Raising money is on the mind of every nonprofit’s leadership, and it never gets any easier. Additional clients, more appropriate programs and better compensated staff members make for an endless chase for resources.
A productive ally for one organization that supports the homeless in San Francisco is Warren Buffett, who raised $3.4 million for it in an eBay auction last week. For that final amount, an anonymous individual will have what will probably be a long lunch with Buffett at a New York steakhouse.
Buffett, who has made investments in numerous diverse companies, is known for his folksy style and good humor. He is also pretty good at selecting and then holding strong companies of differing sizes that have a strong niche in their market and are well-operated. The lunchtime conversation, at quite a few dollars a minute, could effortlessly range from consumer goods to energy, transportation and insurance. Will the public ever know just what was talked about? This will be the ninth auction lunch with Buffett, and as far as we know no winner has ever shared much if anything about Buffett’s insights into the economy and where money might be made. After all, it is an expensive steak.
The charitable lunch was an idea of Buffett’s late wife, who was familiar with the good work that the Glide Foundation in San Francisco does.
Could similar lunches with local or regional leaders – at a small fraction of what the proximity to Buffett brings – appeal to some? Perhaps. But some of the information conveyed at that lunch is already shared in grocery stores or at the coffee shops.
Warren Buffett is one of a kind in his ability to make money, and to share it. More are needed.
