Modern Medicine is an Amazing Thing

So. Modern medicine is an amazing thing. Friday, July 23, 2010, my wife, Pamela, had an invasive procedure to relieve pressure on her brain stem.

On Sunday, July 25, 2010, at 5:30 a.m., Pamela sent a text message saying she might be coming home.

Anyway you cut it (pardon the pun), the possibility of being home two days after a four hour brain surgery is mind boggling.

But, even if they kept her another 24 hours, the progress she's made is astounding. Once again, I cannot overstate the care, compassion, and commitment shown by the staff at Johns Hopkins. Their connection with Pamela has been amazing. In a nutshell, if you're thinking about having brain surgery, if you're considering having the ol' noggin opened up for some dusting and cleaning, I'd recommend Johns Hopkins in a heartbeat.

Of course, this rapid recovery is testimony to the prayers and support of all who know and love Pamela. A single prayer or good thought has a genuine impact in the physical world. The multitude of prayers, good thoughts, and positive energy flow from all whose lives Pamela's has touched had significant impact. Prayer works. 

After we're done here, let's move on to world peace!

Pamela has said told me that she is grateful for this outpouring from her friends and family. I will add that I, too, am grateful. It has been profoundly moving to witness the wave of love that has flowed through our lives over the past several days. Thank you. 

Keep the prayers coming, because Pamela has about six weeks recovery ahead of her. Pamela, as you all know, is a force of nature. So, say a prayer for me too -- to help me keep her in bed and off her feet for a while. It'll be a formidable task... I'll need all the prayers I can get ;-}

Amen.

And now for something completely different...

iLoveMountains.org has put in place an interesting friend-raising widget... It's called "Blogger's Challenge." The idea is to engage bloggers in their cause -- ending mountaintop removal mining and the resulting valley fill-in.

At iLoveMountains.org, bloggers are encouraged to sign up to spread the word. Signing up gets the blogger a "badge" for their blog site (see mine, to the right of this column.) On the badge, there is the opportunity for blog readers or other bloggers to sign up. And, the blogger's impact is measured in immediate terms, displaying how many others the blogger has brought on board, and even supplying a "personal page," graphically describing the circle of influence.

It's a great friend raising idea, particularly for hot-topic issues like environmental activism. By engaging bloggers, the distance to "going viral" is shortened. And, after the friend raising goal is accomplished, the distance to fund raising is also shortened considerably.

I confess to being a certified tree-hugging environmentalist, so the sell to me was simple. I came across the opportunity quite by accident, but was hooked immediately. Now, I have one more differentiator out on my page -- and one that will also help track visits to my site.

It's different. It's separated from actual fund raising. But it could lead to significant awareness raising, and, ultimately, fund raising.

If you represent a charity, what ideas like "Blogger's Challenge" do you use?

Donor Responsibility and the Myth of Run-Over Shoes and Shiny Pants

"When you tell someone you work for a non-profit," a former boss of mine said, "they expect you to have run-over shoes and shiny pants."

The notion is that folks who work for charities must, by nature, be living on the fringes of poverty themselves. 

But that is counter-intuitive. Non-profits should be run by dedicated, bright-to-brilliant, entrepreneurially-thinking leaders, who can implement cost-effective, impactful programs.

The downside: These people are not cheap to come by.

The upside: Their dedication will allow them to work for a somewhat smaller salary than their peers in the private sector, and their intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit set them apart as people who can "do more with less," who can create new strategies that are not bank busters, and who spawn and develop loyalty among subordinate staff.

I am always taken aback when I talk to folks outside the non-profit arena about Administrative and Fund Raising [AFR] costs and other overhead charities must bear. The passing grade for the Federal Government for participating in the giant Combined Federal Campaign used to be 25%. [The Feds have now lifted that regulation.] The Better Business Bureau (aka Give.Org) uses a higher rate of 35% AFR.

These stringent guidelines mean that 65% to 75% spent on programs is an acceptable amount.

Which is why I am astounded when I speak to (potential) charitable donors who expect percentages in the high 90's to go to programs.

Why? We don't expect workers in the private sector to work like Bob Cratchit, squinting by candle light, sitting at rickety desks, and pleading for another scupper of coal for the fire to keep the ink from freezing.

Non-profits need to keep the lights on. They need to attract and hire the best and the brightest, so the services the charities provide are fiscally and programmatically sound. Sweat shops do not attract dedicated, smart employees.

What a donor should look for in a charity is transparency. If you don't lthe AFR seems high, ask why. There are many, many reasons why the AFR could be out of whack, including the economy.

But don't write a charity off just because administrative expenses don't, at first blush, meet your expectations.

Conversely, don't presume that a charity with low administrative expenses is efficient. They may be spending 99.9% on ineffective programs. And if the programs are ineffective, so are the charities.

So, at the end of the day, there's only one way to be sure your contribution is used well: Do the legwork. Find out how a charity allocates its resources. That's the donor's responsibility.