What Bad Zoom Calls Reveal about Strategic Philanthropy

Listening to Andy Goodman talk about bad Zoom calls got me thinking about the challenges of strategic philanthropy. Let me explain.

Andy was the guest on a recent episode of the Let’s Hear it podcast. (If you do communications for nonprofits or foundations, this podcast is a great source of ideas and inspiration.) In the nonprofit space, Andy has been the preeminent speaker/trainer on improving presentations and meetings, and telling more compelling stories. Going back 20 years, he has trained thousands of nonprofit leaders. I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to how many thousands of hours he has saved nonprofits by helping them avoid bad meetings, unnecessary meetings, agendaless meetings, bad PowerPoint slides, horribly PowerPoint slides, no audience interaction, Zoom calls with no zip, and many, many more mistakes we have all committed (I certainly have). Andy’s teachings are based on all kinds of research. They are tested and they work.

Here’s the problem: The impact Andy is having is about 97 steps removed from the impact the organizations he works with are seeking in the world. It is a long and winding road from better meetings to better educational access or improved racial equity. If a grantseeker included “our PowerPoints don’t suck” as evidence of impact in a grant proposal, I’m not sure they would be taken seriously.

And yet. Improving meetings and presentations is really about respecting the most precious resources that nonprofits have: their talented and overworked staff. Improving storytelling is really about respecting the audiences that advocates are trying to reach and influence. Better meetings, better presentations, less suck-y Zoom calls: All of these make the work more effective and free up untold hours for nonprofit leaders so they can do the actual work that leads to impact.

So, what does this mean for strategic funders who do expect their grantees and grantseekers to provide evidence of impact? Here are a few ideas:

• Be open-minded about how your grantees define and measure impact. Some of the most effective social change tactics are not linear and require a willingness to connect the dots.

• Invest more in organizations, not just projects. Organizations that have the bandwidth to improve their ways of working are more effective organizations. It’s not just about covering overhead (that’s also needed); it’s about improving the organizational health of your grantees as a goal in itself.

• Being strategic and being flexible is not an oxymoron. It might take a bit more time and a bit more trust, but it is more strategic to allow organizations to invest their resources in ways that might only be tangentially related to ultimate impact. It indicates a willingness to listen deeply to grantees and not force them into the tidy boxes that we create in our strategy documents.

Whether you agree with my ideas or not, I do recommend listening to the episode. It’s fun and it’ll remind you that Zoom calls don’t have to suck.

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash