Bill Shore encourages partnering and social entrepreneurship

By Susan Lang

In considering whether to focus on creating wealth or serving the public interest, consider "creating wealth to serve the public," said Bill Shore, the founder and CEO of Share Our Strength, a leading organization that mobilizes industries and individuals to fight hunger, in a talk on campus, Sept. 14.

Bill Shore

Speaking to an overflow audience in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Shore, author of the recent book Light of Conscience: How a Simple Act Can Change Your Life, said that nonprofits today have less government support and fewer resources than in the past but still try to deliver as many services; they are undercapitalized, relying on "leftover" money, i.e., charitable contributions, that they redistribute without investing anything in themselves.

"There's not enough charity to solve the problems," said Shore, referring to hunger, poverty, homelessness and illiteracy. In a presentation sponsored by the Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service -- an interdisciplinary program sponsored by Cornell's College of Human Ecology and the Department of Human Development -- Shore said he uses a different model. "We don't take money from one source and give it another," he said, "but create assets that can be leveraged to other activities."

This so-called social entrepreneurship involves partnering with corporations and building nonprofits that invest in themselves so that the organization will last, and paying people well to keep good people. And, instead of asking people for money, he suggests asking them to do what they're already good at.

Shore's Share Our Strength, for example, has raised almost $100 million since its founding in 1984 and distributed grants to more than 1,000 anti-hunger and anti-poverty groups worldwide. Its annual Taste of the Nation events involve well-known chefs preparing and donating their best dishes; local volunteers do the planning and guests pay to sample the dishes. But the big money comes from corporate sponsors that not only seek exposure but also good relations with the chefs and restaurateurs they want as clients. One bottled-water company, for example, gave $500,000 for the privilege of donating their product to the event.

Another example, Shore said, is that because of his own appreciation of short stories, he launched Share Our Strength's literary program, which solicits donated essays, stories and recipes for anthologies that are published and sold nationwide, with all royalties going to Share Our Strength's anti-hunger efforts.

But Shore noted that working for a nonprofit is something like constructing the Milan Cathedral, the second largest gothic cathedral in the world, which took 513 years to build. "Almost everyone who worked on it over the course of those 513 years could only be certain of one thing, that they would not see their work finished in their lifetime," Shore said. This did not detract from their dedication, or commitment, but actually enhanced it. "They, like we, had a sense of being part of something larger than themselves, part of a community that shared a faith in what they were accomplishing," Shore said.

Shore was introduced by Lisa Staiano-Coico, dean of the College of Human Ecology, and Jill Iscol, whose family foundation sponsored the event.