Tap Into Your Passion

From my many meetings over the years with hundreds of donors, nonprofit board members, and community organizers, I’ve observed that an individual’s passion for their community overcomes the challenges the community might face. Individual passion never ceases to amaze me because it is always personal and sometimes seemingly random. It gives me great appreciation for the complexity of life and the importance each one of us brings to the pattern: some people are passionate about trees, some about art studios, some about boat building.

Philanthropists understand the power of a good story: trees provide refuge to birds and signal a wild place; art studios provide connections and encouragement for artists; boat building provides opportunities for youth to learn a skill and experience teamwork. I’ve heard these stories when talking to individuals. When they speak from a place of great yearning for a better world they often become more than donors, nonprofit board members and community organizers. They move from ‘doing it because it was the right thing to do’ to ‘acting on a larger vision they had for their community.’ Something moves them to a larger purpose.

As September gets into full swing, the Community Foundation is issuing a lot of scholarships for local teens to continue their education after high school. It makes me reflect on a local WWII veteran, a gentleman I’ve heard so much about in this community but have never had the opportunity to meet. As a young Navy officer in WWII, Merle Palmer made a promise to his fellow sailors, African Americans who often had limited opportunities, to do something in his lifetime that would help other minority youth achieve educational opportunities. Many years later he and his wife Rosie began to provide scholarships to the youth they mentored at the Eastside Community Church near Salishan. This young man, now 89 years old, had no idea that when he made that promise he would go on to build an organization which would, to date, provide 250 minority youth in Pierce County with the means to graduate with bachelor’s degrees. Throughout the years, Merle did this work in his spare time out of his basement office because he had incredible passion for the students and for removing both the financial and emotional barriers to achieving their educational goals. He believes that everyone deserved the same access to opportunities. And he must have also known that not only the lives of these students would be changed, but the many returning Palmer Scholars, who are now active and engaged citizens, would also change Tacoma.

There is something you bring to this world beyond the work you do, the money you make, the friendships you have … and often it’s as simple as seeing an inequity and making a promise. I encourage you to tap into the passion you have for this community and unleash your philanthropy on Tacoma. What would you create or support to make this city a better place in the next 5 years: More urban parks? An endowment to support arts education? Opportunities for people to feel respected? The vision might seem big, or it might not be fully formulated, but start by acknowledging your passion. The story of philanthropy, of individuals acting on their passions, is rich in Tacoma and you are a part of that unfolding story.