Last week was voting week for the Women's Fund, a collective giving circle. I have to admit, between having sick kids home 15 school days in February, taking back to back trips in March, doing a marketing contract for a local foundation, fulfilling my volunteer commitments, and just being mom and wife, I was feeling pretty burnt out and stressed out when the ballot came. I am a group captain which means the arrival of the ballot meant I needed to organize a meeting with my group to review the choices. This seemed like an impossible feat with everything going on.
Somehow, I manged to throw a date out to my group, clean my house, and put on a pot of coffee. The first person to arrive was a new group member and someone I have no doubt gets asked by numerous nonprofits for support. She was barely through my door when she said, "I was so blown away with the level of time and detail that went into creating this ballot. It's really impressive." I was starting to feel the chore of the morning slip away and the joy of doing something meaningful creep in.
Once the group got started, another friend, a third year group member and someone I know is a target by numerous nonprofits, said, "I love being a part of this. It is so much fun and I feel like I get to make such an impact. It's really great." Needless to say, we had a fantastic discussion about each project on the ballot. Each member of the group had varying experiences in the community, offering different perspectives on each project.
As I cleaned up the coffee cups, I was glowing with pride:
- pride in my friends for being so involved in the community,
- pride in the Women's Fund for taking the time to create the ballot,
- pride in the people committed to the organizations on the ballot,
- and yes, pride in myself for providing a forum where people got the rush of deciding how to give away $585,000.
TAKEWAWAY:
Sometimes we are so busy and over committed that our philanthropic actions feel like one more obligation or an item to check off our "to do" list. It's hard to remember to stop yourself and reflect on the cause and people in need that motivated you to get involved in the first place. In all the rush, give yourself a moment to reflect on the good you are doing and allow yourself to feel pride in your work.
This posting is a keeper, Carrie. I tend to over-commit as well, and it's dangerous when this work starts to feel like a burden. I make worse decisions, and I'm much less effective and pleasant to work with - which has an impact on the others around me. Your suggestion is a good one.
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