SerbLink Spotlight- Robert Kovacevich

1. What initially drew you to work in the nonprofit sector,can you share any specific experiences or influences that intrigued you about nonprofit work and motivated you to pursue a career in fund development?

It was the 1960s, and I was finishing my business degree living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the most evolved cities in America. It was also a time when young people were chanting the mantra - We are going to make a better world.? Our theme was a Bob Dylan song, The Times They Are A Chagin’. For me, it was also a time to make a big leap: make money and live in the suburbs or do something more heroic with my life. I am pleased I made the right decision and followed the mantra. ?

2. What led you to establish Avatar Company in 1980? Were there any particular gaps in the nonprofit sector that you aimed to address with your company's services?

I was drawn to the nonprofit sector as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization whose mission was to provide higher education scholarships to gifted students who could make positive changes in the world but were financially unable to advance their dreams. This experience of volunteering with like-minded people doing good motivated me to become a ‘student’ of the nonprofit sector. I used intensive survey techniques to discover what philanthropists and foundations consider to be best practices in nonprofit organization behaviour, thereby attracting them to contribute their time, energy, and money. This notion of objectively quantifying the best practices in nonprofit management by funding sources was relatively absent during that time. I used the research data to counsel nonprofits in applying those objectively proven practices and thereby enabled them to attract and secure predictable recurring income, including grant awards, successfully. I have continued to conduct surveys each year since 1980. Why? There are so many impacts on philanthropy every year; consider COVID, for example. There are prominent 8 behaviours funders want to see practices by nonprofits after the pandemic. Two of the behaviours are that the nonprofit have a succession plan and a contingency reserve.?

3. With over 44 years at Avatar, how have you seen the landscape of nonprofit funding change? What key trends have you adapted to in your approach?

The major impact on philanthropy and foundation awards has been COVID. What was true pre-COVID in nonprofit best practices is not applicable now.? COVID has made funders and grantors much more careful in awarding funds than they have been here-to-for, and the old models have been replaced. We are still compliing the after effects but have come a long way. Again, objectively gathered research from the funding sources is the key to a successful nonprofit today.?

4.?Avatar has worked with a diverse range of clients, from museums and theaters to zoos and educational institutions. How do you tailor your strategies to fit the unique needs of such varied organizations?

All of the above nonprofits fall under the category of nonprofit organizations, and their diverse missions play no factor in how they should manage themselves. The universal key is knowing the best management behaviors endorsed by funders and it changes every year. The most prevalent and vexing issue plaguing nonprofit organizations is the absence of Board Development; Google it, there are lots of free resources to help you start. ?

Just know the following: You can never do anything more important for your nonprofit organization’s advancement than who you chose to be on your board of directors. If you have good governance and it understands and is trained in its three responsibilities, success is on the way.

5. After more than four decades of leading Avatar, what do you see as your legacy in the nonprofit sector? What future trends or challenges do you anticipate for fund development?

My legacy is I have been true to the mantra and have thereby, in a small way, set the standard for others to follow. I’ve continued to chant along with others committed to humanity's evolution for the collective betterment of mankind. Perhaps the best thing I have done is have two children who have also taken up the mantra in their own way. As for fund development, two critical areas are threatening philanthropy. One is that some of the very wealthy are funding political initiatives that don’t serve humanity's advancement but rather their personal well-being and of those like them. The second is the outcome of this trend. The younger generation does not trust the nonprofit sector and the organizations therein. Hence, I hope that younger generations, especially here in the U.S.A., will embrace new ways to control negative trends that foster abuse, such as the creation of foundations that cloak themselves as philanthropy but are more for the wealthy to gain favourable tax benefits and depreciate the true meaning of philanthropy.?

6. How has your Serbian/Balkan heritage influenced your career?

I have recently returned to my Serbia roots. I was born in a Displaced Persons Camp at the end of WWII and spent 5 years there prior to immigrating to the U.S. in 1950. My father came to the U.S. as a Serbian-trained M.D. and, upon arrival to the U.S., applied to Harvard Medical School to advance his career, securing a full scholarship. He and his wife imparted wisdom to my siblings and me that enhanced our lives and those of others we touched. I would be remiss not to mention that I am a newlywed. My Serbian wife, who has brought me back to my cultural roots. She is still in Serbia, and we are working through the final stages of the immigration process. We are part of a team working on a beautiful project to bring exquisite bronze monuments of Tesla to Serbia. The proposed project will be funded by the international diaspora, and Tesla aficionados and installed in Serbian locations where 10 million international travellers currently frequent annually. The monuments are highly interactive via QR and enable audiences to learn about the extraordinary work Tesla produced that advanced the well-being of humanity globally every day. The project is also focused on enhancing Serbia’s standing on the world stage. If interested, please contact me to learn more about this developing project: [email protected].