As I put together this month’s e-newsletter, I couldn’t help but notice that engaged philanthropy seemed to be the theme that carried the day (er, month)…from the Leadership Awards to the recent Washington 100 visit to CASA de Maryland to the upcoming Philanthropy 101 sessions, to the book list we generated around informed giving to Siobhán’s reflections on the real work, research and tough calls behind effective giving, it seems that February has been all about giving with a capitol G. 

And by that, I mean Giving that approaches the task from the head, as much as from the heart.  I sometimes think of it in terms of "philanthropic street cred."  Like seasoned reporters who know better than to follow just the flash of a celebrity-led press conference or humanitarian workers that go beyond the “hot” crisis of the day, philanthropists can also benefit from street cred—the experience of knowing the terrain, the people, the issues, the impact and the pitfalls.

I can think of a number of instances where information has contributed to my effectiveness as a philanthropist or as a professional making grantmaking decisions. 

One particular example that comes to mind was related to my work on a girls’ scholarship program in Africa, and particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  We naturally assumed as we read proposals that the best–the best shoes, bags and books–to complement girls’ scholarships and our mentoring program was the most appropriate way to raise the girls’ self-esteem, encourage their academic success and, overall, keep them in school. 

Until we learned that in the DRC, the girls had actually been chased, taunted and occasionally had rocks thrown at them in fits of jealousy by other students who had nothing like the brand new, shiny supplies the scholarship girls received.   

While we, of course, continued to provide books and supplies to the girls in our programs, we became much more careful about ensuring that the girls wouldn’t stand out quite so much (We didn’t put a fancy American logo on their backpacks, for example), partnering with other organizations that would work in the same schools to provide comparable supplies to other students and encouraging more public awareness and education around the purpose and need for the scholarships for community members.

This experience reminded me, yet again, that giving–even with the best of intentions–must always be informed to achieve the desired outcome (and avoid undesired ones).

So, with Philanthropy 101 about to launch and an exciting site visit behind us, I’d like to ask about instances or situations where you’ve found that being an informed, educated philanthropist has truly made a difference in how you give, or in how the organizations you contribute to make decisions and, ultimately, impact their communities. 

For you, is there an inextricable link between information and impact? 

As a proud member of The Women’s Foundation’s board, I wanted to tell those of you who couldn’t make it last week to the site visit to CASA of Maryland what an inspirational morning it was.

Marjorie moderated a panel of Gustavo Torres, CASA’s dynamic Executive Director; Christy Swanson, CASA’s Director of Services; Herminia Servat, CASA Board Member and Iris Murillo, CASA volunteer and local business owner.

CASA sits in the middle of the most diverse, low-income immigrant community in the metro area.  Within a mile of its offices is the largest day labor site (a huge parking lot where recent immigrants stand, sometimes all day, waiting for work).

CASA serves tens of thousands of commmunity members each year focusing on job training and placement, fair treatment of both documented and undocumented workers, English programs, computer training and financial literacy programs. It also lobbies state, county and D.C. governments for legislation that will help the community it serves.

This is a growing, deeply effective organization, benefiting many women who arrive in this country without language, job or financial survival skills.  We had a wonderful discussion with questions and answers, a tour of the community and a completely delicious lunch catered by one of the women CASA has served.

We should be so proud for supporting this wonderful organization!

In order to weave philanthropy into the lives of women and girls in our region, and help low-income women gain financial and economic security, we use and encourage advocacy, leadership, collaboration, and, of course, hope.

At my second site visit, I got the privilege of seeing how one of our Grantee Partners, CASA de Maryland, also uses those same methods as a means to their ends.

CASA’s mission is to meet the special needs of the Central American population.

One of the board members reflected on how she left everything in her homeland: friends, family, everything she knew, in the hopes of a better life in America. She read about CASA in a newspaper, and eventually became involved. With CASA’s help, she became computer literate, developed public speaking skills, and established a second home away from home.  Her short story left me, and probably everyone else in the sun-filled room, feeling those same feelings you get when you hear someone talk about their struggles and eventual success.

After her, a community volunteer on the panel told her story of coming to America. Traveling from Latin America to Colorado, she landed a dry-wall job. Even though she didn’t speak English, she used her faith to keep going, and as time went by, with CASA’s help she established her own dry-wall business! She revealed the awesome news that she has a staff of 20 people, eight of which females, in a traditionally male occupation. I was glad to hear this: breaking stereotypes and raising incomes simultaneously.

CASA helped expose all the untapped potential that lied in these women.

CASA felt privileged just by our presence, and the feeling was mutual. For me, gathering under one roof and sharing stories like that reaffirms the importance of philanthropy. Despite how different we seem, coming from all these different walks of life and cultures, when we share our stories, we find out that many of us have the same hopes, dreams, fears, etc.

We want the best for our children, we want to be financially stable, we want to be able to communicate clearly with our peers.

CASA thanked us from “the bottom of their hearts,” but we thank them too, for their stories, their courage, and their audacity to hope. (I know, at the risk of sounding unoriginal and cliché, it’s the name of Barack Obama’s book, but it’s fitting here, so I’m going to use it).

While women have many successes to celebrate, there are many gaps and challenges to tackle. Just think about how many strong women are out there, dedicated to balancing out the hourglass, working to change the “tale of two cities” with philanthropic efforts.

I hear stories like CASA’s all the time, as many of us do, but each time it does something different for me. Somehow I’m never desensitized to it, each time I learn and feel something new.

Today I had the privilege of participating in a site visit with The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partner, CASA de Maryland.

As a program officer, site visits are something I do quite a bit, and they’re one of the parts of my job I love the most.  What was unique about today’s visit was that, in addition to staff, we had with us a diverse group of donors and Board members from The Women’s Foundation. From CASA’s end, an equally diverse group of staff, Board members, volunteers, and women served by their programs were in attendance.

Seeing women and men from all walks of life in the same room breaking bread together was a great example of something at which I think The Women’s Foundation excels: We bring together people who, at first blush, may seem to be unlikely allies with little in common–who it turns out are truly like-minded in their vision for social change.

Diversity was definitely a theme of the day.

Our donors and Board members had the opportunity to see evidence of the social change work that CASA is doing in the Langley Park community in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties–where citizens of the world from over 120 countries, speaking even more languages–are represented.  With support from The Women’s Foundation, CASA is helping place immigrant women on pathways to better economic opportunity.

For example, just in the last few months, CASA has assisted over 60 women in getting hired for nontraditional jobs in leaf collection—moving from $12-an-hour to $18-an-hour jobs that can help sustain their families.

But jobs are just one component of the wide range of services CASA provides—from English classes to leadership training to advocacy and organizing.  I have the sense that for so many people in our community who hail from so many different parts of the world, CASA is just what the meaning of the word is in Spanish: home—the one place where you always feel welcome.

Perhaps it is my own immigrant roots, but that is definitely the feeling I have every time I visit CASA.

As a follow on to our last post on recommendations for good philanthropy-related reading, we wanted to let you in on the final results from Tactical Philanthropy’s giving carnival on the topic, which features our post (yay!) along with some other great recommendations.

So start those Wish Lists at Barnes and Noble and turn off the TV…we’ve all got a lot of good reading to do! 

As Britton said, “Lisa, do you know that you just used the phrase ‘blogging buddy’ and ‘blogging carnival’ in one e-mail?  What is that?  You’re killing me over here.”

It seems that giving should be easy, and like love, limitless in possibility.  But it isn’t easy and limits, particularly where bank accounts are concerned, abound.  Caring about everything can quickly turn into not caring at all.  Sometimes NOT giving seems to be an answer, but it isn’t, as a request from a friend fundraising for a cause near and dear quickly proves.

But No is powerful, and indeed it can be a good answer, even the best answer and the only one that brings you to the true power of giving. 

Impossible, you say? 

Read on, I reply.

If you want to give, and give in a way that is strategic, meaningful and has impact, you need to know what you want to give to, which means in turn figuring out what you won’t give to. 

It means in short that you have to say no to get to yes. 

We all have values, but what are your top three? 

We all care about community, but ask yourself the question, which community? 

The one I live in now, the one my family comes from, or the one I visit on an international trip? 

What are your issues? 

Some of us believe that children are the future, others are fervent supporters of elder care.  Domestic violence may matter more to me, access to education may be in your top two. 

Favoring one over the other doesn’t mean you don’t care.  It does mean, however, that you make a choice about what to support and how. 

So you have already made choices, about what you value, what issues inspire you and in which community you want to give. 

All those choices necessitated deciding what you WON’T support, though still care about, and, more importantly, free you to really explore what you WILL give to. 

Now the fun begins. 

There is a world of possibility, hope and solution to be found in the non-profit world. Once you begin to explore and dive in to the issues and communities you care about, the opportunities for making a real difference are abundant and the work of organizations inspiring.  It is in these moments of discovery, where giving to what you value and care about, when the meaning of all the little no’s allow you to say YES!!!