Monthly Archives: March 2016

When No Decisions Are Bad

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By: Courtney Boorman, BA 2017

My biggest take-away from this week: amazing things are happening in Waco, and I don’t just mean “Baylor” Waco. I also mean the Waco that is oftentimes overlooked and forgotten about by those of us who reside inside the “Baylor bubble.” Waco is teaming with people and organizations who are passionate about seeing lives changed and improved. As I meet more of these people and learn more about the missions of these organizations, I am more and more grateful to be a part of this class. It is opening my eyes to things I never knew were going on around me, even ten minutes away from my house.

I have to admit, though, this process is tough. The more I learn about the organizations we are working with, the more invested I find myself and the more I want to help all of them. We spent part of Tuesday’s class divided up, learning about other groups’ site visits. As part of the Children, Youth, and Education team, I was excited to share what I had learned from our site visits and to hear about the various other groups’ experiences. I went into that time pretty convinced that my group’s five nonprofits were the “best,” something I acknowledge is not quantifiable or realistic. Nonetheless, though, with all of the research and face to face conversations, I have found myself incredibly invested in my group’s five nonprofits.

What I didn’t expect was to be blown away by all of the other nonprofits, as well. What I thought would be a somewhat easy process of paring down our list of 25, has quickly turned into one that seems slightly impossible. It is an interesting place to be, in terms of decision making. It’s very clear that there is no “bad” decision. All of the 25 nonprofits we are currently working with are doing amazing things in the Waco community, be that helping subsidize school trips to the zoo, creating software to test students’ learning abilities, and so many other things. While it’s unique to be in a place where no decision is bad, it also makes coming to any decision that much more difficult.

Also during Tuesday’s class, we had the opportunity to hear from previous students of the Philanthropy Lab. Hearing from people who have been in this position before provided those of us who are currently faced with these decisions some much needed encouragement and insight. As a current board, we are going to have some preliminary decisions to make in terms of how we are going to differentiate the various grant proposals and what we are going to be specifically looking for from them.

In other words, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make. I don’t think any of them are going to be easy by any means, but I do think this process provides us with unique and applicable experience when it comes to making tough decisions. Even though I know the next few weeks are not going to be easy, I look forward to seeing what decisions our class (aka the board of directors) comes to!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions..

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We are hard at work this week. Our program teams continue to visit numerous organizations across the city.  We have been told by Dr. Hogue and previous students in the class that weighing the different needs of the organizations is incredibly difficult. Our team can attest to this difficulty. All of the various nonprofits we visited have unique needs that are worthy of financial investment. However, we can only choose to fund some of these needs. I have come to the conclusion that one of the most vital skills learned in this class is difficult decisions making. While most all of the needs of these organizations are worthy of our support, some of the projects are more complete or sustainable and innovative than others. We are all anticipating with uncertainty the difficult decisions that we will have to make in the next few weeks. Malcolm Gladwell once said,

Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.”

We must be wise in thinking about the decisions we will make.

In attempting to begin making decisions, our groups created logic models, a tool used by grantmakers, funders, and managers to weigh the inputs, outputs and outcomes for a specific project. These logic models will help us assess the different projects proposed and weigh these projects strengths and weaknesses. We will use these to educate each other on the various projects we have vetted.

For now, we continue to meet incredible people who are instrumental in the fulfilling the call to “love your neighbor as yourselves.” These site visits have been formative to our greater understanding of how social sector organizations work. Seeing the inner-workings, facilities and management of these organizations has been helpful in understanding the effectiveness of the work that they are doing.  We are excited to continue our quest in deciphering the best projects to fund this semester.

 

Meet the Author: Lindy Reamer is a Senior Intensive International Studies major, with a minor in Spanish. She is active in her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. She is interested in domestic and international policy and reads legislation for fun. This semester, she is excited to engage with Waco- area organizations in the fight to enhance lives in the community.

Let the Site Visits Begin

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By: Lexy Bishop, BBA 2017

Coming off of a relaxing Spring Break, our program teams have hit the ground running with site visits to the twenty-five organizations that have moved on for further consideration. Each team is responsible for scheduling five personal visits over the next two weeks to the organizations within our designated area of focus. For my team and me, that means visiting five incredibly diverse organizations that do community development work in Waco. Our hope is that once we meet with these organizations face to face and see their daily operations, we will acquire a deeper understanding of their mission and clear any questions we have regarding their grant proposal ideas. Having met with three organizations already, we now know that our job of narrowing at this stage is even more difficult than before.

The site visits that we have conducted thus far have been great. Being able to talk with our contacts in their offices, an atmosphere where they feel most comfortable, has helped us understand each organization better. A typical site visit looks like sitting down with the person we have been in contact with and asking them questions that were raised by other board members. Our goal was to be able to bring as much clarity back to our board member as possible. After an in depth discussion, we were able to walk around the grounds of the organization and see where the action happens. This helped us get a realistic idea of what these organizations are actually doing to help improve our community.

Seeing the day-to-day operations that accomplish each organization’s mission helps us grasp who they are and the work place culture that they embody. For my team’s evaluation process, the culture of the non-profit is just as important as the written mission statement. Seeing how an organization functions shows us a raw picture of what they believe because they are acting out of their convictions. The hearts of the people we have met are so authentically passionate about seeing the Waco community reach its potential. With each presentation we are blown away by their dedication to their cause and a deep commitment to seeing Waco prosper, which makes our decision so very difficult.

I have loved dialoging with my team about how this grant making responsibility has lead us to grow fonder of the city of Waco. Numerous organizations that we have spoken with always note that one of their goals is to retain Baylor grads in the community. On our drive to one of our sites last week, a member of my team noted, “As I learn more about the heart of the Waco community through these site visits, I could easily see myself staying here post grad.” I could not agree more. This class has given me more than just knowledge and practice for how to philanthropically give; it has given me a different perspective of my city. Seeking out the nonprofits of Waco is like taking a behind the scenes look at our community. They are what shape our culture and seek to make Waco a unique and desirable community for all.

About the author: Lexy Bishop is a junior Business Fellows major studying mathematics and economics. She has accepted an internship for this summer to work with Syrian refugees on the island of Lesvos, Greece.

Post-decision Making

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By: Elijah Tanner, BA 2017

In the aftermath of our board meeting (in which we decided to move forward with only 25 organizations) there is a lot to reflect on. Since Tuesday I have found myself constantly returning to the image of one single person in desperate need, possibly a war veteran with a broken home, standing next to the city of Waco’s leaders. As I look at these people in two very different positions, I imagine myself handing the grant money that our class has been charged with stewarding to one or the other. On the one hand, there is potential for great change, on the other, there is great need. How can a person possibly decide in this situation? Does it show a lack of compassion to give the money to Waco’s leaders? Or a lack of vision and perseverance to give the money to the war veteran? Is the only solution to fall back on strategy? Or is that just the easy way out? Fortunately for our group, we were not faced with this decision. We were able to move on with organizations that accomplish both of these things. What we have encountered, however, is the chance to reaffirm the values we laid out at the start of this semester, and return with vigor to the job before us.

In class yesterday we did two things: the first was to meet and discuss the interests of an Aramark committee that is providing a portion of our funds, and the second was to plan site visits. While both of these seem rather technical and detached from the emotional turmoil of choosing organizations, they came at a time when they were greatly needed. My own group struggled with the push-back from organizations we did not go through with, and the temptation to dwell on our decisions and regret them was strong. These future-oriented, mission centered activities reminded me of the significance of our job. By the end of this semester we will undoubtedly have impacted Waco for the better, and that is something that we as a group cannot lose sight of. There is much to be learned from our first round of choices, but the role that our choice on Tuesday plays now is only as a reminder of the effects of the different strategies we implemented. We now have an experience of the results of choosing certain organizations to move forward with, and that will certainly apply to the next few weeks.

As we move forward, I will be focusing on Peter Drucker’s words, quoted by our guest Brent Christopher, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Drucker, and Christopher, both recognize the prevalence of the human spirit over the human mind in philanthropic affairs. This is not to say that decisions based on strategy in philanthropy are flawed. What it means is, as our reading from Understanding Philanthropy implies when it describes philanthropy’s role as being the moral imagination of a country, that we are not striving to follow any directions or to correct errors in a straightforward process, but we are struggling with the imperfection of human action, and therefore, our success is dependent upon our ability to reduce the ways that humans have forgotten their brothers and sisters.

Decision-Making

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By: Lauren Lamb, BA 2016

Our class was in a very difficult and unique position this week when we used our accumulated knowledge and the mission of our board to guide us in narrowing down our pool of philanthropies into the twenty-five that we will personally visit. As we analyzed the different philanthropic organizations working in Waco, I was struck by the amazing passion of the hundreds of people working to make Waco a better place. So many remarkable people are dedicating their entire careers to serving the needs of Waco and making it a more fulfilling place to live. They believe in their cause and they believe in their city. For this reason, Waco is extremely special. It is rare to find the kind of genuine care, love and the emphasis of community togetherness that is overwhelmingly apparent in Waco through each small initiative and every big picture plan.  We have all been given a remarkable opportunity and blessing to get to be a part of the Waco community and everything it is doing for its people.

Simply put, Waco cares about enriching the lives of its citizens. It is inspiring to see the ways that Waco is striving to set itself apart as a cultural center of Texas. The many philanthropic organizations that are pursuing this effort are working tirelessly to blend together the different cultural backgrounds residing in Waco to fashion a unique identity for the city as a whole. Whether through the farmers market, city theatres, art centers or community houses, Waco is successfully bringing together people from all walks of life to create a place where each person can feel like a true Wacoan.

We are also living in a community that experiences tremendous need. Waco is not blind to the extreme level of poverty existing throughout its streets. This week we have heard from roughly sixty Waco organizations that are tirelessly serving Waco’s people in order to improve their overall quality of life. From free legal services, to centers for the abused, to educational programs for Waco youths, advocacy is present on every corner. Waco is truly fostering a city that prides itself on service.

Although it was difficult to move forward in this process knowing that we were leaving incredibly worthy organizations behind, I am so encouraged to know that these organizations will be propped up by a city that cares so deeply and serves so readily. This process of board meetings showed me how many incredible people are working behind the scenes to make Waco the compassionate cultured community we all love. I am confident that Waco will always be a city where philanthropy thrives and I am excited to get to know more about the organizations we will be visiting in the upcoming weeks.

About the Author: Lauren Lamb is a senior from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She plans to attend law school next fall. She is an active member of the Baylor Honors Program and Delta Delta Delta.

25- A Precious Number

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By: Evelyn Le, BS 2016

Evelyn: “Stop showing favoritism.”

Kevin: “No, I am not. This organization is promising because they have shown us their evidence based research. They would be very active once we help them starting.”

Grace: “But our funding would be too small for a full time position salary.”

I have never been this critical and invested in the decision making process in any other class before. The conversation above took place last week, when my team of Health and Wellness program officers faced difficult decisions.

One month ago, I was so excited and happy when receiving the names of our 12 organizations, including their executive directors’ contact information. I was looking forward to learning from many Waco’s experienced experts because I truly wish to be like them one day. Scheduling a 30-minute conference call with each organization was challenging since everyone’s schedule worked differently. However, through the hassle, we learned perseverance and making decision together as a team.

Communication was the key.  We kept reminding ourselves that even though we are just undergraduate students, everything we do in this process, big or small, does impact the life of an individual in the Waco community. Sometimes, we found ourselves overwhelmed and waded through the flood of information and facts from each organization.

All organizations had very good ideas and proved themselves to be significantly valuable to the Waco community. What should we choose? Thankfully, our teammates always kept us accountable and reliable by asking awakening questions that guide us to the right path in our attempt to narrow down to 5 organizations in our program area.

Instead of “Ah-hah” moment, we found a lot of “Oh-uh” moments. The excitement one month ago now transitioned to a bittersweet and hesitating experience when we let an organization go. We have been told by Dr. Hogue that the decision making process will get harder and harder each time. Now I realize that even though some organizations will not receive funds from us, every one of them is worthy of support and recognition.

The world is always changing, and relying on finite resources stimulates us to generate innovative and sustainable ideas and to take action in order to build a better community.

Now, our class has narrowed down the number of organizations to 25. The number will continue to get smaller as time goes by. The important thing is that this journey has transformed us to become very knowledgeable about the needs in Waco. I have never learned so much about Waco before. As a student, a resident in Waco, and a citizen, I realize the full intentional responsibility to choose well and to take action.

Thank you donors and Dr. Hogue for setting a foundation for us to explore, to work as a team, and to appreciate your gifts so now we can freely give to the community.

 

About the author: Evelyn Le is a senior Biochemistry major and Medical Humanity minor from Houston, TX. She hopes to intern at North Boston University as an ambassador for international students in the Summer 2016 and work with the City Year program in Seattle, WA next year.