Some of us at Support Center have just started watching “The Gilded Age”– now in its third season–and there is some fascinating perspective on board service and philanthropy from Season 1. The show is excellent but also a fascinating backdrop for a discussion of wealth, philanthropy, and society.
In the first scene, a three-day charity bazaar selling merchandise is organized to benefit two causes: the Dispensary for Poor Women and Children and the Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children. There is a dramatic moment when an extraordinarily wealthy philanthropist comes in and buys out all of the vendors ending the three-day society event after 30 minutes. It’s the most successful fundraiser ever, but it’s also a disaster for the participants who were mostly involved so they could spend three days shopping, gossipping, and participating in high society – the raised funds being an afterthought.
In the second scene, Clara Barton has invited both multigenerational wealthy donors and newly wealthy donors to Dansville, NY in 1881 in an effort to raise money and awareness for the Red Cross. A public spat ensues between old and new wealth, and Clara Barton insists that all money looks the same when it can further the mission of the Red Cross.
These are fictionalized and sometimes exaggerated accounts, and The Gilded Age was not created as a case study for dissecting nonprofit fundraising, but there are some interesting lessons for us. Here are takeaways from one of the viewers at Support Center (Keith Timko), and of course you are welcome to your own opinion, too.
- Forego the Bazaar If You Can: If there is a way to meet your fundraising goal without organizing a three-day bazaar, forego the bazaar. Yes, events can be fun and engaging and build an audience, but if our goal is to raise money and we can do it without a special event, let’s forego the bazaar. Yes, our colleague, Claas Ehlers, rightfully argues that this can still build engagement and connect with your community, but there may be less onerous ways to do this than with a three-day bazaar.
- Board Rooms Aren’t Social Ladders for Climbing: In The Gilded Age, serving on a board or volunteering are ways to increase your standing and expand your networks in high society. Yes, you might forge new connections as a result of board service, but board service is real work. Hopefully Clara Barton and the Red Cross did their homework on any potential board members and didn’t just approve anyone willing to write a large check as another step into high society.
- Noblesse Oblige Wasn’t Just a Gilded Age Phenomenon: The characters portray a form of noblesse oblige–the responsibility of the wealthy to those less privileged–without much reflection on the source of their own wealth or the origin of other characters’ poverty. Characters donate old shoes or give money out of a sense of duty. The inequality in the world barely registers. But you can hardly dismiss this as a function of the times. More than ever we have to advocate for a version of philanthropy that looks at the underlying causes of injustice and inequity and not just check writing out of a sense of duty.
So there you have three takeaways from The Gilded Age. Have your own take? We welcome your perspective.
