What would happen if we looked at philanthropy through the lenses of the “Own the Podium” campaign?” This campaign has been the center of much controversy; but as the Olympics culminate tonight, with a gold in Men’s Hockey, I think it’s safe to say much of this campaigns controversy has dissipated. Overall I think all of us are proud of everything our Olympians accomplished, but did the campaign put too much pressure on Canadian athletes? Can we really call this Olympics a failure? How can we as Canadians say we didn’t reach “our” goal? First of all who’s goal is the Canadian Olympic Committee talking about? These Olympians reached a goal that many of us only dream about – they made it to the Olympics. However you look at it, Canada did not only make it to the Olympics, but – today – holds a world record with a count of 14 Gold medals and is third over all. If we approached philanthropy with this all or nothing mentality, wouldn’t we all want to just give up at first sight of trouble? Wave the white flag in defeat like the COC did at the half way point during the Olympics.
I agree with Chris Rudge, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee when he said in a statement defending the campaign, “I don't see any point in targeting the middle". The ‘middle’ is something that no one aims for. Being ‘okay’ at something is not what encourages people to grow. So, how does one strive for excellence? How does one go for the gold?
If not-for-profits and philanthropist approached their giving and dedication through the lens that we’ve been analyzing our Olympians with – the all or nothing mentality - the world would be a much different place and we definitely would not have progressed to where we are today. We wouldn’t see the masses biking miles on a ride to conquer cancer, or hearing of people traveling to Guatemala to offer assistance in whatever capacity they could.
There would be less to aspire to since we’d be too afraid of failing. If you ask me these lenses are not suitable for analyzing our Olympians and most definitely should not set a precedent for how we analyze philanthropic giving. If we discouraged people from making a difference and doing their one act, contributing whatever they could to make a difference because we’ve set these ridiculous ideals by creating this all or nothing mentality, people wouldn’t do much out of fear of failure and fear of not obtaining gold.
There are some things both our Olympians and the people in the not-for-profit sector share: pride, determination and strength.
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