Thank you, for that kind welcome. I also want to thank the members of this panel who’ve agreed to respond
to what I have to say.  For you, I have only three words: be kind, guys. Contrary to what you might have heard,
 I have a very fragile ego.

I hope you don’t mind, Kathleen, that I recorded your introduction and plan on using it the next time an angry
constituent stops me on the street to ask what right I have to exist, let alone hold public office.
Don’t laugh… it could happen.

In truth, I love to engage people in situations like that…unless, of course, we happen to be standing in the
middle of a busy street.

Actually, I find it refreshing when I run into a constituent at an intersection in our hometown. When you’re
 face-to-face like that, it’s very difficult to escape the human scale of their concerns, or to avoid looking
a person square in the eyes. It forces you to listen and helps you to hear.

I’m here today to speak to you about the role of philanthropy in a changing Oregon.  What I really want to
 talk about is an intersection. It’s the intersection of Business, Government and Philanthropy, and how these
three entities must work together if Oregon is going to solve its most pressing issues.

Funding for K-12 education. Fewer kids dropping out and more kids moving up. Higher standards for teachers,
and lower cost per student. The breakdown of the family, crime, seniors who can’t afford their prescription drugs.
Everyone has an idea about which one should be the issue of the hour.

Of course, let’s not forget tax reform, the creation of new jobs, better roads, better colleges, better air, better
water and, oh yea, we want our scenery protected. We want it all, and we want it all now. Better yet, we want
someone else to take care of it, and pay for it, too.

I use the metaphor of an intersection because an intersection is a place where people stop, where roads meet,
and where new directions are determined. If Oregon is ever going to do more than just complain about how things
could be better, the folks who commute on the separate roads of Business, Government and Philanthropy all
need to come to a screeching halt. They need to read the road signs that say we’re not going anywhere until
everyone learns how to yield the right-of-way once in a while.

If my 25 years as a business owner, 3 sessions legislator and 25 years foundation trustee have taught me
anything, it’s that a lot of people traveling these three roads could use a driving lesson or two.  Chapter one
would cover the fact that finger pointing is not a recognized hand signal. 

So, where have these varied pathways of Business, Government and Philanthropy been taking us, and how
do we steer toward an intersection, where real dialogue can take place and the road to real change can be
mapped? That’s the $64,000 question for which I hope to provide some answers worth at least half that much.

 

People like you whose lives are dedicated to helping others notwithstanding, I think it’s safe to say that Oregon
is marked these days by a lot of standing around on the sidelines…citizens and politicians and organizations
waiting for someone else to make a move and solve the problems for which no one seems to want to take
ownership. 

This would be great if social change were a spectator sport, but I’m here to tell you that, until we have some
kind of major timeout, the ticket price for this little game of political chicken is only going to go up.

We need to find an intersection.

          On one road, we have a Citizenship that is disengaged…tired of sniping politicians, weary of public
schools that can’t seem to make the grade, and resigned to a rate of social evolution that would make Darwin
shiver.  They’ve watched the disintegration of Oregon’s infrastructure and witnessed a complete turnaround in
how we’re perceived…and how we perceive ourselves. 

You know, it wasn’t that long ago that Oregon was a place bold enough to pass a bottle bill, a beach bill,
break-through land-use planning.  Now we’re the state waiting for the next Doonesbury shoe to drop. No wonder
it’s easier to just sign a petition and hope for a happy ending.

On another road, we have Business, which likes to nibble around the edges of making a difference. In truth,
Business waits for government to deliver the policies it thinks it needs in order to grow, while making a scene
out of feeling left out of the process.  If Business IS engaged, it seems to be in the form of an end-run played
out in the media with a couple of well-dressed lobbyists and some expensive television commercials.

On another road, we have Government frozen in its tracks, crippled by a ballot initiative process gone mad, too
scared to make a move for fear of the partisan ramifications, and comfortable in a just-keep-your-head-down-
and-maybe-they’ll-all-go-away mentality.  Traveling in from Washington D.C. we have special interests who have
carjacked the political process in order to advance national agendas on the backs of state and local government.
It’s no wonder you don’t have to be a cynic to think that Salem’s a hopeless mess.

On our final road, we have Philanthropy, poised to help but struggling to be a vital player. We expect non-profits
to be the Mr. and Mrs. Fix-its of our society, but increasingly expect them to do more and more with less and
less.  And, we expect Big Philanthropy to pay for it… because they’ve got all the money, right? 

So, the public feels hopeless, business doesn’t trust government, politicians are paralyzed, and charity is the
dumping ground for all of the social ills nobody seems able or willing to treat.

How do we get them all to that intersection?

Let’s say that I could stand here today, wave my magic wand, and miraculously create that place where these
three divergent interests come together and somehow lead each other down a common road. What would this
intersection look like?

Not to sound crass, but in a perfect world, my intersection would look a lot like an introductory AA meeting,
where everyone has finally bottomed out and there’s nothing to do but admit it, and nowhere to go but up.
Until we can take those first steps toward recovery, I fear that Oregon will only continue to unravel at the seams.

Once I had everyone at the table, I’d start by asking all three institutions to throw away the pre-defined roles
they’ve either assumed for themselves or been given, and start from scratch.

Let’s take Philanthropy.

First, I want to distinguish between what I’ll call Charity and Philanthropy. Charity is the service provider, and
Philanthropy is the bank.

In my intersection, Charity can no longer be thought of as the nice non-profit that invites a beautiful crowd to
an event, fills them up with wine, and then auctions off a trip to Europe or a load of bark dust to rich people who
don’t really need more of either.

Charity can’t be “woe is me” fundraising, because this might work for short-term needs but does nothing to draw
constituents to solving the underlying issues. Supporters – both individuals and Philanthropy -- need to be part
of the process of solving the problem, not just a source of money to fund programs.

Charity can’t be a board of directors assembled because their names look good on a letterhead, even though
they’ve never set foot inside a soup kitchen or child abuse center.

Charity can’t be the nuts and bolts work that we do in silence just because it’s uncomfortable to talk in public
about issues like drug abuse or wife beating or hungry kids.

Charity can’t be squeaky clean and sanitized. That’s why we need to engage those who view Charity as putting
on a tuxedo and throwing out wads of cash in hopes of getting their picture in the paper.  

We need in-your-face Charity, because these are real problems we’re dealing with here, folks. People aren’t
going to get that if the closest they ever come to a non-profit program is a warm and fuzzy picture in an
auction catalog.

Somehow, Charity must gain the respect it needs and deserves. To do that, Charity must make some noise
and engage its publics.

In my intersection, Charity would meet Business and learn a thing or two about operating successful, socially
conscious, financially responsible enterprises. In my intersection, we would have language lessons, so that
Charity learns to speak in the dialects of those it’s trying so desperately to reach. 

Don’t get me wrong…non-profits speak well, but the problem is, they’re speaking fluent non-profit.  They can
converse with each other about grant writing, case loads, funding contracts and service hours. The trouble starts
when charity travels to foreign cultures… the culture of business plans, the culture of strategic thinking, the
culture of entrepreneurship.

In my intersection, Philanthropy will be Charity’s mentor, helping them do more than just fill in the gaps where
Government can’t or won’t serve. In my intersection, Philanthropy will teach Charity that it has to do more than
just identify a need and beg for help.

          It’s no longer enough for Charity to view Philanthropy as a convenient wallet that automatically gives a
grant just because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Philanthropy needs to be the business partner of Charity,
 working together to set goals, develop plans. Charity, Business and Government need to get out of this mindset
of thinking that, if the Gates Foundation or Meyer Memorial Trust or the Oregon Community foundation just build
another school or buy a container-load of computers, then nobody else needs to worry about the problem.

In my intersection, Charity that is successful will be those non-profits who don’t wait for handouts that may never
come…they’ll be the ones who don’t wait for a crisis to act. They’ll learn the language, build a business, create
partnerships, and lead the solutions.

I’ve had the pleasure to be involved with one particular non-profit organization that I believe understands this
challenge, and is a shining example for others trying to keep their head above water in these uncertain times.

The organization is Self Enhancement, Inc., or SEI.

Twenty years ago the founders of SEI chose to see the burgeoning problem of gang violence and an educational
system failing its youth population as something more than a funding problem.  SEI knew that more money
would just mean more band-aid solutions. Instead, SEI positioned itself as an investment.

By showing the community that it could pay ten dollars a day now to provide positive options to kids growing up,
or thousands of dollars a day later when those kids were thrown into the reform system, SEI was speaking the
language of change. 

The numbers speak for themselves. Last year at Jefferson High School, 98 percent of SEI students who began
there as freshmen eventually graduated. That’s compared with the school’s overall graduation rate of only
48 percent.

Their success is far more than just having the right issue at the right time. Many public and private agencies
have tried and are still trying to address the challenges of inner northeast Portland. The secret is, SEI speaks
the language.

Founder and president Tony Hopson can have an unrighteous conversation with a corporate CEO about strategies,
tactical plans and results. He can walk the streets of his neighborhood and kids others might run away from
give him instant respect. He can also instill in his staff the motivation necessary to keep the faith in the face of
ever-present obstacles. He speaks multiple languages.

But this is not just Philanthropy’s issue.  Business and Government need to meet in the middle, too.

In my intersection, Business would take a step or two backward and ask itself what we’ve really accomplished
with their “it’s my way or the highway” mentality.  Special interests are going to have to set aside their agendas
long enough to look at the big picture.  That means the individuals that make up these associations and
organizations need to consider a common good instead of the “I’ve got mine” approach they seem to have mastered.

It might be a scary thought, but what if teachers unions agreed that there’s more to our crisis in public education
than just wages and benefits?  What if industry associations – God forbid – considered the other side of the
sales tax question? What if those who scream the loudest down in Salem stood down long enough for us to
hear each other?

If you’ve ever been a part of a legislative session, you know it works something like this: every two years, the
same players start each session by telling us why the ideas we haven’t come up with yet won’t work. And then
they spend the rest of the session complaining that we took too long to not come up the ideas we didn’t come
up with. I can translate that for you: we didn’t get our way.

The problem here again is, Business doesn’t speak the language of Government.  Let me give you an example.

During the last session, Oregon’s high tech industry came to us with a number of initiatives…some worthy,
some self-serving. Nonetheless, it was a pretty aggressive agenda and they tried hard to push it through.

What they didn’t understand was this little thing call public process.

This is a democratic body and we do things like hold hearings and listen to both sides of an issue.  Things move
slowly… that’s one of the realities of the language of Government. It’s not Business, where you can see an
opportunity today and have a product on the market in 75 days. Believe me, I wish it could work like that.  Until
then, Business needs to have a little more patience. My counsel is: “ok guys, we see the swords. Yes, they’re
very large and look pretty darn menacing. Now, let’s put them back in their sheaths and see if we can do this
without bloodshed.”

At my intersection, Business would also understand how to work with Philanthropy and Government to solve
problems.

For starters, Business needs to look at corporate giving as more than just a marketing opportunity. Corporate
giving needs to be based on community-based initiatives that go beyond being mere fodder for the company
newsletter. For corporate giving to be successful, there need to be goals for both outcomes and image. It may
take a little longer, but the results will eventually hit the bottom line.

Let’s say your business is footwear. It’s one thing to give a few thousand bucks to a playground if you’re selling
athletic shoes to the kids who play there. It’s another thing to understand what goes on in the household where
those kids live, and then help initiate change to make it a better environment in which to grow up. Kids who come
from healthy, responsible, productive homes buy more sneakers…it’s that simple.

You may have noticed that I saved Government for last, but don’t think it’s because I’m going to let them off the
hook that easy.

If anything needs to be re-tooled in this little Gang of Three, it’s the partisan politics that keep any kind of real
change from happening.  I can tell you right now, that as long as we’re diverting all of our energy to this-or-that
divisive moral issue that’s been flown in from out-of-state, our student test scores will continue to drop, jobs
will continue to go away, and Oregon will continue to be the butt of cartoon jokes.

Just like with business, we need to drop the “my sword’s bigger than your sword” mentality and focus on what
needs to be done.

And, just like Business and Philanthropy, the institution of Government needs to speak a different language, too.

Recently, I had an experience with a government commission that I think illustrates the need for Government to
shake up its thinking.

I was one of several community leaders invited to a meeting to give feedback and guidance to the commission
charged with picking a design for Oregon’s new quarter… that image that would instantly read “Oregon” for anyone
who’d never set foot in our state. Personally, I was jazzed about the opportunity, if for no reason other than to
make sure that the rest of the country wouldn’t be carrying around a spotted owl or a scene from Doonesbury
on the coins in their pocket. 

As is often the case, we walked into the meeting room where the session was to take place, and on the table, at
each seat, was a brand new pad of paper and a pen. Seated next to me was Gert Boyle.  I’m sure you all know
Gert as the no-nonsense force behind the tremendous success of Columbia Sportswear. If you don’t, let me just
say that one of her endearing qualities is the ability to “get to the point”.

Just before the meeting started, Gert turned to me and said, “what the blank is this? No wonder Government’s
going broke, they’re spending all their money on office supplies for us. Why would they invite me here if I’m not
smart enough to remember my own paper and my own pen?”

Gert’s point wasn’t that making volunteers feel comfortable and welcome isn’t important.  It was that this particular
government agency obviously didn’t understand the language of business, where you damn well better have your
own notebook, two pens and a back-up pencil when you come to a meeting or you’ll probably be considering
another career real soon.

Well, now that I’ve outlined a wish list of how Business, Government and Philanthropy would see themselves
differently as individuals, how would they act differently once they all got together. What do we do with this
intersection?  The bigger question is: do we need to wait for a real crisis in order to act?

Folks, I’m here to tell you that I don’t believe we have to hit bottom like a bunch of gin junkies in order to find our
way out. We don’t have to go that far… we don’t need a defining moment to say, “ok, it’s time to do something.”
That moment is now.

Now that we’re here, wallowing in all of our fear that the problems are too big to do anything about, where do we
look for a model on how to move forward?

In both my business and philanthropy lives, I’ve had the chance to see in action an organization that’s doing
it right.  The group is called Oregon Solutions… you may have heard of them.

Oregon Solutions is a not-for-profit based at Portland State that works with businesses, government, and
non-profit organizations. Their whole mission is to work with diverse groups who normally would just as soon
tear each other’s hair out as to sit in a room together and find common ground. It’s a model we need in the
big picture, now.

In Madras, Oregon Solutions helped an organization that trains the disabled with real-world skills find a new home.
Not somewhere on the outskirts, but as the centerpiece of a downtown revitalization strategy. The organization
gets a new home, the city gets a kick-start for its redevelopment, business gets a trained workforce, and some
talented-but-challenged people find a way to make it on their own.

Oregon Solutions has also helped community partnerships figure out how to bring public libraries into the 21st
century.  

They’ve worked with mills, environmentalists and public agencies in Wallowa County to maintain a healthy
timber industry.  

They’ve brought together all the players in Hood River to develop long-term irrigation solution for the orchards.  

And, they helped dairy farmers in Myrtle Point get their manure out of fish streams and into natural gas plant.
 I’ll skip the obvious metaphors there and let you come up with them on your own. 

I know that the problems facing Oregon are far more complex than finding a way to keep cow dung from killing
fish, but you can’t argue with the approach. In each of these cases, groups who all wanted to get to the same
place, but were unable to remove their blinders long enough to get there as individuals, found common ground. 

I’m not Pollyanna enough to stand here today and say we can solve all of Oregon’s ills with just wishful thinking
and a couple of group-hug sessions. But, we have to start somewhere.  We all have to stand down long enough
to learn each other’s language, look each other square in the eyes, and reprogram the way we think, the way
we work, and the way we listen.  

We have to find an intersection.  

If Business, Government and Philanthropy can do that, we’ll no longer have to play catch-up with a changing Oregon.  Instead, we’ll be the ones doing the changing.  Thank you.