Stop Wasting Charitable Contributions!

Stop Wasting Charitable Contributions!

I have been in consulting for over 30 years and every year I have donated money and time to various charities focused on local social services’ needs (homelessness, food banks, mentoring). But, several issues, such as homelessness, are not getting any better. By throwing money at symptoms we are supporting sustaining problems, not solving them. No more.

Our firm, North Highland, has 60 offices around the world and over 3,000 professionals. In 2016, we agreed to focus all our charity time, money, and energy on addressing root causes of poverty using consulting expertise to help find solutions to this problem. Feeding the homeless who are still homeless the next day, and stocking food banks with canned goods where more free food is still needed the next day is not working. No more sustaining! Time to start solving!

We are consultants. We spend our time solving the toughest problems our clients send our way. By partnering with the right groups, reviewing all the research that has already been done, and piloting efforts in our markets, we can harness best practices and amplify them across all our cities.

Just a few months into this new focus our team has already identified some root causes of why current efforts are not working.

Stay tuned as we learn more through our five pilots this year. Or better yet, join our cause and contribute your ideas. Our case for change is found here.

Richard Ray

Executive Level Organization and Leadership Development Professional helping firms link culture-strategy-learning and facilitating change AND Professor, Strategy, Management, and Human Resources

7 年

how you apply your philanthropy and corporate social responsibility has to be strategic. A lot of folks make these decisions based on an immediate emotion, empathetic need in the moment, CEO's pet arts project, or a marketing executives desire to impact reputation. While some of this is good and required to maintain our humanity and concern for others, linking your philanthropy to your organizational mission is a good thing. Take for instance the number of construction firms who donate time, resources, and dollars to improving the quality of construction education in schools and colleges. They are donating millions to help educate the next generation. Some might say that they are "investing in the future" - if these programs fail to graduate good students (future employees), the companies suggest. Other industries align their philanthropic efforts with their strategic goals - healthcare, banking, etc. Of course critics, will complain that this is selfless behavior, but more marketing and planning in hopes that there is a return. For my two cents, getting some type of return on your philanthropic investment is a good thing - documenting value and encouraging others to help others is usually a good thing.

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Greg Elder

Vice-President of Client Services at MUST Ministries

7 年

2 of 3 who come through MUST Ministries shelter go on to stable housing (natl avg 40%). We helped almost 600 find jobs last year.

Lee Campe

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt x4, Dad, Army Ranger, Lecturer, Professor

7 年

I hope you've also identified that most homeless want to be homeless. For example as a veteran I see all these crazy posts about homeless veterans from people that don't seem to understand that there are so many programs for a vet if he is in fact homeless that there should be no homeless veterans.

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