Overview
Christen Brandt (fellow Oxford classmate and friend!) and Tammy Tibbetts offers guidance on initiating meaningful social change. Drawing from their experiences with the nonprofit 'She's the First,' the authors provide practical advice on finding focus, collaborating with partners, and engaging in movements for systemic change.
Notes
In any Impact Plan, the most important first step is to define your North Star which represents your end goal -- the future you want to see
When people ask you “but what about…” when you explain your cause and efforts. Instead of retaliating you should reply “tell me about your idea. "You should do that!”
First iteration of North Star
You connect to it personally
It inspires you when you hear it
It identifies the who or what will be impact
The outcome is self sustaining
Avoid the verb help. Take yourself out of the equation when framing it
Picking impact partners
What's their goal and what are their values? Do they align with your own? How do they talk about what they do? Does their language resonate with you?
What does impact mean to them? If they talk about improving lives, how do they know when they achieve this? Determine whether that aligns with their stated goals and with your North Star.
Whose voices are involved? Take a look at their staff and leader-ship. Do they reflect the people the organization serves? Is there diverse representation?
THERE'S A POPULAR SAYING THAT GOES: "Your beliefs become your thoughts; your thoughts become your words; your words become your actions; your actions become your habits; your habits become your values; your values become your destiny." 1. If you decide to take action, remember to ask what is needed. You can (and should) directly ask the person in need what would be most helpful. 2. Examine the root cause of why a Band-Aid is needed. This keeps your action in perspective, and it will help you determine how you can go about tackling the bigger issue with an Impact Partner. 3. Band-Aids don't have to be fast; use the opportunity to get to know new people working in or impacted by the issue area so you can better diagnose what's needed down the line. Begin to build a community for support and guidance.
2011, NPR ran a story with the founding executive director of University of Pennsylvania's Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Katherina Rosqueta, in which she noted that donors can feed twenty times more families by providing the same amount of cash you would've spent on a box of cans. Food kitchens have access to highly discounted food, so your cash would go much further with them than at your supermarket. Yet every Thanksgiving, boxes and boxes of canned goods show up without fail.
Author and professor Geoffrey Greif has a catchy way of identifying four key types of friends--all of whom are important in different ways.
He calls them your Must, Trust, Rust, and Just friends.
Must friends are the ones with whom you are closest and the hiss ones you text when something big happens. They're your ride or die.
Trust friends have integrity and earn your respect, but they aren't in your innermost circle yet. You feel like they could be if you spent more time together.
Rust friends are old friends with whom you share personal his-tory, like growing up together, but not a lot of current interests.
And Just friends make for enjoyable company and chitchat, but you rarely see them outside of a specific context, such as in the office or at the dog park.
Travel Test
Ikigai
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