Category Archives: Henry Berman

Apr 02 2013
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Henry Berman, Leadership

Philanthropic Leadership: It’s (Not) Accidental

By Henry Berman, ASF

Catalogue DCASF member Barbara Harman and the Harman Family Foundation are demonstrating the power of small-staff philanthropy to lead—and they’ve been doing so for at least the past decade.

Barbara is editor of the award-winning Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington, which celebrates its 10th year in 2013. When I spoke with her last month as part of ASF’s interview series with philanthropic thought leaders, we talked about her role in creating and championing the Catalogue.

Published with lead funding from the Harman Family Foundation and support from its partners, the Catalogue spotlights the “landscape below the landscape,” according to Barbara, or originally the region’s community-based arts organizations.

How does Barbara—a former English professor at Wellesley College—describe her leadership role in creating the Catalogue? Accidental.

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Mar 18 2013
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Henry Berman, Leadership

We Are All Bill Gates

By Henry Berman, ASF

ASF CEO Henry Berman speaks at ASF's sold-out 2012 National Conference

ASF CEO Henry Berman at ASF’s sold-out 2012 National Conference

You are Bill Gates. And Andrew Carnegie. And Oprah Winfrey.

Each of these philanthropists has leveraged more than fortunes. They capitalized on their fame to become leaders.

Bill Gates calls on presidents and prime ministers. He and Melinda Gates attack issues on a global scale with millions of dollars. Andrew Carnegie gave millions of people he never met the opportunity to expand their worlds through libraries. Oprah Winfrey uses her visibility to inspire countless others, and she backs it up with her own philanthropy supporting education and the empowerment of women, children, and families.

So how are you alike?

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Dec 07 2012
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Henry Berman, Tax & Legal

In Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, Look at the Whole Picture

U.S. Capitol

By Henry Berman, ASF

We are sharing the following letter with members of the Association of Small Foundations today. We welcome your thoughts and opinions in the comments section. As a diverse community of philanthropists, it is important we share our thinking with one another.

Dear Colleagues,

Whereas the television has quieted down post-election—the seemingly non-stop advertisements for candidates, ballot questions, and initiatives have ended—conversations about the “fiscal cliff” have, in the same way, started to overwhelm news channels, newspapers, and social media.

For many in the philanthropic sector, the charitable deduction has been the focus of the conversations. Lately I’ve participated in and listened to numerous discussions and debates about the charitable deduction and the pros and cons of it being reduced or capped. Well-informed and well-meaning people make cases for both sides of the argument.

There is an opportunity today at 3PM EST for you to hear from the White House in a Fiscal Cliff Conference Call With Foundation Leaders. Officials from the Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, and Office of Public Engagement will discuss the charitable deduction in the context of the debate over how to find a balanced solution to the deficit challenges facing the nation. Continue reading →

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Oct 03 2012
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Henry Berman, Leadership

Failure is not an option. Or is it?

Be Fearless
By Henry Berman, ASF

Is failure not an option, or is it fear that is not an option? In the motion picture Apollo 13, Ed Harris, playing the role of NASA flight director Gene Kranz delivers the line, “Failure is not an option.” The expression has become part of the American lexicon. Certainly none of us wants to fail, but is it failure — or the fear of failure — that concerns us?

Years ago I had the honor of working with Jim Lovell, the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission to the moon. After that experience I came to truly believe one of the reasons they made it safely back to earth – maybe the reason – was that Lovell was fearless. Was that because he had no other choice? Or was it the crew’s passion to succeed, their drive to excel, and the ability to envision the outcome of returning home safely rather than dwell on certain death that brought them home?

Small-staffed philanthropists attack the problems in their communities with a similar passion and responsiveness. In their communities they put themselves, their reputations, their wealth, and their legacy on the line by being willing to take risks. For Lovell and the crew of Apollo 13 it was truly their lives; for our members it is often the health of their communities that is front and center. It is this passion, often contagious, that does not let the fear of failure stop them from trying new approaches.

To support this brand of philanthropy, and celebrate all who practice it, I’m excited to let you know that ASF has joined the Case Foundation’s Be Fearless Alliance. As part of the initiative, the Case Foundation is searching for unknown social innovators willing to dream big and take risks to change the world – whether in their local community or around the globe. And they are making more than $650,000 in grants, software, and technology prizes available to those selected as America’s Most Fearless Changemakers. Continue reading →

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Sep 21 2012
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Henry Berman, Leadership

How Does Your Foundation See the World?

By Henry Berman, ASF

Henry BermanIt is often hard to truly understand and empathize with organizations asking foundations for funding. I recall once visiting a pre-school program and being told the children left each day heading to homes with no books. The first time I heard this I honestly could not grasp that concept. Having grown up in a home surrounded by books and a mother who was a librarian, the idea of no books was, to me, totally foreign.

The story is told that Eleanor Roosevelt was giving a lecture when a hostile audience member asked if she thought her husband Franklin’s illness had affected his mind. “Yes” she answered. “Anyone who has gone through great suffering is bound to have greater sympathy and understanding of the problems of mankind.”

Given that we may not have experienced illiteracy, homelessness, or certain diseases in the first person, how do we try to better understand those we want to serve? Continue reading →

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Sep 12 2012
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Henry Berman, Leadership

Inspired by Inspiring

By Henry Berman, ASF

Teachers talk about star pupils. Business executives about mentors. Athletes about coaches. We all have people, or perhaps events, in our lives that inspire or motivate us.

Sometimes the source is crystal clear and easy to recognize. Other times it may be more subtle. Often we look into our past for motivation. For example, we remember the high school teacher or coach who went that extra mile for us and in doing so helped us recognize our own potential. Yet other times the inspiration is found right before us, staring us in the face. The recent Olympic Games certainly provided many moments which left me, and I venture many of you, moved and inspired.

In the introduction to her book, Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World, philanthropist, social entrepreneur, and educator Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen talks about what inspired her to help make the world a better place. Speaking in the first person Laura wrote:

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen“[My] own first inspiration came from my family, and in particular my mother. Frances Arrillaga was my best friend, my mentor, my soul mate. In her living, she inspired me, and in her dying, she showed me a new life path. I took the tragedy of losing her and transformed it into my life’s greatest blessing—my giving.”

All of this has me wondering about what motivates my philanthropy, my giving — whether as a foundation trustee or personally. Continue reading →

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Aug 15 2012
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Henry Berman, Leadership

Entrepreneurship in Philanthropy: More Than Just Risk?

By Henry Berman, ASF

Henry BermanFor most of my life, and certainly all of my working life, I have always fashioned myself an entrepreneur. For a long time my definition, rightly or wrongly, focused on the word as a noun, describing someone who typically takes risks and tries new things – one who starts new ventures. In fact, one online dictionary defines the word entrepreneur as a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

As I began spending more of my time in the philanthropic sector I started questioning whether I was still an entrepreneur. After all, was I taking initiative and risk? Was I helping generate the big returns, in a social impact sense, that I imagined high-tech entrepreneurs reaped in terms of dollars for the risk they took? Continue reading →

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Aug 06 2012
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Henry Berman, Leadership

The Language of What We Do

By Henry Berman, ASF

Henry BermanHow do you describe what you do?

Over the past several years I’ve become a fan of words; how we use them and what they mean. This interest was ignited as I listened to a photographer speak about the way people typically describe how he works. What particularly resonated with me was his discussion about the undertones or implied meaning of words and phrases.

  • Shoot a picture has a rather violent connotation.
  • Take a picture can imply something is not given willingly.
  • Capture images conjurers thoughts of a competition.

“What if,” he suggested, “we said ‘Make a picture?’” It was a passing conversation but the concept has remained with me.

Recently while making some photographs of my own, I started thinking about the words we use in philanthropic conversations. Continue reading →

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Jul 18 2012
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Henry Berman, Investments

Tolerate More Risk to Advance Social Change?

By Henry Berman, ASF

Most of us in the philanthropic world are often asked by financial advisors about our tolerance for risk. But lately I’ve been thinking about risk in terms of organizations I choose to partner with and fund as a philanthropist. Will I accept the fact that my investment in a nonprofit may fail to produce the desired results? Or not produce as quickly as I would like? And what do I have, aside from financial capital, that could leverage my investment and potentially minimize risk?

In a conversation I had with Paul Shoemaker, Executive Connector of Social Venture Partners Seattle and founder of Social Venture Partners International (SVPI) we explored this topic. In Paul’s words:

Obviously, in the private sector we’re used to failure and we say that’s part of the process, and we make bets, and occasionally there’s a failure. In this business [philanthropy], if you have a failure, it may affect real lives. So it’s got a different connotation to it. What I think is true is that we need to be willing to sometimes invest in things that we know work, and to scale them, but we also need to be willing to invest in some innovations. And some organizations may do one or the other, or maybe some of both.

So to me, I guess the definition of tolerance for failure would be: Are [you], as a philanthropic organization, willing to invest in innovation, either within an existing organization or a new organization? And are [you] willing to stick with that investment while it makes mistakes, and it trips on itself, and maybe even ultimately fails, but what comes out of that is something better or some knowledge that moves the field or moves the practice forward?

Listen to the complete interview in our free podcast, Strength in Numbers: Leveraging Human Capital to Amplify Impact. And let me know what you think.

Henry Berman

Henry Berman became ASF’s CEO in 2011, previously serving as acting CEO, board member, and committee member. Through his experience as a foundation co-trustee and ASF member since 2003, he brings a firsthand understanding of the needs of ASF members to his role. Berman’s early career included positions as an independent communications consultant and director, writer, and producer of film, video, and multimedia programs for education, motivation, and fundraising.

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Jul 05 2012
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Henry Berman, Investments

The Future of Investing: A Conversation with Melissa Bradley of Tides

By Henry Berman, ASF

I recently sat down with Melissa Bradley, CEO of Tides, to hear her perspective on hybrid models of philanthropy and the future of social impact investing. At Tides, Melissa is leading the way to help others understand, in her words, “all of the new ways to do good,” including program-related investments, equity investments, and more.

During our conversation, I asked Melissa about venture capitalism and the risks of investing in social changes that may require long gestation periods. Where can small foundations come in? What about the individual philanthropist who is seeking to make a social impact but isn’t a “big capital” kind of investor?

On this matter, Melissa said:

“I think for philanthropists who are interested in impact investing, I think it’s important to understand that, on this long continuum, philanthropy still is just the beginning of any kind of major capital infusion. So we should not conclude or assume that philanthropists are going to be the next wave of venture capitalists. But I do think it’s important to recognize that there are indeed those small pots of money, the risk capital, that can really provide scale and allow others to come in after us. So it really becomes: How can I be catalytic through a grant or an investment that will allow others to have confidence and faith to come in and really take that to the next level?”

Listen to the complete interview in our latest free podcast, The Future of Investing. And let us hear what you think.

Henry Berman

Henry Berman became ASF’s CEO in 2011, previously serving as acting CEO, board member, and committee member. Through his experience as a foundation co-trustee and ASF member since 2003, he brings a firsthand understanding of the needs of ASF members to his role. Berman’s early career included positions as an independent communications consultant and director, writer, and producer of film, video, and multimedia programs for education, motivation, and fundraising.

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