Nonprofit Karma

What is it about nonprofit work that keeps me coming back? It’s something that I have to ask myself periodically. Usually when I’m overworked and tired, discouraged, or low on cash. And I have to admit, I’ve suffered from all of these lately.

But working for a nonprofit organization (NPO) has its own kind of Karma, and it tends to come around quicker than other things that go around. Huh? What I mean is that the Karmic cycle is much quicker and far more frequent in the nonprofit world.

I wish I could say, that no good deed goes unnoticed, but that wouldn’t be true. What I can say though is that things have a way of happening, not by magic but by design, one could even say intelligent design, because everything we do is thought over and planned out, hopefully with great rigor. Often, things work brilliantly, but not without challenge, and perhaps that’s what keeps me coming back: the challenge. And working for a NPO is a hellava challenge. It's not for the weak of spirit or mind.

Like problem solving? Then this is the job for you! This is creative thinking at its best. Sometimes solving the problems is simple. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time of course, but that leaves out a lot of detail. Working in this field forces you to think strategically, and in steps, at all times, in every task. How does this break down? How can I make this easier, more efficient, more effective and fun all at the same time? We think like this all the time, and although it can be exhausting, it is in fact fun to push your mind and intellect to its limit. Some people do triathlons, I work in nonprofit. It’s that kind of limit pushing.

I was reminded of a lot of this on Saturday while attending the Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp. I attended what I think was the first such events in 2006. It was an interesting concept. Around 1500 like-minded individuals came together to learn how to do what they do much better. This year, the event was on the campus of UC Berkeley. I noticed a bit of a change in the constituency. Although beginners are still one of the largest contingents at the camp, there were a lot more veterans, such as myself attending too. The workshops were both helpful and validating as they reinforced and honed practices I use on a regular basis, and I learned a few new ones as well. Plus, I love the swag. I finally picked up the letter opener I've been looking for, got a mouse pad from PayPal, and the ever essential computer screen sweeper, plus a tote bag and t-shirt of course.

It's nice to be reminded why we do what we do from so many different perspectives. So here are some of the highlights from my notes.

From Arianna Huffington of Huffingtonpost.com

“If you think you’re too small to be effective, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito.”

“Volunteering should just be something we do...it’s like a muscle, the more we use it the stronger it gets.”

“It’s not about how much we give but what kind of need we resolve.”
------
From Kay Sprinkle Grace, nonprofit funding consultant, www.kaygrace.org

“Who ever introduced the term whatever into our vernacular was preparing us for very interesting times.”

It’s not your organization that matters, it’s your mission.

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been.”

In nonprofit, we either ease human suffering or advance human potential.

Grow leadership at every level.

People give because your organization meets needs, not because you have needs.

----

From Shirley Sagawa & Deb Jospin, Authors of The Charismatic Organization

Put the right people in the right job and nurture them. Share power responsibility and build a strong community because people want to make a difference and want to belong to a community.

Have a vision and mission that can be articulated and repeated with passion.

Have Data Driven Decision Making…know what your trying to achieve by expressing clear outcomes, setting measurable goals, creating a roadmap and showing results.

Create Can Do Culture: be vibrant, positive and inclusive

Create compelling communication. Tell good stories, and encourage everyone in your organization to tell their stories as well. People do this work for a reason. Letting people know that reason is a good way to get them to support you.

----

From Allforgood.org

This is a new website designed as an extra curricular project by engineers at Google. The website is open source and offers a customizable search engine for volunteer opportunities, and is usable in a number of popular platforms as a wigit such as facebook, twitter, cell phone aps, etc. For more information, go to their website www.allforgood.org . Or to see an example of it’s use go to www.huffingtonpost.com .

Friday's Reminder

Howler Monkies should be sedated

Oh the hazards of the 10AM ferry. In exchange for a nominal amount of extra sleep, I endure tables filled with teens playing cards, loud out-of-state vacationing talkers and sticky, howling children. Children who buy all the good donuts as soon as they get on board, whine about having to go to the bathroom, and narrate everything around them.

“Look! He has a hat!”
“Yes, dear. What color is the hat?”
“Blue! He has a blue hat!”

Lovely. On good days, the parents realize that it’s a two-deck boat, and they take the child upstairs. On bad days, the child is indulged, ceaselessly, so much that you want to shout out.

“Didn’t you learn anything about the effects of unrealistic expectations from the last meltdown of Britney Spears?”

Apparently not. Instead these parents allow their children’s outrageous behavior to escalate while everyone else on board suffers and considers using their cell phone to take video to send to the Super Nanny.

One of the benefits of being the mother of children is the justification I feel when casting annoyed, dirty looks, devoid of empathy or understanding toward parents who lack the courtesy of drugging their children if they can’t be controlled, before stepping onto a boat or a plane. I’m serious. When my kids were of howling age we use to fly a lot between SFO and St. Louis. I was a young mother with two boys. And, as I would board the plane, I could see terror in the face of every business traveler in coach, each of them making pacts with the devil or god so we wouldn’t sit near them. We would worked our way down the isle scanning for our seats, and I’d joke along the way, “Hi! It’s us, you’re worst nightmare!”

Once we sat, usually to the disdain of those sitting closest, I’d say, “Don’t worry. They’re drugged.” This line never quite got the reaction I was going for on the St. Louis side. Usually it was a look of astonished alarm. I mean it wasn’t like I was giving them Quaaludes…just a proper dose of Benadryl. It’s a trick I learned from a pharmacist when I was in the Army. I call it being considerate.

Sadly this wisdom is lost on some. I’ve tried to suggest the sedative method whenever I encounter a parent whose child screeches like a howler monkey, but they always look at me like I’m some sort of monster. So, I decided to just keep my suggestions to myself and cast dirty looks instead.

Made up

My commute has become routine. I have commuting friends with whom I regularly sit on the ferry, the snack bar attendant knows I take my coffee black, and I've learned where the dead zones are along the route if I happen to be on my cell phone.

Today's commute was typical. I got my coffee, found my friend, and set out to get some work done after we exchanged pleasantries. But as I pulled out a notebook, legal pad and fountain pen, I noticed a young woman sitting across the isle from me, going through what I imagined is her typical commute. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and looked not much different than I do when I go out to run errands on the weekend. She sat sipping soda through a straw, a common practice on the ferry to avoid motion sickness.

As I turned to my notebook she produced a cosmetic bag from her backpack and proceeded to engage in a multi-step process of applying makeup. Liquid foundation was heavily applied to conceal a few blemishes, followed by a lighter tone of concealer for the area under the eyes and around the nose. Next came a fine powder and a dash of shaded color on the cheeks and eyelids.

I was enraptured by this ritual despite being deep in thought over the outline I was working on. Every few minutes I glanced her direction to check on her progress. After the powder out came the eyebrow pencil that was used to accentuate and better define her already nicely shaped eyebrows. A twist-up eyeliner followed to trace the the lower lid of what looked like hazel green eyes. I watched her, in glances, carefully follow the contour of her eye with one hand while holding a mirror with the other, all the while employing precision that rivaled that of a nuclear engineer.

After a few dabs from a sponge and another brushing of powder came the lipstick, a shade of summer peach that inspired thoughts of English gardens or Spanish courtyards. The lips were lined with yet another pencil to establish a boundary for the color, and with a quick blot, she (and I) realized that we had arrived to our destination.

I've always found the morning and the rituals which we subscribe to be very interesting. It's a gray area of a time between who we were in our dreams, who we are when we wake up and who we become as we prepare for our day. At some point the true self emerges...the question is when? At what point are we just made up?

Juju be gone!

I have had a bout of bad juju for the last 7 or so days. I don’t know exactly where it came from, but I feel like I’ve turned the corner and it’s finally gone. Juju is a very interesting thing. I think of it as worse than bad karma. To me, juju is malicious and almost evil, definitely a thing of the dark side of the force.

I’m often told that I seem to be a very spiritual person. I find this a bit odd, since I’m somewhat of a secular humanist. I believe in the Universe more than a God and Karma more than the idea of original sin. The Golden Rule is one of my primary guideposts, and I think that the purpose of life is to seek out knowledge and use the knowledge we find for the benefit of others. Altruistic? Maybe. Realistic? Maybe not. Grounding? Damn straight.

It’s been a bazaar week. Yesterday in particular brought revelations both bitter and sweet. The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, a statewide initiative that identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Which means same sex marriages are not permitted according to the California Constitution. I’m trying to figure out exactly how this is going to benefit society. I don’t think that it will. Prop (H)8 will only feed animosity between those who feel they should dictate the rules of love and life and those who choose to embrace who they are, no matter what the price. I don’t believe this defeat is permanent. In fact, I’m more optimistic now than ever that marriage will be open to everyone of sentient being in the future. The Universe has a way of balancing these things. Besides, co-habitating unmarried adults now outnumber those who are married. In the long run, it may turn out that the gays will be the ones who conserve the institution of marriage.

Before the news of Prop 8 though, came a reassuring message of balance. President Obama named his nominee for the Supreme Court. For a moment, lets forget the bootstrap American dream fairy tale that is the life and success of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. What sold me was her genuine experience, solid ethos of the rule of law, and subtle tenacity that the rest of us can only envy. Am I proud that she is Latina? Hell Yeah! But more than anything I’m proud that she is the embodiment of what it means to be smart and strong. And it’s hard not to be emotional about the realization that millions of little girls living in less than optimal economic conditions will see that such a life of success is possible for them as well. It’s definitely a wow moment that I will one day tell my grandkids about.

Bad juju sometimes happens, but I can always tell when it’s gone. A sense of calm envelops me and I’m suddenly reminded that I am strong, and that I can adapt and overcome. Maybe sometimes we need bad experiences to appreciate the opportunities we do have…like the opportunity to succeed despite the odds or to marry the person we love. What ever it’s purpose, I’m grateful for the feeling I have now, of not being overcome by a force, real or imagined, that has the potential of taking me down.

In-group psychology in need of a tweak...

A recent Wall Street Journal article about Portland Oregon and other "Youth Magnet Cities" got me thinking. The article describes how despite a recession and a higher than average unemployment rate in Portland, young, educated professionals continue to flock to the city, lured by both the scenery and the scene.

This brings up a number of questions, specifically in this new era of responsibility. Is it more important to look for a scene than find a meaningful way to contribute to the struggling economy? The article cited an underemployed lawyer who didn't mind answering phones and walking his bosses dogs, and I can't help but think, what a waste. Maybe part of the reason the country is having a hard time with the boot straps is because every body is wearing Uggs.

I think this could be a case of in-group psychology in need of a tweak. If it's true that young professionals would rather live someplace cool, than a place in need of their education, youth and innovation, then maybe we need to redefine what cool is. Indeed, relocating to a new city with limited prospects for employment may seem brave, but isn't much braver to leave one's comfort zone? I understand the desire to be among those who are like minded, but I also believe that cultural hubs be they left-minded or right-minded contribute to increased polarization within our society. Which leads me to the question, how does hip migrate? Does it begin with just one person or a group? And who among us are not just brave enough, but secure enough in our convictions and cultural landmarks to go out among those who do not live and think as we do?

Sadly, I don't fit the bill. If I did, perhaps I'd still live in the Southern Illinois, where the specialty at the local bakery is literally white bread. Thus I continue to be a whole grain, sourdough and intellectual snob who commutes to a postcard city with a vibrant culture that is just sooo cool. So maybe there is something to be said for aesthetics. Glass houses after all are quite beautiful.

Working at finding relief on the ferry

I hate it when I don’t write. My thoughts become confused, as they are constipated in my head, and then, I can’t write, and every time I sit down to relieve my mind, nothing but brain farts come out.

It’s a gorgeous day in the San Francisco Bay Area. The water is calm and smooth, and the sky clear and blue with anemic, thin wispy clouds that are sure to burn off before noon. It was unseasonably warm yesterday, and today promises to be the same. The current prediction is a temperature of 90 degrees in San Francisco. I dressed light, but probably not light enough.

I woke up sluggish today. My intention to take the dog for a walk fell victim to the snooze alarm, I left the house with wet hair and without brushed teeth and I barely made the ferry. Once on board and settled into a seat, I grabbed my ditty bag and headed to the head to take care of those details. It was on my way back to my seat that I finally had a chance to see what kind of day it was. The water was glassy, the wind light. I couldn’t help myself as I stepped out onto the deck and leaned over the rail to let the breeze hit my face. I suddenly understood what dogs get out of it.

And as much as I want to empty my mind, I want to go back to that rail and feel more of that breeze. It's an incredible sensation that will surely free my mind far more than these forced words. So, off I go...