Photo: Jamie Kattrein (center), Director of Community Relations and Advocacy at Girls Inc. of Sarasota County, lined up meetings and communications for our Tallahassee trip. We were delighted to be joined by two Florida State University students, Marisa and Sofia, who graduated from local high schools as Girls Inc. girls!
The ability to start new conversations, find things in common, and connect with people you may not otherwise talk to helps our sector flourish. I never know how many interests someone shares with me until I find out through dialogue. It always makes things more comfortable for both of us.
Relationships can only start and thrive when we put the work into them.
Since our legislators make decisions that impact the success of nonprofits and young people like our Selby Scholars here at home, they deserve a space in our communications and connections. Elected representatives benefit from knowledge partners. These are people like you who have on-the-ground experiences and are intimately familiar with the needs of our community and the connected data.
Traveling to Tallahassee in February, I was grateful that our local senators and representatives made time to meet. We talked about the importance of charitable organizations to our community and the resources they provide for informed decision-making.
As a private foundation, the Selby Foundation cannot lobby, but we can talk about the significant role of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations in creating safe spaces for civic conversation, increasing health and wellness for our residents, driving economic benefits to our communities, supporting families, and protecting our environment. We can also share that philanthropy will never be enough alone–it’s part of the funding ecosystem but cannot make all of the investments that government can.
When people listen, and we are open to listening, it’s like working on an essential relationship that supports the missions we commit our lives to–something our sector is really good at doing. Special thanks to our friends at the Florida Nonprofit Alliance for organizing the second annual Florida Nonprofit Day and to colleagues here for making the trip an experience that mattered.