Let’s talk
By Anne Calder / Vice President of Development
One of the very best parts of my job at the Quad Cities Community Foundation is sitting down with people from across our community to talk about giving. The goal of these conversations is to create a space for thinking deeply about why we give and what we give and how we give. I often turn to two questions to help get the wheels turning: “Who taught you to be generous?” and “What would you want to change or preserve in your world?”
More often than not, these questions spark a great conversation, triggering dearly held memories and illuminating a path ahead. Often the reflections sound something like this: “My aunt knew we couldn’t afford tuition, and she helped me go to school. So I want to help with scholarships for other young people.” Or: “When my father lost his job at the grocery store, our neighbors quietly made sure we had food to eat. So I want to make sure other families don’t go hungry.”
As we look toward the end of another year—a time we often devote to reflecting and doing good—I ask you to consider how would you answer those two questions?
My parents made giving a priority. For example, we made regular gifts to a local nonprofit serving people living with intellectual and physical disabilities because my Aunt Sandy attended its program. Years after Sandy passed away, I still gift to the nonprofit that helped fill her days with joy. My parents taught me that my giving is to always be from me but not about me. At the same time, I am changed by each gift.
At the Community Foundation, we don’t just talk about giving—we see giving as a conversation in and of itself. Like any good conversation, truly thoughtful giving is not done by a giver to a recipient, but rather with them, changing both for the better. Giving this way requires not only generosity but also work on the part of the giver: the work of listening, learning, then responding out of what we learn. Each time we practice giving, our giving gets a little better.
Ultimately, that practice grows into trusting nonprofits by giving unrestricted gifts. It can also mean giving in other ways above and beyond financial support. Growing up, our donations to the nonprofit that helped my Aunt Sandy were also paired with volunteering at the organization’s thrift store, where my mother and grandmother taught us how to sort and hang (and then endlessly re-hang) donated clothes. It was the repetition—the practice of it—that made me a better giver.
Wherever your generosity takes you this year, start with a conversation—with yourself, with your family and friends, and with those you would like to benefit. Explore a nonprofit’s website or, better yet, visit in person to learn from people working day in and day out on their mission. Or pick up the phone and call the Community Foundation. We’re always here to help you reflect on your giving and explore where you and your community’s needs meet. Let’s talk.