Thank you for the opportunity
When I started my private foundation a few years ago, rooms full of lawyers and finance professionals told me,
“You need a gatekeeper.”
In their minds, I would not want to be “bothered” by people soliciting grants. I should have a staff handle all communication. It was standard to have an application process. I would want to have screenings for my meetings. Actually, maybe I should just start a DAF (Donor Advised Fund) and let them take care of everything? I could meet with them once a year and give my direction.
I get that this is the usual way philanthropists operate. But I don’t have time for that. In fact, it would rob me of me peace, not the other way around. When I get a request from a nonprofit, it is rarely about funding. First of all, my organization is a very small fish in a town of blue whales. I am the small mouth bass of funders in Pittsburgh, PA. Executive directors call me to talk strategy, brainstorm new ideas and sometimes they call me to vent. I am here for it. All of it. For one thing, every meeting I have like this is an opportunity.
Several years ago, back before 75% of the information that made its way into my brain came from memes, I heard a short Buddhist story about helping those who ask for your help. To summarize, each time a person asks you to help them is an opportunity for you to do something to help humanity.
Whether a man on the street asks for help covering bus fare, or someone asks you to stay on the line for a two question survey these are opportunities for you. For you to empathize. For you to give what you can. Hey, sometimes you can’t, and that is ok. But when possible, if you look at these small asks as a way to build your own character instead of worrying about the motive and character of the person who is asking, then you are choosing love in that present moment.
So, when I get a meeting request or a text or a call from people who are actively working on the front lines of some of the world’s biggest problems? I’m going to take that opportunity. I am going to actively listen and ask how I can help. Whether that is more time to talk, calling in professional services to unstick what is stuck, or sending a check. At the end of that meeting they have given me the chance to access my humanity. We aren’t given very many chances to do that these days being these desks. I’ll take all of the opportunities I can fit into my day.
I find is fascinating that grant award letters often lead with “Congratulations!” Many of my own have started that way. I think that they should begin “Thank you for the opportunity”. And I think that we should provide nonprofits with stacks of notecards that read “Congratulations” that they can send the lucky funders who saw, understood and were moved by their vision and mission. Congratulations for taking the time to connect your humanity to those in our society who are building solutions.
