Destiny sez, “At a Craigslist Foundation conference in San Francisco, Oakland lawyer-turned fundraiser Van Jones stole the show with an inspiring speech of surprisingly frank tips that are ‘counter-intuitive and probably immoral’ for non-profits. #3 is simply ‘Don’t Lie.'”
There is something about the relationship between the not-for-profit sector, the government, the foundations, and the donors that creates a massive incentive to lie — flagrantly, and often.
And it’s not just a one-sided thing. The relationship between not-for-profits and foundations is like the relationship between teenagers and parents. You don’t really want to tell them everything that’s going on, and they don’t really want to know. So there’s this dance of deceit, shall we say.
“What’d you do this weekend?”
“Oh… Studied! With my friends.”And the parents say ‘Good! So glad to hear that!’ Because they don’t want to know. And so what do you say?
“How did the year go?”
“We had success after success! All goals were met, and a good time was had by all.”And what was there left to say? ‘Good! Good!’ They don’t want to know….
I met Van last summer and was absolutely blown away — he’s a smart, committed, incredibly effective activist who’s funny, personable and convincing as hell.
(Thanks, Destiny!)