On another very related note, we just finished our final grant decision process meeting for the Social Justice Fund's Next Generation Giving Project. We've raised over $110k (that's "k" as in "kthousand"!) to be given to 11 groups in the Northwest- WA, OR, ID, WY, and MT. (I don't think we've made our decision public yet, or I'd say which ones.)
It's been a great process! I've learned a lot about how philanthropy works. I've learned a lot about listening and being open, too. I've not been great about this in the past, as I've got both a somewhat conservative upbringing and a somewhat insecure personality, so I'd often tend to think "ehh this is peacenik hippie dreaming-in-the-flowers highfalutin nonsense" about these topics*. Just so I could feel superior!
*"these topics" being: causes, giving, social justice, community organizing, leadership development, and particularly class. Class (as in "upper-middle class", "working class") is everywhere! It's more of a thing than race! It's so pervasively woven through my subconscious! Yeesh!
Anyway, that was a ridiculous mode of thinking by me in the past, I've made a conscious effort not to think like that during this process, it felt really good, and now enough about me, we'll give a bunch of grants. The effects will take a long time to manifest, if they ever do. It was a lot of work, of a type that I don't really enjoy. But the atmosphere, the people, and the possible large amounts of good that will come out of this have made it definitely worth it. As a wise man once said: what goes around comes around. Or, all things are interconnected. Or, karma karma karma karma. At any rate, this probably will do some real good. Woo!
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