Making Connections

“I think the under-40 set likes to connect with an organization through events or through new media,” said Mark Litzler. “We were absent on the events and fixed that.”

Wayne Branch, the new president of American Humanics, argued the case for interns in that they know how to connect with their peers. “I would certainly encourage us all to use that intern pipeline,” he said, “and not just for making the copies and running for coffee.”

Richard Wetzel believes that the way to reach young people is through what Malcolm Gladwell would call “mavens,” the opinion-shapers within the community.

“People want to be engaged through volunteering,” offered Karen Haren, of Harvesters. “When they connect to the organization, they like to organize projects, get involved, and make a difference.”

“It goes back to what I said earlier about relationships,” said Peter Yelorda. As he sees it, the right volunteers have strong relationships within the community and are difficult to turn down when they ask for help.

Long-Term/Short-Term Needs

Denny Barnett posed a pressing and fundamental question: that is, how do nonprofits make strategic plans when faced with pressing needs?

In deploying resources, the Boys & Girls Club tries to be as seamless as possible in covering both short-term demands and long-term strategy, said David Smith.

Part of the discipline of being an effective executive, said Richards, is being strategic in one’s planning, even when immediate needs are pressing. “But it is also critical,” Richards added, “to think as much as possible to how we use this moment’s leverage for the bigger picture.”

“Out of the need to survive in these times,” said Scott Barnhard, “we have developed strategies to become more fit, both operationally and in fundraising.” He believes that being tested will help the YMCA in the long term.

“Donors are feeling the squeeze too,” said Jan Leonard, “and they’re getting more creative.” Wanting to continue their giving, she explained, donors are tapping assets like coin collections and fine art.

Said Munro Richardson of the Kauffman Foundation: “I am proud to work for an organization, which, at the beginning of the year, when everything was very uncertain, made a clear decision that we were not going to go back
on any grant commitments. We looked for every way could to cut money on administration so we could continue
to support our grantees.”

Kansas City Spirit

The question was raised as to why Kansas City, on a per-capita basis, is among the most generous cities in America, even in relatively tough times.

Said Laura McKnight, “I think it is astounding the rate of increase of individual giving in Kansas City.” Over the past 10 years, she observed, individual giving in Kansas City had increased 128 percent. The national average: 30 percent. “So we are clearly on a path for not only continuing the good work we are doing now but continuing to do so in the future.”

“One of the distinctions of Kansas City,” said Jeffrey Smith, “is that the social leaders in this community are very high-profile givers. They are very generous and set a great example, and I think that trickles down to the community.”

“This community is not only philanthropically inclined, but the volunteer spirit is very strong here,” affirmed Janice Benjamin.

David Miles, president of the H&R Block Foundation, credits strong organizations that have good leaders and engaged boards who will emerge from this time period even stronger.

David Renz moved to Kansas City from Minneapolis at a time when many of the headquarter companies were merging or selling out in Minneapolis. “The disconnect changed the dynamic of community,” said Renz. That has not happened in Kansas City. “There is a community here with a sense of identity, and it is part of what really makes this an attractive place for me to be.”

“I’ve really enjoyed being back in the area and experiencing that tremendous generosity,” agreed Steve Swymeier.

Children’s Mercy has the advantage of being the only children’s hospital in a very generous region. “We have a huge market to penetrate, and we are being very aggressive in doing that,” said Brad Leech.

Citigroup has 2,200 employees in the area, observed Denny Barnett. “We live here, we work here, we send our kids to school here, we engage in the faith community here.” For Citigroup and for many of the other corporations here, staying involved “is a basic responsibility we have to the community.”