Are We The Next Greedy Bastards?
There’s a wild domino thing going on in America…
First, we watched folks in DC get all puffed up about Wall Street bonuses. “They just don’t get it” was the lament lobbed by every politician in town, each playing the populist card for the folks back home. CNN’s Campbell Brown (who I think is crazy cool) was also ramping it up, sounding more and more like a Fox News anchor with each passing day. First it was lavish retreats, then new jets, then super bowl parties…by mid-January, folks all over America were ready to storm the corporate castle and tar and feather any fat cat they could find.
They are right, of course—the folks on Wall Street were all but rubbing our nose in their excess.
But then the Daschle thing exploded. The funny thing…the folks here in DC didn’t get it either.
Like Wall Street exec’s, they just went about business as they know it. A member of their club got pinched, but hey….no worries, we’ll all gather around, profess our respect and admiration for all he’s done, and the folks back home will fall in line.
They didn’t. They shouldn’t. And with any luck, they never will again.
But hey…this is fodder for any blog around….you don’t need me to add fuel to that fire.
My point—we, America’s nonprofits, could be next.
I’ve been involved in a slew of debates about nonprofit compensation. A few weeks back, over at Tactical Philanthropy, I got into it over the idea that “we” merit the same pay as “them”. My points then and my points now are the same—the folks who buy the goods from businesses, vote in elections and donate to us are royally, massively, totally, pissed off.
Look, most Americans will never, EVER, see 100K, let alone 250K or higher. They are just not interested in subsidizing any salary at that level, unless you can totally prove you are curing cancer or something of a similar caliber.
It’s not that I don’t think that nonprofit pro’s should be adequately compensated. We should
It’s not that I don’t believe that our contributions are just as important as any business leaders. They are.
It’s just that the party is over.
Regular folks have been getting hosed down like cows in the paddock and they are righteously yanked.
Be warned—this is not the time for nonprofits to be advocating for anything more than a real voice in the political process, solid media attention to our role, new metrics to measure our impact and for money to flow back to our cities and states that gets folks working again and out of our soup kitchen lines. Oh, and one other thing–the same level of transparency for government and business that we have to adhere to–level the field!!!
Anyway–keep reading.
I was just talking with a colleague who was suggesting that we should pony up to the federal trough for funds linked to the bailout. I suggested that our work rocks and that a bunch of new Campus Kitchens could be realistically portrayed as economic stimulators, as they recycle, train, do social enterprise, etc, etc..
Anyway…during this back and forth, I said that even though I was proud of our product, I was uncomfortable asking for any dough right now. She said the opposite—she was going to grab for whatever she could get.
Folks—this kind of thing, which is the DC game in spades, will KILL US. All over this town, nonprofits are lining up, trying to bum rush the White House or the Hill to get their cause, committee or chair to the front of the line. More are working to get their bucket under the spigot.
I warn you all—the public trust in nonprofits is already at an all time low. Pundits know that the public is primed to hate on somebody, and they’ve got a financial stake in finding the next greedy bastard to hoist on their own petard (look it up). Similarly, ever pol in this city is now on double secret alert. They’ll want to prove that they “get it” to the folks back home. The next idiot who steps in it will be fried–fast and furious–and the way some nonprofits in this city are behaving right now is (inadvertantly) setting the stage for us to be the next
We cannot fall into this trap.
Step back now. Let the President do his thing. Be smart. One bad egg will hurt us ALL.
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February 4th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Amen.
Last week, The Chronicle reported that Sen. Grassley told nonprofits to find other sources of money besides the gov’t. A few colleagues said something akin to, “There goes crazy Chuck again,” but I tend to agree with him.
This whole situation reminds of that carnival game where you stand in a glass box and a huge fan is throwing money all around while you try and grab it. Nonprofits don’t need to walk into that – we need to figure out how to turn the fan off and see beyond the fanfare…
February 4th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Good read. I agree, the lynch mob is out there and they are looking for the next person or group who is burning through the taxpayers cash. You could very well be right, the next non-profit that gets a hefty earmark tagged into a bill, will likely become the next ACORN. With anything given from the government these days, expect the media locust to swarm down. The likes that only Wasilla has seen. If you doo step up to the plate, it would be wise to make sure your house is in order.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
[...] Head: Don’t Be Greedy From Robert Eggers (pres., D.C. Central Kitchen) One Voice For Change: I was just talking with a colleague who was suggesting that we should pony up to the federal [...]
February 6th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
You’re absolutely right. Stick to your guns. We’ve seen the “find a fault, any fault” game before used as justification for letting a nincompoop run the government rather that Clinton/Gore/Kerry and used for justifying about anything on the basis of “The Dems do it all the time” (never mind facts).
February 7th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Robert,
Bravo to you on this excellent blog entry. I agree with you in every sense. I also had a string of debate with Pallotta on executive compensation.
You and I have shared running charities for many years, unlike many other arm chair theorists. Where the rubber hits the road, all this talk of unfettered capitalism for nonprofits is suicidal foolishness, as is joining the pigs feeding at the trough of the stimilus package.
Ken Berger, Charity Navigator
February 11th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
[...] we liked reading DCCK president Robert Egger’s blog last week, where he suggested that new Campus Kitchens could rightfully be considered under the [...]
February 12th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
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March 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
[...] LINK: ROBERT EGGER: Are We The Next Greedy Bastards? [...]