Tag: lgbt

How To: Evaluate Your Organization With the S.W.O.C. Method

Amanda Malamut4 Comments

The S.W.O.C. technique is probably one of the most helpful skills I learned when I was in graduate school. Learning to evaluate your organization or program using the S.W.O.C. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Challenges) method allows you to pick apart what is working in your organization, what opportunities you have, the weaknesses of your organization, and the challenges you can face. This is also a great to use if you are expanding into a new area and want to form a clearer picture of what you have or need, what you need to overcome, and what is working in your favor. My favorite method of organizing the SWOC is in a chart, as seen below:

Strengths:

What strengths does your organization have? What do you bring to the table? This can be monetary resources, talent in your personnel, what you can bring to partnerships, or anything else that you can view as a positive within your organization.

 

Weaknesses:

Where in your organization do you need to improve? Are you lacking in a certain area (ie finance)? Do you not have enough constituents to make an impact? Your outreach is lacking? This section is great for pointing out areas within your organization that needs improvement.

 

Opportunities:

What external factors exist that will help your organization prosper and sustain itself? Does the geographic area you are working in lend itself to your mission? Does the local and/or national government support you? Are there a lot of funding opportunities? Try to think of all of the assets available to you outside of your organization.

 

Challenges:

Are you working in a country with a corrupt government or poor infrastructure? A lack of funding for what your organization does? Is there an over saturation of non-profits with similar missions in your geographic area? Not enough non-profits working where you work? This section can help you identify new strategies to overcome obstacles that you’ll face in the field.

 

Make sure your organization is well prepared. Good luck!

 

You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling

Amanda MalamutLeave a comment

In the past, I have talked about not burning yourself out on participating in too many projects. What if you are feeling burnt out by your own organization? Has the spark of passion in your mission flickered out?

We don’t do easy work, and I have seen many domestic and international non-profit/aid/foreign service workers get jaded by governments, bureaucracy, or by the ‘lack’ of progress seen. We get questioned about why we work with those people in that country, when we could obviously be working with people in country X. We are told that constituents  are undeserving  because of a certain prejudice they hold, or just pure ignorance.

That’s enough for anyone to feel like giving up. I know I’ve lost that loving feeling for my organization from time to time. Trying to stay positive in that midst of a wave of negativity has tempted me to throw in the towel more than once. We need to focus on what drives us, not what tears us down. The most important people to think of are who we are working with and the communities who are grateful for what we do.

When I get bogged down by pessimism or red tape I try to go to the core of my passion: the answer to WHY I run an organization without funding for a salary.

The answer could be abstract, but for me the majority of the time I seek out tangible pictures. Whenever I lose my drive, I try to look at pictures from my organization. These pictures of the people we work with re-energize me, strip  me of my pessimism, and focus me back on the mission.

Whether you have a picture, a saying, or a song, you need to have something that draws your passion back and reminds you of your organization’s goals and how important your mission is.

Remember, even if your day sucked and you are feeling disenchanted, you are a driving force behind feeding the homeless, creating quality education, fighting disease, and many other worthy causes.

Chin up. Focus on the mission. We couldn’t do it without you.

How To: Deal With Rejection

Amanda Malamut1 Comment

On Sunday I talked about funding and how we define success as a sector. What about rejection? Funding through sponsors, donors, or grant makers can be very difficult to acquire; getting a person to volunteer their time and talent is also extremely difficult. You are going to hear no many more times than yes, whether you are asking for people, money, or resources. People are busy, and foundations receive a plethora of applications.

No one wants to be turned down, whether it be a partnership, sponsorship or funding opportunity. Rejection is unfortunately a huge part of non-profit life. There are many reasons why organizations and people might say no, but it is important to know to deal with and react to rejection.

Don’t take it personally.

I know this is easier said than done. When you work hard on a grant, program, or event, you want everyone to get on board and be as passionate about it as you are. When organizations or people say no, it has very little to do with you as a person. Having someone say no to a proposal does not mean they are against you, your organization, or its mission. There are many deserving groups worthy of time and talent, and not enough resources.

Try to get the reason for the rejection. If a person can’t make it to an event because of a prior engagement, make sure they stay on the list for the next one. Funders can be extremely busy, but it never hurts to ask for feedback on your grant proposal. Maybe there were just too many applicants and not enough money to go around. Maybe you forgot to include some crucial information. Maybe it’s just subjective criticism. Turn the rejection into a learning opportunity, and never burn bridges. Just because they said no today, doesn’t mean they’ll say no next month or next grant cycle.

Ask away… and good luck!

 

Rethinking How We Define Success in the Non-Profit Sector

Amanda Malamut4 Comments

Last week I read an article by Jordan Levy about the Ubuntu Education Fund, and how that instead of rushing to outcomes for the sake of results and funding, that we as a sector should acknowledge that positive and lasting change comes gradually. He states:

Our success stems from this comprehensive approach. We strive to address every facet of poverty, helping 2,000 children attain financial independence and lead healthy lives. Our commitment to children ‘from cradle to career’ gives us the courage to push back against the ‘bigger, faster, and cheaper’ mantra, to acknowledge that progress often comes incrementally, that real change requires sustained and sometimes expensive services. And, most importantly, it lets us redefine success as outcomes rather than single interventions. Who’s with us?

My organization works in the United States and also in one other small country (in less than 10 schools). Especially with our international programs, finding sustainable funding has been extremely difficult. I have no doubt in my mind it is because of the relatively micro nature of  our programs. It has been suggested to us numerous times that we should expand into other countries. Sometimes, I feel that, if my organization got a dollar for every time we were asked why we didn’t expand into a multinational organization, we might have the funding we needed to sustain ourselves.

We need to monitor and evaluate ourselves in order to produce the best programs that we can. However, why are the organizations with the largest metrics applauded? Sometimes without looking at the quality of the program? Personally, I have found that working on a ‘micro’ level has helped my organization hone our mission and pay attention to quality; I know for certain that expanding into multiple countries would diminish our work. I’m not saying that large groups shirk on quality, but we need to change the definition of success equating to X amount of people attended or fed, with the highest number receiving the most funding.

Sustainable change rarely comes from cheap, quick, and easy fixes or actions. In my experience, however, those are the type of projects that get the money. Funders want to see quick results, and they want digestible numbers to pass onto their backers. We as a sector NEED to continue to work, piece by piece toward sustainable goals, and remember that we are working with and for people and communities. We can do more than single interventions. We have the capacity and ability to be more than nice looking numbers.

When we work toward our mission in a comprehensive and responsible way, the true impact will speak for itself.

Who’s with us?

How To: Look at Your Partnerships

Amanda Malamut2 Comments

Partnerships between non-profits can be a great way to take your organization to the next level. Sharing resources lowers costs and increases personnel who share a similar passion and working towards a common goal. Like a romantic relationship, both partners need to put relatively the same amount of effort into the partnership. Also, both or all partners should be receiving an equal amount of benefits from the agreement.

In non-profit partnerships communication is essential. What are you putting in to it? What is the other organization putting into it? How are you benefiting from this partnership? How are they benefiting? Who will be making sure that all sides stay on target and accountable?

When partnerships fail, however, things can get toxic. One sided partnerships will only lead to disaster; all organizations will be left with bitter feelings and not much accomplished. Like romantic relationships, ‘sticking it out’  doesn’t work if both parties aren’t willing to fix the problems. Both sides can become resentful, and most likely aren’t getting what they are supposed to out of the partnership. Even if it seemed convenient or was working well in the past, if a partnership is no longer working it is time to end it.

Ending partnerships can be extremely difficult. My organization fell into a trap of entering a partnership of convenience without properly evaluating how we were going to benefit. When we did end it, things became personal and nasty very quickly. Sadly these things happen. I’m infinitely grateful that my organization was able to maintain composure and respect, because in the long run, our common constituents took our side.

If possible, you need to not burn bridges. In my case that was impossible, but you need to maintain a level of respect and composure throughout the situation. The non-profit sector can be like a small town. Burning a bridge or being nasty could set off a chain reaction you weren’t even aware of.  Even when it’s difficult, stay classy.

Through my experience the best advice I could give is to write everything out, and assume nothing. Whether you are best friends or colleagues, writing out all of the terms of the partnership will help you maintain healthy, respectful, mutually beneficial goals. Also, allow you and your partner(s) to reevaluate the terms of the partnership after a set period of time. Organizations change and evolve and so should partnerships; nothing has to be stagnant nor permanent.

Be open-minded, communicate,  and stay respectful. Good luck!

Why I Fight to Stay Positive

Amanda Malamut1 Comment

I’m very lucky to have a girlfriend who reminds me that my goal for this blog is to create a safe and positive space for LGBT* non-profit folk. She has had to remind me quite a bit as of late. I’ve gotten fired up about a lot of national and international news; all I’ve wanted to do is to rant and rave about how people are assholes and why everything is terrible.

As much as it tempts me to be pessimistic about the world and the non-profit sector, I will continue to struggle with forcing myself to stay positive. Honestly, it’s a daily struggle. The World Vision controversy of last week had me leaning towards writing a piece about how aid organizations and non-profits who use religious affiliations as an excuse for homophobia are detrimental to the non-profit sector. As much as I want to, I can’t focus on it, and writing about it here will get nothing accomplished besides getting me more angry.

How do I stay positive, knowing that people would condemn me and dismiss my work because of my sexual orientation? I remember that the work that I am doing has a major positive impact on the world. My work is not devalued by organizations like World Vision or conservatives in Congress. I am making a positive difference in the world, and no amount of hate will stop me.

Do I still get pissed off by bigots? Of course.  I have days where all I want to do is focus on my fears of being outed, or getting kicked out of countries for being a lesbian, or not getting funded by an organization that turns out to be homophobic. Honestly these fears have kept me up at night countless times over the past five years. Why do we live in a world that would actively negate our humanitarian efforts because of our sexual orientation?

The sad fact is that we do, but that negativity cannot consume us and shape our work.  People like us need to keep fighting for water development, education, women’s rights, and all of the other noble causes that exist. If we overwhelm ourselves with the hate spewed at the LGBT* community, we cannot put our best work forward.

My main goal working in the non-profit sector is to make my little corner of the world a more positive and equal place. I can’t do that while bottling up resentment toward organizations and people who are actively discriminating against me. I know what my organization is doing for the people I work with. That is what I force myself to think about.

I can’t change the world for the better by focusing on the homophobia and institutionalized discrimination that exists in the non-profit sector. I can change the world by continuing my work and making sure my organization is helping people in the best way possible.

I need to believe that by staying positive I am becoming a better person, and thus a better humanitarian.

World Vision Shows Us That Positive Change Can Be Fickle

Amanda Malamut1 Comment

This past week has been a roller coaster ride for the LGBT* non-profit community. This past week World Vision announced that they were going to immediately recognize the same sex marriages of their gay and lesbian workers. They were quoted as saying

 “It’s been heartbreaking to watch this issue rip through the church. It’s tearing churches apart, tearing denominations apart, tearing Christian colleges apart, and even tearing families apart. Our board felt we cannot jump into the fight on one side or another on this issue. We’ve got to focus on our mission. We are determined to find unity in our diversity.”

World Vision is one of the largest  faith driven organizations in the world, working in almost 100 countries. This move wasn’t an endorsement, but it certainly had the potential of creating positive waves in the aid / relief community. Unfortunately World Vision backed out of this decision from overwhelming pressure and bullying from the political evangelical community. I probably should have seen this coming;I didn’t have dreams of grandeur. I didn’t think an acknowledgement of same-sex marriages would lead to every faith-based group to reevaluate their perception of the LGBT* community.

This could have been beyond huge. For too long Christian (and secular) organizations in the non-profit sector ignored or separated themselves from acknowledging the LGBT* individuals in their workforce. Challenging that separation through open acknowledgement would force people to at least look at their understanding of what it means for a queer person who is working toward similar goals. This could have been a time where Christian non-profits to look at itself, its staff, and its volunteers; World Vision had the chance to say that LGBT* workers are just as impactful as their straight counterparts, and should have equal footing.

Instead, we are shown that with enough negative pressure, positive change can be reversed. What could have been a great leap forward towards equality in the non-profit sector has become another example of discrimination and homophobia. World Vision’s mission is to “[work] with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice”. They had a chance to fix an injustice within their own organization. I hope someday that revisit this, and I hope that organizations while acknowledge that LGBT* aid workers fight poverty and hunger, work for quality education, and advocate for those who do not have a voice.

As a  diverse community, we need to focus on WHY we are doing what we’re doing. That is our commonality – what unites us toward making the world a better, happier, and brighter place.

You Need to Be a Better Person Than the Westboro Baptists and Fred Phelps

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Fred Phelps was excommunicated from the Westboro Baptists and died this past Thursday; it has been rumored that his excommunication stemmed from a change of heart about Westboro’s message. Whatever the reason, they are various opinions on how the LGBT* community should react to Fred Phelp’s recent passing. While some call or a celebration, I hope the queer community falls more in line with George Takei’s message:

“I take no solace or joy in this man’s passing. We will not dance upon his grave, nor stand vigil at his funeral holding ‘God Hates Freds’ signs, tempting as it may be. He was a tormented soul, who tormented so many. Hate never wins out in the end. It instead goes always to its lonely, dusty end.” 

I know that the urge to dance on Fred Phelp’s metaphorical grave is extremely tempting. His group has been the face of hate throughout the United States. I attended a counter-protest of the Westboro Baptists at my Graduate school; Fred wasn’t there, but seeing the group across the street was enough to creep me out. While I don’t believe  in Christianity, I do know that the Westboro Baptists do not reflect peace and love that is supposed to be central in the Christian faith.

We just have to be better people. As a non-profit / aid works, do we ever get sustainable positive gains through being vindictive and cruel? Without love of what we do, our passion would fizzle out or be corrupted. We became humanitarians to put good back into the world. We need to be better people in all of this. Being joyous about someone’s death only brings more hate into the world.

We don’t gain anything from hate. Yes, there might be some initial joy after mud-slinging, but after that where does that leave us? Our hate does not change what Fred Phelps or the Westboro Baptists have one, and I doubt it will change what they decide to do in the future.

We are not Fred Phelps. We are not the Westboro Baptists. We are loving, caring, passionate LGBT* individuals who help our local and global communities.

At the end of the day, we are responsible for what we put back into the world. Let’s choose love over hate.

So You’ve Fallen in Love with a Non-Humanitarian

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My girlfriend is terrified of going on airplanes, she absolutely loathes them. She certainly doesn’t understand how I fly 20+ hours at a time for my organization, or why I would that fly that far, or why I am so passionate about my cause. When it comes to a powerful news story, I’m the one crying and she’s the one looking at me strangely. I’m not saying she is apathetic and heartless, she is a very caring and loving person to her friends, family and me. Honestly anyone compared to me would appear at least mildly apathetic. Really, I am hyper emotional and empathetic.

Honestly, before I started dating her, I thought my ideal woman would be very much like myself- someone in the aid or non-profit sector, probably working in education development and/or with kids.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I’m not saying that two humanitarians couldn’t have a successful romantic relationship, I’m sure many do. (I’m in no way shape or form an expert on other people’s relationships.)

I could write a 10 page essay on all of the things about my girlfriend that I love – but I will spare you (you’re welcome) and list out a few reasons why being with a non-humanitarian makes me better at what I do.

  • She balances out my emotional tendencies – which helps me think more objectively about my work and the world.
  • She challenges my worldview. We can debate and discuss global and domestic issues; we might not change each other’s minds, but perspective is definitely expanded.
  • She cares because I care. My work is important to me, so it’s important to her.
  • She tries to understand what I do. I can talk about my day and she is truly interested and asks questions.
  • She respects my passion. No, she doesn’t get it all of the time, but she respects that part of me and allows me to feel how I feel.

Like in any relationship, balance and respect is essential. Could I have found that with a humanitarian? Sure, but other humanitarians will have the same emotional hangups and the manic bouts of passion towards a cause. Which could be good for some people (again, not a relationship expert), however, I would not be great at it. Really, I just imagine us being in separate corners curled up in the fetal position.  How could we be emotionally supportive of each other if we were stuck in our own heads, worrying over the state of the world?

What makes being with a non-humanitarian so special is that she cares in spite her worldview. I get a peek into a different worldview and so does she. She helps me draw myself out of my head. She is my rock and my balance. I wouldn’t be the humanitarian I am today without her.

Help ALL of the People…?? Don’t Burn Yourself Out

Amanda Malamut3 Comments

I tend to over think things a lot. I won’t go into detail about my neurosis (you’re welcome), but one of my struggles within the non-profit sector is making sure that I don’t stretch myself too thin and burn out.

For example: In most states, the state that I live in is working toward marriage equality. I have tried getting involved and volunteering for the cause (actually have attempted to get involved in multiple states), but I never feel motivated to follow through and put all of myself into it. My head says DO IT while the rest of me resists. This dichotomy makes me feel extremely guilty – how can I not feel motivated to participate in winning my basic civil rights?

I would think that those who work in the non-profit sector outside of the LGBT* arena would  also feel guilty if they are not actively working toward their rights.  Should we feel guilty? Definitely not. We are more than just our orientation, and we have many different passions. There is no need to get burned out because we feel like we should be spending our energy on multiple issues. I’m not Super Man, and just because I am a lesbian does not mean I have to be an activist. If you want to delve 100% into education, water development, homelessness or anything else – you should! If you want to commit yourself to just queer issues – do it!

LGBT* rights are obviously extremely important, and participation is essential. But we need people who are fully dedicated to the work involved, not people who feel like they need  to participate to keep their gay card.

To be our best selves, we need to follow our hearts. We are educators, humanitarians, aid workers and volunteers. We are a complex group of individuals who are passionate about a plethora of issues. We are all working towards a common good – and weighing good deeds against each other gets us no where.