Lisa is one of those people who you hope to find in the non-profit industry. She is passionate for her work, carries an air of intellect about her yet is very warm and engaging in conversation. When I had the opportunity to spend an hour in conversation for this interview, I found my only regret to be that we were restricted to an hour of time. As I find with many of my good friends, I struggled to keep the conversation focused on one particular topic. When talking to people of Lisa’s caliber and philanthropic interest, there is a plethora of charitable innuendoes that make it difficult to gather any great amount of information on one topic. Consequently, I’m looking forward to following Ms. Dietlin in the future to see what other great work she inspires in Chicago’s non-profit community. All of these attributes combine with Lisa’s ability to influence the giving decisions of major donors and entrepreneurial spirit is why I’m thrilled to include her among our “Chicago Non-Profit Heroes.”
Lisa M. Dietlin was born into a middle-class family in Michigan. At age 13, her world was turned upside down when her dad passed away. The oldest of 3 children, Lisa helped provide strength to her mom and younger siblings. Awarded a scholarship for college, it was during her time in school when she realized that had it not been for someone’s financial donation she would not have had the same opportunity to realize her own dreams.
Lisa got involved with the fundraising community in 1982 when she began raising money for Democrats in Michigan. After nearly a decade of working various roles within the career of a political fundraiser, she began thinking more about who was really being helped by the money she was raising. Though she enjoyed raising money and found success in her role, she wanted to feel a bigger impact toward the cause for which the money was being raised.
After a decade of service in politics, she found her way into a role as a Associate Director of Corporate Relations at Michigan Technological University (MTU). In this role, Lisa had the opportunity to meet with university donors one-on-one. She began to genuinely like the people with whom she met and also had the advantage of seeing the direct impact of the money she had raised. It was this experience that created one of her most memorable moments: While at MTU, Lisa raised funds for a program that inspired young women in high school to learn about and possibly pursue a career in engineering or science during a summer program at the school. She fondly remembers one particular summer when, as was tradition with the program coming to a close, there was a talent show put on by the girls in the program. Watching the girls enjoy themselves on stage, laughing and having fun both participating and in the audience, Lisa began to realize her own personal role in the lives of those young women. It was at this point that Lisa began to feel her direct impact in the lives of others.
Ten years ago, Lisa moved to Chicago and worked in a similar capacity for the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). A few years later a friend approached and asked for her help in providing counsel to the Board on which she served. Lisa again found herself in a one-on-one role working with the Executive Director to discover what they could do to improve their fundraising efforts. A few weeks after making recommendations to the Executive Director and the Board Lisa was surprised to find a check in the mail for her services. She told her friend that she wasn’t expecting to be paid, that she just enjoyed helping and was happy the Board and Executive Director were so satisfied. Her friend then explained to Lisa how much they appreciated her help and how rare it was to find someone who talked in terms of implementation rather than policy and theory…and someone who actually jumped in to help. In 2000, Lisa resolved to start her own company and began to consult semi-regularly on nights and weekends. By 2003, Lisa had enough work to quit her job at UIC and focus on her business full-time. Since that time she has also worked with individuals who often ask her find charities to which they could donate some of their money. Lisa works with these individuals to align their current philanthropic and civic activities, their values and their passion into charitable acts that are very meaningful.
If there were to be named a Martha Stewart of Philanthropy, Lisa would comfortably fill the role. Lisa’s career is distinguished by her ability to transform everyday things into extraordinary events. Lisa M. Dietlin & Associates (LMDA) has a patented approach to what they refer to as “Transformational vs. Transactional” giving. The result of Lisa’s work is large sums of money going to charities that embrace an individual donor’s charitable actions, values and passion. Not only do the charities benefit from her work, but she takes an extra step in ensuring that the donor’s realize the impact that their money has made – the same realization she had made while watching the girls enjoy their time at MTU years ago.
Though she is responsible for the donation of millions of dollars from select donors on an annual basis, Lisa remains very humble. She’s quick to defer the spotlight to those whom she considers as unsung heroes – all who ask for money on behalf organizations and causes – while sharing the impact of her guided contributions with her team, her clients and the affected community.
Her shared celebration approach has begun to make giving more main-stream as she contributes to traditional media. Lisa is featured as the “Charity Contributor” for Chicago’s CBS Channel 2 monthly. In addition, Lisa has been featured as a philanthropic guest on Jean Chatzky’s Show on Oprah & Friends Radio and Better TV.
Lisa’s research on entrepreneurial giving has been featured in numerous journals in both the U.S. and Canada. Lisa is a frequent speaker on this topic at conferences nationwide and is currently working on a book about how to attract entrepreneurs to a nonprofit organization as an investor donor and true philanthropist. When The Chronicle of Philanthropy researched statistics on charitable activities within the music community post Katrina, LMDA’s study on the philanthropic impact of the music industry on the Nashville MSA was the onlysource for quantitative numbers.
Like my conversation with Lisa, I could take any one of the above subjects and go on in extensive detail how far her reach extends. There are a few insights that Lisa shared with me that I think are appropriate to share here:
Return calls promptly. When someone calls and wants to help – call back. Lisa has eliminated countless charities who she thought may have been a good match for her donor’s money simply because they didn’t call back.
Call on people you know. All charities need money, and many are spending time trying to figure out how to get Oprah or Bono or Bill Gates to swoop in and hand them a big check. Lisa simply advises charities to start with the people with whom they already have a relationship and build a network from there. This doesn’t mean you have to continue to ask the same people for money over and over – more simply, just keep in touch.
Lisa wants the current generation in power – the Baby Boomers – to consider the question “What is your philanthropic legacy?” She does not think life-altering shifts are required, but rather simple observations such as what are they teaching their children about giving? Do you do simple things such as donating old clothes, books etc.?
Lisa shares a growing consensus that there is a larger volume of younger people choosing to make their careers in the non-profit community. Although she is excited to see the community experiencing an infusion of business practices, she does caution the next generation to remember that this is truly charitable work with a number of intangibles that cannot be measured.
Lisa feels as though Chicago has one of the strongest individual-based philanthropic communities. Other large cities such as New York, LA and San Francisco have great collaborative efforts and strong charitable communities as well, but she thinks Chicago’s small-town feel helps contribute to the individual efforts of donors in the region.
Though Lisa exhibits super power, you don’t need a Bat symbol to find her. You can find out more about her and LMDA at www.lmdietlin.com and if you or someone you know wants to make a meaningful contribution toward causes that align with their own personal beliefs, Lisa will be there. Lisa is one more great resource within Chicago’s Non-Profit community that add intangible value to this great city, and I hope you join me in celebrating her and the heroic work she inspires in all of us.
Written and Edited by Randy Dill.
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