In Awe of Generosity
Alone we can go fast, but together we can go far.
Written for publication in Coldstream Living & BX Foothills Living magazines
Last week the Foundation I work for hosted our annual “Grants Info Session” for non-profit groups to come and find out how to prepare and submit grant applications for our Spring Grants cycle. The Community Foundation North Okanagan is one of a handful of local funders providing much needed money to an incredible range of programs and projects right here in our region.
As I stood there it struck me that all these earnest faces smiling back at me have been tasked with finding the resources to either keep their organization going, take it to the next level, or simply keep the lights on so they can continue to offer the valuable services they care so much about. As the question and answer period at the end of the presentation proved – each person came with a passion for their cause – and each was determined to find the necessary funding to keep going. Most not-for-profits, whether they are feeding children or seniors, offering mental health support, helping animals in need, or creating wonderful visual art or music to soothe our souls – start each fiscal year at the same starting point. Zero.
And yet, somehow they persevere. Finding every dollar needed to carry on. Through grants, donations, charging a modest fee for their goods or services, or depending on that core group of volunteers that continually show up to host fundraising events – they hang in there for the greater good.
As our grants cycle application deadline looms, (March 31 st ), I think about all the other grant program deadlines out there. The lives of committed staff and volunteers in the charitable sector are continually busy. This business of finding and deploying resources never ends.
To those of you out there writing grant applications – good luck! To those of you planning your next fundraising event – my thoughts are with you! And to those of you who are donors, bless you! Donors make this whole not-for-profit machine keep chugging along. As our grants committee gets ready to read significantly more grant applications than we have money to cover – my sincere appreciation goes out to the donors who keep giving, who dig deep, and who seem to always come up with a little bit more than last year.
Oh, and as tax time also looms, I hope you all have your charitable tax receipts ready to go! Remember, if you need a tax receipt (at this point for next year!) there are hundreds of charities doing incredible things that could benefit from your generosity. Research shows that “…when people give to charities, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, creating a “warm glow” effect. Scientists also believe that altruistic behavior releases endorphins in the brain, producing the positive feeling known as the “helper’s high.” (Jorge Moll and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, 2006)
As I think about all those people working on grant applications, volunteering, and making donations, I am reminded of a favourite African proverb that sums up the energy of the not-for-profit sector. – Alone we can go fast, but together we can go far.
Leanne Hammond
Philanthropy Advisor, Mother, and Perpetual Volunteer.
~This article was written by Leanne Hammond, Executive Director, Community Foundation North Okanagan, for the publication in Coldstream Living & BX Foothills Living magazines.
