vulnerabilities-draws people in and moves them to action.
with her years ago to a presentation by Doug Ladd, the now retired conservation director for TNC in Missouri. C says he was pulled in because the discussions were fascinating and the solutions Ladd described seemed smart.
"You think that if more people knew stuff like that, they'd care more," she says.
When C and M sat down this year to make their annual plan for their philanthropy, they did something different. Both of the main projects they had been funding were doing well enough for others to take over, and they decided to ask their contact at TNC in Missouri where the money would make the biggest difference. It's not something they would have done without that long-running relationship, and they still planned to do their homework on the proposal. But they stress that building trust like that is critical.
"I'm attracted to smart," C says.
As C and M learned more, they became convinced the best way to help was to focus their philanthropy on one or two big strategies, rather than spread it among numerous projects and organizations. They started with turtles because, well, they liked turtles. They had taken their family on vacation to Florida when their kids were young, and they remember vividly their wonder at seeing loggerhead sea turtles lay their eggs. They ultimately decided to support a project in the Solomon Islands where TNC was working with local communities to protect the largest hawksbill sea turtle rookery in the South Pacific. Another interest followed a similar path. On a trip to Kenya, a Masai guide had introduced C and M to people in his village. The couple felt an instant connection and returned home looking for ways to help people in the region. They eventually settled on a TNC project that safeguarded a vital water source in Nairobi, improving the lives of the women who went each day to collect the water.
"We're at the point with TNC that we're impressed with everything we've seen," C says.
The suggestion of funding a matching gift for the Healthy Cities strategy in Missouri appealed to them. The strategy's potential to not only achieve conservation goals but to do so in ways that helped St. Louis' historically disenfranchised populations fit the couple's growing interests in social justice. And the matching component seemed like a smart way to leverage their gift to encourage others to develop their own relationships with TNC. Already, it's doing just that. The first gift as part of the matching program came from a couple who find themselves in the same place C and M were years ago: They're figuring out the best ways to focus their giving to create the largest impact. They, too, are looking for those smart ideas in need of funding. When C and M heard about the couple, they seemed encouraged. It is easy to look at a world beset by problems of climate change and widespread injustice and feel overwhelmed, but they have learned through experience how careful, targeted support can make real, measurable change. It is an antidote to feeling helpless. That's why they continue to give and work with TNC toward a future that will carry on beyond their own lives.
Aside from being of personal interest, the projects and TNC fit within other criteria the couple had set for their giving.
"We're looking for, 'Here's a good idea that's underfunded, and we can execute it,"' C says.
Finding those really good ideas can be difficult, the couple adds. In the beginning, they started by trying to answer two simple questions when considering whether to donate to an organization: "Is what they do good? And do they need the money?" The questions gave them a basic framework for their research. The answers helped them get started with TNC, and the yearslong relationship has evolved from there. C and M say the relationship is important. They look for organizations that prize those connections, not just the money. They recommend getting involved-talk to the people doing the work and see what's happening in person, if possible. Starting with that first presentation by Doug Ladd, they began attending TNC events and lectures because they found them interesting. They've learned about tallgrass prairies and biodiversity, the lives of caterpillars and, of course, turtles. M says learning about nature-and its
"It's a place where there's a sense of really moving past the sense of being overwhelmed," C says.
"Hope," M says. "It's hope."
SCAN THIS CODE or visit nature.org/mocities to learn more about the Healthy Cities matching gift program.
NATURE.ORG/MISSOURI 11
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