Power of Community

Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the fall weather.  I am enjoying the weather and season.   Fall always causes me to “see” with more clarity something I teach so much about, which is community (our shared values, vision and interests with others).  I have been reflecting on my sense of community with my family, clients, work, church, friends, etc.  The more I reflect, the more it all makes sense. 

I am seeing that the strongest organizations share such a bonded social web of relationships with their donors, their volunteers, and ultimately their advocates.  I see this bond with my family and personal relationships, and I am realizing how much more powerful it becomes when we can tap into that at an organizational level.  I have taught about this a lot as it relates to philanthropy (our love of humankind). But I think for the first time, I am seeing how the intimacy of this at a personal level is the same intimacy that can carry over at an organizational one. 

We already know that donors, when they are aware that they are in community with other donors, give more.  We already know that volunteers, who know the same, also give more time. It only makes sense that when we build that sense of community, our ability to empower advocates also grows.  We move from doing well to creating a bonded, sustainable movement for a cause.  We build a structure that cannot be torn down because it is held by something stronger than any one individual.  It is held up by the sense of common community around our passion, vision, and values.  Below are two items of interest for you from some past research studies:

• Members of social networks are influenced by fellow group members’ contribution behavior in future interactions with others who were not involved in the initial interaction.  This is called Christakis, "The Social Contagion of Generosity.”  So when someone gives now in my community of relationships, it can cause me to give later, even if I am not currently doing so.

• Charities have long known that asking for contributions dramatically increases the generosity in donors.  It now appears that the “power of asking” comes from its ability to heighten empathy between donors and recipients.  This is called Andreoni, "The Inherent Sociality of Giving.”  When we ask, we are helping to establish empathy connections for the cause.

Overall, this tells us that each time we invite someone to give, we grow them in intimacy within our community and we help to develop their giving behavior and their empathy.  It says that the more we allow those in our community of donors and volunteers to be known and shared, the more others will want to increase in their giving relationship with us. 

So, for this month I ask you one thing.  What are you doing to increase the sense of community within your donors and volunteers?  Start at the heart, how are you catalyzing that sense of community within your staff, your board, your closest donors and volunteers?  I believe the drive of real community can be transformational at a personal and organizational level, but that is just my humble perspective.  Next, ensure you are giving them the opportunity to give!

The articles I have attached this month reflect upon this.  Additionally, I have recorded a podcast on how to unite diverse cultures.  It all applies to how we create community with those we care about.   Thank you all for being part of our community of relationships who care about loving the people around us!

Sincerely,
Jamie