Feast of St. Augustine

Today, August 28, is the Feast Day of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa and one of the doctors of the Church. St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor.

In 1851 four Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine (CSA) Sisters embarked on a two week voyage from France to Cleveland, Ohio. This began 156 years of service by hundreds of dynamic religious women responding to unmet needs of people in Ohio and South Carolina. Long before the American workplace widely accepted women in professional roles, these Sisters were directing major health care institutions, teaching in schools and developing new programs to provide needed human services. The first CSAs in America served as the first public health nurses in Cleveland, Ohio. Led by a mission to continue Christ’s healing ministry, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have built a legacy of caring that continues today.

The health and human service ministries of the CSA Congregation are now overseen by the Sisters of Charity Health System. The Health System embodies the values and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and their mission to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The Health System provides oversight, leadership and strategic direction to more than 20 ministries in Ohio and South Carolina. In South Carolina there are five ministries: Providence Hospital, Providence Hospital Northeast, South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, Healthy Learners and Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina continues the mission of the Sisters by strategically using resources to reduce poverty through action, advocacy and leadership.

St. Augustine's Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

In Catholicism,  Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs and saints, by special services and rest from work.  Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

Leadership Grads are a Special Group

Our first leadership class graduated last week at a special ceremony at Columbia College. There were nine individuals that went through the year long program. The participants were exposed to an array of topics, top notch lecturers, robust discussions and, yes, a fair amount of homework to complete.

These individuals (8 women and 1 man) made a lot of sacrifices to accomplish the goal of attaining a certificate in nonprofit leadership and nine hours of graduate level credit from Columbia College. They met every month for a year and they did this all while working a full-time job and managing all the other responsibilities they have in their lives. I was impressed.

At the ceremony, I saw family members, lecturers, mentors and friends come and celebrate the success of these individuals.  There was a feeling of pride in that room that really was contagious. The chosen class speaker, Beck Sullivan, did an extraordinary job with her speech. She represented the class members so well.  These leaders will go back to work better prepared for the many challenges they face on a daily basis. They will also be poised to address long-range organizational direction and plans which are often hard to do when you are dealing with the day to day minutia.

The other thing I really witnessed in this inaugural year was the bonding that occurred among the nonprofit leaders. They have grown to love and respect each other. They have learned about family and work challenges and feel a part of each other’s lives. More importantly, they have learned a lot of useful and practical information from each other during this one year period. They have learned what works well and what does not. They have learned to be flexible and to think differently than before. They have, indeed, become better leaders.

In the end, we were all proud. We are proud of the individual accomplishments, we are proud of our Foundation team for orchestrating the program. We are proud of Columbia College and their wonderful commitment to the program and we are proud of the overall concept and how it went from a crumpled sheet of paper in 2007 to our first graduation in 2010. 

The second class comes into get started this week. If they are half as passionate and committed as the first class, I will be happy. I can’t wait to see them and I can’t wait to watch them grow and bond.

Pictured from left to right: Laurie Hopkins, Ph.D. (Columbia College), Vanassa Frazier (Christ Teens), Cecilia Meggs (Lighthouse Ministries), Betsy Marlow (Miss Ruby’s Kids), Preston Winkler (Greater Columbia Community Relations Council), Dorothy Priester (Cherokee County First Steps), Beck Sullivan (Municipal Association of South Carolina), Lila Anna Sauls (St. Lawrence Place), Tom Keith (Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina) and Katrina Spigner (Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina) at the August 6, 2010, graduation.

 Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Creative Innovation is Next

I was recently thinking about how funders invest to make their communities better. Often, foundations’ decisions are dictated by what is presented before them in terms of responsive grantmaking or by selective strategies that proactively affect an issue. Both of these methods have value and, in most instances, benefit the community. 
 
But as we look to the future in philanthropy, we must really begin to ask ourselves the question about what is next? Or what should we be looking to accomplish beyond the normal systems in which we operate?
 
I recently watched a program where Jeff Bezos, president and chief executive officer of Amazon, was interviewed about the Kindle which is the latest version of a device that serves as a method to read books. You can download books in no time, it has a 30 hour battery, you can easily read a book using the device and it is relatively small, and all this for only $139. 
 
In the interview, Bezos was asked about philanthropy. I thought his philosophy was interesting.  He believes that in some cases, for profit models can improve the world more effectively than philanthropic models.  They should want to invest in places where there are clear market failures. The example he used was vaccines. “Well, vaccines need to be refrigerated. In poor places, there is no refrigeration and there is no electricity for refrigeration. Shouldn’t philanthropy be looking, through research and development, for ways to develop vaccines that don’t need refrigeration or battery powered refrigerators?”
 
This is an interesting take. I guess there is no incentive for big pharmaceutical companies to develop these types of vaccines because the money flows through developed countries that have electricity. But the whole discussion peaked my interest. I think the whole field of philanthropy should be much more creative and much more forward thinking. We have to find and invest in new and innovative ways of helping the poor and disadvantaged. The old model does some good, but it is not enough good. 
 
Foundations must do a better job of thinking and problem solving at a different level. We cannot wait for government or private industry to be the innovators, particularly when it comes to the underserved. As times continue to be difficult and individuals and families struggle now more than ever, we must become our very own think tank.  If we don’t take the time and give the energy to developing new ideas and methods for our work then it is simply not going to happen.
So, to me, the next phase of philanthropy should be about creative innovation and, yes, we need to be willing to help pay for it too.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina