In the first week of June, I moved into my intern housing at Queen’s University with a general interest in nonprofits and a painfully vague understanding of collective giving organizations. I had briefly met Fielding and Patricia through Zoom, combed through womensimpactfund.org, and spent a week of orientation discussing the joys and struggles of the nonprofit world with eleven other Davidson students.
My first impression of philanthropic giving organizations was through these discussions with my fellow interns, where I learned that grant giving is an imperfect process that often leaves the most impacted community members out of the discussion. And yet, when I arrived at WIF I immediately felt “these women are different”. In every meeting I have attended at WIF the conversation inevitably focuses in on one main question: How do we best help the organizations who need it the most? I was struck by how almost every member I spoke with was involved with at least one other nonprofit, engaging in direct community service work, and constantly listening to and building relationships with the organizations that WIF serves.
Through my history research I learned about how the values I immediately noticed at WIF came about through years of dedication to learning and growing. I was able to trace the current focus on trust based philanthropy back to a central theme of being bold leaders who strive to be the best, and not afraid to take risks. There’s a sense of competition here at WIF, not in terms of competing with other organizations and needing credit for being the “best”, but in terms of competing with yourselves. WIF members have always understood that if you constantly work to improve and to be better than you were in the past, you will be constantly evolving right alongside the community, and serving as directly and effectively as possible.
Over coffee, Claire Tate and I discussed some missing pieces in my research, and after I’d had my chance to ask her all of my burning questions, she turned the questions to me and asked me if I would recommend WIF membership to people I knew. In the moment, I told her certainly; it’s an amazing organization and community with a strong mission. When I had the chance to think more about her question, I realized what it is that really stands out to me about WIF. At its core, WIF membership is the perfect harmony of being dedicated community members and informed philanthropists. I personally would describe it as pure responsibility. This summer, I’ve learned that being responsible doesn’t mean avoiding taking risks or sticking to the same plan year after year. It means being informed, learning from the past and listening to the people around you. It also means understanding that making real impact requires a community, not full of like-minded people, but full of diverse minds who are all dedicated to the same cause.
I am endlessly grateful to everyone who has supported me during my time here and to all the members who lent me their time and experience. I am especially grateful to Fielding and Patricia, who have been incredibly supportive during my time here!
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