Hot Doc’s – Ted Rogers Theatre Toronto, Ontario
Event Date: October 26, 2023
By: Melissa Wilson
“You know why charities haven’t changed the world, because we haven’t asked them to” – Dan Pallotta
Tackling the widely accepted narratives and ideas around the ways charities operate in North America, Dan Pallotta’s film breaks down the myths and misconceptions of charities’ operations that are held by many. After Dan Pallotta’s record setting TED talk given in 2012, based on his book Uncharitable, his message captured the attention of audiences across the nation. The movie Uncharitable, based on this same message, has been seven years in the making. In partnership with film director Stephen Gyllenhaal, the movie tells the story of Dan Pallotta’s career which led him to write his book, deliver his compelling TED talk, and to shed light on the ongoing harmful and perpetuated narratives which surround the nonprofit sector.
Released into theatres September 22nd, 2023, Uncharitable, in a matter of weeks, has already captured the eyes of the public and the media, just as the creators hoped it would. Forbes, CNN, and ABC News are just a few sources who have contributed to the media buzz about Uncharitable, heralding it as a film with the power to change public opinion on charities. The film includes stories from well-known sector leaders including Dorri McWhorter, former CEO of the YWCA, Darren Walker, CEO of the Ford Foundation, Steven Nardizzi, Founder and former CEO of the Wounded Warriors Project, and many others who share the experiences and challenges faced by leaders in the sector every day. For a full synopsis and link to the film trailer please visit the Uncharitable team’s website at https://uncharitablemovie.com/about/.
The film centers around conversations of overhead and fundraising costs, which charities often face scrutiny for from the public, the media and sometimes even donors themselves. Being closely watched and receiving criticism for innovative and bold efforts has the potential to significantly limit a charity’s ability to effectively address the social causes and issues they are designed to find solutions for. Overhead, or management and administrative costs, is a growing topic of discussion in the sector in Canada, as charities look to alleviate imposed donor or funding restrictions in these areas in order to operate at a greater and more efficient scale, further equipping them to effectively carry out their mission. In an exploratory PhiLab report, researcher Antoine Gervais takes a closer look at this within the Canadian Grantmaking Foundation landscape. Read more here.
Out of a desire to further and contribute to this changing conversation, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation partnered with Hot Docs to host a public screening at the Ted Rogers Hot Docs Theatre in Toronto, followed by a discussion panel with Pallotta and Gyllenhaal at the conclusion of the film. Vice President of Corporate and Community Partnership at PMCF, Stephen Merker, was keen to host this event in partnership with the Uncharitable movie team due to his own professional experiences in fundraising and philanthropy. The PMCF raises approximately $30 million in revenues per year using the peer-to-peer fundraising methods Pallotta grandfathered in the ‘90s, says Merker. By adopting the model of walk, run, or bike for charity and change, these methods have contributed over $1 billion their 40 years of operations. As an inspiration to Merker’s career, screening Pallotta’s film for PMCF colleagues and donors at the Hot Docs theatre was a great way to engage their community in such an important conversation.
As the film came to a close, the audience roared with applause and remained seated, anxiously awaiting Gyllenhaal and Pallotta’s remarks for the discussion. For Miyo Yamashita, CEO of PMCF and facilitator of the discussion, the film’s message asking organizations to invite their donors into their big dreams offers confidence to their mission at PMCF. She remarked, “Can you imagine a world where people can live without a fear of cancer?” This is their dream and raison d’être in the work they do everyday to support cancer research efforts.
To begin the conversation, the audience wanted to know more about how the film had been received since its theatrical release. Both Gyllenhaal and Pallotta indicated the film’s power to “ignite a movement” and their hope that its message will continue to spread. For them, creating this film was just as much about creating a compelling and emotional connection to its message as it was about sharing practical information. The power of storytelling is not to be underestimated in its ability to engage people in a deeper, more meaningful way. Pallotta goes on to add that the film has been emotional for people; “people feel liberated, they feel relieved, inspired, acknowledged in the work they do. It is as if the film is finally the tool to change the way people around them think about these things” and the way they perceive and interact with charities.
When asked about his work in the 90’s, for the AIDS rides and his perspective on the future of fundraising, Pallotta shared that his fundraising programs were never meant to be transactional or a new methodology of fundraising. “I just know that people were yearning to be asked to do the most they could possibly do to help the causes that broke their hearts,” existing efforts for giving a donation in memory of a loved one was “incongruent with the loss, the sadness, and the passion you felt” in connection to that cause. He went on to express his belief that the future for the charitable sector lies with civic engagement and civil society. “People want to be asked. Nonprofits are uniquely positioned to allow people to express heroism in creating the world they want,” said Pallotta. Gyllenhaal went on to detail their discussions about beginning to build a network of powerful people globally to lead this larger movement. “It’s like Woodstock meets AIDS rides, or the Burning Man of the nonprofit sector,” he described, “we want to see it bigger than that, and people will want to participate because of the great joy it will mean to be there and be a part of it.”
While involving donors closely with the mission is a great stewardship method, this idea has the potential to swing in the other direction. In a Canadian landscape of organizations striving for restorative justice and reconciliation, placing the donor as the hero is increasingly controversial and borders on donor-centered saviourism. This is not to say that donor contributions are not a necessary and valuable part of accomplishing charitable missions, but to consider how power might be shifted from donors and grantmakers to those in leadership who should hold the ultimate decision-making power in how they accomplish their mission. In taking Pallotta’s idea and further contextualizing it in a Canadian landscape, perhaps it is better to highlight how organizations led by equity deserving groups are well positioned and equipped to tackle the social issues they face. Rather than placing restrictions on how funding is allocated, principles of trust-based philanthropy allows for organizations to be empowered to tackle the challenges they face.
One audience member remarked that the media’s expression of charities seems to be an ongoing issue and asked what ongoing efforts there might be to prevent such harmful attacks. To the Uncharitable team, the movie is media, and even weeks after its release, they are already beginning to see its impact as the message is getting media attention. Pallotta offers a strategy around this issue, suggesting the media is a population which needs to be educated. In practice, this looks like media specific workshops and conferences to begin to tackle this widespread issue. Building the educational tools and resources to convey an understanding of how to best represent the sector will be crucial in moving away from scandal. These kinds of tools pose an interesting opportunity for the sector to advocate for their vital role in society but does not replace the responsibility organizations have to represent themselves well in how they communicate their mission and engage well with their stakeholders. He goes on to add “the media tells the culture what they want to hear, so it becomes more important to change social rhetoric” before the media can be expected to change. “The movie seeks to empower, we need to reach people and get them to change how they think.”
When asked for his advice for running a campaign in Toronto amidst a season of many other charities doing the same, Pallotta highlights the challenges that come with the idea of competing campaigns. This lead him to discuss the possibility of considering consolidation of charities across the sector. In the United States “there are roughly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations with roughly 97 new ones created everyday” he says, “if we take all the charities and create a mass scale, it would equal the kind of change the world needs and it would be breathtaking.” An oversaturated charitable sector is something which has been discussed in Canada for years. In a 2016 report from Mark Blumberg and Andrea Cohen Barrak in partnership with CPA Canada, they offer a framework and justification for Canadian charities to begin considering the advantages of consolidating efforts. The strategic benefits include consolidation of expenses to one central organization rather than dispersed across many with the same mission, and the community benefits from a unified strategic effort to tackle a social issue by bringing together experts from different organizations to one table. This allows for better collaboration, a decrease in siloed efforts, can build capacity for smaller organizations, and places the public value at the center with the potential to provide better services with more funding for direct programming.
The final question of the evening posed to Pallotta was this: “If you were sitting with a donor and they don’t want to pay overhead, what is your twenty second response?” Pallotta chuckled a bit as he commented, “You’ve already lost at twenty seconds.” He discussed the need for a broader methodological approach to your donor engagement by setting an intentional goal over time to educate everyone around your organization to begin changing the way they think. He highlights most importantly “it starts inside, begin with your staff, your board, then major donors, and the way to do it is to get them to watch the movie, build some resources for them, get them to read the articles from the Stanford Social Innovation Review on the starvation cycle. You have to get methodological about it to get others to think differently.”
He came back to one pitfall in campaigning practices to overcome; Not to make them think about the campaign, but the dream. If you think about great and innovative figures in history, like Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King among others, they inspired people with their ideas and dreams, because they dared to be audacious for their time.
The power of Pallotta’s own journey in fundraising for causes he cares so deeply about offers a powerful metaphor which is threaded throughout the movie. There is something very human about how following our passion and path can encourage others to follow, to care and to do the same. Not only does charitable work offer opportunity to garner support for but to create a movement.
Making the movie accessible is a crucial part of the Uncharitable team’s mission and they are working to continue offering showings free of charge. The team is also encouraging audiences to reach out and arrange private screenings for family, friends, colleagues, and donors alike. To learn more about how you can get involved in the movement please visit their website or click here for details on hosting a private screening visit.
Let’s begin to ask charities to change the world.
