Black smoke, and stuff not in the news

The black smoke poured out of the chimney in Rome. You expected? They never elect a Pope on the first ballot, not even when the choice is as obvious as was Ratzinger. The front runners are probably still Scola from Italy, and Scherer from Brazil (note that my three names are not among them. Just wait.) If they haven't settled on a name by about the end of the second day, things may be getting interesting inside. The longer the conclave goes, the more likely it is that the obvious names are faltering ("he who comes to Rome a Pope goes home a cardinal"), and the search is on for a compromise candidate. How long will that take?

The longest conclave on record started in November, 1268. It finally ended on September 1, 1271. After that three-year conclave, the powers-that-were decided that enough was enough, and the rules were changed. Part of the reason for the length of that conclave was meddling by political authorities. The measure taken to stop that was that the cardinals were sequestered. They were, when they were not meeting, locked in their cells. Meals were passed in to them.

Then, if the conclave went past three days, their rations were cut to one meal per day.

It didn't take long before the cardinals decided to get the h*!! out of Rome.

Recently the quarters that the cardinals occupied during the conclave were greatly upgraded, but for much of history the cardinals stayed in a place with one bathroom. No - not one bathroom per cell. One bathroom - period. Most of these guys were 70+ years old. One bathroom. I'm guessing there were long lines and short patience. Again, get out of Dodge quick! I'm told that the quarters are much improved, although far from luxurious.

We shall see.

Other topic: Tonight was our board meeting for Quad City Interfaith. We discussed fundraising. It's distasteful for some. Where I woork - well, my full-time job - we have a different idea of fundraising. We send you a bill. You send us a check. Funds raised. If you don't send us a check we shut your lights off. THEN you send us a check, along with a reconnection fee and late fees. More funds raised. QCI doesn't have that sort of leverage.

I know some denominations are strict about tithing, to the point of having a settlement meeting yearly for each member. It's 10%, pal. Of the gross. The Catholic Church doesn't do that, but people are accustomed to contributing. QCI, not being a denomination, lacks this leverage, also.

So what's our key? Relationships with potential donors - relationships that precede the ask for the check, and that we'd like to see go beyond the contribution. Relationships, relationships, relationships - that allow us to identify where our self-interests may intersect, that allow us to develop the ability to work together and invest together in our community that go far beyond the writing of the check. We want investment. We want a more just society. We don't want your damned charity.

Fundraising is the life blood of any nonprofit. Saul Alinsky would not hire a new staffer unless the candidate could raise two years of his own salary. It's needed if we are serious about doing what we do - our work on the immigrant justice task force (the one I work on), the work of our transportation equity and health care equity task forces - all do good stuff. Important stuff. It all takes money.

So I have some people to talk to.

Thanks for keeping me company tonight!