When it comes to philanthropy, money roars. Nothing grabs the headlines and the imagination more than mega-money. Not ideas. Not the cause. Not celebrity involvement. Not even the dramatic stories about how the world or individual lives and society were changed by the donation.

When it comes to philanthropy, money thunders. No act is more reported than when someone decides to give it away. Especially when it is mega-millions. Not making it. Not inheriting it. Not spending it. Not handing it down to a new generation. Giving away millions (and in some cases, billions) changes the perception of the donor in history. Who remembers the business practices and principles of the Medicis? The Rockefellers? Or the Guggenheims? We remember them for their philanthropic funding. How they earned their money becomes a mere footnote.

We see the influence, allure and intrigue of money even when we send out these Informs. If the headline in the subject box refers to money, funding or particularly, the mega-donor expertise of Passion Marketing, the opening and response rates way exceed those of subjects such as social injustices, creative ideas and concepts, organizational strategies, or even reporting positive results of the cause.

In a sector that Americans call nonprofit, where people who choose not to be in business find their career paths, money influences everything.

So let's begin to look at how Warren Buffet's donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will change the philanthropic sector.

In fundraising parlance, nothing stirs the pot of mega-donations more than the lead gift. The first objective of all mega-donor campaigns is to secure the lead gift. In this "campaign," Gates made the lead gift. It was the impetus for Buffet to make his gift. Now that there are two lead gifts, others will follow.

Who are the fundraisers of this ongoing campaign? Who are its primary influencers who have networks to tap into other mega-donors? Gates and Buffet are. Their staffs. Their children. You can bet they are in the process of identifying other influencers like themselves who are capable of making mega-donations. And influencing others.

This campaign is not just about the Gates Foundation. It should be viewed as a campaign for philanthropy in general because it will affect all philanthropy.

If viewed in this manner, then the other fundraisers of this campaign are the execs of major philanthropies who know that a barrier has been shattered and a precedent is being set. Chances are, the smart ones are now strategizing their moves in the expanding trend of mega- donations. If they are not strategizing at this moment, their oversight committees better be examining why not. If they are not doing community mapping of mega-donors, identifying the influencers in their sphere and who those influencers' networks are, then they are mired in old methodologies that will not accommodate a new world of sophisticated philanthropy.

These mega-funders, as we have learned from our own clients, are not going to just give their funding away. They will see their funding as a philanthropic investment. They will expect a return. They will expect a detailed accounting. Just like all their investments, they will demand regular professional updates on the return. As savvy investors, they will detect any fudging that tries to mask the real information that should be in the return. Nonprofits will be exposed. It will become more difficult to hide anything between the lines of the spreadsheet, the committee reports and the trips into the field. Nonprofit professionals will have to raise the bar on their performance for the expectations of these mega-donors. In some cases, there will have to be serious classes teaching nonprofit leaders how to accommodate these new methodologies.

Ultimately, these mega-funders will want to know that the return on their money is changing the lives of many and the society that surrounds them. They will also want to know that their funding is being leveraged by the organization, so that it leads to more funding from other mega-donors, governments, corporations and foundations. They have a vision for what their funding can do and they want to be certain it is becoming reality.

As more money pours into the philanthropic sector, it will become more powerful and more influential. Money does that. It will become more professional. It will become better. The sector will change in many, many ways. People will begin to take the practices of the philanthropic sector more seriously. Business people, donors and board members will stop dismissing nonprofit professionals as a lower echelon professional because he or she is not working in business.

Because there is more money, the sector will begin to pay better. More of the best and brightest of a new generation of graduates will then want to enter the nonprofit arena. This new generation will challenge the workings of the nonprofit world at every level. They will bring in new ideas and new practices. Between their connections and networks, there may even evolve a more seamless line between the business sector and the nonprofit sector. Their desire to move into nonprofits will put demand upon the nonprofit programs of universities and colleges and will expand the discipline.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the corporatization of the nonprofit sector as a result of these donations. One of the most stellar differences between business and nonprofits is the decision-making process. Based on the need for quarterly earnings, business makes quick decisions. Because the funding process and internal politics can require months and years to work out, nonprofits are never in a rush unless there is a serious looming crisis.

In the corporatization of the sector, decisions will have to be expedient. Professionals will have to seize the opportunity, as well as be given the responsibility to make clear-cut and quick decisions.

No mega philanthropist seeking a return will tolerate the months and years of indecision and process that reigns in so many nonprofits.

While all this change occurs, nonprofit professionals will have to stand firm on what they know.

Nonprofits are built upon the intangible. They promise a better world and a sense of personal fulfillment on a soul level. Business promises products and services. Better than business, nonprofits know how to vividly bring the intangible alive.

Nonprofits know how to ask people to give their money away as opposed to spending it. They know what is required to make that type of transaction happen.

Nonprofits know how to make an expenditure of a dollar work as if it was $100 or $1000. Even as nonprofits receive mega-donations, no one wants to see them spend donor funds at the level of business. They expect them to be smart about their expenditures, which many are. Businesses, especially when marketing, should watch how nonprofits do it on less and still do it well.

If you have a thought about these changes or an opinion about what is written above, go to The Chromosome of Philanthropy, and let the world know what you are thinking. The sector must be in dialogue about this event. We must prepare for change.

For more information about Passion Marketing, our expertise in Mega-Donor Campaigns, our Facilitated Conversational Dinners for Mega-Donors, Major Donors and Community Activists, Consensus Marketing Seminars and strategic marketing work in the field of philanthropy and business, go to Passionmarketing.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Passion Marketing Inform. We know how busy you are.

GARY WEXLER
President, Passion Marketing
Los Angeles