We talk often about “leaving legacies,” in development work. Mainly, of course, we talk about this concept with donors who might have an interest in making a planned gift of some sort.
Another way to think of “leaving legacies,” though, is not nearly as future-casted and is focused on your choices as opposed to the choices donors make. It’s the legacy you are leaving each day you toil in the philanthropic vineyard.
Through our work, we have more than an opportunity – we have the responsibility – to invite into action the most virtuous of human impulses. We encourage generosity. We promote caring for others. And we advance causes that make our world more beautiful.
How we go about doing that work matters today and it matters to the broader legacy we leave for the organization we serve.
Will you choose to bring an attitude of eagerness and intensity to your calling? Will you be the positive voice in the meeting that seeks to raise the aspirations of the team? Will you be the colleague who goes the extra step to ensure success?
Your choice matters not only in that moment. It also becomes part of a broader mosaic of choices that lead to the culture you help create and pass on. A strong organizational culture of philanthropy is cobbled together over time through a collection of seemingly inconsequential decisions and always grows inside-out.
Regardless of our position, your title, or your role, you are serving a noble calling. Your attitude as well as you aptitude matter.
Only you can choose how your legacy today will be remembered.
Jason, This. Is. Beautiful. We are all working legacies. Thank you.
Thank you my friend for the kind words and for reading! 🙂