YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Part 3, The Three Deep Desires That Drive Philanthropy

Part 3, The Three Deep Desires That Drive Philanthropy — Transcript

by Susan Axelrod · 5,291 words · 776 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:02How can charitable organizations build a
0:04sustained culture of philanthropy?
0:07Jim Langley, president of Langley
0:10Innovation, says, "Speak with your
0:12donors and listen to what they have to
0:15share." In this video series, Jim shares
0:18decades of expertise and his commitment
0:21to helping institutions develop the most
0:23effective strategies to build broader
0:26and more lasting communities of support.
0:29If you're a fundraiser, tune in now.
0:32Every video with Jim is a master class.
0:37Hello friends. Every video with Jim is a
0:42master class indeed. I'm Susan Axelrod
0:47hosting this threepart video series with
0:50Jim.
0:52It has been extraordinary to have a
0:54conversation about a simple construct
0:58and simple things that you can do if you
1:01are a fundraiser, a board member, a
1:04nonprofit leader to really begin to
1:08capture and regain connection with your
1:12donors. I am delighted to bring Jim back
1:16into the studio with us. Hello, Jim.
1:18Good to see you. So good to see you
1:20Susan. Great pleasure to be with you.
1:23>> It's really been a quite a conversation.
1:26This conversation started with a simple
1:29kind of casual uh interview that we did.
1:33I invited you when I saw that you were
1:35quoted in the New York Times and I
1:37wanted to have a conversation about that
1:40as we have discussed earlier in this
1:42series. But since we've been uh having
1:46this conversation about really donor
1:50connection as humans, I really have felt
1:55uh quite a deepness. And even though I
1:57follow you, I've been learning from you
1:59for years. I feel such a rich uh
2:03opportunity for myself as a coach, a
2:06consultant, a donor myself, uh a person
2:09who cares about purpose and the fabric
2:12of our society today. So I want to
2:15really thank you for your ability to
2:18synthesize and as you have said in this
2:21series to crystallize uh these
2:24constructs that have come from your
2:25decades of experience and um we'll get
2:29started today.
2:31Thank you so much Susan. There is a
2:32goodness in us there. It is universal. I
2:35think if we understand these desires, we
2:38feed them, we will find far more
2:40satisfying careers and we will advance
2:43the purposes that we hold dear.
2:46Believe
2:48believe in something
2:51to belong to something.
2:54These are the the ideas, the deep
2:57desires that we have spoken about so far
3:02and I wanted to just invite you to take
3:05a moment not to recap everything. People
3:07can watch the two videos uh the part one
3:10and part two but I want to ask you uh
3:14before we get into the third part today
3:17what has come up for you about our
3:20discussion?
3:22Well, it's so helpful to have someone
3:25with fresh eyes come into the discussion
3:28and indeed some of your synthesis and
3:31crystallization has been very helpful to
3:33me. You've summarized points that I
3:35think are very important for our field
3:38to know. But I've also felt as I'm
3:41expressing it with you through your
3:43guidance, Susan, that I am speaking to
3:47something that's very important, that's
3:49very helpful. I feel very much in the
3:51moment and feel as if not that it's
3:55about me, but that I am a vehicle. The
3:58body of experience I've acquired, what
4:00I've been allowed to see and learn is a
4:03vehicle. And I'm feeling that as I share
4:05it with people, it's incredibly
4:08meaningful for me. It seems to be the
4:12summary of what I've been about for so
4:15long and it seems to be coming together
4:17with greater clarity for me than ever
4:20before.
4:22>> I mean, I'm smiling a bit. I looked back
4:25at my notes because um in our other um
4:30video you talked about uh the wisdom of
4:33a 21-year-old who said how we ourselves
4:39will be impacted while we are impacting
4:43another.
4:45>> And I said to you then, oh I wonder what
4:48Jenzer said that. And you said it was
4:52Ben Franklin.
4:54>> [laughter]
4:54>> And you just literally spoke out that
4:57thesis from hundreds of years ago that
5:01as you gift out, give, share, uh I call
5:05it your wisdom that you have gleaned and
5:08gained, you're having a a reciprocal
5:12experience yourself, aren't you?
5:14>> It's profound. I am. So I am
5:17experiencing exactly what I was sharing,
5:19right? I feel the better for it. I feel
5:22as if I'm learning and then I feel this
5:25intergenerational connection which I
5:28think philanthropy has been very much
5:30about that what we call progress social
5:33progress is each generation trying to
5:37leave the next generation at least as
5:40much as it inherited from the previous
5:42generation and sometimes more. So if we
5:45are able to do that from generation to
5:48generation, absorb the knowledge from
5:50previous generations, refine it, make it
5:53more relevant to current and future
5:54generations, we create this remarkable
5:57chain of social progress over
6:00generations, over hundreds of years.
6:05I mean surely we know uh that organized
6:10philanthropy has been around that long
6:13and we wonder uh part of what we're
6:16doing here today is that the trajectory
6:20doesn't really look that good. Jim,
6:23you've told us I even wrote it down. You
6:25you said that um I have multiple pages
6:28of notes over here. you said at one
6:32point one in um or four out of five
6:35donors,
6:36>> you know, that we're really losing
6:39people quite quickly. And so these ideas
6:43that you actually uh give people that
6:46you your institution, your organization
6:50gives uh your donors something to
6:53believe in
6:55>> to believe in. You use the word faith.
6:58That would be faith with a small F.
7:00>> Something to believe in.
7:02>> And then something to belong to. We
7:05talked about community. Community. What
7:08is more needed today? So today we're
7:11going to get into the last part of this
7:16uh framework and I want to just bring
7:19this up and show this beautiful graphic
7:22which is simple and uh easy to remember
7:27a simple guide for a fundraiser
7:31a planned giving officer but most
7:34especially Jim a nonprofit leader a
7:37university president a hospital CEO
7:40an agency executive director. And I want
7:43to encourage you to ask yourself simple
7:48questions. What can I do about these
7:54deep desires that I'm learning our
7:57donors have? So, let's get into part
8:00three now, Jim. And that is um to better
8:05something to improve something. A deep
8:09desire that a donor have has is to
8:13better something. What do you want to
8:15say about this?
8:16>> Well, let's all think about that and it
8:18should resonate with us. I think these
8:20are universal human desires, not just
8:22donor desires. But let's reflect on what
8:25we want for our life. And that is that
8:28somehow something that we learned, we
8:30did, we acquired was useful, was
8:32helpful. That there is meaning in our
8:35being on this planet. Not because we
8:38celebrate ourselves, but because we made
8:40a difference in the life of at least one
8:42other person. That is validation that we
8:45have made a difference. So I think this
8:48is carried across human nature. We we
8:52may go through a period where we're more
8:55self-absorbed, but once we re achieve a
8:57level of security and a level of
8:59maturity, we realize that that's not
9:01satisfying to be focused on ourel and we
9:04start asking why are we here? And
9:06ultimately the answer to that question
9:08of why are we here is realized not in
9:12just a sort of philosophical rumination
9:14but when we see the opportunity to
9:17transfer something that we learned we
9:19acquired something that was given to us
9:22that we are then able to hand to someone
9:24else who finds it useful and helpful. So
9:27it's incredibly satisfying as many
9:30people know to teach
9:33to learn first and then to have learned
9:35enough to teach and to say oh now I've
9:38been able to transfer knowledge or
9:41experience to another person and I think
9:43maybe there's an even deeper
9:45satisfaction than to transfer
9:49to others whatever it is we've acquired.
9:51I think if I and I don't want to get too
9:54abstract here, but I think my the whole
9:57paradigm of how we talk about
9:59philanthropy of giving is wrong that
10:01it's really about sharing and that in
10:04the giving process we get so much out of
10:07it and I don't mean just sort of oh the
10:10thrill of giving is we've shared
10:12something something has been given to us
10:15and we know it and we're grateful for it
10:18and then it's immensely satisfying to
10:20turn around and share that with other
10:21people. I don't think it's about giving.
10:23I don't think we should ever ask anybody
10:25to give. I think we should talk about
10:27sharing. As you give, so will you be
10:29given right? You will get so much out of
10:33this if we do it right. So once
10:36[clears throat] once we start to realize
10:38that that this is ultimately that the
10:42joy in human existence comes from the
10:44sharing, then we see these wonderful,
10:47beautiful philanthropic stories and
10:49paradigms. And I'm going to embarrass
10:51you a little bit, Susan, because I know
10:53you lost your husband recently. And I
10:55know that became the impetus then for
10:57you doing something around for Jewish
11:00women and Jewish girls, right? So here's
11:02what I find. I find this deeply
11:04beautiful and I find you an an example
11:07of it is that people out of pain, out of
11:10loss resolve that this should not happen
11:14to other people. So they take the very
11:17loss, the deficits that life hands them
11:20and say out of that out of that wound uh
11:24as one writer put it becomes the womb of
11:28creativity. So something is reborn from
11:32the womb to the womb. And what you then
11:34do is take the pain and loss that you
11:36experience and give a gift to those who
11:40you hope will best understand it and and
11:43for people who you feel you can speak to
11:46and speak for. This is magnified
11:49millions of times in in the story of
11:51philanthropy of loss. So [clears throat]
11:55then being turned into a greater
11:57societal gain and gain being turned into
12:00a greater societal gain. So was talking
12:02to one gentleman years ago and I was
12:04sharing my philosophy. He said well I I
12:06don't I don't feel as if you know I I uh
12:10I lost anything. And I said who to well
12:14to whom are you giving? Who are you most
12:15proud of giving to? What what what has
12:17been most satisfying? He said well I I
12:20[clears throat] love to help
12:20intellectually challenged children. I
12:22said why? He said because I'm so
12:25grateful for the mind I was given. I
12:27said well you see [laughter]
12:29>> you see you you you are wise enough to
12:33realize not everyone gets that gift and
12:36you were given a wonderful gift and then
12:38you have the conscience to realize oh
12:41I'm given a gift not for my
12:42glorification not for my ego boosting I
12:46was given a gift so that I would be a
12:48vehicle for transferring that gift.
12:50Right? So this is what I love is when
12:52anytime we're given something, we turn
12:54around and say,"I want to share this joy
12:57with other people." So the dividing
12:59line, if you're trying to determine who
13:01is philanthropic and who isn't, I have a
13:03simple test for you. Say to the person,
13:06"What are you grateful for? To whom or
13:08to what are you grateful?" If the person
13:11can't come up with an answer, stop
13:12trying to raise money from them. If it's
13:15all about them, if they insist they're
13:18the self-made person, which is the most
13:20absurd phrase in the in human
13:22experience, self-made, if they
13:25[clears throat] insist that that be the
13:26case, don't try to raise money. But
13:28watch, anybody who gives money is
13:30grateful to someone or something, to
13:32God, to country, to teacher, to
13:35something. And it's out of that, oh my
13:38goodness, I've been given a gift. and
13:40and selfish people and sometimes, you
13:42know, if I could pick on some
13:43celebrities, think they were given
13:45beauty or a shapely body or a pleasant
13:48face for their gratification when it's
13:51such a good opportunity to use those
13:53attributes to draw attention to a cause
13:56or purpose like Paul Newman did. A man
13:59with incredibly uh beautiful features
14:02that translated well to film said, "I
14:05was lucky to be given these features."
14:07and started a whole chain of charitable
14:10and philanthropic enterprise. He knew
14:13and he resolved, I'm not going to use
14:15this for my own ego boosting, but I've
14:18been given a gift. Now, let me use it.
14:20And so, he used his celebrity, his
14:22attractiveness to draw attention to the
14:25causes that he cared about. Wonderful
14:27example. So, and then [clears throat] if
14:29we listen to various religious leaders
14:31about where joy in life comes from,
14:33they'll say it's about sharing, about
14:36getting outside of yourself, of finding
14:39a way to help. But I don't like help. I
14:41like share. So, share something you have
14:44and you will get so much back from it,
14:46including the psychic benefit of using
14:50the attributes and the gifts you've been
14:52given to help others. And we've all been
14:55given a gift of some shape or means. So
14:59it could be positive Susan out of out of
15:01I know I've been given something. I
15:03resolve to share it. Or it could be
15:06this. I know what this pain feels like.
15:09I know what this loss feels like and I
15:11resolve to minimize that if not reduce
15:14that altogether for others. This these
15:17are the two powerful forces of
15:20philanthropy. And isn't it a beautiful
15:22thing? Now then take that and say how
15:24well do organizations seize on that and
15:27put that to its best use in this
15:29transactional dull mechanical
15:33fundraising.
15:36>> Something is coming up for me that I I
15:39would like to discuss. Um I I am really
15:42the perfect example of that. My gift in
15:45memory of my husband. It was so deeply
15:48meaningful for me. But to the point of
15:51this conversation,
15:53my um person um the organization, the
15:58CEO of the organization used my money,
16:02my gift. It happened to be, you know,
16:05money that I gave um to uh design and
16:09publish a book on in a topic that was a
16:13important to my husband, Jewish liturgy
16:15and prayer that was relevant and um and
16:19then b uh was used to improve
16:24uh the users's uh experience of praying
16:29in Jewish prayer. So the idea to better
16:33something, you know, that that people
16:35want to know that they're involved with
16:38bettering something, improving
16:40something, making a difference. I know
16:42this book will help in this case, this
16:45is just one tiny example that happens to
16:48be mine, but it's exactly in your
16:50thesis. I know this book will help
16:53people pray uh the Jewish liturgy in a
16:56more conscious uh deeper and more
16:59purposeful way for themselves. That
17:02that's it, right?
17:03>> Beautiful.
17:05Beautiful. That's it. And and so then
17:07think about do we why do we miss this
17:10when this is so present when this is so
17:12persistent? When this is the power of
17:14philanthropy itself, why do so many
17:16organizations miss it and fail to feed
17:18it, fail to nurture it, and therefore
17:20wonder why they don't raise more money?
17:22Well, you see, you've approached it all
17:24wrong. When you get to the why of
17:26giving, when you listen for the why, you
17:29you and I have always talked the power
17:31of listening, but we're listening for
17:32the why. What did life teach you? And
17:35then recently, Susan, as a validation of
17:37everything I've learned over my career,
17:39Bank of America has done another study,
17:42you know, it's done annually for the
17:43last few years. In this case, why do
17:45affluent people give? What's the first
17:48band, the first in a hierarchy of
17:51reasons for giving? Values.
17:53Transfer. They don't say that, but
17:55that's what philanthropy is. Transfer
17:57values. You're just speaking about
17:59Jewish values held by your husband which
18:01you shared which you then want to take
18:03his loss and turn into a gain for those
18:07who share those values. It's so
18:10beautiful and it happens over and over
18:12and over again in philanthropy. We don't
18:14capture it in our storytelling. We don't
18:15capture it in our fundraising
18:17literature. We don't let donors tell
18:19these stories to each other so that they
18:21feel in community. But you see it is all
18:24about this last point here about
18:27bettering from a point of where we are
18:31in life. What do I have? What do I
18:33learn? What did I learn painfully? What
18:36do I do with that knowledge? And here's
18:38this wonderful means of expression
18:40called philanthropy that I feel has been
18:43so suboptimized by such kind of
18:46sometimes obvious if not crass kinds of
18:50approaches to fundraising. Oh, we have
18:53needs, we have wants, as opposed to, oh,
18:57can we be the vehicle to take what life
19:00has taught you and to transfer it to
19:02others? And Susan, there's never more a
19:05more pregnant time than the one we're
19:08in, notwithstanding the struggles that
19:11many nonprofits have and the
19:13discouraging trends notwithstanding. And
19:15that is these baby boomers aging and
19:19will be dispersing of estates in the
19:21next 10 or 15 years. I think largely in
19:23the next 10 years, right? And we send
19:26them instruments about how to use a plan
19:30give, [laughter]
19:31>> don't you?
19:33>> I know.
19:33>> And you go,
19:35>> I know. And so the phrase that you read
19:38is about how we do good work, you know,
19:40about our good work. And I'm listening
19:42to you and I wrote down um in quotation
19:46marks uh you've done good work you know
19:49to the donor
19:50>> like you've done good work here.
19:52>> Yes. Yes.
19:53>> Yeah.
19:53>> So Susan when people saw me even when I
19:55was young and it was when I was a young
19:57I was a vice president when I was 37 for
19:58the first time and I had a baby face and
20:00people didn't know I was a vice
20:01president. I was like the doogiehouser
20:02of vice president but people people who
20:06watch me said Jim there's something very
20:08parental about the way you raise money.
20:11Well, it was affirming. It was always,
20:14"Oh, look what you have done. Can we
20:16talk about how to transfer that wisdom,
20:19that knowledge, that passion, that
20:21caring, whatever it is that I saw in
20:23people?" And I was so moved by it. I
20:25didn't see that growing up. I didn't I
20:27didn't experience a lot of beauty and
20:30human nature. No condemnation of anyone.
20:33It was just sort of being in a very
20:35dysfunctional environment. And so I was
20:38so appreciative of the good, the caring,
20:40the love in people that I discovered. I
20:42started to see the best in human nature
20:44as I became a fundraiser. And that's
20:47what I was trying to reinforce is, oh,
20:49look what you have. Look at this gift,
20:52this wisdom, this insight, this passion,
20:54this experience that you have. And I'd
20:56ask people, how did you acquire it? You
20:58know, hard work, pain, difficulty. Can
21:01we talk about transferring that? You
21:03see, that's making something better.
21:06It's taking something that could be
21:08limiting to limited to your life and
21:11like the pebble in the pond create this
21:14ripple effect and it can go on. Who
21:17knows the the lasting impact of that
21:19gift you made about Jewish liturgy? Who
21:23knows in which heart, in which soul that
21:26will land 50 years from now? Oh my gosh,
21:29I literally have chills when you say
21:32that, uh, Jim, that and I want to, uh,
21:35share a story, a specific example of how
21:39this is applied because I want our
21:42listeners to hear examples. That was one
21:45example. When I was a fundraiser, I was
21:49uh working with um a community hospital
21:53and uh one of the top um corporate there
21:58was a big massive corporation in that
22:00community. One of the top executives
22:03retired and died within months of his
22:07retirement.
22:08>> They were big donors to the hospital. I
22:11knew them and I met up with his wife in
22:15grieving. Exactly as you said, the loss
22:17and so on. Long story short, um he was
22:21in charge of all the giving and the
22:22money. It was a little generational, you
22:24know, they were much older. This goes
22:26back many, many years, 30 years. And at
22:29that time, they were already older. She
22:31was a breast cancer survivor.
22:34And what I did was I helped her learn
22:38about philanthropy in this way, how it
22:42can go. not just that her husband is
22:44constantly writing checks in those days.
22:47And then she made a decision on her own.
22:50All I did was offer an opportunity to
22:54beautify and enhance the um what's it
22:57called? The breast cancer unit when you
22:59go in for your mography and all of those
23:02things.
23:03>> And she came in talk about to better
23:06something.
23:07this third part, the deep desire from
23:12the beginning to the end of what she
23:14did, including really getting involved
23:16in picking out lovely
23:19curtains and the things that you put on
23:21the gowns and so on. Um, as well as the
23:24equipment and the things that you need
23:27to make, you know, offer better service.
23:30She saw how she herself in this case, of
23:34course, they were quite wealthy, could
23:36improve, could better that one singular
23:40unit. And she thanked me over and over,
23:43Jim, like you, when you really get it
23:46right with a donor, I know without a
23:47doubt, we've never talked about this,
23:49how many donors have thanked you
23:51personally for the experience uh to give
23:55to you, right?
23:57>> Yes. Well, that is a hallmark of a
23:59successful career. I stand up in front
24:02of groups, Susan, I can't say this
24:04without being moved by it and say, you
24:07know, people read my credentials and
24:09I've been a party to raising billions of
24:11dollars for major institutions. But I at
24:14the first opportunity, I say, but the
24:16great achievement of my career in my
24:19estimation
24:21is is being asked multiple times to give
24:25eulogies at donor's funerals.
24:28That's what that's what tells me I did
24:30my job well. Not right not billions of
24:33dollars,
24:34>> but to have made the experience
24:36rewarding. But what what people said to
24:38me was in working with you, Jim, I've
24:42learned something about myself because I
24:44listened. I asked the right question. I
24:46cared. And then I said from those
24:48values, here's how you can make a
24:50difference. Right? And then when I gave
24:52the ulogies to have the family members
24:54come up and say ina my case it was males
24:57you captured his spirit.
25:01>> H that's what philanthropy can do. It
25:04can capture the spirit and can make the
25:06meaning of one life extend well beyond
25:09that lifetime. And then contrast that
25:11Susan to the ghastly
25:14strategic pillars, the categories of
25:16giving and say where did we lose the
25:19thread, this golden thread of
25:22philanthropy about differencem about
25:25taking the pain, the joy, the strength,
25:27the wisdom, anything I acquired for good
25:30or for ill and turned around and made
25:33another life better. Oh my god, people
25:35giving to people. Where did we lose the
25:38thread?
25:39I you know I wanna I have a lot of
25:42things to say but one thing I want to
25:44say is that I feel um
25:48that there are leaders listening to us
25:53and I can feel their pain and so can
25:55you. You've been there. You
25:56[clears throat] work with them the same
25:58way that they they they have to prove
26:01their worth, prove their value, raise
26:03more each year. Their board members
26:05raise more each year. do more each year
26:09and all those things. And I want to say
26:12unequivocally now like like calling
26:16people in, please pay attention
26:19when you apply the constructs you've
26:22learned in this three-part video series.
26:25you will raise more money and you will
26:31sustain these beautiful
26:34uh long-term loyal relationships. I want
26:38to just say the people whose family
26:41asked you to do a eulogy or someone
26:44asked you whatever uh those people
26:49felt uh in their experience with you
26:52that they uh whatever that mission was
26:54at that time you might have been working
26:56on behalf of that they believed deeply
26:59and it could feel the faith of the
27:03application. This doesn't mean an
27:04organization never gets anything wrong.
27:06I mean things happen okay you know but
27:08to believe uh in that mission impact and
27:12then that person in connection with you
27:15uh where you were literally just so
27:18moved uh here felt that they belonged to
27:22something that they belonged to
27:24something so connected okay connected to
27:28you personally but connected uh to the
27:31organization through you
27:33>> yes
27:34>> and then they felt that they were doing
27:37something. They felt that that they were
27:39improving something, that they were
27:42bettering something in the world. And
27:45you know, when it really comes down to
27:46it, it's like, what more is there than
27:50just really wanting to make an impact in
27:54the world, right?
27:55>> That that's it. I mean what more is
27:58there for whatever you attain in life
28:00whatever that is where will you find
28:03greater satisfaction than taking what
28:06has been giving you to you and sharing
28:08it with others in such a way where your
28:12time on this planet lives beyond and has
28:16a ripple effect across the realm of
28:20humanity. But where are you going to get
28:23any more joy or any more satisfaction?
28:27That's why people thank you as you were
28:28an agent, a facilitator of something
28:31that they found immensely rewarding.
28:36>> It it occurs to me we could have a
28:40special video conversation just telling
28:43donor stories. Maybe we'll invite a few
28:45other people and and just tell donor
28:48stories. Uh because my story with my
28:51husband is immediately recent. That
28:53that's current. My story with the the
28:56woman whose husband died right after
28:58retirement that was never expected. That
29:01goes back. And you have stories that are
29:04recent and past.
29:05>> Yeah. Yeah. That's
29:07>> And that's what that's what I love about
29:08being around good fundraisers is they
29:10have these stories.
29:11>> Yeah.
29:12>> That's what they're sharing with younger
29:13generations, not I raised a ton of
29:15money. I was golden tongue. They go,
29:18"Oh, let me show you. Let me share an
29:21instance where you will see the beauty
29:23in humanity." Even people that were far
29:26from perfect, that had rough spots
29:28through philanthropy found the best part
29:30of themselves.
29:33>> It also speaks to me and you addressed
29:35this in the second um the second part of
29:39this discussion. We know uh millennials
29:44uh and even all the more Gen Zers
29:47literally want this.
29:50>> Yes.
29:50>> Uh we already began to break from baby
29:54boomers to Gen Xers certainly to
29:56millennials from the you know well I
29:58give because my father gave that
30:00patriarchal you know you know chain that
30:04I just give because my parents always
30:06gave there.
30:07>> And we began to see that break. We still
30:10have some of that, but only when
30:11organizations have actually reached out
30:14to younger generations of their long
30:17term loyal donors and invited them into
30:22belong to the community in their own
30:24right. But this construct that you're
30:27teaching, boy, uh does it apply today.
30:30In the second uh video, you talked about
30:34hope and you talked about nonprofit
30:37leaders. The leadership that is needed
30:41today is retaining despite
30:45extraordinary difficulty
30:48uh is uh retaining uh obtaining some
30:52kind of hope and hopefulness. And if
30:55philanthropy isn't that space, I don't
30:58really know what is. Jim,
31:00>> I don't either, Susan. And I think
31:01that's the that is the hope for all of
31:04us is to renew philanthropy in these
31:07ways so that philanthropy gives hope to
31:09so many causes and purposes and good
31:12intentions. But what's imperiled now is
31:16trust of organizations is a feeling that
31:18it's all about money is a feeling that I
31:22don't matter to them beyond what I give.
31:24Right? So we've got to change the
31:26language. We've got to change the
31:28construct itself and and get past the
31:32short-term obsessions of fundraising, no
31:34matter how many knots there are in your
31:36stomach and start to go back to may we
31:39work with you and show you how you can
31:41believe belong and with us together with
31:44us make something better. And you and I
31:47know in the depth of our soul that that
31:50will work
31:53>> without with without a doubt. Without a
31:56doubt. Let's just let people know where
31:58they can find you and let's have you
32:01share one more word on this um donor
32:04satisfaction uh satisfaction survey that
32:07you have.
32:08>> Thanks so much Susan. It's been a great
32:10privilege and a pleasure. So you can
32:12contact me at jiml langleyinovations
32:15and.com [clears throat] and I I'll be
32:18happy to share this survey which we
32:20think is a tool for you to apply
32:22everything that we've shared about and
32:24allow you to create a baseline from
32:26which you can then measure progress
32:28forward. How many donors believe? How
32:29strongly do they believe? How many feel
32:31as if they belong? How strongly etc.
32:33etc. Every year you'll be able to
32:36measure whether you're on the right
32:37track. If you build a community of more
32:40belonging, believing, and bettering,
32:42fundraising, and philanthropy naturally
32:45follows from it. If you don't, you're
32:46going to continue to struggle. If I
32:48could, Susan, I want to add one caveat.
32:50If you want to write me and ask me to
32:52give you the instrument, I won't do it.
32:54If you ask me to help you apply it, if I
32:57believe that you will use it for the
32:59right reasons, if you're willing to take
33:01just a little bit of training, then I'll
33:04be happy to share the instrument with
33:06you. But I've had too many bad
33:07experience where something people grab
33:09it off the shelf and use it in exactly
33:12the wrong way for short-term fundraising
33:15needs or even manipulation. Let's not do
33:18that. We're too good. This field is too
33:20important. This field is too noble.
33:23Let's together find a better way of
33:26doing everything we've talked about.
33:27It's what you want in your life to
33:29believe, belong, and better. It's why
33:31you choose the jobs. It's the hope you
33:33had for the job you took. So, let's
33:36extend this to others, including our
33:38donors. And through that shared set of
33:42love and caring, we'll form better
33:46communities that will be more self-
33:48sustaining. And thank you Susan so much
33:51for there's something about you that
33:53just electrifies my imagination and uh
33:57allows me to open up and share with
33:59other people.
34:01>> Well, it's absolutely my pleasure. Thank
34:04you for showing up. I appreciate it. And
34:08I will just say the last word which is
34:12the work of philanthropy done well is
34:16among the most human and meaningful work
34:19there is.
34:21Believe in something, belong to
34:24something and make something better. I
34:28can't thank you enough for this for
34:30myself and you know everybody I'll use
34:32it with. And um yeah, we'll do it again
34:35soon. Jim, thank you.
34:37>> Nor nor are I you, Susan. So, thank you
34:39so much.
34:40>> Take good care.
34:42>> Byebye.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Part 3, The Three Deep Desires That Drive Philanthropy by Susan Axelrod, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 5,291 words across 776 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.