Folly #86: Hold the Baby

Make it easier to get from here to there together.

I just returned from two weeks in Cuba—my second trip in a year—this time with a native Cubana and an American friend, and using local transit. It's my favorite way to travel. (A future Follies will share some insights on how we get from here to there. So many ways...)

A Journey and a Question

So the 3 Amigas traveled from Holguín to Santiago in a big truck/bus called a camion. It holds about 60 passengers (two-thirds seated), and all their luggage and big bags of things to sell once they arrive. From the outside, it looks a bit like a cattle transport truck.

During our trip, an older woman came aboard with a 3-year-old. All the seats were taken. While she stood, a seated couple held the little girl on their laps. For two hours.

I asked my Cubana friend, "Do they know that lady?" And she said, "No, but it's something very common here in Cuba."

My travels have helped me to understand just how different our culture is. In part, because of capitalism—even in Europe, socialist countries have a shared value of supporting others in the community more than we Americans do.

Indeed, this is the gap that the nonprofit sector fills.

It's also, in part, our Manifest Destiny mentality: the first one there gets to keep it. So life here can feel like a race and only one person wins.

Communal Gap

To close the gap in bringing everyone along, we have an absurdly fragmented nonprofit sector. Over 1.5 million 501(c)(3) organizations, most operating with less than $100,000/year.

But what if funders held the baby?

As donors and grantmakers, we can show up with the right resources at the right time—as defined by the organizations who use those resources for good. And we can stop thinking about whether a nonprofit will use our time and treasure wisely, and begin to trust that they know more about what is needed than we do.

So, how does it sound to hold the baby?

What resources do you need that are hardest to get? I'm not sure I can gather them, but I will try.

What relationships are most important to your success? I'm not sure I know them, but I will try.

What part of your work is most difficult to fund? I'm not sure I can give that much, but I will try.

And then, as Yoda says: Try not. Do.

Mine your LinkedIn for resources and connections. Host a small gathering to share the work of a nonprofit you love. Talk about social and environmental issues in plain language with friends and learn, together, about organizations working on solutions. Be curious, especially among people who may have different experience.

Unsplash image of a sleeping child with thanks to Laura Lee Moreau (@laura_lee)

Offer to hold the baby, and make the journey just a little easier for someone who's doing the day-to-day work.

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Despite what our government would have you believe, it's easy to travel to Cuba "for the benefit of the Cuban people." I've met extraordinary guides and hosts in (clockwise) Havana, Camaguëy, Holguín, Guardalavaca, Baracoa, Santiago, Trinidad and Viñales. If you're thinking of going, I would love to introduce you. Email me.