A fundraising conversation

‘So, Mister Goodman, how nice to finally meet you.’

‘The pleasure is all mine, Miss Burrowes. How was the flight?’

‘It was a bit bumpy, to be honest, but no athmospheric disturbances would be able to keep me from meeting with you.’

‘You seem very motivated for your cause.’

‘I surely am, and I am also proud of the impact we have had so far.’

‘Yes, impact. It’s all about impact in the NGO world these days, isn’t it?’

‘And rightfully so, Mister Goodman, we must be accountable for the funding we get from our donors.’

‘You would like me to become a donor for your project.’

‘Very much so!’

‘So, tell me all about this wonderful project of yours. Your frequent messages have raised my attention. You were quite persistent. My secretary said ‘It’s that Salesian woman again on the phone.’

‘Salesian Youth Institute Projects works in youth education and skills development, changing the lives of vulnerable children and youth-at-risk in Cape Town, South Africa. We offer support, life skills, and vocational training.’

‘Sounds fascinating. Tell me more.’

‘Before I do that, Mister Goodman, I would like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.’

‘Guess you want to know who we are, why we would want to give our precious dollars to some poor kids in Cape Town. 10.000 miles from New York. You would think we have enough povery and misery here in the US.’

‘I am very much intrigued by your Foundation, Mister Goodman. What is it excatly that you do?’

‘Well, miss Burrowes, like so many of my fellow billionaires, I have come to the point where I want to give back to society. I have done very well for myself, I have heaped up vast amounts of money, and it has become my conviction that something good needs to be done with all that money. I have learned that giving gives more pleasure than taking.

Now, giving is easy. Very easy, and there a plenty folks who want to receive. I can assure you that.’

‘You want your recipients to earn your donations.’

‘Exactly my words. I don’t want to feed parasites.’

‘Oops. We are definitely no parasites, mister Goodman.’

‘I am not saying that you are, miss Burrowes. You shoulds have a look at the e-mails I get. Here’s a nice one. I have printed it out to read it to potential recipients, like yourself.

Hi Jack,

I have heard that you are a good man. No pun intended. It is clear that you feel guilty about the wealth you have acquired. You have done so by exploiting the working man and by avoiding taxes. You republican bastard.

You have plenty of money and I would like to have my fair share of that money.

My family is poor and needy, my children are sick and hungry and my business is not doing well.

I am sure that you will feel much better about yourself when you give me a montly grant of 5.000 dollars till the end of my life. The Lord will look at your case with more benevolence when you do.

You can wire the money to his account.

God bless you,

Dick Monk

‘Really, that is hilarious. This is a real mail you got?’

‘There’s much worse, miss Burrowes.’

‘The least one can say is that you inspire people, mister Goodman.’

‘Ha, ha, ha. That’s a good one. Call me Jack.’

‘I am Nelly.’

‘Right, so, I have set up a Foundation whose mission it is to stimulate education for underprivileged kids. Why this? Simply, I had a market study made to identify the needs, and there are plenty of foundations and grants taking care of health issues, women issues, racial issues, agriculture issues, pregnancy issues etcetera. Children need food, they need love, but most of all they need an education. So, that has become the niche that we working in.’

‘That sounds wonderful, mister Goodman, euh Jack. I think I have come to the right man! I guess you get many applications.’

‘It is mind blowing, Nelly. But we need to make choices. We can’t fund every school from LA to Phnom Penh. We need to be selective in what we do.’

‘Exactly. What criteria do you use when evaluating applications, Jack?’

‘First of all, Nelly, I need to have the assurance that my money will be well spent. We are looking for reliable partners who deliver on their promises. NGO’s don’t have a good reputation when it comes to accountability and professionalism. Lots of goodheartedness and voluntarism, but very little business sense. And, let’s be frank here, Nelly, there is also a lot of corruption, isn’t it?’

‘It is a challenge, Jack.’

‘You don’t need to use that politically correct lingo with me, Nelly. I want good governance. And I need to see results. The projects I fund need to be performant. They need to make a clear and visible difference. Change kids’ lifes.’

‘Waw. ‘

‘Yeah, wow.’

‘And I don’t want any hassle’.

‘Well, that is loud and clear. Very straight forward. Now, me being here, means that SIYP has caught your interest in a certain way, and the criteria your mentioned, you sort of find them back in what we do for Capetowns vulnerable youth. Is that a correct assumption, Jack?’

‘I have had you vetted, yeah. And I like what I hear. But I want you tell me what you are doing. I want to hear the voice of the project management. I need to know I am dealing with people who are sincere and authentic.’

‘My sales pitch. ‘

‘Give it to me.’

‘Some facts and figures to start with. For 104 years now, Salesians have been investing in Cape Town’s most vulnerable children and young people. 93 % of the donations we get go straight to the programs destined to help the children and youngsters. 84 % youth in our Youth Employment Skills programmes were employed in 2013.’

‘Sounds good.’

‘Safeguarding and improving the lives of young people is a vital task in South Africa. In the Western Cape province, where we work, 44 percent of the population are young people under the age of 25. Nearly a third of them live in poverty, with one in five suffering severe deprivation.

In addition, recent studies have shown some half a million youths and children live on the streets of South Africa – 120,000 of them in the Western Cape province alone. And the trend is accelerating.’

‘Jesus. I knew it was bad.’

‘The Salesian Institute serves vulnerable children and youth at risk regardless of religion, race, gender or nationality. We give them the skills they need to stay out of danger, find good jobs and lead happy lives.

Each year we do this for the 1600 young men and women in our programmes with a custom-tailored mix of basic education, vocational training, social skills, neighborhood outreach and residential accommodation.’

‘OK. Go on.’

‘Our programmes include many things. Let me enumerate.

? Classes for children and youth who have dropped out of school or who do not have the skills to pass their matriculation exams, including welding, woodcraft, panel-beating and arts and crafts

? Vocational classes for older youth to learn in-demand trade skills like tiling, laminated flooring, bricklaying, PC repair, computer literacy and office management

? Life skills classes to give at-risk youth self-confidence and social skills plus basic home skills like budgeting: this includes self-actualisation, self-confidence building, interview skills, communication, cultural diversity awareness, relationship building, motivation and problem solving, time management, stress management, conflict resolution, peer pressure, interview skills, gender and domestic violence sensitisation, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS awareness, goal setting, trust building and positive thinking.

? Job search and placement services

And we have a one-of-a-kind programme to assist youth with training and documents in order for them to find employment within the fishing industry.’

‘And you can substantiate all this with numbers and figures. I gues you have your programms and finances are audited by an external party?’

‘Here are the yearly reports of 2015 and 2016.’

‘Looks very professional. Nice pictures. You've had some marketing help to lure suckers like myself.’

‘As you said, Jack, the Not For Profit world has become a professional industry and we need to use all the tools available to convince our donors. ‘

‘You are doing what the government should be doing. Why is it they don’t take care of these kids? I mean, South Africa is the richest state in Africa. You had the football world championship. You’re not a developing country any more, are you.’

‘That is exactly the problem we are facing, Jack. We have lost many of our traditional donors because of this perception of South Africa as an economic success. The reality is that South Africa is a failed state when it comes to child welfare and education.’

‘Lots of corruption. Zuma is a bit of a rogue, isn’t he?’

‘I would rather not go in that that, Jack. I can only speak for SIYP. The audit uses the higest standards of good business practice, as you can see from the document.’

‘OK, Nelly. Interesting.’

‘So, what do you think, Jack. What do you like most about our projects?’

‘Well, two things. No three. You have been around for quite a while. You show results. And you are committed. I can see that.’

‘So happy to hear that, Jack. Does that mean…’

‘How much do you need, Nelly?’