Lessons for Local Philanthropy: What We’ve Learned So Far — Part I
As we open the new year, we turn our gaze from the past to the opportunities stretching before us. Every new year brings uncertainty and optimism, but this year, the magnitude of the uncertainty and the urgency of the optimism are greater than most of us have ever known.
Entering this uncharted territory with a learner’s mind is essential. We don’t know what 2021 will reveal, but the remarkable and devastating year now behind us has taught us many lessons. Key among them are the imperatives to approach our work with humility and an openness to learning, to dig deep into our reservoirs of generosity, and to work as hard as we can to stay connected with one another.
With those lessons in mind, we’ve taken a look inward at Magnify Community, and are sharing some of what we’ve learned now that we’ve completed the first two years of our work. We began as an innovation lab in late 2018, and have now entered the final year of our experimental initiative to catalyze more local philanthropy in Silicon Valley. This reflection looks first at what we’ve tested, then what we’ve learned so far, and concludes with what we hope to learn in the months to come.
