The Brief – August — The Charlotte Center

Aug 31

Aug 31 The Brief – August

Mark Peres

AUGUST 2021

CONTENT

Collect Yourself

The Forum featuring Composer and Librettist Douglas Tappin

5 Questions with Philanthropy Maven Dianne Chipps Bailey

A Word

JULY 2021

Collect Yourself

It’s back to school time, and cruel as it is, the resurgence of the pandemic has proved a summer school remediation on the interdependencies, susceptibilities and responsibilities inherent to societies. Lest we, as individuals, have lost the exacting lessons of 2020.

We need each other, plain and simple. Good times, better angels and great ideas tend to arise when we come together, confer, collaborate, co-create and share. There is, however, a price to reap the rewards. As we have begun re-congregating, following months behind masks and computer screens, comes reminders of our obligations to each other and the trade-offs required to be a part of a collective. The current health risks of coming together serve to sharpen attention to our constant cost-benefit analyses of the personal gains, sacrifices and considerations of engaging in groups.

At the Charlotte Center, we can attest how collaboration has been instrumental to preparations for The Forum. Partnerships with BOOM Charlotte and Opera Carolina have required careful thought, mutual trust and respect, and protection of our respective interests. Teaming up has widened our talent pool and boosted possibilities. The risks diminish and benefits resound.

Dianne Chipps Bailey, in this month’s 5 Questions interview, praises the myriad advantages of collective giving, where multiple donors pool their charitable dollars for greater impact than what one donor alone could achieve. Further on this theme of coming together, our last Wisdom Wednesday with Dr. Joseph Ewoodzie, Jr. explored the give and take of belonging.

As we navigate these turbulent times, in and out of isolation, who’s your crew? What must you give up to belong? What are your “squad goals” or are you still searching for your tribe?

“It is in collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism.”

— Angela Davis, American political activist and scholar

Join us for a night of musical performance, spoken word, and intimate conversation exploring the topic of "Dreaming in Reality" at the Stage Door Theatre. The Forum featuring Douglas Tappin is in collaboration with Opera Carolina, BOOM Charlotte, and Charlotte Shout!

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5 Questions • Dianne Chipps Bailey

An interview with the Charlotte evangelist for philanthropic and civic leadership

and passionate advocate of women and collective giving

BY VALAIDA FULLWOOD

Dianne Chipps Bailey—a fifth-generation Texan by birth who grew up in Northern California, attended law school in Washington, DC, lived and traveled all over—proudly calls Charlotte home today. Dianne finds joy in both helping individuals, families and organizations with their giving plans and in strengthening the nonprofit organizations they support. Her current role is National Philanthropic Strategy Executive at Bank of America.

As an attorney, Dianne previously built a practice dedicated to representing tax-exempt organizations. Her professional commitment to nonprofits is deep. She has served on many nonprofit boards and is a passionate advocate for women’s leadership, currently serving as chair of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute national council. She is a frequent speaker and commentator on trends in philanthropy, sharing insights in Axios, Business Insider and The New York Times, among other publications. In her TEDx Talk, Dianne makes The Case for Fierce Optimism.

What did you grow up dreaming of?

As a child I had the good fortune of knowing no limits to my dreams. I was surrounded by so much love and encouragement that, if anything, I was blessed and burdened by the many pathways I believed were open to me. I aspired, intermittently, to careers in the law, government and academia. I felt that nothing was out of my grasp, thanks to encouraging family, teachers and leaders of organizations. One organization in particular was Junior Statesmen of America (JSA), which provided me a national network of young people who were devoted to civic and political engagement. We were growing future leaders for communities across the country. JSA was important to me and opened up lots of possibilities.

How did or do your early dreams influence what you’re doing today?

Again, those dreams were fueled by people who mentored and encouraged me. I fell into philanthropy as a career, and it felt serendipitous. As Steve Jobs said, “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”

I went straight to law school, because people told me I should go be a lawyer after seeing my analytical policy work and public speaking in high school debate. At that time, I didn’t distinguish between being a litigator and being a corporate tax and transactional lawyer, which is ultimately what I became. For 19 years, I practiced law representing almost exclusively nonprofit organizations.

My work with nonprofits was an outgrowth of an early, somewhat accidental chapter in my career working at Georgetown Law. The dean of the law school had been a wonderful mentor. After graduation, I got cold feet about immediately joining a law firm and concocted this plan that the dean would hire me. My audacity back then is laughable. The dean, to her credit, was gracious in listening to my ambitions. Over time, she broke it to me gently that as a recent graduate, I was not ready for s tenure track, and she instead offered me a position in the development office. Though naïve about fundraising, I said “Sure, I’ll do that.” With her mentorship, I grew to love it and was successful in the position. She knew me better than I knew myself.

Later, a headhunter noted my academic training and professional experience at a nonprofit and matched me with a law firm to represent tax-exempt organizations. I did that for almost 20 years and loved it.

You’ve worked in the philanthropic arena for some time, tell me about your work today and what you find most appealing.

Oh, my role at Bank of America is thrilling, something new and exciting every day! I lead a team of accomplished and dedicated philanthropic strategists, who deliver customized advisory services to nonprofit organizations and foundations. I also work directly with a book of clients in areas where I have specialized expertise.

The philanthropic sector, more broadly, benefits from our work with clients—our best practices, lessons learned and research. Bank of America is currently preparing to release its 8th edition in a series of studies of philanthropy with Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. It is seminal research on high-capacity donors–-high net worth and ultra-high net worth philanthropists.

I work with affluent donors to inspire greater generosity, and I am also devoted to collective giving and the power of everyday donors in diversifying and democratizing philanthropy.

What’s your “happy place” and why?

I’ve always said I’m a “bloom-where-you’re-planted gal”. I do believe that to be true, now even more in the pandemic, where I’ve gone from travelling professionally up to 5 business days a week to being rooted at home. Anchored here, I am also happy, grateful for the additional time with my husband, my two teenagers and the dog we adore now more than ever.

I find particular joy in the exploration of a new city with my family. We’ve travelled a lot together domestically and internationally, and we have an affection for big metropolitan areas. We love getting to know the culture, the people, the food, their museums, and public space—especially just sitting in the park and breathing in the place. It is a gift to have the stimulation of experiencing new places and of appreciating home.

We’ve had some wonderful travel experiences, including a sabbatical I took where we spent over six weeks traveling to four continents with carry-on luggage bopping from place to place. It provides a glue for our family having shared happy, happy memories. I often think about our last two trips, in 2019, to the north to Montreal and to the south to Mexico City. We cannot wait to get back out again, since we haven’t travelled lately. We are already planning our next big adventure.

You’re active in the community through your work with donors and nonprofits as well as the collective giving of Women’s Impact Fund. What do you hope for Charlotte?

One of my great hopes for Charlotte is reflected through the Women’s Impact Fund (WIF). WIF, which is now 18 years old, exemplifies aspirations for inclusivity, for empowerment and for great optimism and civic engagement.

Our growth has been driven by the passion of the leaders. It germinated with the vision of Mary Lou Babb and Claire Tate and grown with each additional member. We now have about 450 members, and the organization has evolved. It has shifted with the priorities and passions of the members, and yet the collective remains tethered to this shared commitment to Charlotte. We believe in the power of nonprofits to make our community healthier, more vibrant, more educated and more humane. This living and breathing organization is a reflection of our city.

WIF is working hard to continue diversifying our membership and to lift up racial equity principles in our grantmaking. Importantly, we also are leveraging our social capital for the benefit of the community. So, if you look at WIF, it is a microcosm of what I hope for Charlotte in terms of inclusion, impact and optimism. I am grateful I’m here, and it’s a privilege to nurture the aspirations of donors and to help support the organizational capacity of nonprofit leaders.

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