Philanthropy Needs to Hold On to Hope

At Fluxx, we’re consistently inspired by great content. This can be served in the form of exciting client updates, blog posts, or industry news and trends. Last week, The Ford Foundation published “The hard work of hope” on their Equals Change blog. The piece, authored by friend of Fluxx, Darren Walker, left us so inspired we had to share our own take on it as well. 

The Hard Work of Hope

With the context of Martin Luther King Day in mind (we’ll dive deeper into that later), Walker discusses how hope can feel difficult in today’s political, social, and environmental climate. We’re less than a month into the new year and already Australia was consumed in flames, we lost an inspirational sports legend and philanthropist (rest in peace, Kobe) his daughter and others, and the U.S. continues to be divided and swayed by a polarized political climate and the spread of misinformation online. All this means is that philanthropists have a growing list of issues to tackle. And sometimes, it seems as if we’re headed down a river, in a canoe that keeps springing new leaks, trying to bail ourselves out with a single, small, bucket. For many, hope has started to feel exhausting. 

But as Darren writes in his piece, now is not the time for hand-wringing – we need to keep Dr. King’s legacy alive and keep pushing back and moving forward. 

“This is a time to step up, not check out—a time to reenlist, reengage, and reconnect, both with each other and with the deep, abiding optimism at the heart of the democratic creed,” - Walker writes. 

Let’s Embody Radical Hope – Together. 

The world is a lonely place when we feel disconnected or unsure of how to make a difference. And that’s why at Fluxx, we focus so strongly on what we can affect, and try to have conversations as often as possible about the greater philanthropic network. Fluxx provides products for both grantmakers and grantseekers that make it easier for philanthropists to collaborate, analyze their work, plan their funding, and track the impact of their initiatives. We are filled with hope because each day, our clients are able to work smarter and faster on initiatives that impact our world. 

That’s why it’s so important for us to show up for work filled with vigor, ready and willing to support this vast network of changemakers fighting to keep hope alive. We believe the successes of one community member should be celebrated by all and we aim to celebrate the Fluxx community and their successes as often as possible, reminding those who may feel exhausted that amazing work is being accomplished in our world each day. This is our contribution to the act of hope that The Ford Foundation and many others want to keep top-of-mind. We also believe it’s important to make small efforts locally to make our society a little better, cleaner, and happier.

MLK Street Cleanup

That’s why in honor of Dr. King, this year we partnered We Act Locally for the MLK2020 Week of Service’s neighborhood cleanup in the San Francisco Civic Center Neighborhood. We took a break from our regularly scheduled office hours to don yellow vests, grab a bucket, and pick up trash around our city center. So while one small bucket may not be able to bail out a canoe that won’t stop springing leaks; many buckets, held by community members who care and want to do good in their own small way, can certainly make a difference. 

Martin Luther King Day may have passed, but as you move forward with your work this year, we hope that you remind filled with the hope he worked so diligently for.