8 Million Stories

I’ve been having lunch with people a lot recently.

Or coffee…or a cup of tea…or a glass of wine after work…a couple of weeks ago my companion and I conversed together over breakfast-at-lunchtime, a new way to break up the day.

Why? To connect. To figure out how I can help others, and how they can link up with me and help my organization move its mission forward.

Not a formalized my-assistant-will-talk-to-your-assistant date, but an opportunity to chat.

I suppose it’s the same impulse as a Four Seasons power breakfast or a Match.Com speed-dating jamboree – but with a nonprofit “we’re still standing” aura.

To Wit: People in nonprofits that have maintained their viability have done a lot of creative maneuvering in the past year. And even people in nonprofits who jumped ship (before, or as, the ship sank) have started to think outside the box as they recreate their career.

While we’re not out of the woods yet, it’s time to take a step outside the maelstrom for a moment and support each other through this looking-glass universe. I’m finding it fascinating, hearing the tales of survival, adaptation, and renewal – how does the saying go, “There are 8 million stories in the Naked City?” And for each and every enduring nonprofit, a twisted tale of survival.

Just this morning I was talking with someone who’s spent the last two months meeting with every funder they’ve ever had, in preparation for transitioning the work of the nonprofit into a new, smaller and more focused entity. Will it work? They hope so – but the gamble was essential to keeping the group‘s mandate and cutting its losses.

Keep in touch. Let’s learn from each other, cause it ain’t over yet.