Coercion, Africa and Board Governance |
Jul 29, 2009 |
Over on his brilliant blog, Eric Foley has been thinking about the profound differences between partnership and pity in philanthropy.
I came across a quote that speaks to the topic and commented on it there, but I think it’s so provocative I want to discuss it further here. The quote: “We must be aware of the dangers which lie in our most generous wishes. Some paradox of our nature leads us, when once we have made our fellow men the object of our enlightened interest, to go on to make them objects of our pity, then our wisdom, ultimately our coercion.” –Lionel Trilling
Trilling has broad aims in mind, but putting his socio-political concerns aside, at the very least talking about philanthropy. So what is Trilling after and how, you may ask, will it impact the next newsletter you need to write?
Let me offer a response by way of Africa. I consulted recently with two families of American missionaries living in Africa. They’ve lived in Africa for the better part of 20 years; their children were born and raised there and consider Africa home. It’s clear to anyone who meets these families how they love Africa, and how they consider the needs of Africa their needs, the African church their church. And it’s clear they’ve seen tremendous resources deposited in the African people.
They were in the states mainly to speak in churches to raise money. They planned to say what most missionaries say: how much they appreciate their supporters in the states, how important work could not go on without them, how they want church members to pray, support and send people on short-term mission projects. They weren’t planning to mention something else they firmly believed—something I challenged them to proclaim loudly and clearly at every opportunity—which is this: Americans are spiritually impoverished relative to Africans, and the American church can learn a thing or two (or ten) from the African church.
What I know about Africa wouldn’t fill a thimble, but I know that many Africans, struggling through unimaginable poverty, are happier and more spiritually fulfilled than many Americans, struggling through unimaginable wealth.
So teach us, African missionaries! Teach us not only to be generous to Africa, but to receive from Africa. Challenge us to not pity Africa, to not make Africa a repository of our western wisdom, to not coerce with our largesse. Grow us. Join us with the African church so we can function as one body, fitly compacted at every joint.
Can you see how this approach would impact their next newsletter? How about yours?
Now back to our doorstep with another simple application: how many U.S. Christian charities have poor people on their Boards of Directors? Not poor as in “relatively poor compared to the really rich people we’d love to have on our Board”, but poor as in “poor like the clients we serve, so poor they naturally identify with the cause because they materially share the same needs”?
Why not? Do we believe that wealth is a good indicator of wisdom? Do we believe the poor don’t care about their own condition? Do we believe that material wealth corresponds to spiritual wealth?
Don’t answer too quickly.
