Different Donor Perspectives

Nadine,

You and I were wedded to the old school. There were no computers, no blogs, no face book etc.

It is good that your are breaking through. I have been thinking about this over the past several months. Your blog and the information it contains has moved my thinking forward.

We need to get together and compare notes on what you do and maybe do some joint work together.

I hope that you had a good flight to London and if it is for business haop you will have sometime for fun

Your Friend

Carl
Carl R. Tuvin
301-254-8461

Thanks again, Nadine, for the opportunity to speak with your students. As I highlighted in my presentation, long-term donor investment is key. Ubuntu Education Fund has been successful in fundraising because we have asked people to go on a journey with us. We know that we cannot change a child’s life in a year. It takes a tremendous amount of time and resources to truly alter a child’s life path. But if you commit to invest in us for several years, I can assure you that we will be able to show you real impact and true progress. At Ubuntu, I am constantly telling our team that we are in this for the long run; we must measure ourselves against where we have come from not where we want to go. We must constantly improve and continue to make progress—get better at what we are doing. This is what we need to show our donor base.

Investing in a non-profit should not be treated any different than an investment made in a for-profit venture. The investor should expect challenges in the short-term in order to have success in the long-term; the organization should fulfill its mission efficiently, effectively, and ethically. I become frustrated when I see funders getting caught up in discussions around “administrative” costs, etc. To build sustainability, NGOs must invest in their HR, accounting, and administrative departments… we cannot undermine ourselves. This is Business 101. This is how Ubuntu has grown to where we are today—check out Nancy Lublin’s article in the latest edition of Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/137/do-something-good-vs-evil.html

All the best,
Jacob Lief
President & Founder
Ubuntu Education Fund