By: Annie Armes, BBA 2018
“Pitch Day” has come and gone. “Pitch Day” was a day designed for us to meet with local Waco nonprofits and discuss our potential grants. Numerous nonprofits were scheduled for brief interviews that provided an abundance of information on how our grants could impact their mission. The passion that they had for their causes was contagious. During this valuable time we were able to get details that were not available to us online, ask questions, and hear about their first-hand experience with the people they serve.
After weeks of tedious work, researching broad and distant issues, I felt overwhelmed by the problems our society faces. But after having a face-to-face conversation with local organizations there is a sense of hope; the unachievable is made achievable through these individuals’ efforts. Their knowledge and passion for the mission of their organization makes solutions seem less abstract and more tangible. I can now connect concrete ideas with my research. My group worked hard to understand the vast problems of poverty, education, and economic development, but until talking to these local organizations I felt lost at sea.
After “Pitch Day”, we instantly have a multitude of worthy organizations that are working diligently to solve the very problems we want to address. The organizations we interviewed ranged from internationally recognized technology training programs to local utility assistant programs to mentoring programs started just a month ago. How will we, young college students, be able to decide what cause to give money to?
There are a myriad of factors that play into a philanthropist’s decision-making process, and not all scholars agree on the best method. In our class, we have recently discussed some criteria that we believe are worth considering. We want to focus our efforts on mindful, strategic generosity. Not only should the organizations we choose be working in the areas that are near and dear to our hearts, the money should be used efficiently. We will continue to develop a way of assessing the returns on our investment.
As we continue to identify our priorities, we must eventually narrow down the field of nonprofits we have researched. It seems like an impossible task to choose just one when there are so many working diligently to help the Waco community. We have a hard job ahead of us; I guess it is possible to have too much of a good thing.