Let me tell you about what I think is one of the most successful charities of all time. It is an organization that has a household name, a signature event and has over the years re-invented itself many times... helping millions of children, including my youngest daughter. It is the March of Dimes. teach to one
Polio was one of the most dreaded illnesses of the 20th century, and killed or paralyzed thousands of Americans during the first half of the 20th century. President Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis on January 3, 1938. Roosevelt himself was paralyzed with what was believed to be polio. The original purpose of the Foundation was to raise money for polio research and to care for those suffering from the disease. It began with a radio appeal, asking everyone in the nation to contribute a dime (10 cents) to fight polio.
"March of Dimes" was originally the name of the annual fundraising event held in January by the Foundation and was coined by entertainer Eddie Cantor as a play on the popular newsreel feature of the day, The March of Time. Over the years, the name "March of Dimes" became synonymous with that of the charity and was officially adopted in 1979.
For almost two decades, the March of Dimes provided support for the work of many innovative and practical polio researchers and virologists. Then, on April 12, 1955 the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University of Michigan announced to the world that the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was safe and effective.
The organization, rather than going out of business, decided in 1958 to use its charitable infrastructure to serve mothers and babies with a new mission: to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. And it has served them well. Its decade long campaign to educate women of child-bearing years about folic acid has reduced spinal tube defects by seventy-five percent. Now it has turned to the issue of pre-maturity; of which my own youngest child suffered. I am sure they will be just as successful as they have been with polio and birth defects.
Their success has a great deal to teach small charities about the importance of brand/reputation and mission. They have re-invented themselves; just as small charities must often do. A broader mission allows you to successfully do that.
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