Our generation does not want its epitaph to read, 'We kept charity overhead low.' We want it to read that we changed the world.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the desire for impactful societal change over merely focusing on low expenses in charity work.
Dan Pallotta argues that the current generation prioritizes meaningful, transformative actions rather than solely maintaining low operational costs in charitable organizations. He suggests that the legacy left behind should reflect significant contributions to the world, rather than just frugality in charity overhead.
In practice
In a speech about philanthropy at a charity event.
We aren't upset when Paramount makes a $200 million movie that flops, but if a charity experiments with a $5 million fundraising event that fails, we call in the attorneys. So charities are petrified of trying bold new revenue-generating endeavors and can't develop the powerful learning curves the for-profit sector can.
When you prohibit failure, you kill innovation. If you kill innovation in fundraising, you can't raise more revenue. If you can't raise more revenue, you can't grow. And if you can't grow, you can't possibly solve large social problems.
A perfect storm is in the making: financial uncertainty, economic downturn, government cuts, rising unemployment and a future that looks less clear the more we try to fathom it.
Why did everything always change when all you wanted, all you had ever humbly asked of whatever God there might be, was that certain things be allowed to stay the same?
The Millennium Development Goals can be met by 2015, but only if all involved break with business as usual and dramatically accelerate and scale up action now.
There came a time when you realized that moving on was pointless. That you took yourself with you wherever you went.
For a habit to stay changed, people must believe change is possible.
Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay men are expected to educate the heterosexual world. The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions. There is a constant drain of energy which might be better used in redefining ourselves and devising realistic scenarios for altering the present and constructing the future.
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