In some cases, the CEO may come to their role with an established interest in a particular cause and know what objectives to pursue with a supporting program. In others, there may be a desire to “do something” but less specific knowledge about what to do and how to do it.
That’s when the experiences of others are particularly valuable, and that’s what membership organizations like the Satell Institute try to promote, Ed Satell says. As soon as the institute had an engaged set of CEO members, it began organizing regular conferences that, while including well-known speakers, proved equally valuable for their smaller group discussions.
“It wasn’t me getting up and talking and telling them or somebody else telling them great things,” he says. “It was them learning from each other.”
While the CEO may be making an individual contribution to the company’s philanthropic campaigns, in many cases there will be corporate and other people’s resources involved as well.
The leader should be able to report on what outcomes are expected, and how well they’ve been met. Often, an organization may be able to use standards they’re already familiar with from their own internal projects, such as SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goal setting, modified with appropriate measurements such as beneficiaries served or amount donated. For prevention-oriented projects such as rehabilitation or training programs for people who are incarcerated, for example, a drop in recidivism rates might be a useful metric.
