Volunteer work (Sept/Oct)

I volunteered for a local charity in September and October 2010. I sat on a panel that allocates funds based on various criteria and on the panel's analysis of several required budget forms (the main issue: How much is estimated to be available in 2011). Preparatory work involved studying the agencies financial statements, logic models, and proposals, and noting any questions or concerns to discuss during face-to-face meetings with this panel. This I did on vacation in Colorado and on the drive home.......

The agencies requesting money submitted their budgets and financial information in meeting after meeting, our panel sat through nine distinct program presentations from five agencies in just over a week. It was very intense! One day, I worked all morning, attended consecutive presentations that lasted all afternoon and then went to teach yoga that night. Our panel members got to know each other very quickly -however briefly - and for the specific purpose of voting on an amount to give away to each of the agencies in 2011.

As with any panel or committee, there were a couple of very strong personalities - hard-working professionals who had clear ideas about how money should be spent and what outcomes are desirable. Leader's in their respective organizations (banks, aircraft manufacturers, social work, law firms, real estate agents), they were an impressive bunch. It was actually difficult not to be intimidated or star-struck.

We voted after each presentation, one by one, day by day, meeting by meeting. Then we held a wrap-up session. I had spent some time preparing an argument (I wanted to take some funds away from one agency and give them to another - I had been disappointed that the panel lowered this agency's amount for 2011) and with little hope of getting what "I" wanted, I entered the conference room for our final meeting.

Based on what happened next, my arguments must have resonated with others on the panel, because a lively discussion ensued comparing these two charities. We had already decided what to allocate, and now we were discussing changing our decision. And sure enough, when the votes were counted, I was able to get the motion to pass. That was a warm glow I have never experienced before!

The sobering part is that one agency had to lose funds so that another would be allocated more. That is the hard truth of our current economic situation. Each of the agencies is "deserving"........but I personally felt one deserved more -from the very beginning. And if fundraising goals are met, they will have it.