In this three-part series, Dunleavy’s own Engagement Team Leader, Susannah Coleman, reports on research she conducted in the summer of 2021 for her Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies. Her study reveals some important new insights about the impact of organizational culture on fundraising success. In this first installment, we begin with the identification of three hallmarks of good organizational culture that, in turn, set the scene for the development of a subset of organizational culture – the culture of philanthropy.     

A culture of philanthropy is a specific aspect of culture that has emerged in recent years as a game changer. In their 2013 report Underdeveloped, authors Jeanne Bell and Marla Cornelius pinpoint many of the challenges facing nonprofits when it comes to securing the resources needed to be successful. In particular, they identify the shortage of experienced fundraisers which, they suggest, could be solved by “paying more attention to deeper issues of building the culture to support fundraising success, including crucially…shared responsibility among board and staff leaders.” (For this and other resources see Further Reading, below.) 

Theirs is perhaps the first report to acknowledge that, all too often, nonprofits load expectations onto the lone fundraiser to secure resources to sustain the mission, frequently leading to high turnover in that position. Instead, the authors recommend fundamental changes to support fundraising success in the form of a culture of philanthropy – a set of organizational values and practices that must be a priority and a shared responsibility for all to support and nurture development within a nonprofit organization. According to Simone Joyaux (2011), influential author and nonprofit leader, it doesn’t matter how hard those appointed as fundraisers try to raise money, they will not succeed unless everyone from the janitor to board members welcome their role as an ambassador, “learning to become donor-centered, mission-centered, and beneficiary-centered.” 

With that brief introduction to the significance and importance of developing a culture of philanthropy, it’s important to step back to examine the factors that create the right conditions for such a culture to develop. And for any non-profit, it all starts with the overall organizational culture. For only a positive organizational culture can enable a culture of philanthropy to develop. 

Organizational culture has been called the glue that keeps an organization together, and it has links to productivity, engagement, and loyalty. It’s the way people do things around here, but there are so many elements that go into determining what people do and why, this definition only scratches the surface. It is the silent code of conduct; it’s more about how things get done, than what gets done. Much has been written about what constitutes a good culture, its ability to attract and retain the right employees, and the competitive advantage that such a culture may bring. Researchers do generally agree that culture is the tacit social order of any group, shaping attitudes and behaviors in wide-ranging and durable ways, and they generally agree on four characteristics: that culture is shared, pervasive, enduring, and implicit. Culture can, of course, become dysfunctional. When this happens, culture, especially if it’s a strong one, can become a liability and a barrier to change, especially a barrier to building a culture of philanthropy.  

The Three Hallmarks 

For our purposes, we will define a “good culture” as a high-functioning organizational environment to which volunteers are attracted, and in which staff thrive; one where all can bring their unique skills and talents to bear on advancing the mission. In this research, qualitative interviews with senior leaders in development elicited detailed descriptions of various organizational cultures. From this, three specific practices emerged as distinguishing characteristics, or hallmarks, of a good organizational culture.  

Academic literature supports the finding that where these three hallmarks are present, they are indicative of a strong and supportive foundation for building an effective culture of philanthropy. By contrast, a poor or even toxic organizational culture guarantees that attempts to build a culture of philanthropy will fail. Whether you are new to your nonprofit or an established leader, an awareness of the three hallmarks of good organizational culture is critical for your success in building a culture of philanthropy. 

Hallmark #1: The president, or most senior leader, is visible and accessible. The community respects and supports the leader who is transparent, available, honest, and authentic, and who invests in them, which creates a sense of being a team, and doing vital work together. Effective leaders adapt to whether an individual or group is ready, willing, and able to take specific action. Delegating, coaching, and mentoring are important tasks for the leader. The leader encourages strategic thinking, innovation, and action. 

Effective leaders are self-aware and prioritize personal development. They focus on developing their own emotional intelligence. Leaders that work to refine this quality are more adaptive, resilient, and accepting of feedback from others. They are also effective listeners and open to change. Importantly, they know how to be both assertive and kind at the same time. 

Good leaders are optimistic leaders. They embrace enthusiasm, confidence, inspiration, and excitement when they communicate. Optimistic leaders show that they believe their organization is working toward a better future, and that they value team members’ contributions to achieve that goal. 

“It is incredibly important to be open and accessible and treat people fairly and look them in the eye and tell them what is on your mind.” 
— Janti Soeripto, CEO, Save the Children, USA  

Hallmark #2: The mission and values are clearly articulated and communicated throughout the organization. Good culture does not just appear suddenly in a mysterious way; it must be actively promoted and pursued. The lesson here is to write down the mission and the set of core values that support the mission of your organization and keep these posted and visible, whether written on walls, on your website, on t-shirts, or in your materials – or preferably all of these places.  

Leadership should refer to the mission and core values often and reflect them in their actions as well as words. They need to keep the core values at the forefront for everyone in the organization and encourage staff and volunteers at all levels to use the language of the core values and the mission. Indeed, when written down, quoted in marketing materials, and explained during onboarding and training, this language can become so dominant and enduring that it becomes embedded and an integral part of the actual culture.  

What makes the difference between the actual and the assumed culture is the third hallmark. 

Hallmark #3: The mission and values are in fact lived out by the leadership and followed by employees at every level. If the president models the institution’s core values and insists the leadership team does the same, a good organizational culture will thrive. If the president does not insist on this, or their actions are not in sync with their words, then an underlying negative culture can form. This can happen especially when leaders assume a persona, or are not open and transparent about who they are and what they value. 

Secrets, and a general lack of communication from the top down, create a culture of insecurity, uncertainty, and counter-productive competition between departments. This ‘culture beneath’ the stated identity (the core values) can grow like an abscess and slowly poison the organization even when the admirable core values are still being publicly espoused. Unsurprisingly, this kind of organizational culture makes the development of a culture of philanthropy impossible. 

The importance of the three hallmarks is that they indicate the quality of the organizational culture, which in turn determines the possibility of success in developing a culture of philanthropy. According to Denise Rousseau (1990) the H.J. Heinz II University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, it is the internal team that has the “inherent power to deliver or discourage participation and support of philanthropy on a broad scale.” The perceived wisdom of a culture of philanthropy is that teaching everyone to play a role in fundraising develops the kinds of relationships with donors that leads to increased philanthropy (See Joyaux, 2015, Bell & Cornelius, 2013, Gibson, 2016). 

“Words do less than 10 things, but actions do more than 10 thousand things. Leaders don’t talk in vain; they follow with actions.” - Israelmore Aviyor, Leadership Ladders 

The very best leaders have taken their organizational culture and leveraged it so that a culture of philanthropy becomes not a new culture, but all that is best about their existing culture taken to the next level. Instilling a culture of philanthropy throughout an organization is only possible if the senior leader models to the whole community the prioritization of a donor-centric attitude – and explains the value in doing so. More than any other factor, the first hallmark — clear and strong leadership by the president — enables the development of both a good organizational culture and a culture of philanthropy. Given the proliferation of non-profit causes and competition for donations, it is those non-profits who successfully cultivate an organization-wide culture of philanthropy who will ultimately thrive. 

This study also looked at whether philanthropic giving can flourish regardless of culture. Evidence shows that the senior fundraiser, operating within an unhelpful organizational culture, can in fact develop a separate and more positive culture within their team. They do this by nurturing a cultural microcosm that shields their team from some of the worst aspects of the otherwise negative organizational culture. Yet, while they can demonstrate improved fundraising results, their work is unlikely to reach its full potential without the open support of the president or most senior leader, and that leader’s willingness to do what is necessary to change the culture. The culture of philanthropy is therefore limited to only the fundraising team, reducing their ability to gain philanthropic support and raise funds for the organization.   

Join us next time for Part 2 and discover the four main types of organizational culture and the strengths and weaknesses of each. You will then be equipped to use these to identify the culture you may find yourself in currently at your nonprofit and can begin to build a plan for developing a culture of philanthropy. 

Acknowledgements

With grateful thanks to Susan Arnold, Christina Bender, Marty Farrell, Jim Garvey, Steven Highsmith, Julie Hyland, Daniel Joyce, George Kolb and Carrie Snyder, for their insights and experiences with organizational culture and the culture of philanthropy.

For Further Reading

Bell, J. & Cornelius, M. (2013) UnderDeveloped. A National Study of the Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising, funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and CompassPoint. Available for download at: https://www.compasspoint.org/underdeveloped 

Bower, M. (1966). The Will to Manage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing 

Cameron, K. & Quinn, R. (2011). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture Based on the Competing Values Framework. 3rd Edition. San Francsico: Jossey-Bass 

Cummings T. & Worley, C. (2014) Organization Development and Change. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.  

Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (1982). Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co 

Drucker P. (2006). The Practice of Management. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. 

Giberson, T., Resick, C., Dickson, M., Mitchelson, J., Randall, K., Clark, M. (2009). Leadership and Organizational Culture: Linking CEO Characteristics to Cultural Values. Journal of Business and Psychology. 24(2):123-137 

Gibson, C. (2015) Beyond Fundraising: What Does It Mean To Build A Culture of Philanthropy. The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Accessed 8/31/21: https://www.haasjr.org/sites/default/files/resources/Haas_CultureofPhilanthropy_F1_0.pdf 

Haderlein, J. (2006). Can you bank on philanthropy? Healthcare Financial Management, 60(5), pp. 102-105. 

Joyaux, S (2015) Building a culture of philanthropy in your organization. Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved from https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/03/27building-culture-of-philanthropy/ 29 May, 2021.  

Joyaux, S. (Third Edition, 2011) Strategic Fund Development. Building Profitable Relationships That Last. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 

Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. & Minkov, M. (2010). Rev. and expanded 3rd ed. Cultures and organizations: software of the mind: intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010 

Rousseau, D. (1990). Normative Beliefs in Fund-Raising Organizations: Linking Culture to Organizational Performance and Individual Responses. Accessed 22 August 2021: https://doi.org/10.1177/105960119001500408 

Schein, E. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership, 4th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Schwartz, S. & Anat, B. (2001). Value hierarchies across cultures: Taking a similarities perspective. London: Sage Publications, Inc. 

Whitchurch, J., & Comer, A. (2016). Creating a culture of philanthropy. The Bottom Line, 29(2), 114-122. 

About Susannah Coleman

Susannah Coleman, Engagement Team Leader, is a Standards for Excellence® PA Licensed Consultant, a veteran of Britain’s Royal Navy, and a seasoned fundraising and marketing professional with 30 years of experience in the fields of education, healthcare, and the environment, including at faith-based institutions. She credits her work at Princeton University, as well as with small non-profits such as Bowmans Hill Wildflower Preserve, for giving her a deep ‘knowledge bank’ and a creative approach that engages donors for the long term. A communicator who listens, asks the right questions, and lifts up others, she is dedicated to raising standards and working collaboratively to ensure the best possible results.  

Prior to joining the Dunleavy team, she served as Vice President for Advancement at Chestnut Hill College where she led a team to revitalize and complete a $17,000,000 Comprehensive Campaign. She has a MA in Philanthropic Studies from the University of Kent, a postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the University of Exeter, and a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Plymouth. She has lived in Bucks County, PA with her two teenage boys since 2000.