Social Ch@nge

You can sense the nervousness for fundraisers right now as they watch the stock market flop around like a goldfish on the floor.

And the media pundits aren’t helping. There are the Survivalists (”It’s the Long Emergency – grab a tin of cat food and head for the hills!”), but also the Pollyannas (”It’s business as usual – Capitalism needs to have a heart attack every few years!”)

Don’t panic! Instead, let’s look at a historical example to gain some perspective. In fact, our example will be Ground Zero for the original Wall Street apocalypse: what was it like to fundraise during the Great Depression?

the sun might come out tomorrow...

The Great Depression started in 1929, an economic downturn that spread from the United States to eventually encompass the world. By 1932, total national income in Canada had been cut in half. Theoretically, as a fundraiser, it was a terrible time to ask for spare change. But here’s the thing: even though people had less income, they continued to give.

In fact, in the US, Americans gave a steadily increasing fraction of their income, up until the 1960s. Not to say that it was enough: the demand for services far outstripped the capacity to support the impoverished populations of Canada and the US. But the need was more recognized than ever – and people responded.

However, the way people gave changed. In April, 1939, The New York Times reported on a survey of philanthropy in the US over the previous 10 years. It showed that the overall number of gifts had shrunk but the total amount of gifts had, in fact, risen. People were more selective about who they gave to, and wanted to concentrate their giving on institutions that they felt could make a real difference.

We’re probably not heading into another Great Depression, but the world has changed on us. If history is any indication, it’s a good time to think about strategy, and how to change with the times.