Monday, January 31, 2011

Core Beliefs on a Snowy Day

Getting ready to let the love flow on Valentine's Day? Me too! For me, Feb 14 is not just a day to exchange chocolate (though why not? all chocolate gifts welcome!)...it's the 2 yr anniversary of Fast Forward Fund's launch. As I anticipate our re-launch and learn lessons from 1st phase of our start-up, I've been wrestling with hard questions and reinvigorated by the enduring vision and growth of this venture. Going back to basics, I still stand by FFF's core beliefs driving social change:

* Investment activism. We all make a difference with our daily financial choices. Investing is action.
* Leveraged impact. Investing in a collective social fund allows young people to leverage relatively small individual resources into large-scale impact.
* Accelerated change. More inclusive, expansive philanthropic models enable youth to accelerate, or fast forward, their participation as social investors advancing innovative solutions to global challenges.
* Lifelong Giving. Cultivating philanthropic social investment among young adults creates lifelong givers and engaged global citizens.

Given these core beliefs, how do we (re)design our structure to optimize impact? How do we recharge, and reframe, strategy to achieve results? What occasions inspire you to (re)examine your core beliefs? How can you reconnect with your core beliefs to drive social change? In the spirit of Valentine's Day, let's dedicate the next two weeks to showing some love for social innovators!

The stark beauty of NY's incessant snowfalls this January reminds us to find value in reflective hibernation, to slow down (like it or not), bundle up, and remember all growing things under earth lay dormant awaiting their perfect moment for birth, rebirth, and renewal. Green sprouts will appear and reappear in their time, and until then, each mesmerizing snowflake offers its own prism of reflection, refraction and light.