Bring It!

On August 28, 1963, when around a quarter of a million people gathered in Washington, DC, those who listened to Martin Luther King, Jr. knew they would get a great speech from him. He had given speeches before, and they had been moved in spirit and action. They also knew they would hear those words from a man who had proven that the dream he proclaimed was something he saw and was striving for.

The March on Washington drew attention to the challenges and inequities blacks still faced a century after emancipation.[i] It wasn’t a day to simply inspire those who were hearing. Change was always the plan. Nothing short of major societal shifts would do. Desiring isn’t the same as existing. You must work for it.

New happens all the time. From inventors to explorers to community developers, fresh ideas are constantly emerging. The world is full of creators who see possibilities and pursue them into reality. But is this true in the nonprofit sector? How much new and fresh is happening?

Over the years, I have had conversations with people looking to start a nonprofit. When I ask for details about their idea, I hear nothing new. I then run through a list of other nonprofits, asking if they have met with them. Usually, the response is something like, “I know about them. My idea is different.” What I find is that their idea is slightly nuanced, not new.

We need new. New is difficult. Difficult is hard to sustain. But we need new.

What do you have in you that needs to be wisely pioneered with controlled persistence and in strategic partnerships so that it happens? Please bring it! 

As a Wise Pioneer
We need new ideas and approaches. Pioneers see potential. They are innovators, explorers of possibilities, and willing to create new ideas because they know the need exists. Dr. King knew that there was a better way to fight for civil rights than through violence. There was a more civil way.

Pioneers wisely look for other ways when existing ways don’t seem to be successful. Solutions solve problems. Pretending the unsuccessful is winning is not the way of a pioneer. Seeing the potential, they forge the pathways to what they envision.

Think of all the digital technology you depend on. In 1947, the invention of the transistor sowed the seed for digital technology.[ii] That was within the lifetime of some who are reading this blog. And now, we can have video conversations with people anywhere in the world, anytime. We can pull up any information on the internet we want anytime. The effects of pioneering can be multiplied so quickly.

Not everyone is open to creating, but thankfully, some are, and we experience the benefits of their dreaming. Followers need leaders. Those followers desire to go somewhere and accomplish something; they don’t necessarily know the what or the how. Pioneers cast the vision and lead the way.

In this discussion about the new, dollars are part of the creation platform and process. Nonprofits must be careful of mission creep caused by chasing money. But what about an intentional mission shift?[iii] Sometimes, the old mission doesn’t fit anymore. Maybe it’s not a shift in the mission but a change in how you accomplish it. The old ways don’t work anymore.

In the summer edition of Stanford Social Innovation Review, an article entitled “Where Strategic Philanthropy Went Wrong” notes, “When it comes to solving our society’s most urgent challenges…strategic philanthropy—philanthropic initiatives intended to create lasting solutions to societal problems—has been astonishingly ineffective.”[iv] I don’t agree with all of the statistics or ideas in this article, but the authors are correct. Decades of approaches are not working, and I believe money has been the leading edge for many of them.

What if you stop chasing the money and let the money chase you because of your breakthrough ideas and approaches? Put yourself on the map by launching an earthquake of an idea!

There is a massive difference between a blip on the screen and a movement that creates societal shifts. Pioneers go first and have the opportunity to create a movement that makes history. Is there something you are so passionate about happening that you think and dream about it daily? Is it a dream so big that multitudes of people will be mobilized to bring about that new world you see? How determined are you to cultivate that movement?

With Controlled Persistence
We need tenacious people to make those new ideas and approaches a reality. Persistent people are obstinate and continue their efforts despite difficulty or opposition. Here, we look at this persistence in the context of being a wise pioneer. This persistent person is doing so because what they are creating matters.

I regularly have conversations with leaders who are tired, discouraged, and confused. Their calling as a pioneer is clear, but the pathway is so arduous that they aren’t sure they can or should keep going. Brick walls are painful. Sometimes, the dismantling of that wall happens stone by stone. I like turning those stones that were once barriers into stepping stones for the new pathway.

Controlled persistence knows how to keep things moving forward. It has a management element, but it also has a keen sense of relational connectivity. More on that below. On the front end of this work, it can feel like you are stuck spinning your wheels in all you are doing. But, if what you envision is right, you will eventually find that what you are investing finds traction.

Sometimes, this takes years. I have initiatives in areas of homelessness and ethnic healing that I have envisioned, longed for, and cultivated over decades, and they are just now gaining traction. Controlled is patient and doesn’t over-push but knows when and how to push.

Dr. King had already been arrested and jailed repeatedly for his non-violent protests for the sake of civil behavior among human beings. He had also been stabbed, nearly to death, for not just talking about changing the landscape of society but doing something about it. Not everyone likes change or the pioneers who bring it. Someone needs to bring it. When you know that you know your vision needs to come into being, you endure the hardships.

Something about a determined spirit draws people and has a long-term legacy effect when it’s a needed change they usher in. Certain kinds of people help draw that out of communities and nations. They see, feel, and know that it needs to happen. There is no way around it. Societal shifts occur because of breathers and birthers of life and vision determined to create better ways. This is why we need you to bring it!

Cultivating Strategic Partnerships
We need someone who can draw people out and together to make those new ideas and approaches a reality. Wise pioneers of controlled persistence have a way of attracting a following. That following of people needs to be converted to strategic partnerships.

Partnerships are established for a purpose. Our social fabric is woven with partnerships—families, businesses, schools, nonprofits, governments—all made up of people cooperating for a purpose. I think you would agree; partnership in name isn’t always partnership well demonstrated. Without them, the limitations are immense.[v]

As nonprofits, we are often short-sighted here. When you look at the landscape of people across the community, every segment of society is represented. That is who we should see for these partnerships. Think of the mix of people that make up faith communities and service clubs. When I stir those pots of people, I’m not just hoping for money or volunteers; I’m looking for brains and vision to manifest the possibilities I could never see.

The March on Washington is known for the “I Have a Dream” speech, which is seen as a Martin Luther King, Jr. event. But it wasn’t; he wasn’t the only key organizer and draw. The seed was from 1941 when Philip Randolph planned a march about the exclusion of black soldiers from World War II. That march was called off due to policy actions made by President Roosevelt.

For that historic day in 1963, “with Randolph planning a march for jobs, and King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) planning one for freedom, the two groups decided to merge their efforts into one mass protest.”[vi] I wonder what would have happened if one or the other had chosen to try to do it on their own? What did the strategic partnership and collaboration bring that would not have happened otherwise?

Both desperate and visionary atmospheres get people talking. You never know where a conversation may lead. Draw some people with shared pain, vision, and passion into a room, lay some ideas on the table, and watch where it leads.

Action Points

• What do you need to pioneer? What is stopping you? What can you do today to activate that idea or approach your community needs?
• What have you started that you don’t need to give up on? Who can help you stand fast in persistence and not give up?
• What organizations, businesses, government leaders, educators, grassroots groups, or persons fit your vision and you need to partner with? Pursue and schedule those conversations.
• You’ve probably heard the leadership idea of looking back to see if anyone is following you. Who are your followers? How are you engaging them?
  
  

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[i] https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
[ii] https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-was-the-digital-revolution.html
[iii] https://www.charitytracker.com/en/blog/speed-of-focus
[iv] https://ssir.org/articles/entry/strategic-philanthropy-went-wrong
[v] https://www.charitytracker.com/en/blog/blog/power-of-together
[vi] https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington

Do you desire to strengthen your CharityTracker or OasisInsight network to new levels of collaboration and impact? Reach out to Chuck today to schedule your conversation: chuck@simonsolutions.com. 

Dr. Chuck Coward serves as Community Impact Specialist for Simon Solutions, Inc. Chuck has invested over 35 years in fostering human and community development from a variety of places and roles, including as a pastor, non-profit Executive Director, Director of Development, businessman, consultant, university professor, The Struggle Coach, and the founder of Entrusted Foundation. Serving to make people and communities stronger is his great passion. Chuck is the proud husband to Anita, dad to four, and granddaddy to eight.