Monday, October 30, 2006

When Mondays are as good as Fridays

Yesterday, I was at the NetImpact Conference in Evanston. I was moderating a panel on the Tech and Philanthropy. (I mentioned this a few weeks back). The panelists were amazing, as are their organizations.

Linda Erlinger, Executive Director of DonorsChoose.org
Jessica Flannery, co-founder of Kiva.org
Dennis Whittle, founder of GlobalGiving.com

All these organizations are on the cutting edge of philanthropy, taking the p2p model and using it to connect donors and individual needs and recipients. The middle-person is out of the loop--and I think that is a good thing.

What struck me most, though was the passion that all three of these wonderful people bring to their work. They simply LOVE what they do.

I reminded me of a saying my grandfather used to have...he told his grandchildren to find something to do where "Mondays are as good as Fridays"...I've told my kids that, and I wish more people could say TGIM rather than TGIF.....

And nonprofits, with our mission, our passion, our good works offer such places. IF we remind our employees (who are also mostly overworked and underpaid) of the point: the mission, and the results of the mission being done.

Check out the websites---they are fascinating places.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter-

Thanks for the shout-out. Let me say in return what a pleasure it is to be among a group that includes DonorsChoose and Kiva. We are all pulling for the same thing from slightly different angles, and learning from each other as we go.

And let me also thank you for being such a good moderator. It is rare to have a panel leader who understands the models so well and is able to craft such a productive discussion. That made it all the more pleasure for me to participate.

Best, Dennis
www.GlobalGiving.com
www.denniswhittle.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Peter,
I want to echo Dennis: we too appreciate the mention in your blog, and it was a pleasure and an honor to be on the panel yesterday. Thank you for the opportunity. As you saw, the student in me couldn't help but take 4 pages of notes during the panel - I learned a lot!
It's true, today (Monday) has been a great day so far, at least as good as the average Friday! I was wondering, though, how this formula works if every day just gets better and better, period ?? In any given week, Fridays may win out...maybe that's just a technicality? :)
Thank you again. Have a wonderful week,
Jessica