There is something about being with a group of women and sharing the collective spirit of a common purpose that turns delight into magic and conversation into revelation.
On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending a recruitment event of the African American Women’s Giving Circle. Though a little warm outside, the heat was no match for the cool conversation and comfort of good company.
Held at the home of Claudia Thorne, one of the circle’s co-chairs, the meeting reminded me more of a neighborhood cookout than a recruitment event! The pot-luck table was spread with all manner of sumptuous foods from catfish and chicken to lasagna and Thai noodles – a temptation to even the most disciplined of “weight watchers.”
More than 20 women gathered together on the screened porch – old friends, new friends, and Grantee Partners– a.k.a., friends in the making.
Out on the lawn, a brother and sister duo from the Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFÉ) Positive Vibrations Youth Orchestra regaled us all with their steel pans.
If that had been all there was to the day, it would still have been a perfect way to spend an afternoon!
But again, there is something about being with a group of women and sharing in the spirit of a common purpose that turns delight into magic and conversation into revelation.
This was my revelation.
We are all challenged about how to make adjustments to our spending and saving habits to insulate the best we can from the effects of the economy. And often, one of the first ways we do that is by pulling back on our philanthropic giving. Because for most of us, giving is a “luxury,” something we do when we are in a place of abundance.
As a donor myself, I have to admit that I have been tempted to “rethink” my giving in order to feel more “secure” in otherwise uncertain times.
But yesterday, as I sat and listened to the stories of appreciation and gratitude, from the Grantee Partners attending the event, the voices and visions of so many of our Grantee Partners and the communities they serve, echoed in my head.
The grants made to the organizations in our community working on behalf of women and girls are anything but luxuries.
The work being done by these organizations, and so many like them, often on already shoe-string budgets, are the heart and life blood of our communities.
They cannot be separated from us or our priorities, even when resources are tight.
Sandy Jibrell, one of the founding members of the AAWGC and member of The Women’s Foundation’s board of directors, spoke about her motivation for participating in the giving circle for what is now her fourth year. And while I know that I will not capture the eloquence and passion with which she spoke, the message is still an important one:
We are one community. When a woman is able to care for her family and see her children succeed, we all succeed. When that woman stumbles, and those children slip through the cracks, we all lose. Because we are they.
From the time he was on the campaign trail, President Obama talked about not being able to separate what was happening on Wall Street from what was happening on Main Street. And maybe we all agreed in spirit, but perhaps Main Street and Wall Street were just too far away to feel the real weight of that sentiment.
As we sat on that porch in Cheverly, Maryland, we felt the inextricable tie to Prince George’s County (where CAFÉ is located), to Anacostia (where Ascensions, another AAWGC Grantee Partner, is located), to NE Washington, D.C. and all of the other places that have been touched by grants from the AAWGC.
The ties that bind us to these organizations and these communities are not defined by a proposal or a grant period. And ultimately, their impact is not about a set of metrics or a report.
It is about how all of us will either rise together or fall together. Because we are they.
Their survival is our survival. Their challenges are our challenges. Their successes are our successes.
And in times of economic crisis, it is more important than ever to make sure that these organizations have the critical support they need to continue doing what they do.
So when people ask me if I am sure that this is a good time to be recruiting for giving circles, or soliciting donors, my response is, absolutely!
Now, more than ever. And I say that not as a member of The Women’s Foundation staff, but as a donor and someone who knows more than ever that we are they.
So I thank this group of dynamic women for the wonderful food, the good company, and the very important revelation.
Nicole Cozier is The Women’s Foundation’s Philanthropic Education Officer.
