Early Friday morning I had the distinct privilege of presenting to The Rotary Club of Hamilton Stoney Creek at Pa*Ne Restaurant in Winona. It was my first in-person presentation with a service club since 2019 and it was fantastic to share space with such incredible people. When the pandemic was declared, I feared that I’d never get a chance to deliver live presentations again. Today was truly special.
The title of my speech was “My Three (3) Rules For Sustainability” and offered three things that charities of al types can embrace to strengthen their viability. To summarize, they are to build a culture of giving, treat supporters as stakeholders and replenish your donor base. The second rule appeared to resonate strongly with one gentleman who approached me after the presentation. A longtime Rotarian, he expressed his frustration with guest speakers from local charities who expect to depart the meeting with a cheque.
He lamented how a carousel of representatives from different charities would deliver rather mundane descriptions of their programs without sharing any inspiring stories of their impact on the community’s well-being. “Very seldom do they leave us laughing, crying or connecting with us on any emotional level”, this gentleman intimidated. “No disrespect intended, but some of them give a rehearsed boring speech, then get rather huffy when we don’t immediately give them a donation”.
My blood pressure started to climb. I was reminded of how some folks in the non-profit sector rather indignantly view service clubs solely in transactional terms. In response, I assured him that most people in our profession don’t behave this way. Building strong relations based on mutual respect and trust with external stakeholders like Rotary clubs is top priority for most of us.
Unfortunately, the truth is charities all too often regard service clubs as ATMs and overlook the magical opportunities that a partnership with them presents. Rotary, Lions, Kinsmen, Optimists and other altruistic groups are action-driven and care deeply about their communities. Speaking at a monthly or bi-weekly meeting should be seen as a first step towards forging an alliance with a club’s compassionate and enthusiastic members. As this gentleman explained, “We want help these charities in ways beyond simply signing a cheque. It is demoralizing to think they only see us piggy banks.”
Service clubs and charities can work together in a plethora of ways to strengthen their community’s vitality. During this golden age of instant gratification, too man non-profits remain hopelessly locked into the pursuit of dribbles of cash. Get to know your local service clubs and the tremendous work THEY are performing to make life better for all. Use your imagination to think of possible ways your charity might collaborate with a club’s members on a project or event.
Don’t be pulled into the “instant gratification vortex” by seeing service clubs as bank machines. Value and honour them. In end, joining forces will enable larger steps towards positive change to be taken.
