Folly #99: A Lone Voice?

Could yours be the one that makes change?

Sometimes we need to remember that change starts with one person. Is that you?

Maybe you read about the Idaho teacher who chose to resign rather than remove her all are welcome here poster from her classroom.

Or the image from Isabel Wilkerson’s powerful book Caste that has stayed with me of the lone person in the 1936 crowd who refused to give the Nazi salute.

Or Maggie Doyne, who took a gap year at 19 that unexpectedly led her to Nepal, where seeing one young girl inspired her to stay and support locals in building safe spaces for children and women. The organizations she helped found — BlinkNow Foundation and Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School — now serve hundreds in this remote community.

Or Guy Raz’ countless, wonderful How I Built This podcast interviews with startup founders who have a crazy idea and a lot of persistence. Grit. Determination. (Or maybe they’re just stubborn, like me. How else would I get to Folly #99?)

Of them all, Maggie’s story is the one that has stayed with me. (There’s a documentary film, too.) She writes with humility and introspection of her own role, as a white girl from New Jersey, in becoming an ally to people in a place and culture far away. Hers are words we can all take to heart in some way.

But she also says something that really, really surprised me.

Fundraising is a struggle for me. It might be the most difficult part of the nonprofit world in general. Your mission is only as strong as your funding source.

— Maggie Doyne

Here is a young woman who is fearless. She has been recognized through countless awards. And she struggles with …asking people to invest in a proven model of life-changing programs for children?

This is a fundraising theme I hear time and time again from people who are over-the-top capable and accomplished.

One thing we can do — every single one of us.

This fear of fundraising is ironic. Or maybe iconic, in the way it’s proudly declared as a common loathing by those on nonprofit staffs and boards.

Because giving — and sharing causes with others and asking them to give — is one thing that every single one of us can do. It’s just talking about something that you care about with people you care about. So why do we tell ourselves we can’t?

You may not start an international nonprofit. Or risk your job to make a statement of your values. But one thing remains certain. When we lift our voice, we find our people.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

—Margaret Mead

The news can feel overwhelmingly bad. And issues (like protecting democracy, a woman’s control over her own body, or climate change) seem so big. Sometimes it makes me doubt that I can do much as one person. That’s when I go find a group of thoughtful, committed citizens.

This week, it happened twice.

1. Over a drink and a bite at a neighbor’s house, and

2. At a community “coffee” about affordable housing.

(Evidently, I’m highly motivated by food.)

I learned from women who met through their children’s elementary school, which sparked lifelong connections to people and issues that matter (to them).

I listened to a young leader, who — like Maggie — brings humility and fresh energy to an old problem (families staying in communities as rent goes through the roof).

I talked with a young Latina, who said she would translate the questions and answers into Spanish and share them with neighbors.

I asked an elder about her connections to the work, and got to hear her story of helping to start the organization with a handful of neighbors.

Mead’s quote never seems old or dated. One of my most fundamental life philosophies is that one person can touch many lives in a profound way. (As you know from my many references It’s a Wonderful Life.)

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It takes one voice, and yours matters.