Let me take you back to Aesop, a Greek storyteller from almost 2,500 years ago.
A tortoise and hare decide to race. The hare is so confident in the lead that he naps while the tortoise keeps going to win.
2,500 years later we still have not learnt from this lesson.
Charity: Cash crisis. Little money in the bank. Uncertain future. Get money now.
Donor: I do not have cash now to give to my charities.
Unwise Boards: Financial panic. Ask for money now (again).
Donor: I still do not have much in the bank, but do not realise the charity needs my legacy or the impact it can have. And anyway, it is complicated and I have a family.
Result: Hare today gone tomorrow. (sorry)
For 35 years I’ve been meeting leaders and inviting them to “follow the tortoise”. Some are brilliant and focus on the long-term (despite the fact that they will be dead or disengaged by the time the long-term matures). I celebrate their foresight.
The other leaders? They are like hares and put legacies into sleep mode.
Are these Board members motivated for the wrong reasons (e.g.for their CV?)
Is there no trustee responsible for informing and leading about income generation trends?
Are some trustees’ directors of companies who only plan for today and not tomorrow?
My question to organization leaders: Do you know when you will die, or how much you will be worth?
My next question: Do you realize the value of one average legacy is the same (approximately) as one donor giving £5 per month for over 600 YEARS? (Or CAD$9)
Universal answer: No
Do you realize the potential to increase services for those you are supporting?
Do you realize the impact legacies can have on salaries to fund your services and enhance staff happiness and loyalty?
Maybe the wisdom of a tortoise is hidden in his/her shell. Maybe the shell is the balance sheet which can prove legacies are the secret to hidden future wealth.
Did you know that tortoises have an amazingly clever internal structure? They can see few colours but can spot bright colours, identifying delicious fruit and sustenance for health. The shell protects them from enemies. They have great bladders which ensure they can survive in times of drought. What about hares? Well, they are best known for male fighting to gain dominance. I will say no more!
Ineffective trustees/boards often have three problems
But there are other issues:
• they think they know how to fundraise better than their appointed fundraising team
• they promise to share their networks and do not
• some are ego-driven and only interested in investing in glossy events which are high risk, and resource-heavy
Having met almost sixty boards since the outbreak of Covid, it’s so easy for me to convert them into legacy enthusiasts. But it should not be up to me and how long does the enthusiasm last?
To quote Martin Luther King Jr., “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”.
Or, to go back (again) 2,500 years to Socrates “there is only one good which is knowledge and one evil which is ignorance”.
Perhaps leaders are too focused on service provision without thinking about who funds the services and how they are funded.
Our sector needs stronger and more forceful guidance on briefing trustees/boards to understand how to build balanced medium/long-term fundraising strategies.
Ex-Prime Minister, John Major, said: “The first requirement of politics is not intellect or stamina but patience. Politics is a very long run game and the tortoise will usually beat the hare”. The same applies to charities.
Act now. I dare you to send this article to all your Board members and invite them to meet me. I have a hard shell.
Richard Radcliffe FCIoF Cert is Founder of Radcliffe Consulting. He has been helping charities in over thirty countries to grow legacy income for over 35 years. Website: www.radcliffeconsulting.org Email: Richard@radcliffeconsulting.org
