It’s presentation and grant writing season — the time when I go around to various groups and individuals and explain what I’ve been quietly working on.
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Presenting to groups is a funny thing. I’ve presented to groups with people who are engaged, who appreciate what they’re learning, and who genuinely have a desire to be there. Sometimes there’s an individual who shuts down once they hear the words United Way, or for some other reason. One vivid memory was speaking at a service group with someone who was very disgruntled that we were opening a food shelf. This person volunteered at another food shelf but wasn’t involved in their leadership or operations. They believed that the new proposed model was ridiculous and talked about their food shelf. Ironically, the person made several statements that were not true regarding the funding of the food shelf. I struggled in that moment — because the information wasn’t accurate, but I wasn’t about to speak and correct at an organization that I didn’t belong to. I did let him know that we had spoken with the board of directors of his food shelf and had presented opportunities for them to be included or involved. This person would not be swayed. They had very strong, very loud opinions, to the point where a group leader spoke up and shut it down, informing the individual that I had been invited and civility was due.
There are always moments in presentations when there’s a call for questions or comments. I genuinely love it when people ask or say what’s on their mind. Sometimes I realize that there are some misconceptions. Or that I forgot to explain an important piece of context. Because of the complexity of our programs, how the organization works overall, it can be easy to not realize which piece makes everything make sense. It’s incredibly important to get that feedback, to learn what’s happening and how it’s perceived in the community. Two or three comments can change the entire perception when there’s a chance to respond to it.
What happens so often though is that there are no comments or questions. I’ve learned to block off a good hour after presentations though, because people won’t say them out loud in a group, but they’ll come up to me individually. They’ll share their story, what resonated with them or ask me questions. You’d think that the biggest challenge would be those who never say anything at all. Of course, I wish everyone would share what they’re thinking. However, the biggest challenge is the conversations and comments made when I’m not able to respond to them directly. It’s the comments that are made to others on the way to the car. Or in the leadership group when no one else is present.
Often those comments will get back to me one way or another, and I might have the opportunity to address them with the speaker. It’s not always possible though, and it’s not possible to address the whole group that those comments were made to. They don’t have to be malicious or negative comments. It’s not considered gossip or anything along that vein. It just happens when I’m invited to the table, but not currently present, and thus have no opportunity to address, and then the misinformation gets spread.
United Way operates approximately 10 different programs in areas of community need. There is rationale and a process for how each of these programs came to be, with factors such as duplication of services for all of them. Each of them are designed with other nonprofits in mind, taking care not to implement programs that can and should be operated by our local nonprofits. If you’ve been quietly wondering why we’re doing work that seems to be already happening — I can assure you that we have a solid answer for that. The same goes for rationale on why we focus on a specific issue, or how we come about the funding for some of our initiatives and programs.
Ask your questions. There’s a wealth of data and information out there that speaks to the need and the evidence-based practices we use every day in our work. We’ve invested significant amounts of time digging into that in addition to being the boots on the ground front line witnesses to the need. We can share stories after stories that are perfect illustrations of why program models need to change, or be tweaked or how it might highlight inequities in how we serve our communities. Sometimes that information needs to be paired with real life context and program-specific information to understand. I’ve always been willing to sit down with someone and go through the process and background — it’s just a matter of understanding how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go.
For all the words I can say on the radio, in written format, at community presentations — none of it compares to seeing what’s happening in-person. Prior to us first opening the food pantry, we hosted an open house and invited the community to see our vision. Now that we’re more established, it’s time to do it again. Later this summer or possibly very early fall, we’ll be hosting an open house for those to come into our space and see what’s happening, meet new faces of the team and meet the colleagues that we work with. We’ll show off our beautiful partnerships and answer those unspoken questions. In the meantime, ask the questions. Email us at uwfc@unitedwayfc.org, write a letter at PO Box 686. Albert Lea, MN 56007, or give us a call at 507-373-8670.
Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.
