Ever since development projects and NGOs have depended on government grant dollars or the charitable contribution, fundraising campaigns have had to shout, not unlike Tom Cruise’s character in the movie Jerry Maguire “Show me the money.” Well, I believe that we are now at a new financial paradigm with regards to how fundraising and financing will be handled in the future. Before you can come to understand my reasoning for such a belief, let me give you a brief history, of some major events that have happened in past decade with regards to the non-profit sector. The most significant occurred back in 2006 when Warren Buffett “The Oracle of Omaha” and one of the richest men in the world established the Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge was created to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will. Warren Buffet has championed this pledge by personally promising to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. So how much $$ are we talking about?  Mr. Buffet pledged 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worth approx. US$30.7 Billion when issued back in 2006.  The foundation will receive 5% of the total donation on an annualized basis. The pledge is conditional upon the foundation giving away each year, beginning in 2009, an amount that is at least equal to the value of the entire previous year’s gift from Buffett. This magnitude of giving is unprecedented in the history.  So what does this type of philanthrocapitalism mean for the future of development project capitalization and NGO/ charitable fundraising? Now more than ever the importance of aligning one’s self with foundations such as the Gates foundation and having an intimate understanding of their grant application is of paramount importance to the success of any organization. It also means that money should never be a limiting factor to the success of a project if and only if the vision, mission statement, and leadership of the organization responsible for the project, can produce the intended goal.

So in closing, I would challenge all of you to build your vision of a better world without the dated belief that money is a limiting factor. We are presently living in unprecedented times, become a trailblazer in your careers and nourish the new world with your knowledge, and talents. I know I do, in every waking minute of my life and career.

I’d like to crack this shell of an idea that it is taboo when talking about the non-profit or social sector, to focus on business principles, numbers, and growth. It was during my attendance at the Global conference on development that I began to identify perhaps a new trend happening between the for-profit and non-profit sector. Perhaps it was the fact that I was lunching with over 40 billion dollars in development dollar potential; perhaps it was hearing the ex-VP of Marketing at Starbuck Tim Schottman speak about his application of for-profit business principle to the social sector, such as “return on social equity” to his non-profit organization SightLife,  the only non-profit global health organization solely focused on eliminating corneal blindness in the U.S. and around the world. Perhaps it was the opportunity to hear Ken Berger, CEO, Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator who stated their  goal as “to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America’s largest charities.” Or watching the TEDxPhilly talk by Jay C. Gilbert co-founder of the B Lab which created, and awards, the B corporation certificate for for-profit organizations. B Lab’s goal is to harness the power of business to solve the world’s social and environmental problems. Perhaps it’s when I attended a presentation Social Sector CEO Trends: Pathways to Leadership, that focused on the results from a recent Waldron-Evans survey conducted with the CEOs of largest NGOs and foundations nationwide. The study highlights the career paths of these leaders as well as the “migration” of CEOs from the private and public sectors.

After reflecting upon each of my experiences and learnings from the events above. A trend seemed to emerge, that both the social business sphere and private sector appear to experience a blurring of the lines between them. Language and terms are being used with similar intent in both areas, the migration of industry senior level talent are bringing their skill sets, which they developed in the for-profit sector over to the non-profit sector. There is also a reverse migration of for-profit business enterprises adopting some of the social sectors business mission statements, and building them into their core business structure.

This trending and blurring of lines between both areas illustrate that the firm and its principles are merely a tool to achieve a goal. Whether that goal is a for-profit venture, or an attempt to end global hunger due to poverty, makes no difference to the “business tool.” The heart and soul or lack thereof, are what should be scrutinized, not whether a firm is labeled for-profit or non-profit, private or social. How are we to succeed at the paramount task of ending world hunger due to poverty, if it’s taboo to talk about efficiency, growth rate, return on investment, competitive advantages, or return on social equity. I want to crack this ridiculous shell that separates the social sector from the private sector. Besides, i’ve always like my eggs scrambled.