I recently heard from an old friend, Bob Crandall the Founder/Consultant at Crandall, Croft & Associates. In addition to being a terrific fundraising professional, Bob is the kind of guy who instinctively knows how to weave humor and wisdom together. The latest story he shared with me is a great example of this:
The Old Dog
An old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he’s lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old German Shepherd thinks, “Oh, oh! I’m in deep s… now!”
Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, “Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder if there are any more around here?”
Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.
“Whew!” says the panther, “That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!”
Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes.
The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.
The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!”
Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, “What am I going to do now?” But, instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says…
“Where’s that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!”
Moral of this story…
Don’t mess with the old dogs. Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery!
Brilliance comes with age and experience.
While no one knows who first told this story, I’m grateful that Bob shared it with me so I can share it with you.
Yes, young people entering the fundraising profession bring vital energy and fresh perspective. However, we need to remember that seasoned professionals bring experience, knowledge, and wisdom.
Older development professionals can be a tremendous benefit for any number of reasons. For example, older professionals might be able to more effectively relate to older prospective supporters and donors. This is particularly true with planned giving, as veteran fundraising expert Stephen Pidgeon has written. He finds that many young fundraising professionals, in contrast to their older counterparts, are not as effective as they could be because they are guilty of “patronising age-ism.”
In the nonprofit sector, we often talk about the need for diversity. For example, at the Association of Fundraising Professional’s International Fundraising Conference, AFP hosts a diversity booth in the exhibit hall and presents The Charles R. Stephens Excellence in Diversity Award. The AFP website also provides a great deal of information about diversity in the nonprofit sector.
Diversity means many things to many people. As we aspire to build diverse workplaces, we should remember to keep age-diversity in mind.
For an interesting take on nonprofit hiring practices and the need to enhance them, read “Our Hiring Practices are Inequitable and Need to Change” at The Nonprofit with Balls blog.
What does “diversity” mean to you? Do you think it’s important to the nonprofit workplace? Why or why not?
That’s what Michael Rosen says… What do you say?
