Portuguese philanthropy from a Portuguese perspective

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Abby Rolland

Today, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE) release the special edition of the Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI), which features the reorganization of previously published information to highlight the diverse environment for philanthropy in Europe.

Ricardo André Marques, Ph.D., is the GPEI expert on Portugal. You can read his insights about current philanthropic trends in Portugal below. You can also check out his full report on Portuguese philanthropy, or learn more about the Global Philanthropy Indices.

My involvement with philanthropy began in the 1990s, when I joined some social (but also artistic) movements that fought for different social causes (gender equality, housing rights, working conditions, among others). Along with this involvement, I studied sociology at the university and also integrated the student associative movement, having been involved in the struggle for free and quality public education.

Training in the social sciences enabled me to work on the reality of the nonprofit sector, not only as a technician, but also as a researcher and consultant. As an integrated researcher in teams from different research centers, I was able to study the social reality and the nonprofit sector not only in Portugal but also at European Union level (particularly in matters related to volunteering, associative movements, philanthropic organizations, and it also enabled me to work the relationship between the government and the third sector).

Global Philanthropy Environment Index 2018: European Edition

My focus has always been on the fact that the recommendations given to the various actors (government and civil society organizations) could be incorporated into public policy and civil society organizations’ capacity to respond, which is unfortunately not always the case in the Portuguese scenario.

In methodological terms, I worked on a diachronic analysis – that is, always based on the understanding that the contemporary Portuguese scenario reflects a historical process where different historical moments take on particular importance, among which we could highlight the Middle Ages and the importance of the Catholic works of mercy; the industrialization of the late nineteenth century; the advent of the ideas of Republicanism and the emergence of a secular society; the “fascist” dictatorship that existed between 1926 and 1974; transition to the democratic period; or the recent International Monetary Fund intervention under the financial assistance program. The different moments contributed to the reality of the philanthropy we are facing today, although this is always in transformation.

In order to obtain a greater degree of trustworthiness, I carried out a bibliographical research that emphasized the specialized literature and the latest research on the scenario of philanthropy, nonprofit organizations and the third sector in Portugal.

I have also worked on quantitative indicators from different sources, not only national but also international; as well as information coming from different institutions belonging to the government and the main organizations that work on the topic of philanthropy and the third sector in Portugal, especially those that have observatories. My concern has always been that the report is as current as possible, but never ceasing to consider the notion of “system”.

In the process of collecting information, I have noticed some changes regarding the reality of philanthropy in Portugal. While on the one hand there are some substantial improvements due to less legal complexity, as well as greater administrative decentralization, the Portuguese reality, as well as that of other southern European countries, still has substantially lower degrees of participation and involvement when compared with the countries of Northern Europe, the United States and Australia.

This lower level of participation is evident in the reduced involvement of individuals in voluntary activities, for example. The government is still seen as the guarantor of social welfare and, therefore, conditions the perception about the space of civil society organizations and a more limited intervention by them. On the other hand, there is still some mistrust regarding philanthropic actions encouraged by the companies and their lack of dynamism in terms of philanthropic interventions.

The issue of funding is also not peaceful, and this is one of the main difficulties that nonprofit sector organizations face. On the other hand, it is necessary for the tax system to be more dynamic in order to generate capital gains for individuals and companies that make social donations, as well as for a more in-depth knowledge of the reality and the difficulties of organizations working in the area of solidarity and philanthropy.

Unfortunately, society and the media often end up giving relevance to the bad examples and not to everything that has been positive in the scenario of solidarity and social intervention. However, Portuguese society is very supportive and this is evident in its ability to organize and mobilize around the great social causes. I think, fundamentally, that is what should be valued.

Having the opportunity to work on the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Global Philanthropy Environment Index was a very enriching and unique experience. The level of involvement and the spirit of mutual help have always been very high and should serve as an example of good practice for other institutions.

The research that has been developed contributes not only to the knowledge of philanthropy in the world but also allows pertinent comparisons that can and should be used in order to increase the degrees of philanthropic intervention. I have learned a lot and hope to have contributed positively to this knowledge.

Ricardo André Marques has a degree in Sociology, a Master’s in Sociology / Cities and Urban Cultures, an MBA in Management and Marketing, and a Ph.D. in Social Sustainability and Development. He worked as a technician in the social area and integrated research teams from the Universities of Coimbra and Lisbon, having also worked as a university professor and researcher in Angola. Along with his activities as a trainer, he also works as a consultant for Stone Soup Consulting.

Diversity Speaker Series: Dr. Helene Gayle

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Abby Rolland

On October 4, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy will welcome its first speaker in the Diversity Speaker Series, sponsored by the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy.

Dr. Helene Gayle served as CEO of CARE and CEO of the McKinsey Social Initiative before assuming her current role as CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country.

Dr. Una Osili, assistant dean for research and international programs and professor of economics, will interview Dr. Gayle about her experiences in a talk titled “The Urgency of Inclusion: Philanthropy in All Our Communities.” Here, Dr. Osili shares some of the key topics she will discuss with Dr. Gayle.

Leadership

“Dr. Gayle has held multiple different leadership positions, including leading the international nonprofit CARE and working to drive social change at the global level while also focusing on change at the community level with Chicago Community Trust.

“She’s served on corporate and nonprofit boards including The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive Company, the Rockefeller Foundation, Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, New America, and the ONE Campaign. She’s also been included on lists like Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women. Her leadership can inspire others, whether it’s students at the school or practitioners working in the field, to find their own place in the philanthropic community.”

Social Change and Impact

“Social change has been a common theme across all of Dr. Gayle’s roles. While at CARE, she made the decision that to combat poverty, you have to address the needs of women in the community. As a result, she shifted CARE’s work to focus on those needs.

“As a physician, she understands the health and well-being of people and organizations, but she has a wealth of experience and knowledge about gender and how investing in women can lead to long-term improvements in economic opportunities for communities. She knows how to identify an issue, develop a strategy around that idea, and use a sustainable approach to drive change and build community.”

Diversity

“We believe that Dr. Gayle will help shape the dialogue in terms of what it means to be leader and what it means to bring issues of diversity and inclusion into the work that we do.”

Local and Global Perspectives

“To have the opportunity to hear from someone who has held important roles at the helm of both global and local organizations and who is able to tie those together in different ways can benefit many individuals.

“Whether it’s a board member or a student who’s trying to carve out a career path, we can all learn something from her leadership journey.”

Learn more and RSVP to Dr. Gayle’s lecture at Newfields

The summer of pilgrimage

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Anne Brock

In all of our Lake Institute on Faith & Giving courses, we refer to The Paradox of Generosity and in particular this quote from Christian Smith:

“Generosity is the virtue of giving good things to others freely and abundantly. It is a learned character trait that involves attitude and action entailing both the inclination and actual practice of giving liberally. It is not a haphazard behavior but a basic orientation to life. What generosity gives can vary: money, time, attention, aid, encouragement, and more but it always intends to enhance the true well-being of the receiver. Like all virtues, generosity is in people’s genuine enlightened self-interest to learn and practice.”

What I appreciate about this definition of generosity is that money is only one component. In their research, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson discovered that there are five different measures of generosity: financial giving, volunteering, relational generosity, neighborly generosity, and self-evaluated generosity. It is the fourth one of neighborly generosity that three of us on the Lake Institute staff experienced deeply this summer.

Anne Brock walking the Camino de Santiago

It just so happens that in June I walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain – a traditional Christian pilgrimage that has become more broadly known and walked in the last 20-30 years. Then, in August, David King walked that same path in Spain while Rafia Khader performed hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, which is required of all adult Muslims at least once in their lifetime if they are physically able to perform the arduous journey and can afford it. It wasn’t planned, but the three of us found ourselves on pilgrimages this summer, pilgrimages that allowed us to experience neighborly generosity to the fullest extent.

There is a common phrase on the Camino: the Camino provides. Obviously the path itself doesn’t provide; things don’t magically appear out of thin air. The spirit of the Camino provides through people, usually strangers, who offer what is needed in the moment.

For example, my friends and I stopped at a small café for a break one morning. While my friend was tending to her feet (that becomes a regular practice while walking the Camino!), a woman and her husband sat down at a table nearby. Her feet were also bothering her and she needed some Neosporin. My friend offered her the ointment she needed and from there the conversation began.

As we got to know each other, we discovered they used to live in Indianapolis and attended a church where I used to work. We began to reminisce about people we mutually knew. Later in the day we saw them again. The woman had been thinking about this church as she walked and wondered if by some small chance I had known her children when I worked there. It turns out I did! And, when I looked closer I recognized this woman and her husband! We had a beautiful encounter because of a neighborly offer of Neosporin. The Camino provides.

The spirit of the Camino also offers listening ears and open arms. It offers ice water and ibuprofen and blister care. The generosity experienced on this pilgrimage is about giving liberally. It trains you toward an orientation of generosity. Because I received a gift, I’m inclined to give a gift to another. Pilgrimage is an opportunity to practice generosity in every moment; opportunities to hear deep, personal stories of grief, longing, and hope.

I began to wonder if generous people are drawn to go on pilgrimage or if being on pilgrimage creates generous people. I suspect it’s a little of both.

David’s Reflections

David King, Ph.D. (center), and friends at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Anne’s words resonate with my Camino experience as I too felt that the experience helped to lead more toward an orientation of generosity. Material possessions were limited in ways that led almost everyone to find common ground. When everyone is in a sweaty T-shirt and shorts, you are not caught up in status or standards. There is a sense that while each individual is on his or her own journey, we are also all in this together.

Alongside Anne’s notion of the “Camino provides,” there is also another ubiquitous phrase that pilgrims use to greet each other: “Buen Camino.” Across multiple language divides, this simple phrase literally means “have a good journey.” Another greeting, however, goes a step deeper. Others would greet you with the Latin “Ultreia.” It literally means beyond and is an encouragement to keep going, onwards to your goal.

I found those ever-present greetings beautiful and so encouraging. I’ll admit that I felt a little disappointment on the first few days at home when my “Buen Camino” greetings received a puzzled look from friends and family. But I soon realized that while the words may not translate, there are ways that we can be gentler with ourselves and more generous with others back home in our daily lives.

While the terrain itself on the walk through Spain was sometimes difficult, I would say that it is more the reintegrating from a pilgrimage experience that is the hardest part of the journey. Like Anne and Rafia, I was struck by the generosity of both friends and strangers, but I was less prepared for how to reintegrate the numerous “generosity in the moment” experiences that Anne mentions into daily life when deluged by email, commuting, and parenting. But with ongoing intentionality, I think it can be done so that pilgrimage experiences do not only become stories to tell but a way to live.

Rafia Khader after the farewell tawaf (Islamic right of pilgrimage).

Rafia’s Reflections

My experience at Hajj required much less walking, but a whole lot of patience. Hajj can be a trial, especially for pilgrims from North America who are not used to being around throngs of people from all over the world.

People push and shove, they don’t always cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing, and if you’re not careful, you might get hit by a pebble during the stoning of the jamaraat (this is a rite of Hajj where Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls. It is a symbolic reenactment of Abraham’s hajj, where he stoned three pillars representing the temptation to disobey God). I was even elbowed in the mouth while performing tawaf (circumambulation around the Ka’aba). It’s hard to resist not responding in kind.

Yet I was reminded amid all the chaos, there were many people who exuded generosity. In one particular visit to the Ka’aba, a man from Iran who did not speak English very well gave me his chair to sit on (the other option was to sit on the hard marble floor). There was one particular young woman in my group (who even had her two-year-old baby with her!) who, in my mind, embodied the spirit of Islam beautifully.

This woman provided a quiet service of collecting people’s water bottles after they were done drinking (littering is a problem during Hajj and my group was mindful of not adding to that), handing out food to others before she took her own, and making sure everyone was receiving the much-desired fan (it averaged around 110 F in Saudi Arabia).

The lesson that I learned is that even though it is easy to get stuck on people’s bad behaviors, there are people who are kind and generous with their time. They are often more quiet, but if you look you will find them.

Final Thoughts

Even though David and I walked the same path, our experiences varied based on the people we were with, the weather of the day, and the time of year we walked. Rafia’s experience, although also on a pilgrimage, was quite different from ours solely based on the number of people traveling to the same city at the same time from all over the world.

Wherever we were, whoever we encountered, whatever we experienced, generosity was abundant. We took time apart from our regularly scheduled lives to make space and in opening that space, we allowed for opportunities of generosity to be experienced, in the giving and the receiving.

Winners are Us

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Amir Pasic

Anand Giridharadas’s splendid book, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, is a must-read for anyone interested in current trends in philanthropy.

You get to share a limo ride with Darren Walker, the President of Ford Foundation, as he calibrates his message to a titan of private equity. You listen to Bill Clinton articulate the win-win philosophy behind “doing good while doing well,” which shaped social good globalism of the Clinton Global Initiative and the proliferation of corporate sponsored conferences and other festivals that promote and celebrate efforts to improve society through market forces.

Giridharadas’s provocative take on MarketWorld, as he calls it, indicts elites who seek to change the world as long as there is no question about their own status or the harms they inflict by accumulating wealth the way they do. Giridharadas’s conversation with Andrew Kassoy perhaps sums up the gist of the book.

Kassoy is the founder of B Lab that gave rise to the benefit corporation movement, allowing companies to pursue goals to benefit society in addition to the financial bottom line. There are now hundreds of these companies including Ben and Jerry’s and Kickstarter.

Kassoy and Giridharadas both wonder whether it might have been better to forego the win-win world of B Corporations, the universe of which is still quite small, and instead enter the contentious realm of law and politics. It is through this more conflictual arena where power clashes can limit the harm that the many more conventional companies cause through their impact on the environment, public health, and workers’ welfare.

In the less genteel world of law and politics, we are all at least nominally equal as citizens and our impact is not tied to our net worth. But here the key word is “nominal.” Just like there is the idealized version of the market that efficiently allocates resources to where their social return is highest, so there lurks in Giridharadas’s masterful reportage an ideal notion of a liberal democracy where the encounter of interests and passions generates justice for and by common folk.

Clearly there is a profound choice between a plutocracy modified by privately conceived social improvement schemes and democratic institutions where we all engage each other as equals. To drive home the fact that too many progressives have bought into grand global schemes fueled by wealthy elites, Giridharadas gets off the street and visits universities.

He speaks to Dani Rodrik at Harvard to understand how the global ambitions of rootless elites have bred the resentments of rooted commoners. And hence Brexit and the rise of Trump, which has been widely touted in the promotion of the book but is really a minor part of the learning in this book.

It weaves together investigative journalism with inquiries of scholars, revealing Giridharadas’s formation as a student of Michael Sandel at Harvard. Among others, he also consults with Aaron Horvath and Walter Powell of Stanford and Chiara Cordelli of the University of Chicago to ground himself in the very purpose of a rights-based democracy.

No one should value being someone else’s social improvement project as much as they should value seizing their own rightful place as subservient to no one, with full dignity to make what they will of their life and the public sphere to which each citizen has as much right as any other.

His is a forceful and compelling call to seize our rights as citizens and to engage in social improvement through public institutions, not the private substitutes that reflect the compromised motives of billionaires and corporations. This vital warning can easily wane as the patronage of great wealth also creates many clients, like the lords of yore had many vassals. But regardless of their relatively elevated status, even vassals did not have the habit of independence and self-determination that we associate with citizens. Their primary consolation was to be superior to peasants.

But in the promotion of the book, Giridharadas is mistaken when he equates philanthropy with vassalage. Surely, as we study philanthropy we are not seeking to build a concierge class to do the bidding of our wealthier compatriots. Rather, we engage leaders who understand that generosity plays a key role in genuine public spiritedness, without which few institutions can thrive.

We have too many examples of nominally egalitarian institutions seized by tyrants and demagogues, cynically mouthing ideals of human dignity to preserve their positions. There is not much of a choice if it is between a benevolent commissar and a kind plutocrat.

Ideals of equal participation are no less susceptible to corruption than are ideals of enlightened autocracy. Most of us would choose the former ideal, but in practice it requires that we carefully choose our leaders and the elites who will govern.

We must be critical with our own philanthropy and in gauging it in others. We hope our institutions and the public-spiritedness of our fellow citizens will prevent any one elite from entrenching itself and serving its own purposes at the expense of the public. But we do need elites to function.

Beyond the scale of a town hall, we need to select elites to represent us. They are the “winners” we select for a limited time to achieve a specific purpose. We don’t intend to elevate them permanently. Our representatives are supposed to serve us as are the technocrats who administer the complex machinery of government that answers to us. But in the end it is our choice. We do ultimately select the winners who reflect who we are.

Amir Pasic, Ph.D., is the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Previously, he was vice president of international operations at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Dean Pasic holds a B.A. from Yale, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in political science from University of Pennsylvania.

Conducting a community foundation’s communications: How one alumna’s internship led to her current position

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Abby Rolland

Philanthropy for JoAnna Ness, M.A. ’18, began at a young age. Hailing from northeastern Indiana, Ness became involved with P.U.L.S.E. of Noble County, a service-oriented group launched by the Dekko Foundation.

“I started volunteering with the group in seventh grade, and it showed me opportunities of how young people could get involved in philanthropy and inspire real change in a community,” Ness explained.

She realized that she wanted a career working in the nonprofit sector. While attending Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), Ness majored in nonprofit management and interned at various foundations throughout Indiana. However, a feeling her senior year led to Ness applying for graduate school.

“I knew I wanted to return to northeast Indiana and have a career there, but I needed extra training,” she said.

With encouragement from Travis Smith, M.A. ’13, Ness applied and was accepted to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy the fall after she graduated from IUB. Even with prior knowledge of the nonprofit sector, Ness learned new insights through several of her classes at the school.

“Even though I had experience working with foundations, the course Grantmaking and the Role of Foundations with Dr. Catherine Herrold compelled me to critique the grantmaking process and ask better questions, such as ‘is this a helpful grant? Are foundations too powerful? Are they aware of the impact that their grantmaking can have on the immediate projects they fund?’ I really enjoyed the course and learned a great deal,” Ness said.

She also enjoyed her History of Philanthropy course with Dr. Nancy Robertson.

“She asked good questions that made me rethink ideas about power and philanthropy throughout history, while always finding ways to connect with present day,” Ness said.

“I loved those questions brought up in those courses, and how they challenged me while shedding new light on various topics.”

Her graduate assistantship placements and internship gave her practical experiences in the field.

“The first year of the program, I worked partly with Pamela Clark, director of student services and admissions, and assisted her with various student service projects,” Ness said. “I spent the other half of my time as a service learning coordinator with the P105 Giving and Volunteering in America, which is an introductory course for philanthropic studies majors and non-majors.”

Halfway through the year, Ness began serving as the executive director, through her graduate assistantship, of Smithville Charitable Foundation in Ellettsville, Indiana.

“I had a crash course in how to run a private foundation. It was a completely new experience that ultimately greatly benefited me as a professional and deepened my understanding of how one works with nonprofits as a grantmaker,” she said.

During the summer in between her first and second years, Ness also served as an intern at the Steuben County Community Foundation, which is led by fellow Lilly Family School of Philanthropy graduate, Jennifer Danic, M.A. ‘06.

“It’s an hour away from my hometown, so I knew I could get a feel for the nonprofit sector in northeast Indiana by completing an internship there,” she said.

During her internship, Ness worked in communications, conducting board and staff interviews and writing grant and donor stories. After she graduated last May, she accepted a newly-created position as the communications director for the foundation.

“We discovered that it was a great fit on both ends, and the timing worked out well,” she said. “I applied for the position in my last semester of coursework and was able to start immediately following graduation.

“It’s a testament to the importance of internships.”

As the communications director, Ness ensures that the foundation’s donors are aware of current events and information through newsletters, press releases, and various social media outlets.

“We had a recent project where a donor wanted to see where her grant dollars went. So we went and participated in the project, took photos, and shared her story as an example of a way that donors can get involved,” she said.

“It’s communicating stories while also serving as a good steward for our donors.

“In addition, some of my role has also been thinking strategically about how to support local nonprofits and build their capacity. We started a separate newsletter that’s geared toward showcasing a local nonprofit every month, as well as sharing fundraising tips and any other information that we think will help nonprofits do a better job.”

Ness also utilizes the questions she asked in her coursework at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to choose courses or training exercises that assist Steuben County nonprofits in building capacity.

“I think about what I was challenged by or ideas that challenged my perspective that another nonprofit leader may not know about. Then, I look into training that could develop a nonprofit’s strategic plan or process so that it can do an even better job of serving the community in the future,” she explained.

She’s using her connections at the school to further enhance her knowledge as well.

“The philanthropic studies degree broadened my network. It’s an incredible advantage to study in a building with professors who are all experts in the field,” Ness said. “I look for who has research in this or hosts workshops on topics that support local organizations. I see names I recognize whom I feel comfortable contacting because I had a class with that professor. There’s so much value there, which makes the degree itself even worth more.

“It can’t be understated or undervalued how incredibly important that network is, and I’m grateful to have had the ability to establish those connections.”