Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

by Ken Mayer

I’ve become an emeritus. It’s not that I wanted to; it’s just that the institution where I was professing has ceased to be. The UNO Lifelong Learning Initiative has been shut down.

During the fall semester, 248 learners participated in 33 different courses on topics like literature, astronomy, history, faith, music and a host of others. I taught a short course in urbanism that included walking tours of the Old Market and Aksarben Village.

It’s always a little difficult to figure out why something like this doesn’t work. Surely there’s a lack of funding, but it’s seldom clear if that’s a result of not being able to raise money or not being able to manage money.

The fact remains, for lack of a few bucks, the Lifelong Learning Initiative is gone. Gone, about the same time a $55 million expansion to Memorial Stadium is announced. Forty million of the total cost is donated money, the remaining $15 million from bonds.

I don’t want to blaspheme, since a recent World-Herald article pointed out that Husker football may actually be a religion, but this turn of events strikes me as a bit twisted.

Philanthropy sometimes puzzles me.

For example, I mentioned to an official at my alma mater that I had framed my graduate degree and hung it over my toilet many years ago. I reasoned the bathroom was the only place this accomplishment should be displayed because it prevented me from becoming too uppity about it.

I then asked if naming rights were available in the college’s building and what would it take to have my name on a men’s room consistent with my practice at home. Although this produced a good laugh, the idea was taken seriously and the college foundation representative was asked for a dollar amount. Said representative was even kind enough to find precedents at other schools where this very thing had been done.

The price was right and I was willing to proceed with a gift when word came that the higher ups at the university’s foundation had declined the offer. I guess giving with a sense of humor isn’t allowed in some quarters.

In the last few years of my parents’ lives when all the kids were grown and doing well, we started giving gifts to mom and dad’s favorite charities in lieu of traditional Christmas presents. We brought the cards recognizing donations in their names to the holiday dinner along with gag gifts for an auction. We had a lot of laughs and all felt a little more of the spirit of the season.

They, in turn, gave donations to Heifer International in our names. This was done only after a thorough investigation of the charity, including information from a family friend who had made a site visit to the organization.

Omaha by Design and the Omaha Community Foundation have taken an innovative step by offering project funding opportunities in The Omaha Catalogue of Urban Design Philanthropy.

Overall, it seems to me it’s time we all looked a lot harder at what our donations are used for. Recent news about executive compensation in some nonprofits is disturbing, and one wonders if real stewardship of donations can be expected in all cases.

Regardless of what you give money to, it now seems more prudent than ever to evaluate how funds are used. There are a couple of good ways to do this.

• Check out services like www.guidestar.org. It brings together information and reviews about nonprofits all over the country. You can get some information at no cost by simply registering and more complete analysis for a subscription fee.
• Consider forming a Giving Circle. Giving circles are groups of individuals who pool their funds and other resources to donate, allowing greater impact and leverage with the nonprofit organizations they assist. The Omaha Venture Group, a giving circle of young professionals, and groups like it are becoming an important component of the “new philanthropy.”
• Consult Angela Eikenberry’s recently published Giving Circles: Philanthropy, Voluntary Association, and Democracy. Eikenberry, an assistant professor in UNO’s College of Public Administration, looks at three years of research into developing philanthropic practices.

In the spirit of the season, I wish you all Happy Wise Giving!