Using an Outcome Oriented Philanthropy Model BY PETER BRUSOE, MASTER OF THE EAGLE LODGE AND TREASURER OF WILLIAM R. SINGLETON-HOPE-LEBANON LODGE NO. 7
Volunteerism and philanthropic-based work is a core part of our American society and American identity. In fact, one-third of American adults actively volunteer in some way. In 2018, those volunteer efforts contributed work worth $167B into the American economy.1 And it’s not just the time, but also financial support. One out of two Americans contribute to worthy charitable causes every year. When the cathedral of Notre Dame caught on fire and money needed to be raised to repair it, 90% of the donations came from Americans, many in small amounts ranging from $25 to $50.2 Social scientists know from the social capital literature of sociologists like Robert Putnam that people who belong to fraternal organizations are even more likely to be engaged volunteers and charitably minded than their non-fraternal counterparts.3 So, when we survey our Grand Jurisdiction, it is no surprise that we see philanthropy here very much engaged and active.
The lodge knew we could do better and we looked at what organizations like the Gates Foundation were doing. They used a model called “Outcome Oriented Philanthropy.” Simply put, you look at problems that need to be solved and determine how you can be helpful. It is like that old adage if you give a person a fish, he eats for a day, you teach him how to fish you feed him for life. A lot of charitable giving is based on donor intent and not necessarily need. A donor decides what they think is important and they provide funding. The charity, eager for the money or not wanting to insult the donor, says “yes” and implements it regardless of mission alignment. This is how schools wind up with scholarships for red haired young men from Herkimer County who can play tuba and want to study 17th Century Baroque Literature. Alexander Justice Moore writing in The Food Fighters suggests that in some cases the charitable work being done is about the donor and not the recipient, and that for this to work people need to be in relationship with one another.4
Some lodges volunteer monthly at a soup kitchen, some go out and support their local D.C. public school, The Singleton Lodge snocone booth at the 17th Street Festival and still others host an How can your Lodge or annual fundraiser to support a charity of their choice. A few years other organization implement problem based philanthropy? The ago, William R. Singleton-Hope-Lebanon Lodge No. 7 shifted following are ten key steps to think about. the way we thought of our philanthropic work. Traditionally in September, the Lodge would go through and allocate $32,000 in 1. F igure out what area of volunteerism your donations. (Literally it would be this organization would get $1,000, membership is passionate about. this would get $500, this organization would get $1,500 and so on We all have different areas of concern that we care about. For and so forth.) I remember one of our brothers stood up and asked, some of us it is education, the arts, animals, sports, housing, food “What does this charity do?” and the response was “We always give insecurity, or any number of things. We have seen in some organithem money.” There is no doubt we did good and we helped several zations where the presiding officer really cares about libraries and causes. Yet, this was not really a great experience for us or for the tries to make his members care about libraries, only to have the organizations we were supporting. Their only contact with us was guy next year say we are working on diabetes, and the guy after the check, which they were grateful for, and a nice thank you note. that says arts. It may be that there are two areas that you really We would repeat this process each year. care about and your lodge may be looking at helping with literacy and animal shelters. 1 https://www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/volunteering-us-hits-record-high-worth-167-billion 2 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-14/us-donors-not-french-tycoons-foot-notre-dame-works-bills 3 See Bowling Alone http://bowlingalone.com/ 4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0792JZ76P/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
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ISSUE 4, 2019 The Voice of Freemasonry 29
