Quick vs. Constant

Quick vs. Constant

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A stone dropped in a pond

Lately some of the challenges I face have to do with triumph over the status quo. How do I not only combat a downward trend in giving but create the momentous upward trend this organization requires? I keep a small bowl full of pebbles, knowing that each one dropped in a still pond has enormous potential to ripple outward with ever increasing momentum. Relationships must be built over time, but the effect of each positive interaction is far-reaching. It's natural law!

Revving up our engines

This is no time to slow down and this school is on a roll. As if there is an inverse mathematical equation, we are finding that with fewer resources and fewer people, our work becomes more strategic, more resourceful and the impact spreads beyond our small walls. To this end, getting on the road is about making person to person connections that a direct mailing could never achieve. How do we make the best of each person? How do broaden our support for education? With meaningful messages and the most outright demonstration of our work. This is our goal.

Inspired to Give?

Why? What makes you give to a cause? Is it affiliation, awareness, social responsibility? How important is it for you to see tangible results?

I'm taking lessons from nature this week. Sure the garden became overgrown with the abundance of rain and the cooler temperatures. But it responds so quickly to my efforts. The soil is soft and the weeds pull out quickly, there is a latent energy being released every time I work around a choked out plant. The sun and warmth brings vitality to wimpy looking tomatoes and skimpy basil leaves, now I just dote on each plant, water and wait for the harvest.

The WOW factor

The recent AFP conference I attended with speaker, Joan Osburne, increased my confidence in the way in which we are raising money. She proved with recent statistics that the single most factor determining households giving to nonprofits at a higher level is volunteerism and involving children in Philanthropic decisions. Always on the lookout for the next right message to WOW our constituents, it's nice to know that it still comes down to connecting at the most fundamental levels. When we involve each other, when we help each other, we will give to a cause more willingly and more generously.

When Short and Sweet Gets Swept Under the Rug, Be a Magic Carpet

Only 5 foot 2 inches, a quiet voice, and slightly mousy, I know an awkward pair of stilettos will do nothing to increase my professional stature in society; so how can I get people to take me seriously? I certainly don't have a fat pocketbook or East Coast connections. Nor do I bring years of expertise in one particular area to the table. I consider my eclectic experiences and studies to be a strength, but only when I am pursuing my greater mission: to try not to take myself so seriously and to believe that anything is possible. So I grow lots of plants and flowers, I read to children, I volunteer when I can and I ask people to be generous every day. It's a gravity buster, a floating potion that a power suit can't even provide....my own inner height. As I realize this connection, my quest to be taken seriously floats off, and I with it.

Size 17 High-Heels Ending Violence Against Women

I am enamored of the following article because of the type of social action it represents: Raising money for a good cause, a really serious and terrible issue, yet doing so in a courageous and atypical way:

Feb. 27, 2008

Contact: Erin Scott, UM Student Assault Resource Center outreach coordinator, 406-243-6429, erin.scott@mso.umt.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

MEN PUT ON PUMPS TO ‘WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES’

MISSOULA –

Men in women’s high heels will march a mile through the University Center at The University of Montana at noon Wednesday, March 11, to protest rape, sexual assault and gender violence.

The “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event is a fundraiser for the UM Student Assault Resource Center’s prevention efforts and advocacy services as well as a national movement to raise awareness about sexual assault. All men, women and children are invited to participate.

Registration costs $10 before Sunday, March 1, and $15 thereafter. Forms and fees are accepted at The Source in the UC, the American Indian Student Services, and Foreign Student and Scholar Services offices in the Lomasson Center or the University Villages Office.

SARC has 75 pairs of high heels up to size 17 for the event – first come, first served – for those who don’t bring their own. Participants are asked to raise $20 each.

The UM football team, campus administrators and students from the School of Business Administration and School of Law will take part in the event. ASUM President Trevor Hunter and UM senior football player Colin Dow will speak at the event and judge the most spirited marcher.

The participant with the most pep in his step will win a $50 iTunes gift card. The largest team at the co-ed event will win an ice-cream social. And the marcher who raises the most money will receive a prize package of Griz gear and $50 in UMoney.

SARC is dedicated to ending gender violence, sexual assault and rape at UM and in the Missoula community. SARC’s Violence Prevention Project works to prevent sexual and relationship violence at UM through education and events such as “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.”

For more information go to http://www.umt.edu/curry/SARC or contact Erin Scott, UM’s SARC outreach coordinator at 406-243-6429 or erin.scott@mso.umt.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Waiting on a Benefactor

While the nonprofit media continues to speak about the harsh economic times, the downturn and the struggle to survive, I believe the greatest breakthroughs will continue to come from the creativity, hard work and optimism of individuals. Those organizations which remain committed to exemplary service and dreaming big with what they've got will emerge renewed and strengthened. Holding tight to a dream that a mysterious benefactor will appear to save the day is actually on some levels a worthy vision, as the power to attract the wealth of foundations and individuals springs from an irrepressible hope that the work we are doing serves a greater purpose that will survive and thrive in a crumbling economy.

The relationship between community service, volunteer service and philanthropy is at the heart of why we give. We do not want to simply throw money at causes, no matter how little time we have. Service as a volunteer to a cause tends to lead to a gift of money and resources. Only by caring for a cause up close do we understand the value of our gift.