Perspective from the Outside

I interviewed someone recently as part of a stakeholder feedback process for strategic planning for a client. 

At the end of our time together, she noted that there was one more thing that she wanted to say - “I love who you work with. It is so cool.”

I had just redone my whiteboard that I hang in my office with my list of current and potential clients, and I turned around and read them to her. She expressed legitimate excitement by the list, including the work I am doing with agencies in a community she just recently moved to.

People who are engaged with their communities or actively addressing issues tend to be in awe of the opportunity that I have. I personally do not address homelessness, mental health, or access to the arts, but I work with nonprofits that excel in those areas. I personally do not have a disability but thousands of people who do are served by organizations that I helped develop their plans and capacity. I contribute financially to organizations that address hunger and environmental issues, but I hope that my bigger impact is when I help create alignment and infrastructure to succeed.

I recently was part of a conversation where we discussed that a large number of people have no idea what a nonprofit organization is. And yet, many people have had their lives enriched or changed because of them.

What a nonprofit is to me - based on my day-in and day-out experience with them - is a collection of people focused on a mission designed to make the world a better place. Sometimes that “better place” is broad and other times localized. Sometimes the betterment is for people, other times the environment. Sometimes the nonprofit addresses a need, other times it is to enhance our experience in this world. 

Nonprofits often do the work that a local, state, or federal government should be doing itself (or at least not getting in the way of). When people feel that they don’t know how to make a difference, I always encourage them to find a cause they care about and then find the organization they think is addressing it best in their community. You can donate money, join a Board or Committee, volunteer for an event, or buy products or services they may offer.

In the meantime, I continue to believe, as did my interviewee today, that I have a really cool job, where I get to work with the best of people. To learn more about what I do, browse my website or send me an email.