With Charity for All by Ken Stern

Author:Ken Stern [Stern, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-53472-7
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2013-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

It usually takes years for a charitable organization to build a successful relationship with a major donor, and even then the relationship is often built on a direct and personal connection between the donor and the institution: an alma mater, a hospital that treated the donor, a lifelong love of the symphony. Mrs. Kroc’s gift was notable not only for its size but for the surprisingly brief intersection between her life and NPR. But in fact for Mrs. Kroc, it was not all that unusual, as she had developed over time a very personal giving style. Like many donors, she responded to stories and personal impressions. Earlier in her philanthropic career, Kroc had established a foundation, as many wealthy donors do, to direct and focus her charitable activity. There are tax advantages to personal foundations, but there is also a loss of control; donation decisions are made by professional staff and a theoretically independent board of trustees. After several years of this structure, Mrs. Kroc abolished her foundation, as she wanted to be personally and directly involved in giving decisions. And directly involved she was, responding, often instantly, to the news of the day, giving money, often anonymously, to flood victims, to individual victims of diseases, to school districts to balance budgets, to an HIV/AIDS laundry that had been flatteringly portrayed on the local news. Kroc would hear a story of need, often through the media or through her network of friends and associates, and a check could follow within hours. This method of giving is in fact the norm for many donors: reactive to news and events, and responsive to individual stories and needs. It reflects the intimate and individualistic nature of giving in this country, and this generosity and willingness to open up pocket-books has created the largest philanthropic sector in the world by far. But, as we have seen in earlier chapters, it also shapes charities into storytellers and provides little incentive toward organizational effectiveness and results-driven management. Americans’ investments in charities are impulsive, driven by anecdote, and, as we shall shortly see, occasionally even destructive. I daresay that if Joan Kroc had employed similar strategies to invest her wealth, she would have had much less of it to spread around at her death.

Donor psychology—the goals and style of American giving—plays a determinative role in shaping the charitable sector. Donors like Mrs. Kroc are more often than not well-intentioned and generous individuals whom charities pursue with the ardor of romantic suitors. Yet even well-meaning donors unintentionally form a key barrier to the kind of change the charitable sector desperately needs. I use Joan Kroc as an example of this with some regret. Her generosity and commitment to the less fortunate among us should be honored. There are many who have done far less. To the extent that I frame her story in the pages that follow as a cautionary tale, it is only because it forms an unusually vivid example of the charitable ethos of our time, and the challenge of good intentions and bad results that is endemic to our system.

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