Our greatest contribution
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We give generously of our time and money to organizations of social good. Yet the greatest contribution we can make may well be this: our vantage point.
When we stand outside the organizations we care most about, we have a special point of reference. From this place, we can give those inside the organization a gift of greater value than our money or talent.
We can give them a special kind of confidence and belief in their capacity to truly make a difference. That's because we're in a better position to see, and draw their attention to, the assets and capabilities they typically overlook or undervalue -- that is, the ones they already have.
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Turning attention to strengths and possibilities
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It may be up to us to turn the world's attention toward strengths and possibilities.
That's because of this paradox: Precisely because we give to these organizations, they can continue to see and present themselves as "needy." When we allow this dynamic to continue, we end up furthering their sense of deficiency and dependency.
Moreover, when they've become permanent beneficiaries of our philanthropy, these organizations may even begin to take on a permanent victim mentality -- as is sometimes seen in the people an organization serves. (Better what many schools do when they see their service to students as focusing on the students' potentials, rather than their problems -- and when they search for that which gives life to each student.)
Contained within that which we contribute, we have the power to point organizations toward what they have, rather than what they lack ... toward their resources and capacities, rather than their needs and deficits. In this way, we can encourage them to rise to new levels of worth and accomplishment.
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What is possible?
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"What is possible?" is the question on which all else rests.
What can happen when the confidence and energy of human systems is lifted up -- by seeing all that we have going for us?
What can happen when we interrupt the common discourse of deficiency and despair -- and use conversations of consequence to draw attention to life and hope, especially where only daunting circumstances are seen?
We have yet to see what is possible when we stand on higher ground.
More for the donor and volunteer: When an organization sees donors and volunteers as collaborators, rather than as customers to be cultivated and "sold," together we can accomplish more than we every thought possible. More ...
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