Things I Never Wrote

For one of the final assignments of the first semester we were asked to reflect on some of the things we'd learned. The list below is my brainstorming for that paper. Much of it never ended up in the paper, but it still seems worth sharing.

My experiences at TOPPS have certainly increased my knowledge and skills regarding the sector of social change represented by the small, grassroots, non-profit.

• I've learned about various means of to fund a non-profit: grants, donations, support from foundations, support from faith-based organizations, and endowments.
• I've learned that grants are time-consuming to apply for and the money gained from them is heavily stipulated regarding how it can be used.
• I've learned there are very few grants available for the overhead costs of running a non-profit, such as electricity and water bills.
• I've learned that, to support themselves, small non-profits can fall into patterns of chasing grants, which can detract from the mission of the non-profit.
• I've learned about something called "Founder's Syndrome," in which the founder of a non-profit has trouble letting go of the organization.
• I've learned about Succession Plans, also known as Leadership Transition Plans, which attempt to ease an organization out of the issues related to Founder's Syndrome.
• I've learned a little about Strategic Planning. Specifically, I've participated in the early stages of developing a Vision and Mission, as well as completing a SWOT analysis.
• I've learned a little about the role a board of directors can play in a small, non-profit.
• I've learned the term "stakeholder" and begun to develop my ability to recognize both the obvious and not-so-obvious stakeholders of an organization.
• I've learned that non-profits can be territorial and competitive for both grant money and clients despite and because of similar missions.
• I've also learned the term "best practices" and studied a few of the best practices related to non-profits focused on after-school programs both nationally and locally.

That list of learnings is, I'm sure, incomplete, but should demonstrate that I have a better understanding of some of the mechanisms of social change at the grassroots level.

Progress?

It's been a time of slow progress for the past month-and-a-half. Progress on the organization TOPPS, my team is working with in Pine Bluff has been slow. Progress on finding an organization to work with for my International Public Service Project (IPSP) has been slow. And progress on identifying core issues, or root problems to focus on during my time here at the Clinton School has been slow.
While reading the book, Getting to Maybe, I came across the organization Roots of Empathy. It's an organization based in Canada that, on the surface tackles bullying in schools, but does it in such a way that I think it can potentially make a subtle, but significant impact on other root issues such as compassion, consideration and self-esteem in very young children.
I still have some hope for working with HIPPY and/or Sesame Street in Israel to promote peace in that region.
I'm also interested in Interfaith Encounter Organization, which promotes dialogue between opposing groups in the Middle East.
So far, I've contacted all of those organizations but haven't heard anything in return. If you're reading this and happen to know someone, or know someone who knows someone, in those organizations, I'd appreciate an introduction.

Like a $10 check

Today I volunteered two hours of time to make sure money meant for Haiti goes directly to Haiti. I spent two hours entering data for checks written to the Clinton Foundation for the Haiti relief fund. The 50 checks I entered ranged from $10 donations to $1,000 donations. My two hours of work resulted in somewhere between $7,500 and $10,000 worth of donations being processed.

I am one of many folks who have given their time so the money donated doesn't get channeled into overhead costs and can proceed to the organizations assisting Haitians as quickly as possible. In comparison to the people who are on the ground in Haiti dealing directly with the devastation, my two hours sitting in an office at a computer seems a bit like $10 check: a very small solution to a very big problem. Realizing how that one $10 check added up with the thousands of other large and small checks was inspiring though. It made those two small hours seem like time well spent.

Quick Recap

For the sake of some closure to the first semester and to provide a transition into the new semester here's a quick recap of classes and how they've helped me on my quest to Make a Difference.

First semester:
Analysis for Decision Making in Public Service: The most concrete of my classes. It provided me with new skills for understanding the nuts and bolts of how non-profits work. More than any other class, it increased my vocabulary for working in the non-profit sector.

Communication: Facilitation of small groups for the purpose of creating and/or understanding communities. Facilitation was one of my strongest skills coming into the program and this class introduced me to even more facilitation techniques and how they could be applied to serving the community.

Practicum: This is the only class that lasts the entire year. It's the fieldwork class in which I apply the concepts I'm learning in the other classes to my team's work with TOPPS, Inc.

Leadership: Try breaking the concept of leadership into a set of teachable skills. Not an easy thing to do. I read many examples of leaders and theories of leadership and at the end of it all started on the path to defining my personal leadership style.

Legal and Ethical Dimensions in Public Service: This was my taste of law school. Dang. Lawyers read a lot. This class taught me that I have a lot more to learn when it comes to the legal aspects of public service. Or, put differently, when to call a lawyer. :-)

Reminded

Nice to meet you, Mr. President

One of the perks of attending the Clinton School of Public Service is the chance to meet former President Bill Clinton. That happened this past week. It was definitely exciting to shake the hand of a former president, but even more exciting was the opportunity to hear him speak to our class. He sat in a room with roughly 50 of my classmates and I and answered questions for two-and-a-half hours, then spent another half an hour answering more questions in the foyer of the school.
What an incredibly gifted person he is. I sat there in awe as he spoke in depth about any topic we asked about. Everything from Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize to the war in Afghanistan to the genetic similarities of all humans. I marveled at the sheer amount of information he could recall instantly and then weave coherently into a response. And the stories he told. Almost every response included a story of a personal experience he'd had with someone somewhere in the world. Each story filled with hope, and never superficial. He never sounded like a typical politician. Always genuine.
I'd heard about his gifts with people, but I couldn't believe how true they are. I really wanted to ask him if there were any skills he practiced in order to magnify and develop his natural gifts. Hopefully, I'll get another chance to speak with him again someday. Maybe he'll come visit me if I get the chance to go to Israel this summer to work with HIPPY.

Michelle Rhee, HIPPY

Since my last post several significant things related to trying to Make a Difference have occurred including: talking with and listening to Michelle Rhee, my group's first run in with intergroup conflict, and a meeting with a representative from HIPPY.
The long delay in posting is mostly a result of Michelle Rhee. I've spent more time thinking about her message than anything else in the last two weeks. I should have been posting my thoughts as I had them, but she gave me so much to think about that I still don't feel like I've sifted through it completely. Hopefully, a well-reasoned post will follow sometime soon.
Similarly, I think a post about how my group dealt with some team dynamics issues would be useful for any students who are reading, but I need a little more time than I have right now. {once again, homework gets in the way of learning. :-) }
Most recently, I had a meeting with a representative from HIPPY to talk about potential International Public Service Projects this summer. Several very promising possibilities in Israel, Australia and Canada. I'm looking forward to learning more about each of them. And I'll try to do a better job of keeping you posted.