SHIFTS

A Blog By Kathy LeMay

January 5, 2009

The playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not to react”.

In 2008, the world saw a lot of economic reactions. From the fall of Wall Street and the near collapse of the U.S. economy, many of us reacted by pulling our purse strings tighter and deciding to “hunker down” until the end of the recession.

As 2009 approaches, you and I have a unique opportunity to put aside reacting and put action front and center. Taking action will help the world recover and rebound. However, action without heart and connection to the greater good could get us back where we started.

To guide you in taking your action in the new year, I offer you a tool that never fails: leading with generosity.

What does it mean to lead with generosity?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, generosity is “the habit of giving.” But as we leap into a new year filled with new possibilities, let’s add to it “the habit of giving… especially when it feels terrifying!” Now is not the time to give less. Now, especially in these tough economic times, is the time to give to your fullest potential.

We cannot create the possible until we practice what feels impossible. In 2009 I urge you to take a leap like you’ve never taken before. What do you have to lose? Be as generous as you can in anyway that you can in every moment that presents itself. By doing so, you will develop a habit of giving that will transform the world. It will also transform you.

Being generous does not mean making a charitable gift that you cannot afford. However, being generous does mean writing any size check, even if you’re worried about money.

Being generous does not mean overextending yourself to a point of fatigue and burnout. However, being generous does mean revisiting the priorities you set and ensuring that the material does not supersede the spiritual.

Being generous does not mean allowing others to take advantage of your talents and gifts. However, being generous does mean offering your talents and gifts without expectation of return.

We cannot ask of our business and political leaders that which we do not practice and model. Someone has got to illustrate what generosity and giving look like.

In 2009, have that someone be you.

November 5, 2008

Dear Trusted Friend and Client,

This morning I woke up and said aloud,

“A community organizer is President of the United States.”

Having spent my life in the field of community organizing, philanthropic activism, and social change, I feel that just for today the promise I will to keep you and myself is to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Already, the pundits are saying “The newly elected President has got a big job ahead of him”, “We are in a tough place as a country”, “The work is only just beginning.”

True. We will walk a long road in the coming years. Each of us, in our own way, will have to excel at problem solving, creating solutions, and rebuilding.

At the same time, today let’s celebrate:

*The election of an African-American President to a country which, shortly after the year 1607, established and built itself partly on the institution of slavery

*A possible shift in values in the United States from ‘my’ needs, wealth accumulation, and greed to human rights, community, and real prosperity

*Activism as a vital, powerful force for change and as a model for the United States’ sustainability and viability

*The emergence of the youth vote as a driving democratic force and a window into young people’s commitment to fair and just government

*The opportunity for community organizing principles to take their place in the nation’s halls of power, and

*The possibility of what will unfold and unleash that none of us can yet see but that is vital and necessary.

How will it help us to absorb these achievements today and into the future?

Today, we deserve this. Feel great that it is our turn.

For the future, when there are tough days– and there will be tough days– I for one, will lean on these achievements to remind me of what is not only possible but what is achievable. I will remember the promise we made to ensure it’s the promise we keep.

============

We cannot create the possible until we first model the achievable. This will require our capacity to work powerfully and cooperatively with individuals and entities across sectors.

- Kathy LeMay

Should we or shouldn’t we?
Thoughts on partnerships between non-profit organizations and multi-national corporations

On March 5, 2008 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.- a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm- announced the launch of its newest initiative, “!0,000Women”. Its goal: provide business and management education to 10,000 women in developing and emerging countries. While this effort could positively impact women’s lives and the re-emergence of local economies, initiatives like this one may not necessarily be met with open arms.

For those who have spent their lives working with and for women’s organizations- as activists, staff, volunteers, members of the board, donors- suspicion and trepidation may dominate:

“Women’s well-being is not their primary motivation. What they care most about is bringing capitalism to other countries to deepen their own pockets.”

“For years we approached firms like this, making the case for investing in women. Now they finally get it but will we be at the table helping advise?”

“Do they know what it really takes to end poverty and to empower women? It’s much more than business and management education.”

“How about them getting all the press for doing what they should have done decades ago. I suppose now will have to give them awards at our special events!”

These frustrations are real. The charge for those working in the social change space: can these frustrations be transformed from anger into action? Can these deep seeded and valid feelings ignite activists to inform the corporate agenda versus setting up an “us v. them” scenario?

Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from the environmental justice movement. For decades environmental activists have been fighting the good fight for the planet. They have blown thousands of trumpets to get the world to heed the warning signs of climate change. Clearly we are witnessing shifting tides. When the Clorox Company releases on the market a product line called “Green Works” this indicates that corporations are attempting to stay viable in this emerging “nature-first” economy. Be assured that local and national environmental protection and justice organizations have played a critical role in corporate greening. In these times, when you offer sustainable practices to business leaders, you will be listened to.

While non-profits believe that they could positively affect corporate roles in making the world a better place for many the question that remains: are multi-national corporations true partners in the quest for environmental well-being, poverty elimination, and the actualization of women’s rights or will these areas become temporary corporate darlings which are discarded once their profitability has been fully leveraged?

For activists, asking and answering this question– how and in what way will the social justice movement partner with corporations—may be one of the most critical questions responded to and answered by the Movement.

Perhaps the intentions of firms like Goldman Sachs do not match the intentions of non-profit organizations working for women’s equality. Do these conflicting intentions necessarily forego a partnership?

Maybe not. Why?

We cannot create the possible until we first model the achievable. This will require our capacity to work powerfully and cooperatively with individuals and entities across sectors, even if we have different intentions and slightly different aims. Sustainability is not based on us versus them. Real sustainability requires that each of us remove us versus them and move closer to our shared commonalities and needs. Anyone who fights solely for their own interests- be it a corporate executive or a non-profit activist- will not create the world we all know is possible.

For corporations, the challenge is this: you can learn from your non-profit partners. Though their institutional machines and decision-making move at a different pace, their value and knowledge is unmatched when it comes to lifting up the voices of the most marginalized populations.

For non-profits, righteousness produces one result: righteousness. While it is fun to wave the ‘we told you so’ banner, this action doesn’t result in saving more lives. It provides a temporary ego boost but not a solution for making the world a healthier place.

What Then is the Best Next Step?

As corporations become more engaged in social responsibility, non-profits have a decision to make.

As the leader in its industry, Goldman Sachs sets trends. Many firms will likely follow Goldman Sachs’ lead in elevating the status of women and girls worldwide. For activists and women’s organizations now becomes the time to determine how or if a partnership with these companies will meet mission and long-term goals.

While some activists view free markets as a vehicle that erodes human rights, many corporate leaders and executives feel the free market has the power- when properly wielded- to end poverty and ensure equality. Who is correct? Perhaps each in a vacuum cannot achieve what both together can unleash.

What then should non-profit organizations do? If you agree that every person and entity has a role in activating lasting social change and you are ready to move forward with corporate partnerships, here are tips for readiness and preparation:

1. Assess your value to the corporation. What is the value-added you bring to the corporation’s mission, culture, and philanthropic plans? You are not entering into a partnership for financial assistance. You are entering into a partnership to help the corporation meet its philanthropic aims and to advance your organization’s vision and mission. If you want the corporation to know the value you bring you must name it first internally. What are your assets and strengths? Why are you the right partner for the corporation? What education can you bring to their employees? Remember to name your value and not just your need.

2. Position Yourself for Success. Many non-profits approach corporations nervously and sheepishly. Why? Your non-profit has solutions for making communities and the world a better place. While you may not have unlimited bank accounts, you have knowledge, expertise, and social change know-how. This is a gift to the corporation. is seeking to improved conditions in the world. You mission helps them meet their mission. This is two-way street. You need to see it as such and lead with confidence and authority.

3. Think beyond logo exchange. In the early 1990’s when I was fundraising for an AIDS service organization, I remember my job was to make sure corporate logos were the right size and color before placed in brochures and annual reports. While this is critical once you’ve signed an agreement, remember a true partnership is more than money and logo exchanges. Real change happens in the meetings with the you and the corporate representative. Find out what that person wants to achieve, what the company is striving for, and how you can elevate one another’s philanthropic aims. Think beyond the money and the logo.

4. Lead With Transparency. Partnership thrives when both partners are accountable to their constituencies and community. If you are approached by a corporation that you think is not accountable to its constituency you don’t need to accept the partnership invitation. When you do agree to a partnership, you. too, are accountable for results and outcomes. Don’t over-promise or under-deliver. Paint the picture of your opportunities and challenges. Invite your corporate partner to help you create solutions. If you require transparency from corporations, you must first lead by example.

5. Don’t Make Assumptions. I love a line in the Hollywood Blockbuster, Men In Black, uttered by actor, Tommy Lee Jones. When asked by Will Smith’s character why not just tell people that aliens are roaming the earth, stating that people are smart, Mr. Jones says, “A person is smart. People are stupid.” While non-profits may not think highly of multi-national corporations, individuals within corporations are individuals. They are people, wanting to build a successful career and make a difference. Don’t assume that someone who has chosen the path of for-profit doesn’t have a non-profit soul. Non-profits often get frustrated with assumptions made about their sector. These assumptions are often false and unfair. As a non-profit, be sure not to replicate this behavior. You’ll be surprised with who you meet and what you build together.

July 27, 2008

What does philanthropy have to do with Radovan Karadzic?

When I was twenty-four years old, I lived in Seattle and volunteered with an extraordinary initiative called the I Am Your Witness Campaign. A project of the non-profit self-defense organization, Powerful Choices, The Witness Campaign supported women survivors of the siege and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

To help raise money to support women survivors and their children, The Witness Campaign sold Witness t-shirts for $25 a piece. I remember spending weekends in the office space donated to the Campaign. I sat on the pale white carpet, listened to music from a small transitor radio, and filled orders for t-shirts. One-by-one I helped fill hundreds and hundreds of orders, placed by caring people throughout the world. I read notes that said, “Thank you for giving me a way to help” and “I am including my $25 plus $5 more. I hope it helps.”

These t-shirt sales, together with other donations brought in more than a quarter million dollars. Not bad for three women and an office space.

With these funds, women and children received medical care, counseling, housing, and for some, the resources to travel to the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague. There, they testified about what they endured in the military-led rape-genocide camps. Their testimony became part of history.

On Tuesday, Radovan Karadzic was captured in Serbia, an arrest that according to the Associated Press, ends a decade-long manhunt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

I don’t know what the arrest will bring. What I do know is this: Because of the $25 gifts made back in 1994-1995, the testimonies of women survivors are a permanent part of the Tribunal, that he may now face.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference. Philanthropy is each of us “doing what we can, with what we have, where we are.”

As I write this, I honor the brave women who testified, the women and men who made that testimony possible, and the founders of I Am Your Witness- Cody Wahto Sontag and Judith Roth – for teaching me that giving at all levels can transform individual lives, and the future.