In my brief 25 year stint on this earth I have learned a few things from my years of working in nonprofits around the US and abroad. And I have continually found these following things to be true.
1) There is a TON of money in philanthropy. In fact, an estimated $316.23 Billion dollars were given in 2012 by American donors. (http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/news/article/giving-usa-20130)
2) There is an increasing number of intelligent social innovators and skilled nonprofit employees. Nonprofits employ a multitude of educated workers and the number of social entrepreneurs is on the rise. Just talk to the thousands of social entrepreneurs who did not receive Echoing Green or The Unreasonable Institute funding tosee how many driven social innovators there are.
3)The overall culture of philanthropy is changing, and more people than ever before want fulfillment in their lives and are looking to “give back”.
These three pieces of information have continually lead me to the same question...
If we have enough money, loads of smart people, and the will to change the world- why are we facing increasing economic and social disparity among people?
My answer is that we are looking in all the wrong places and asking the wrong questions. We have to change the conversation and radically alter the institutional structures that are hindering large scale change. I’m not arguing for an overthrow of the government or an overhaul of capitalism. In fact I believe quite the opposite is helpful. I think we can gain great insights and improved outcomes from cross-sector partnerships.
I certainly don’t claim to know the answers to many of the field’s toughest questions. Just like many of you, I am floundering in this world trying to make sense of my circumstances and define my own version of happiness and success. All I know is that I am truly inspired by the many social innovators around the world, and I believe in our determination tomake this world a more humane place. I know the many blessings and opportunities I received in my life should not be a rarity. My goal is to write about the sector, and draw from the multitude of wisdom in the field.
And as one very wise man once said to me,
“It probably won’t happen unless we make it so.”
So, we better get moving.
