By: Abby Callison, BA 2018
Wow. Yesterday was a very exciting, somewhat overwhelming day. Yesterday was Pitch Day, in which, as a class, we met with about 32 nonprofit organizations. Each group had 8 or 9 meetings with organizations, each lasting 15 minutes, to learn more about each organization and ask questions about potential project proposals.
After the marathon of meetings, I now understand why we spent time thoughtfully preparing. The readings we’ve completed throughout the semester helped tremendously to narrow our focus in what kinds of questions we should spend our short 15 minutes asking. We also researched each organization beforehand, allowing us to tailor our questions to be more specific in order to more effectively use our time together. I’ve always been taught that “prior preparation prevents poor performance,” but yesterday was a clear example of the need for preparation to make the most meaningful use of the short time we had with each organization.
I left Pitch Day with a feeling of amazement at the number of organizations in Waco working tirelessly to address deep needs throughout the community. I also left with a feeling of gratitude, because each organization does so much more than what I originally thought. It’s easy to look at an organization and label it as a food pantry or a farm, for example, but each group contained so many different dimensions in the ways they work to meet the needs of Waco. They are involved in numerous projects and programs that I wasn’t aware existed. My eyes were opened not only to the vast range of needs in Waco, but also to the number of people working to meet those needs. I sincerely appreciated the representatives from each organization taking time to come share with us about their work, and I was inspired by seeing people who live out their calling. I love the quote by Frederick Buechner, in which he says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Yesterday I was able to see multiple examples of people called to work to meet the deep needs of Waco.
Along with the feeling of amazement however, I also feel overwhelmed by how we can best give our resources to help the work of the organizations. It’s difficult because so many of them need resources to help them continue their work. I am grateful again for the preparation we have done so far and the time we will continue to spend in thoughtfully making this decision. We’ve spent time this semester looking at strategic giving. We must consider how our resources can be used most effectively to help further the mission of these nonprofit organizations, while keeping in mind our own values and goals of what we would like to accomplish in giving. I look forward to seeing how we can work together with these organizations to continue to meet important needs and strengthen the Waco community.