Bill Walsh's Worldwide Conference
2005 Address
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Address > (.pdf 180k)
Bill Walsh is Chairman of Sequoia
Associates LLC and has been a National Board Director
of The American Ireland Fund since 1997. At the
2005 Ireland Funds Conference in Cork, he shared
his thoughts on why The Ireland Fund’s
work will continue to impact both the donors
engaged in the mission and those in Ireland
whose lives are directly affected by their generosity.
The
Worldwide Ireland Funds have raised over $300 million for over 1,000 worthy projects throughout
the island of Ireland, North and South.
“Whether The American
Ireland Fund will continue to attract American
donors is a subject worthy of consideration.
Let me first state the problem.
On the one hand it is abundantly clear that the
colorfully named Celtic Tiger is doing very well
and Ireland is indeed a country on the move up, with
a healthy and growing mass of wealthy individuals
and enterprises. Indeed it seem to me that every
successful firm in Silicon Valley has a plant or
other facility in Ireland capitalizing on the English
speaking, well educated and upwardly mobile youth
of this country.
On the other hand it is equally clear that large
segments of the population are not participating
in this improvement. In short there are numerous
unfulfilled needs as evidenced by the many grant
requests received from Irish not-for-profit organizations.
Moreover, we are still faced with the absence of
true peace in Northern Ireland, even seven years
after signing the Good Friday Agreement. As a natural
corollary of that fact, there is little integrated
education in the North with over 90 percent of the
students still attending segregated schools - not
exactly the formula for a lasting peace. So even
if every wealthy Irish person were to devote fulltime
to addressing these problems there would be much
still undone, as there is in the United States.
Why
then should Americans continue to contribute monies
to Irish causes? Will Irish supporters suffer from
the “fatigue factor,” to use a phrase
of Ambassador Fahey’s? I would argue that there
are four compelling reasons why the AIF will continue
to survive as a fund for Irish charities.
These four
reasons rest:
- upon the nature of the giver
- upon the quality of the
asking organization, The American Ireland Fund
- upon the intrinsic merits
of the charitable causes
- upon the satisfaction experienced
by the givers
The Nature of the Giver
As I think of the typical
American who is involved with The Ireland Funds,
I envision a person with a generous and open spirit,
unlikely to reduce or cut giving off because the
country’s overall
economic environment is brighter. I see someone who:
Genuinely enjoys giving with others to promote
funds needed by worthy charities. Usually he or she
will be involved with multiple nonprofit activities
over time and will have a strong giving history at
home - to school, to hospitals, to the church, to
the poor, etc.
I see an individual who was probably introduced
to the AIF at a dinner honouring some local dignitary,
liked the people he or she met there, and wanted
to become one with a group of highly motivated, collegial
people, linked with an international network, dedicated
to helping the less fortunate while having a good
time in the process.
I see this giver with an impressive history of
contributions to meritorious causes - not simply
by check writing but by giving freely of their time
and talent.
I see a person who has a proven capacity to give.
Few people give from other than surplus, no one wears
sackcloth and ashes after making a major gift. Hence
they tend to give annually with the size of the gift
often growing significantly as the years pass.
I
see a man or woman who has a strong sense of responsibility
for sharing their good fortune with others, imbued
with a “giving back to society” philosophy.
I see a person who often provides for charitable
gifts in wills and trusts.
I see a person who develops
a passionate interest in the causes he or she supports.
The Quality of The Ireland Funds
The reason why I remained convinced there will
be a continuation of generous giving by Americans
is the nature of the organization and staffing of
The Ireland Funds. Particularly I am impressed with
these characteristics:
- It
is staffed by a talented, highly motivated and
strongly committed staff that does complete homework
on the worth of each charity, seeking out people
with Senator Maurice Hayes and his fifty plus volunteer
army of evaluators in Ireland. Excellence at the
staff level is key and the organization benefits
from the outstanding leadership, expertise and
guidance of people such as Kingsley Aikins, Caitriona
Fottrell, Kieran McLoughlin, Rachel Kelso, Marjorie
Muldowney, Jim O’Connor, Bridget Hester,
Netta Blanchard, Elisabet Bordt and a first rate
support staff both in Boston and New York offices.
- It is given an annual budget that ensures it has
sufficient resources to accomplish its mission.
- It
compiles a record of constantly achieving increasingly
challenging goals – such as our recent
successful $100 million Campaign.
- It identifies, reports and retains positive
direction which sets the example for giving and
involvement.
The Worthwhile Nature of the Projects
The number one proof lies in the annual Grant Book
which details a tremendous range of deserving projects
which, in turn, represent only a small percentage
of what can be funded.
Additional evidence can be found in the gifts directed
by those donors who have established their own named
funds, allowing he or she to make sizeable gifts
to projects reviewed and recommended by the Advisory
Committee.
The more people get to know about a project, the
more they are likely to make new and/or repeat gifts.
The Satisfaction and Benefits Expressed
by Those Who Give
These include:
- A sense of personal and mission fulfilment;
- The satisfaction that one derives from learning
about, and participating in, the doing and the
accomplishment of worthy objectives, for example
the recent funding of the Special Olympics in Ireland;
- The opportunity to make a positive difference
in the lives of others;
- The joy of associating with other, active, informed
fellow believers.
For these four reasons, I remain confident in the
long term viability of the AIF. It has the right
causes, givers, organization, staffing and rewards.
As a result I predict it will continue to grow in
accomplishments and in its impact on the quality
of life in Ireland.
In summary, The Ireland Funds are for those who
wish to have fun and, in association with other good
folks, at the same time accomplish something good
for the people in this common ancestral homeland.
I
suppose that most Americans are like Ben Franklin,
who once wrote a letter to his mother on the subject
of charity, and I quote, ‘I’d rather
have it said of me that he lived usefully than he
died rich.’ It is a reminder that we all leave
the world as we entered it, with nothing. There are
after all, no luggage racks on hearses.” |
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