Gratitude for the Progressive Nonprofit Leaders Who Inspire Me Most - Episode 24

You're listening to the nonprofit power podcast. In today's episode. I'm giving. Thanks for the progressive nonprofit leaders who inspire me most. So stay tuned. If you want to have real and powerful influence over the money and policy decisions that impact your organization and the people you serve, then you're in the right place. I'm Cath Patrick, and I've helped dozens of progressive non profit leaders take their organizations to new and higher levels of impact and success by building powerful influence with the decision makers that matter. It is possible to get a critical mass of the money and policy decision makers in your world to be as invested in your success as you are, to have them seeking you out as an equal partner, and to have them Bringing opportunities and resources to you. This podcast will help you do just that. Welcome to the nonprofit power podcasts. Hey everybody. Kath Patrick here. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the nonprofit power podcast. I'm so glad you're here for today's episode. I've been inspired by the leaders of many movements from the past and present, but I think I'm the most excited about the youngest leaders who are stepping up to make real change in the world. while it would be easy to be demoralized by the current political environment. There is great inspiration to be found in the leaders who are standing up creating change and claiming their power. Mhm. Hey there folks. Welcome to the nonprofit power podcast. I'm your host, cath, Patrick. As we're here in Thanksgiving week of 2023, of course, it's a time to pause and reflect on all of the things for which we are grateful. I'm grateful for many, many things in my life, including wonderful friends and family and a couple of pretty awesome cats. All of whom make my life better. And I'm thankful for my many wonderful clients who give me hope and inspiration and a desire to keep showing up. And doing my best every day. I'm grateful for all of those things, but the thing I want to share with you today that I'm feeling special gratitude for is the leaders past and present who give me hope and inspiration for the future. There's a long list of leaders from the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, the labor movement and the LGBTQ rights movement. That have inspired me throughout my advocacy career. And to me, the most inspiring ones. I have always been those who were ordinary people living their lives when they reached a moment where they felt the need to stand up. And take on an injustice that needed to change. All those leaders and thousands of advocates made up movements, the created powerful and sweeping change. And made all our lives better. In these demoralizing political times, it would be easy to say, well, that was, then this is now. Things are different now. Sure things are always different. Things are changing constantly. That's part of the point. But one of the things that most of those leaders had in common. That always inspired me was that none of them waited to be given permission to act. Or to lead. They looked around. They saw a problem. They saw an injustice and they said, somebody's got to do something about that. And that somebody is going to be me. And I'm going to find other people who want to do something about this and together we're going to make something happen. Power has never conceded lightly or easily. That has been true forever. But what we know from those movements is that major change is possible. When people stand up and take action together. We continue to see evidence of this. The me too movement. The black lives matter movement. The newly energized labor movement. Are all very current examples of ordinary people claiming their power. Refusing to accept that this is the way things are or the way things have to be. And saying no. It needs to be different. And we're going to make it be different. We're going to take back power. We're going to claim power and we're going to wield it through collective action. There's a lot of things going on that made me feel very inspired and hopeful for the future. And one of the things that I'm most grateful for is the youngest leaders who are coming forward. And who know intuitively that waiting for permission is not the way to go. That if you see an injustice, if you see something wrong, if you see a problem that needs solving and you've been affected by that problem. That you can change things. And so I'm especially grateful for those new young leaders who aren't letting anything get in their way. They're not waiting. They're not giving into despair or cynicism or the belief that nothing can change. And no group of young leaders illustrates this better for me then the Parkland students. Who lived through the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. Their response in the days after that unbelievably traumatic experience was to say, we have to do something. This can't ever happen again, we have to organize. And so they did. They organized on Facebook and Twitter. And engaged thousands of people in a matter of days. And they understood that they were in a moment. They had sadly observed far too many other mass shootings in other communities. Where attention is on the community for a few days, maybe a week or two, and then the country moves on. And the spotlight fates. So they knew they had to move fast that if they wanted to do something, they couldn't sit around planning forever. They needed. To just act. They organized online. They sought out media interviews and they spoke out. They hadn't had media training. Nobody coached them on how to give a good media interview. They didn't know any of that. They didn't care. They weren't worried about getting it perfect about not making a mistake. That was the furthest thing from their mind, they were driven by an over powering urgency. And so they just went forth and did what needed to be done. They very quickly organized a March on the Florida state Capitol in Tallahassee. And then they collaborated with every town for gun safety to put together a national demonstration, the March for our lives in Washington, DC. But they didn't just March. They also organized and advocated for policy change. And they were able in a matter of a few months to get the Florida legislature, which had always been completely resistant to any gun laws. To pass at least some small gun restrictions. They certainly didn't get all the policy changes they wanted, but they got a couple of wins. Very fast. And they've continued. Many of them have gone on to continue to advocate on this issue on the national level, they are leading. These young leaders inspire me every day and give me incredible hope. To know that there are young people everywhere. In every community who are stepping up to take leadership on issues that matter to them. They're not waiting for permission. They're not waiting to be told what to do or how to do it. They see a problem and they're taking action and they're organizing. And the parallel that I think is so important for all of us in direct service nonprofits, is that the history of direct service nonprofits is the same. Virtually every non-profit out there that exists today. Exists because at 1.1 or two people looked around and saw a problem in their community or in their state. And said, we can't have this. This has to change. Something has to be done. We can do better. We can fix this. And they rolled up their sleeves and they started doing. And they figured out the rest as they went along. Now I'm not advocating a total go it alone strategy. That's not my point. There's a lot of really wonderful resources to help with every aspect of non-profit development and growth and success. And I hope. Everyone is taking advantage of all those resources, because there's a lot of great stuff out there. But my point is that nothing ever happens unless an individual says I'm going to do something and they stand up. And they do it. It's that passion, that energy, that dedication. That focus that makes change for the better possible. And as long as we have that, as long as we have that energy and that passion. And people willing to step in and start solving problems and do what's needed to be done to make hard change that change that's being resisted. That. It's what makes. Real change happen. And when we find resistance, we find a way around it. We move like water. And so this Thanksgiving season. I'm deeply grateful for all the amazing progressive leaders who've come before. Who created so much change and have made the world so much better for all of us. we stand on their shoulders every day. And as we stand on their shoulders, we are reaching for new Heights. and we are being the shoulders for the next batch of leaders. I invite you as you're giving. Thanks for all the blessings in your life. To take a moment to consider the mentors. Who've helped you. The leaders who inspire you. And give thanks for all they have given you. And take a moment to reflect on the evidence all around you. That there are new leaders emerging every day. And that we are making change together. And include that in your list of things, for which to be grateful. I know I will. Thanks for listening and I'll see you in the next episode.