must be protected.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one observer noted, the decision may have
been sound on legal grounds, but weak on ethical ones.</div>
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II: A mos<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">t</b> unusual
and heartening gift was reported in a recent edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Chronicle of Philanthropy .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>William
H. (Bill) Miller, a famous money manager and investor renowned for beating the
S&P 500 Index for 15 years in a row, announced in January a donation of $75
million to Johns Hopkins University in his native Baltimore. The sum is
significant enough, but its purpose is what got attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been designated for use by the Philosophy
Department, not for instance health or STEM fields, popular designee programs
for higher education. The donation will create endowed professorships and
eventually almost double the number of full-time Philosophy faculty members.</div>
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Miller was a Philosophy major at Hopkins and a candidate for
a Ph.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when, faced by a difficult job
market, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he left for greener pastures in
the investment field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as he stated
in the interview: “Philosophy I found intellectually, psychologically and
emotionally enriching. My life is a lot better for having studied it.
Secondly…the critical-thinking skills, the analytical skills, the rigor of
philosophy were extremely valuable to me in analyzing capital markets...” </div>
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Are you listening, Wisconsin? The University of Wisconsin,
at Stevens Point is proposing to drop 13 majors in humanities and social
sciences, including Philosophy , History and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>English, and adding programs with “clear career pathways. ” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Washington Post</i> also reported that
in 2015 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had attempted secretly to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>change the mission of the state university
system by removing words that commanded the university to “search for truth”
and “improve the human condition” to be replaced by the mandate “to meet the
state’s workforce needs.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such moves are
in line with the belief in some conservative quarters that universities are
breeding grounds for liberal ideas. After a storm of protest when the move was
exposed, Walker pulled back, calling it a “drafting error.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he could have used more<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>English majors on his staff….</div>
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When asked about the timing of the gift to Johns Hopkins,
Mr. Miller said he was advised by an associate that unless he wanted the
government by default to become his favorite charity, he should do something
important in his lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I wanted to
think about things that had an impact on me, “he said, “where significant money
could really move the needle. I thought philosophy was a good place to start.” </div>
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The somewhat idiosyncratic nature of this donation should
remind nonprofit leaders that giving, in whatever amount, is a personal action,
often driven by the donor’s particular passion. Honoring and working with that understanding
can bring mutual satisfaction to all concerned, and should never be overlooked.
</div>
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Comments
about this post and others to be found in the archive to the left are always
welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</span></i>Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-48469406748585951402018-03-08T11:20:00.003-05:002018-03-08T11:20:48.346-05:00The Historical Lesson of Integrity<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->In each edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington Post</i> there is a section
titled “Happening Today” that lists some important meetings and events, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>usually in the government – the President’s
schedule, meetings, economic report roll outs, etc. On February 26 one
announcement caught my eye: “3 p.m. The Senate gathers for the annual reading
of George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address to be delivered by Sen. Gary
Peters (D-Mich.)”<br />
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According to the Senate Historical Office, the annual reading
of the address by a current member is “one of the Senate’s most enduring
traditions.” The first reading in 1862 was held as a means to boost morale
during the Civil War. It was established as a yearly event in 1896, the
centennial of its first publication. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It occurs to me that
the rationale for its first Senate reading –morale <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>boosting– is particularly appropriate today
with a country polarized by divisive disputes and led by a president lacking in
basic leadership qualities, not the least of which is integrity, as so calmly
exemplified by our first president. </div>
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The almost 7000 word “address” was not intended to be
delivered in person but rather as a letter. Assisting in its preparation were James
Madison and thereafter Alexander Hamilton. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was first published in a journal called the
American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796 in Philadelphia, then our
nation’s capital. Washington’s purpose was to give advice to the young country
for its future. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He first cleared a
path by announcing he would not seek a third term as president in the upcoming
election, just weeks away. He then went on to plead for national unity, well
aware of the growth of political parties (then Federalists and Republicans) and
the growing divisions in the nation. </div>
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The U.S. Senate website summarizes the address as
follows:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Washington warned that the
forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference
by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of
the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common
national interests.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t that summary
resonate with our current situation? For instance, wasn’t the Russian attempt
in 2016 to disrupt our presidential election tantamount to an effort to destabilize
the Republic?</div>
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I daresay George Washington would be dismayed by the state
of the nation today, and how his prescient warnings and advice are being
ignored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also wrote:” It is
substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular
government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species
of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with
indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the most casual of observers can see
that our current president, through his own immoral character and actions, is
shaking that foundation. The indifference of many politicians only adds to the
downward slide.</div>
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Washington’s address springs from his own integrity; Trump’s
words and deeds issue from the lack thereof. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many synonyms for integrity, such as
honesty, rectitude, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a character based on
high moral and ethical principles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
word is based on the Latin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">integer</i> –
meaning <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whole or complete. A leader with
integrity has to lead from within- from who he or she is completely. </div>
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This applies to our leaders in the nonprofit sector every
bit as much as it applies to government officials. We must not lose sight of
the leadership standard of integrity, even as examples of the opposite flare up
around us every day. I don’t know how many U.S. senators heard or took to heart
the words of Washington’s Farewell Address recited in the chamber a few weeks
ago. I hope some did. They, and others in position of authority in all sectors
of our society, have got to pay attention.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this post
and any others found in the Archive to the left are always welcome at:
gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-54843668361889369262018-01-19T12:20:00.001-05:002018-01-19T12:20:16.162-05:00Time to Change Nonprofits' Game Plan It's NFL football playoff season and that brings to mind the situation now facing nonprofits with the newly enacted federal tax overhaul bill. When a quarterback breaking out of the huddle comes to the line of scrimmage and sees the situation has changed since he fixed the play, he calls out an <br />
"audible," which informs his team of necessary last minute adjustments. In the same way, nonprofits must now quickly change their game plan.<br />
<br />
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</xml><![endif]--> The recent legislation is potentially
very injurious to nonprofits. Although the tax deduction for charitable giving remains, the incentives to do so are constricted by the redesign of the
deductibility architecture. The doubling of the standard deduction (now for a single person $12,000, a couple $24,000) makes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it unnecessary for many taxpayers in the middle income ranges to itemize deductions. Before, itemization of charitable gifts as tax deductible was believed to encourage such donations. Similarly for the very wealthy the prospect of a hefty estate tax made present day donations attractive to some. That tax was virtually eliminated in the legislation. <br />
<br />
On top of all this, nonprofit leaders are worried about the inevitable upcoming battles over federal spending made more acute by the looming budget deficits. If, as widely predicted, the Republican leadership will use the budget shortfalls as an excuse to attack the social safety net/entitlements (Medicaid, Medicare, etc. ) long a favorite target of the Right. As these are cut, the pressure on social service nonprofits to make up the difference becomes acute.<br />
<br />
So the quarterbacks for the charitable community come to the line of scrimmage and see the landscape has changed radically. Time for an audible. First, the issues must be faced head on. Will donors reduce giving because of the changes to deductibility? Do donors know what the changes are and how they might be affected? To the extent that nonprofits have had a hands-off relationship with donors except for year-end asking for money, this attitude needs to change. Perhaps organizations should collaborate in presenting a seminar for donors led by accountants and financial advisors on tax law changes. Then enter into a dialogue with donors. How important actually is deductibility to them?<br />
<br />
If it is an important factor, then provide a counterweight to that rationale. Logically that should be an increased emphasis on communicating your mission - what service do you provide the community? What return do you provide on the donated dollar? The effectiveness of those messages depends on building a strong relationship with the donor. If it is weak, strengthening that bond should be a goal embarked on <i>now.</i> I am not sure tax deductibility is the principal impetus to philanthropy but it is important to ascertain how important it is has been in your organization and build powerful alternative reasons for support. <br />
<br />
As for the other threat - budget cutbacks- relationship is once again the key, here with elected representatives at all levels of government. There is consensus that the nonprofit community dropped the ball (to continue my football analogy) in the recent tax bill fracas. The advocates relied too much on assumption that previous support from legislators would continue without factoring in the speed in which the bill was fashioned and the changes in political climate. It relied too much on the old formulas - for instance the mass "advocacy day" assault on Capital Hill. In November 2012 I wrote a blog post called "Getting the Dog Back" about political persuasion. It still makes sense to me. Here it is: http://geoffreyplattconsulting.blogspot.com/2012/11/<br />
<br />
If "trickle-down" was a buzzword for adherents of the tax changes, then their effect on state and local governments, along with impending federal budget cuts, would resemble more of a mudslide. In the offing might be additional fees, payment in lieu of taxes on nonprofit real estate and overall reconfiguration of state and local tax laws. So building relationships with state and local officials has to be part of the advocacy/firewall mix. If you review the backgrounds of federal legislators many of them came up through the local and state elected ranks. A county commission can do as much damage - or good - to a nonprofit as any federal legislature.<br />
<br />
So, nonprofit quarterbacks, signal the necessary changes to the game plan. Position your blockers, align your receivers to catch your brilliant initiatives and most of all, know the players, both defensive and offensive. It's early in the game. But don't wait until the last quarter to act!<br />
<br />
<i>Comments on this blog post (#68) and any other found in the archive to the left are always welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</i><br />
<br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-4100355537051002762017-12-12T13:29:00.004-05:002017-12-12T13:32:52.682-05:00Tax "Reform"???<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had started to write this blog post about the tax
(“reform” “overhaul” “cut”), bill, analyzing the various provisions that affect
nonprofits in both the House and Senate versions, soon to be reconciled in legislative
conference. But then on December 7 I was caught up short by a full page photograph
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Washington Post</i>, and put aside
the analysis until there is a final bill. I am not sure I understood all I knew
about it anyway. But I daresay not many of the legislators do either.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The photo is heartbreaking. It shows a mother clinging to
her adult son. Both are standing. Her age- lined face is a portrait of misery
and apprehension. Her head rests on his shoulder, held there by his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The son’s face, looking over and beyond her,
is impassive. Their physical position together is all too familiar to him, as
is their economic one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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They are Tyler McGloghin and his mother Sheila of Grundy
Va.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The $500 a month she gets from
disability supports her unemployed son and daughter-in-law. Periodically Tyler stands
on the highway holding a sign that begs for money to help feed the family. </div>
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<br /></div>
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To me, this photo symbolizes the rotten core of the tax
legislation, its content and purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
Ignores the poor through the middle class in favor of very rich individuals and
corporations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its Republican advocate-enablers
admit the monster deficits it will give birth to will eventually mean cutting
back Medicaid and Medicare, and other parts of the fiscal “safety net” designed
to assist families like the McGloghins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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A recent study by economist Edward N. Wolff revealed that
the richest 1 % of American households own 40% of the country’s wealth. There
is hardly anyone but the “One Percenters” who benefits from this blatantly
cynical train wreck of “law-making.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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There are other telling anecdotes about the stark contrasts
between the have and have nots in our society. A Leonardo Da Vinci sells for
$450 million at a New York City auction. Even though it was bought by an
obscure Saudi prince, who were those who bid up to that point? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The founder of Amazon (and owner of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Washington Post ) </i>Jeff Bezos’ net
worth is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$96.1 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">billion</b> (down from $100 billion in November). And so on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
I have written before about the
plutocrats in the Trump cabinet (“Pluto Philanthropy” April 2017). Longtime
political commentator E. J. Dionne Jr. writing recently in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Washington Post </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>suggested why Republicans dare not take on
Trump: …” it might derail their party’s only<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>driving purposes: court packing, the care and feeding of the privileged,
and the gutting of federal social services and regulation.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
Undoubtedly the final tax bill
will affect nonprofits negatively in one way or another, most likely through
altering the deductibility architecture or raising taxes on individuals. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, many of the nonprofits,
especially in the social service arenas, will face intense pressure to make up for
the federal cutbacks. But what the congressional Republican leadership lacks in
backbone and serving any purpose other than their own interests, nonprofits and
their supporters must try to bridge the gap. It will take courage. It will take
donors to ignore the tax roadblocks and step up in support of decency and
compassion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
Finally, some charities are
advising their donors to accelerate giving this year given the uncertainties
–tax code and otherwise- in 2018. Those who benefited from the stock exchange
run-up have increased encouragement to act now. And shake out some of those
Bitcoins, if you have them and/or understand what they are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
In any case, happy holidays, Merry
Christmas and above all, Happy New Year! The latter is sorely needed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See you in 2018.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this and any other blog posts found in the archive to the
left are always welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-30890849901940482282017-11-07T18:29:00.000-05:002017-12-12T13:24:06.915-05:00Norman Rockwells on the Block?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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On November 1, Judge John Agostini<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Berkshire Superior Court surveyed his packed
courtroom in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and quipped that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“it usually takes a murder case to equal such
a turnout.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What brought so many citizens,
lawyers and the press together? :<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Art.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The art in question are 40 works by the likes of Alexander Calder,
Augustus Saint-Gaudens , Albert Bierstadt and central <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to this case, Norman Rockwell, that the
Pittsfield-based <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Berkshire Museum<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last July announced it intended to
deaccession and put on the auction block. The estimate of proceeds is $50
million to be used to fund an endowment, deal with chronic financial shortfalls
and to renovate the museum to suit its “new vision” mission emphasizing
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>interactive displays of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>science and natural history. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The museum has claimed the art works up for
sale were “not essential to the museum’s refreshed mission.” </div>
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Facing $ 1 million annual deficits, the museum trustees undertook
a two year study evaluating its purpose with a view to attracting larger
audiences and support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Founded in 1903 the
museum was intended by its founder paper magnate Zenas Crane to educate the
public with art, scientific and history displays, as a “window on the world.”</div>
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Two lawsuits, one by three of Norman
Rockwell’s sons, have been filed to block the sale. Rockwell lived and worked
in nearby Stockbridge (where a popular museum dedicated to his work now exists).
He personally donated the two paintings to the Berkshire Museum in 1958 and
1966. They are expected to fetch over $30 million in a sale scheduled at
Sotheby’s on November 13. The Rockwell sons stated their father did not intend
the paintings to be sold as a commodity to reduce deficits but rather held <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for the pleasure and education of the public
in the Berkshires. Norman Rockwell had a long association with the museum; it
was the first museum to exhibit his work.</div>
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The Rockwell paintings have given
the case an emotional edge not often seen in deaccessioning battles, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>fueled by the participation of his sons and public
desire to keep close to home famous work by one of the region’s native sons. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently the Office of the Massachusetts
Attorney General, which oversees charities in the state, entered the fray. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the November 1 court hearing it sought an
emergency motion to halt the art sale. Its brief made a strong case that the
court should ultimately decide whether the museum has the right to sell the art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local and national media have
been covering the issue. </div>
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The issues raised range from
museum ethics to the role of trustees in their fiduciary/public trust roles.</div>
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Museum ethics, as defined by two
national organizations, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the
Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), state clearly that proceeds of sale
of work from a collection must only be used to fund future
acquisitions, not for debt reduction or other operational uses. It is believed
this sale would be the largest ever used for such unethical purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides public censure, the only teeth <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>the AAMD<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>has is to recommend <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that member institutions
not make loans to the museum. That even may be weakened as the Berkshire Museum
seems to be disposing of its art –related mission.</div>
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The question before Judge
Agostini<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is whether the plaintiffs (the
suits are now consolidated into one, along with the Attorney General) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have the right to challenge the trustees’ action.
Do they have “standing” in legal terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
he rules they do not, then in all likelihood the November 13 sale will go
forward. If he rules in the affirmative, the legal battles should only heat up.
Sotheby’s is already exhibiting in New York the major Rockwell painting “Shuffleton’s
Barber Shop,” which the house estimates will draw bids between $20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and $30 million.</div>
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“Trustees” are so named because
they are charged with managing a museum and its collection, which is held in
public trust. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There seems little doubt
these trustees are facing a difficult future. They have invested in consultants,
a lengthy public input process and arrived at what is clearly a transformative
solution. But at what cost? The public would lose access to great art, acquired
largely by the museum from donors who presumably, if they knew the works were
to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>be cashed in, might have had second
thoughts about their generosity.</div>
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What is particularly troubling is
the magnitude of the transactions. The Attorney General questioned if the
amount was really keyed to the museum needs or just simply matched the amount
Sotheby’s estimated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the art would fetch
at auction. There is an aura of commodity trading about the whole business.</div>
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I hope the judge will grant the
restraining order in order to give time for the Attorney General to complete
her investigation and the court to adjudicate the entire matter absent the pressure
of an impending sale. If the sale goes forward on November 13, the Rockwells
and other fine works disappear from public view. And after the
sale, there is no going back.</div>
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The judge’s decision is imminent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will post it.</div>
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What do you think?<br />
<br />
UPDATE:<br />
<br />
Just a few hours after I posted this on my webpage November 7, Judge Agostini announced his ruling - in favor of the museum. In a 25 page decision, he stated the plaintiffs failed to make the case to halt the sale. He wrote "it was the court's duty to act dispassionately and decide cases solely on the legal merits." He conceded his finding means "timeless works by an iconic, local artist will be lost to the public in less than a week's time."<br />
<br />
He added" "the rights of a charitable board to make thoughtful decisions to steer its charity through troubled times have been vindicated."<br />
<br />
I would add: there's a lot more steering ahead.<br />
<br />
The sale will proceed November 13 at Sotheby's.<br />
<br />
UPDATE #2:<br />
<br />
Friday evening November 9: A judge of the Massachusetts Court of Appeals granted a last-ditch appeal by the Massachusetts Attorney General for a preliminary injunction to halt the sale scheduled at Sotheby's for November 13. The AG had requested more time to complete the investigation. The injunction holds until December 12. </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Comments on this and other posts found in the blog archive are always
welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</i></div>
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Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-14072049081301361272017-09-28T16:14:00.000-04:002017-12-12T13:24:23.894-05:00Harvey, Irma and the Nonprofit Spirit<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]-->The terrible hurricanes of late summer 2017 - first Harvey that
swamped Houston, and later Irma that took an awful toll on Florida and the
Caribbean – produced images in every media that won’t leave our memories soon.
The damage to property, the loss of power, and the scarcity of water, fuel and
food that affected millions was heartbreaking to observe. <br />
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For my family, there was a direct impact. Our daughter Lucy,
her husband Aaron and their Springer Spaniel Bobo on September 7 obeyed the
mandatory evacuation order leaving their rented home in Little Torch Key, in
the lower Florida Keys near where Irma made landfall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a grueling 36 hour drive they arrived
safely to harbor with us in Maryland. As of this writing they have just been
able to return and inspect the damage. With no roof or walls,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the contents of the house are in ruin. Lucy
is a veteran evacuee, having fled New Orleans and Katrina in 2005 but that is
small solace.</div>
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The other memorable impression from the coverage of those
storms is that of people volunteering to help others, many complete strangers. These
images ranged from dramatic rescues of people and pets to the drudgery of hour
after hour filling sandbags or manning bucket brigades delivering bottled water.
And who can easily forget the “Cajun Navy” - folks from southeast Louisiana who
left their jobs, hooked up boats to their pickups and drove miles to Houston to
help those stranded by the floods? </div>
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The heroics too of first responders - police, firemen, the
National Guard and EMTs - were notable, as they should be. Everyone, amateur
and professional, was aided by the modern technology, cellphones, GPS and
social media, which served to connect and guide victims and saviors.</div>
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There would have been much greater loss of life and property
were it not for the unhesitating work of volunteers. Undoubtedly, if you were
to interview some of them, you would discover they belonged to a nonprofit organization - a church or
civic group or even a softball league, where they learned through firsthand
experience the value of volunteerism. </div>
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Alexis de Toqueville, a French diplomat and historian,
visited the U.S. in 1831 and a year later published what was to become the
famous<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Democracy in America</i>. In it he
states: “Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite… if
it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with
the support of a great example, they associate. Everywhere that, at the head of
a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in
England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United
States…I often admired the infinite art with which the inhabitants of the
United States managed to fix a common goal to the efforts of many men and to
get them to advance to it freely.” </div>
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So it was when the call went out for help, the response was
sometimes overwhelming. Credit too goes to the nonprofits whose mission is
disaster aid, such as the American Red Cross, which, along with government
agencies, not only provided aid but helped coordinate the work of the thousands
of unaffiliated volunteers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Response to disasters can bring out the best in people, as with
these hurricanes. But once the waters have receded and the debris cleared,
keeping that civic spirit alive is a task for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That spark can be kept alight by nonprofits that understand that fulfillment of their missions would be in peril
without the dedicated work of volunteers. They may include board members,
docents, grounds workers, or hospitality attendants. You can name them from
your own experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The heightened
attention given to volunteers by virtue of these natural disasters should
remind everyone of their daily<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>value in calmer times. Volunteers should never be taken for granted. They should be recognized and celebrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that is
ingrained in a nonprofit’s culture, then there is a cadre ready to be called
out for work to cope with future crises, wherever and whenever they occur.<br />
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<i>comments on this post and any others found in the archive (this is #64!) are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com </i></div>
Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-59920861640434648882017-08-24T17:00:00.000-04:002017-12-12T13:24:35.623-05:00The Dog Days of Summer and a Few One Percenters"Dog Days of Summer" is a familiar phrase and descriptor. I had to research its derivation, suspecting it had little to do with panting canines - a plausible though ignorant assumption given the season's heat. In fact the dog in the phrase refers to the constellation Canis Major, with its prominent star Sirius, known as the "dog star." The Greeks and Romans believed that about the time when Sirius appears to rise just before the sun (approximately late July) coincides with the hottest time of the year. Furthermore, as suggested for instance in Homer's <i>The Iliad</i>, there is the belief that the Dogs Days portend a time of war, calamity and disaster.<br />
<br />
This ancient meaning of Dog Days might even have a correlation with today's horrors of terrorism, violent bigoted behavior and the feckless leadership in Washington D.C. I won't pursue that line of thought further but as I am writing this not far from D.C. in mid August I can confirm without fear of contradiction that it has been very hot (heat indices over 100). We have just been witness to the tragedies of the riot in Charlottesville, the Barcelona terrorist attacks and the unconscionable reactions by Mr. Trump to these events. Add in the recent total eclipse of the sun and you have to wonder if the Ancients didn't have a point. <br />
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Luckily my wife Hope and I were able to escape the worst of the Late July-Mid August heat by trips to Western Colorado and an island off mid coast Maine. Along the way I garnered some news items about One Percenters, a class well represented in the Trump administration (see my post "Pluto Philanthropy" - April 2017). In Aspen Colorado, the high altitude playground of the mega rich, I came across a front page story in the <i>Aspen Daily News </i>of July 26: "Developer Fights for Ownership of Huge Aspen Home." And huge it is. Built in 2011, here are some of the amenities in the 19,000 square foot structure: seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a lazy susan for vehicles in the subterranean five car garage, 40 feet ceilings and a 30 foot rock water fall. It was offered at $45 million, then later reduced to $39.7 million. What the developer called a "lifestyle compound" has never sold.<br />
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The<i> Boston Globe</i> of July 31 excitedly reported the sighting of the super yacht Vava II moored in Boston harbor. It is approximately 315 feet long, sports a helicopter on its upper deck and reportedly cost $150 million to build in 2012. The owner is a Swiss billionaire Ernest Bertarelli, known as a lover of yachts and an avid sailor. It was not clear if he was aboard with his wife, a former Miss United Kingdom or why it was in Boston. He is however a graduate of the Harvard Business School. Attending a reunion, perhaps? To put the yacht's size in perspective, a football field is 340 feet long. I am guessing he at least has enjoyed his possession as opposed to the Aspen developer who apparently hasn't.<br />
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While I am on a mega bender, let's be positive and and report that on August 14<i> The Chronicle of Philanthropy </i>reported that Bill and Melinda Gates gave $4.6 billion of Microsoft stock to their Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The gift reportedly is designated for the foundation's global health initiative. That is mega philanthropy.<br />
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These tidbits found during the Dog Days come to you with best wishes for a happy end of summer and smooth re-entry to the workaday world after Labor Day. I will be returning in September as well to continue with posts on nonprofit issues. Then should be cooler days, at least as far as the weather is concerned.<br />
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<i>Comments on this post and others found in the archive to your left are always welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com. Past blog posts can also be viewed at www.geoffrey platt consulting.com</i><br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-1080254711911187832017-07-06T16:32:00.000-04:002017-12-12T13:24:35.553-05:00A Short (and late) Post, plus noting humilityIt's been a while since I posted but I have a good excuse: moving. Moving is acknowledged by many psychologists as one of life's most stressful events. My wife Hope and I recently packed up and left New York's Hudson Valley after 11 pleasant and mostly fulfilling years, to return to Bethesda, Maryland to a house we have owned for a long time but not occupied for twenty-five years. Why? The clearest answer is to get farther away from NY taxes and closer to our son who lives in Baltimore. But there is a greater significance. The house is where our young children grew up and so the verse Hope chose for our change of address card is appropriate - by T.S. Eliot, from <i>Little Gidding</i><br />
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We shall not cease from exploration</div>
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And the end of all our exploring</div>
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Will be to arrive where we started</div>
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And know the place for the first time.</div>
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Quite right, once we can see past all the boxes....</div>
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On a less personal note: we have a president who dominates the media with his boasting, falsehoods and glorification of ME. So when one comes across examples of humility, you want to store them away like squirrels do acorns before wintertime.<br />
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I watched all of former FBI Director James Comey's riveting June 8 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and was struck by his not infrequent use of a phrase: "I could be wrong" prefacing an opinion. Uttered for effect? Perhaps, but refreshing none the less. You seldom hear that from any public figure.</div>
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Then on June 7, this announcement from MIT, later widely reported:<br />
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"MIT has received a commitment of $140 million in unrestricted funds that can support any facet of the Institute's educational and research mission. The contribution, is from an alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous..." The donor received financial aid while a student at MIT.<br />
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This huge gift is from someone who doesn't want the credit or his name on a building or a college program. We never expect to know the name.This gift in unrestricted. The donor trusts the institution to put it to wise use and isn't advocating a favorite cause or program. It is an act of humble generosity.<br />
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The theologian Thomas Merton once wrote: "Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real," The root of the word humility is Latin<i> humilis </i>or low. Let us honor those whose self esteem doesn't require the vaporous fuel of puffed up self congratulation. Let us honor and support those real citizens who serve the public interest selflessly.<br />
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I hope you had a fine July 4.</div>
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-53718282824552570872017-04-29T12:46:00.001-04:002017-12-12T13:24:35.599-05:00Pluto PhilanthropyThe words plutocrat and plutocracy are increasingly being used, given the makeup of our government at the highest levels and a trend in giving. No, they don't refer to the dwarf planet or a beloved Walt Disney character, Mickey Mouse's pet pup. The words derive from the Greek <i>ploutos</i> meaning wealth. A plutocrat is a person whose power or influence derives from wealth and a plutocracy is defined as a government ruled by the rich.<br />
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Of the 16 members of the Trump cabinet two are billionaires and 12 are multi-millionaires. The total net worth of the cabinet members is $4.5 billion. No one quite knows the net worths of the president or his children.but certainly it is safe to assume they are in the upper millions.<br />
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If the recently announced tax reform package, skimpy as it is in detail, is any indication, the main beneficiaries of proposed tax cuts will be the rich. There appears to be a bone or two thrown to the middle class, but they are bones that Pluto the Pup might ultimately find undernourishing and unworthy even of burial in the backyard.<br />
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Philanthropy has its share of plutocrats too. In February<i> The Chronicle of Philanthropy </i>released its list of the 50 Most Generous Donors in America in 2016. The total given by those in the list was $5.6 billion, with a median gift of $55 million. There are familiar names here such as Bill and Melinda Gates (#9), and Michael Bloomberg (#2). Topping the list were Phil and Penny Knight (Nike) who gave an astonishing $500 million to the University of Oregon along with another $400 million to Stanford. In fact 48% of the total given by the listed donors went to colleges and universities.<br />
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So, what could be wrong about this generosity? Like anything else revolving around money, power is the issue and that what is being increasingly discussed. A recently published book by David Callahan "The Givers: Money, Power and Philanthropy in a new Gilded Age" was the subject of an article in The New York Times April 14 that included an interview with the author. He calls the megadonors "super citizens" but questions the wisdom of their ability to donate where they want and for what purpose with little accountability - for instance to either shareholders or voters.<br />
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In matters of policy he cites the examples of Mark Zuckerberg's well-meaning venture into improving the public schools in Newark NJ, where he invested $100 million in 2010 in what was a "top down" effort to influence performance and behaviors of schools and their administrators. The results were widely viewed as failed, with the main beneficiaries being the consultants - not the students. Might there have been a better investment of these dollars towards education reform?<br />
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To be sure, there are many examples of successes that Callahan cites, such as the Gates' emphasis on public health and vaccinations.The point is not to belittle the generosity but rather raise an issue framed by Mr. Callahan: "philanthropy is rising as government is falling. Ordinary people do not feel their voice counts. They feel the wealthy have too much power and calls the shots."<br />
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What gives the public the right to question the prerogative of private individuals and foundations to give away money as they see fit? For one thing, as a matter of public policy, these "super citizens" (I rather like "pluto philanthropists") receive billions of dollars in tax breaks. As an example, the U.S. Treasury estimates that the billionaires that signed the Buffett/Gates Giving Pledge -those who agreed to donate to charity 50% of their fortunes- their gifts would cost the government an estimated $740 billion in lost tax revenue over ten years. For that, the ordinary citizen has at least the right to call the question.<br />
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I am putting aside the almost age old tradition - at least back to the first Gilded Age with the likes of Andrew Carnegie- of donating big bucks and getting your name on a building. The stakes have risen however. with hedge fund mogul John Paulson getting his name of an entire graduate school at Harvard - The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering. That is what $400 million will get you at the richest university in the world, one that nests on a $35.7 billion endowment.<br />
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There's the old play on the Golden Rule: "Them that has the gold makes the rules." But the inequality gap is widening rapidly in America and that is not healthy for our democracy. Recall that the etymological root of the word democracy is<i> </i>the Greek <i>demos</i> - people, with cracy, from the Greek <i>kratos</i>, power or strength.<br />
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In the case of the super gifts, at the least more transparency would be welcome, especially in the arena of donating to tax exempt advocacy groups that espouse candidates or public policy issues, such as education and health care reform.<br />
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With all the attention given to these mega gifts, the donors of small amounts to local causes dear to respective hearts should not be intimidated or forgotten. These donations, often made year after year and in some cases at some sacrifice, are the bedrock of our nation's philanthropy.<br />
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I love the stories of unknown philanthropists, which I have reported to you from time to time. I leave you with one to cheer you up, should that be necessary. On April 14 the Boston Globe reported that one James H. Connors had died at age 89 in Medford MA. Mr. Connors had lived for years with his (also unmarried) sister Thelma in a small rented apartment in a vinyl-sided house. He ran a lock and key service. Unknown to anyone but his lawyer he had inherited a sizable stock portfolio. His legacy was more than $3 million to create a foundation that, starting this summer, will annually award $3000 scholarships to 50 high school students in Medford.<br />
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Thank you Mr. Connors and thank you all donors, mega or mini, whose gifts make a difference.<br />
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<i>Comments on this post, or any other found in the website archive, are always welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com</i><br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-36256402059800496842017-03-31T16:48:00.000-04:002017-12-12T13:24:58.699-05:00NPR, CPB, a Coal Miner and a Single MotherIn speaking to the media about the Trump administration 's proposed budget that includes zeroing out funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the director of the Office of Budget and Management Michael Mulvaney asked: "Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mother in Detroit to continue to pay for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?"<br />
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His statement reveals a familiar posture of Republican conservatives, namely the assumption that NPR/PBS' programs are too elite for the "common man" (the same applies, of course, to the arts and humanities endowments). Mr. Mulvaney must have missed the searing documentary "The Mine Wars" aired on PBS in January of this year depicting the efforts beginning in 1901 of West Virginia miners to unionize. He also has bypassed any episode of Sesame Street, made available on PBS to all mothers, single or not, and their children since 1969. But we are not talking about reason here.<br />
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Like children, eager to avail themselves of the contents of a candy store where they previously could only get to the samples on the counter, conservative Republicans now have plundering access to all the goodies, with control of the Congress <b>and</b> the White House. For years they have been trying to undo CPB, NEA and NEH. I remember all too well the "culture wars"of the '80s and '90s from my vantage point in DC serving as executive director of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies ('80-'84) and Director of Government Affairs for the American Association of Museums ('87-'92). I was deep in the trenches then and not alone by many means.<br />
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The first real threat to funding came in 1981 when president Ronald Reagan and his budget chief David Stockman tried to cut NEA funding by 50%. Provocative images by artist Andres Serrano ("Piss Christ') and the homoerotic photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe that appeared in NEA-supported museum exhibitions in the late '80s provided plenty of grist for the mills of far right senators, such as Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Year after year since , the attackers have been storming the ramparts; the defenders have been managing to beat them back, but not without sustaining heavy losses. The budget of the NEA today only equals 70% of what it was in 1979.<br />
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Advocates for federal cultural funding have years of battle-hardened experience and an army of supporters ready for the fight to come. My guess is that these agencies will survive, given the picayune size of the agencies' budgets, the comparisons to which have already produced good ammunition (nine presidential visits to Mar-a-Lago will cost $30 million, equal to the annual salaries and expenses of the NEH) and the fact that, for instance, NEA funding can be found in every Congressional district. But survival at what cost?<br />
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The issue is really not so much about the money. Symbolism is at the core. Opponents call federal cultural funding a "frill" (George Will used that term the other day in the Washington Post, not for first time I bet) and charge the work of the agencies is geared to elitists. Supporters, such as Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times, value the cultural agencies both for the content and the symbolism of federal tax dollars, though mere, being expended in support of the arts and humanities.<br />
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In a March 30 column Kristof wrote: "The arts humanize us and promote empathy.We need that now more than ever." Amen to that.<br />
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p.s. You can reach any congressional office by calling 202-225-3121.<br />
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<i>Comments on this or any other of my 60 blog posts (see archive), are welcome at gplatt63@gmail.com</i><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-64095466407867249352017-02-28T16:28:00.001-05:002017-12-12T13:24:58.712-05:00Appealing to Donors: "Think Small"A New York Times op-ed piece last December by the social scientist Arthur C. Brooks made an impression on me. Entitled: "To Make the World Better - Think Small" he argues that we are so bombarded by reports of various events where the main news is presented as a statistic - "50,000 homeless in earthquake-torn ________", "Hundreds of thousands without power in snowbound Northeast" that we lose sight of the real story - the human one. He cites the term coined by social psychologists: "psychic numbing." We become inured to core meanings by the emphasis on numbers.<br />
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The antidote to psychic numbing he suggests is to think small. He references an old fundraising axiom: "One is greater than one million." We know that is true by the humanization of disasters through photography - a firefighter carrying a small child out of burning building, a 5 year old Syrian refugee boy's body washed up on a Greek beach. These images make up the difference between a statistic and a human story. They inspire the viewer to action. <br />
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Bringing this concept down to everyday nonprofit fundraising, too often I find appeals for funds, publicly or privately made, are number-oriented. "We had 000,000s visitors, 000s schoolkids in classes." A cynic might say "so what?" but that's not fair to the nonprofit staffs and boards who are proud of the organization's public draw and have reason to crow about it. But think how much more effective the appeal would be if it had a human story attached to it.<br />
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I have been impressed by TV ads from New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City where former patients give personal testimony about the hospital's healing and care. These are testimonials with impact. Smart politicians know the power of personal stories. There has hardly been a State of the Union speech where the president doesn't recognize an invited guest in the Gallery - a wounded veteran, an heroic policeman, a child who has recovered from cancer - and speaks to why they are present. During campaign seasons, candidates never fail to call out personal anecdotes about constituents, recognizing them if they are present or reading aloud from their heartfelt letters.<br />
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Some nonprofits have an easier time mining sources of personal testimony. Social service agencies, and hospitals come to mind because their work has a demonstrable effect on people or, in the case of the ASPCA, animals. Museums and performing arts organizations have to be more creative.<br />
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Where I have seen success there is in profiling donors and their motivations for giving in order to find common ground with others for focused philanthropy. Mr and Mrs. X explain in personal terms why they have made a bequest to museum Y. The viewer/reader might respond: why yes, I feel the same way and if this couple found it rewarding, why wouldn't we? (The described rewards might also include reference to tax benefits).<br />
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So "think small." Find and celebrate stories with heart. And, in fashioning an appeal, remember what the English novelist E.M. Forster wrote in<i> Howard's End</i>: "Only connect! ... only connect the prose and passion and both will be exalted."<br />
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<i>Comments on this post and others in my blog, </i><i><i>are always welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com.</i></i><br />
<i>Previous posts may be found in the archive to the left or by scrolling down from this page. </i><br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-28930473318387629412017-01-31T18:02:00.002-05:002017-12-12T13:24:58.696-05:00Preparing to push back Trumpism - A Modest Proposal for NonprofitsThe depressing inauguration and the uplifting Women's Marches are over. Now we face the future with its inevitable challenges, forecast in the chaos of President Trump's first weeks. There will be many challenges and they will come at us fast and furious: budget cuts, de-funding Planned Parenthood, the arts and humanities endowments, public broadcasting, scale back of environmental regulations, etc. The Trump administration will undoubtedly utilize a "shock and awe" strategy to confuse and catch opponents off-guard. It will be like the anti- missile technique in military aircraft, releasing many chaff targets (proposals to say nothing of tweets) to divert accurate attacks and divide the opposition.<br />
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In November 2012, after the election that returned Barack Obama to the White House (ah, those calmer days!) I posted a blog entitled "Either Way You Get your Dog Back" urging readers to get to know their elected officials at all levels of government, heeding the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill's admonition that "All Politics Is Local." I repeat that today LOUDLY.<br />
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On November 6, 2018, a date just around the corner, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 33 Senate seats, and 14 Governorships will be up for election. Those should be the prime and ultimate targets for the ordinary citizen - the voter- who wish to set back Trumpism. In the meantime, how to block initiatives that you find inimical to your beliefs and that injure institutions and programs you hold dear? <br />
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The answer is vigorous advocacy. Writing and calling legislators and attending meetings and rallies, joining your voice to those of others. Taking action, in other words, personally reaffirming your part and belief in our democracy.<br />
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The challenge is the many demands on your time from various organizations. suggesting means and content of sending messages, some of which may be contradictory I have a suggestion that might help. It is based on my belief that nonprofit boards and their supporters generally represent the best in their communities - people of substance and influence. To the extent that is true, how to harness that energy and civic strength in the cause of advocacy?<br />
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The answer can be found in organization and information. And so I propose each nonprofit board name what I would call, for the sake of this argument, an Advocacy Captain. This person or team would be responsible for the following:<br />
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First, assess the interests and institutional allegiances of members of the board. Those may well include issues outside the mission of the organization on whose board they serve.<br />
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Then, based on that information, track the initiatives of the government that might have an impact on those interests and identify the legislative committees and executive departments that have the decision-making and/or oversight roles. It is important to discover the outside national groups that represent the specific interests of local organizations. For instance, for a museum board, it would likely be the American Alliance of Museums. Those national groups will already have much of the information needed in your own advocacy effort.<br />
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Finally, the Advocacy Captain needs to inform board members of the contact avenues for action intended to influence outcomes for their respective issues, as well as the most effective communication techniques. In the past weeks as the groundswell for civic action has grown there have been many helpful recommendations from, for instance, former congressional staffers, on how best to have your voice heard.<br />
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An inevitable question that will be asked: as a nonprofit can you engage in advocacy or, to use a more loaded term, lobbying. The answer is yes, with some limitations. What you cannot do, and what would endanger your tax-exempt status with the IRS, is to engage in a political campaign by endorsing or funding a candidate. Likely you have a lawyer on your board who should be consulted to provide guidance and peace of mind on the lobbying question..<br />
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But my "modest proposal" (no relation to J. Swift) is really directed at empowering individuals on your board, not necessarily the board itself as a corporate entity. It is intended to help those board members, as citizens and constituents, to become more effective advocates.<br />
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For advocates, whatever the issue, focus and stamina will be needed in the months ahead, supported by good and timely information. Try out the Advocacy Captain idea on your board. You might well find it welcomed. And recall from Shakespeare's <i>As You Like It</i>:<br />
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“Sweet are the uses of adversity,<br />
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,<br />
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;<br />
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,<br />
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,<br />
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.” </div>
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<i>Comments on this and other blog posts to be found in the Archive to the left are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com </i></div>
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-59637131210174068112016-12-30T11:43:00.001-05:002017-12-12T13:24:58.703-05:002016 RoundupLast evening we had some excellent Barbecue from a local spot in Cold Spring NY called Roundup Texas. Its name prompted me to do a brief review of blog posts I wrote in 2016. That's what everyone in the media does at the end of the year - look back, right? Besides looking ahead just might be a bit scary, given the current climate, in spite of my "Be Not Afraid" admonition last month.<br />
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I posted nine pieces, including this one, bringing to 57 I have written since I began in April 2011. I am sometimes asked, how do I choose my topics? There is no rhyme or reason. Whatever strikes my fancy is the best answer, keeping in mind my audience is folk involved in guiding nonprofits. Most posts are didactic in nature, hoping to provide useful advice for those deep in the daily struggle. Others are more general, even written to entertain.<br />
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In this latter category may be found the most read : February's "Over The Top Criticism"- although there is a message ultimately about time reversing initial reactions. (All these posts may be be read in the archive section to the left of this screen). I used examples from Nicholas Slonimsky's "Lexicon of Musical Invective" as examples. For instance a contemporaneous review of Beethoven's Second Symphony declared it a "crass monster."<br />
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March's "Block Gobbledygook - Save The Humanities" - addressed the need for and importance of clear writing as evidence of clear thinking. I had fun quoting examples of outrageous gibberish, especially from academia.<br />
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I looked at several management issues. The need for careful administrative organization before embarking on a capital campaign was addressed in September's ""For Want Of A Nail" - Campaign Infrastructure." In May, I tackled what has almost become a fad in a piece called " "A-Branding We Will Go." Look before you leap was the message before embarking on an expensive branding or re-branding exercise.<br />
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I have an ongoing interest in non profit boards and governance in general. The critical importance of having board members who understand and commit to their duties was discussed in January's "Board Member's Oath of Office." The sensitive and tricky question of length of tenure of leadership in nonprofits, both staff and board, was explored in "Been On The Job Too Long" posted in June. This post had a lower readership than most. Did the title scare some away?<br />
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Finally I could not avoid writing about the presidential election and its outcome in October's "Nonprofits and A Toxic Election" and November's "What's Ahead for Nonprofits -The Looming Trump Era." In the latter, I ended by quoting the poet Seamus Heaney's last message to his wife in a text shprtly before his passing: "Noli Timere" - Be Not Afraid.<br />
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That was 2016, perhaps an "Annus Horribilis" (Horrible Year) as Queen Elizabeth II stated about the year 1992, when Charles divorced Diana in addition to other Royal family troubles. Will 2017 be better? Surely it will be challenging. I will look forward to the journey, along with you, and hope my musings will be of some use. Happy New Year!!<br />
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<i>Comments about this post and any other are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com</i><br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2278719564028096966.post-63261025616249933262016-11-30T12:31:00.002-05:002017-12-12T13:24:58.709-05:00What's Ahead for Nonprofits - The Looming Trump Era"Seismic" is too mild an adjective for the event of Donald Trump's surprising election to the presidency. Maybe even"cataclysmic." I will leave it to others (and there is no shortage of them) to analyze why and how it happened. Here I want to suggest what a Trump administration, along with Republican control of the Congress, might mean for nonprofits, both for their own welfare and the roles they might play in our society in the coming years.<br />
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We don't know of course exactly what form legislation, executive orders (or rescissions thereof) or other initiatives will take. But broadly there will be some that directly or indirectly will surely affect nonprofits. In the indirect category revisions of the tax code stand out, particularly any significant change in the maximum allowable write-offs for charitable giving, which might reduce incentives for donations. There is a theory too that projected tax cuts for the very wealthy might further dampen giving. <br />
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As for direct effect, e,g. cuts in federal support that goes primarily to social service agencies and education, the declared intention to cut federal spending by 1% annually (exclusive of entitlements such as Medicare and the military) if enacted, would hit hard. Also at risk are the organizations long on the hit list of conservatives: Planned Parenthood, the arts and humanities agencies and others - all now perilously exposed with right wing Republicans sitting in the catbird seat. The unwritten partnership between the federal government and the nonprofits that look after many of the needs of our society is now likely to unravel.<br />
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There are almost countless scenarios, likely of the dark variety, that can be written because of this shift in power, especially because of the rhetorical groundwork in the campaign laid by Mr, Trump that demonized those who are not white, Christian, physically and mentally able, among others. There is a deep unease, and indeed fear, abroad in the land. Nonprofits will have to continue to do their best work in spite of facing the likelihood of reduced resources. But collectively there is something else they can do.<br />
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As a group, notwithstanding some bad apples, nonprofits represent what is best in our society. They exist to help others, with health care, education, spiritual growth, community development, public safety, etc. They are largely funded by voluntary gifts and guided by volunteer boards with their work made possible by the donation of millions of volunteer hours.<br />
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It seems possible, and there is evidence emerging to support the worry, that the toxic atmosphere spawned by the Trump campaign will encourage discriminatory and even hateful behavior by members of the public, to say nothing of any actions that may be taken by the incoming government itself. Nonprofits and their leaders should be vigilant in their own communities for such instances, regardless of their respective missions. Recently at the annual conference November 17 held by the umbrella organization for nonprofits Independent Sector as reported in The Chronicle for Philanthropy, several speakers made points that we need to consider.<br />
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From Brian Gallagher, CEO of United Way Worldwide: " Civil society is our business. We can take a pass on the economy - that's not quite our business; we can take a pass on politics- that's not quite our business; but we can't take a pass on culture."<br />
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David Smith, director of the Presidio Institute hoped the nonprofit world could create a "brave space" where those marginalized could come together.<br />
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Finally, Michael Steel, described as a Republican political strategist, was asked how nonprofit leaders might "listen to racists
without getting angry at them." He replied, "I don’t think we
should talk to racists without getting angry at them" This remark was greeted with sustained audience
applause.<br />
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We are entering a scary and unknown world. Here is my coda message, best said as always elsewhere, At his father's funeral in 2013, Michael Heaney, the son of the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney, revealed in his eulogy a text message Heaney sent to his wife just hours before his death. It was in Latin : "Noli Timere": Don't Be Afraid.<br />
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<i>Comments on this and any other blog post found in the site archive are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com </i><br />
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<br />Geoffrey Platt Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367082196189969506noreply@blogger.com0