5 Lessons We Can Learn From Successful Early Stage Philanthropies

LESSONS WE CANLEARN FROM SUCCESSFULEARLY STAGE PHILANTHROPIES

JEFF GREENSTEIN

5 BROTHERS FOR LIFElike

Only some embryonic philanthropicorganizations have been successful at

driving change and making a significantimpact in the communities they serve

while effectively scaling their reach to abroader group within their target market.

What sets these organizations apart from the rest?

Organizations such as Brothers For Lifeare designed to operate much like a

successful start-up business.

Here are fiveimportant lessonsBrothers for Life

can teach us aboutsuccessful venture/

early-stagephilanthropies.

CLEAR MISSION AND FOCUS1Identifying a clear mission statementand encouraging all team members

to stay focused on fulfilling thatmission is the foundation of any

successful enterprise.

A mission statement adds clarity thatdefines future areas of expansion.

Brothers for Life launchedmany initiatives, but all the

while they are anchored by aclear mission - helping

recently disabled and injuredIsraeli combat soldiers

recover from their injuriesand live productive lives.

ENGAGEMENT ON BOTH SIDES2“There are three levels of giving thatprogressively get more difficult and

demanding but at the same time morevaluable and impactful: giving one’s

money; giving one’s time; giving one’shome and heart.”

- Rabbi Chaim Levine,Founder and Executive Director of Brothers For Life

Simply sending money to those in need isn’tenough to build a successful organization.

It’s important to interact withthe communities involved,

beneficiaries and donors, andreally look into these people’s

eyes and learn about their story.

OPERATING SMARTLY AND PRUDENTLY3Many early stage

philanthropies operate withlimited resources in terms ofhuman resources and cash. Given these constraints it is

absolutely critical todetermine where those

resources are best allocated.

The individuals involved with managing theorganization’s financials need to be acting inthe best interest of the organization, settingrealistic budgets, and working to maximize

the budget at every opportunity.

Brothers For Life started ona shoe string where its

leadership carefullyevaluated how every dollarwas spent. This attention to

detail analyzed how eachdollar spent impacts the

organization’s objectives andlong term aspirations.

DEFINING AND MEASURING IMPACT4It can be difficult to

quantify the impact of anorganization’s efforts, so it

is up to the leadershipteam or committee

members to define exactlyhow they will measure the

effects of their efforts.

Success is often not a straight lineso it is valuable to measure what

works and what doesn't on aregular basis in order to make

appropriate adjustments.

It’s important to keep in mind that it’snot always about numbers.

While it is valuable to knowhow many families you fed

after a food drive, for example,there are other ways to

measure impact.

Genuinely understanding how therecipients are benefiting at a personal

level means far more than any statistic.

BUILD PARTNERS NOT DONORS5Donations and particularlyrecurring donations are the

lifeblood of most early stagephilanthropies.

It is important to turn donors intopartners by igniting their passion and

commitment to the cause.

Partners internalize the organization andfeel vested in its success. These feelings

lead to both larger and more regularcontributions to the organizations cause.

Donations, particularly recurringdonations, are the lifeblood of most

early stage philanthropies.

At Brothers for Life, however,partners do a lot more than simply

donating. They are dedicated tosupport and scale the organization

through various efforts such asnetworking. Not all organizations canaccomplish this structure but they all

should endeavor to.

Successful philanthropic organizationsare built with a strong structure and

foundation, operating much like asuccessful start-up business.

W W W . G R E E N S T E I N F A M I L Y F O U N D A T I O N . O R G

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