I am reading The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook How to Start, Build, and Run a Business That Improves the World. The beginning of the book the author, Rupert Scofield talked about his personal and near-death experience of working in other countries around the world. For example, he shares his story about having to run from an angry mob in Somalia because of an misunderstanding with a driver. I enjoy how the Scofield starts the book in a light-hearted and amusing fashion.
Scofield says that a lot of publicly funded non-profits are constantly criticized because their employees have never actually lived in poverty. He continues on to say that if the organizations don't close the "empathy gap" their employees won't have the understanding that is needed to help others. This is something that stood out to me. I believe that there is more to life than just the facts. Like in Brookline the poverty percentage is higher than the state's average. Most people say,"okay" and move on with their lives. But I believe that there is more to it than just the fact. When I hear this fact I am automatically drawn to the question "why?" I want to know why this is happening in our community and how I can help decrease the percentage.
As I continue reading the book, the author discusses the main differences of working for a small non-profit or a large one. He discusses the fact that small and local foundations make a huge positive impact to the people that they serve. This reminds me of the Brookline Community Foundation and the meeting the Brookline Teen Grant Makers (which I participate in) had this past weekend about choosing a focus area of our grant making. A member pointed out that the goal is for our funding to a make a positive difference in someone's life. This is a goal that I feel people can stray from.
Scofield says that while working for a large non-profit can give you financial stability it can also have less entrepreneurial opportunities and less of a chance to direct the future of the organization. This is something that is true when working for large companies as well as non-profits. I also have come to understand that it can take a long time to work up the ladder at a company or organization. Scofield also shares an anecdote about a person named Craig, who has worked for a lot of different for-profit companies before working for a non-profit. After a while Craig was more satisfied with his job because he enjoyed his work and felt like he was making a positive difference. This is something that sticks out to me because of my previous experience of volunteering this past summer at Harvard Alumni Association. Although the experience working there was wonderful I think I enjoyed volunteering at the Brookline Community Foundation more. This is because I felt that I was actually making a difference in my community and helping people around me. I believe that people should do volunteer and help their communities and also learn about what is actually happening in their community.
Your work in the BCF should give you a lot to think about as you read this book. Social entrepreneurship (as you know) is a rapidly expanding field, and it sounds like this book is getting you to ask all the right questions. As you point out at the beginning of your post, developing true empathy--true understanding, too--is a key ingredient...but also not an easy on to acquire. The BCF work also shows you that it's not just about small acts of kindness.
ReplyDelete