Testimony from Karen Ansara
Andrew Milner at Alliance Magazine asks Karen Ansara from NEID Global: Looking back over the NEID experience, what’s your greatest source of satisfaction?
“I think it’s that. It’s very personal. It’s seeing the lives of the philanthropists change and then infect others with their passion. It’s giving the young woman in her 30s who has just inherited the leadership of her family fund the opportunity to meet people who are 20 years further down the road and to develop her whole grantmaking portfolio based on the wisdom she’s gleaned from others. It’s seeing the couple who were professors at a local college inherit a fund and make seven million dollars a year in grants to grassroots organisations they never would have heard of without NEID, and this is by their own testimony. It’s seeing people come together to learn about an issue like ocean conservation and using the oceans as an engine to mitigate climate change, and seeing that once the giving circle ends, they don’t want to stop getting together. They take field trips together. They stay in communication. They’re changing the priorities in their lives and that’s infectious. When they share that with others, it motivates others to come alongside. So that’s my personal satisfaction in the work. And then the other thing is, I get to see all these communities around the world where our members have had an impact either through our giving circles or their own philanthropy. It gives you hope. Even with Covid, we have made so much progress as humanity in eradicating poverty, in improving global health outcomes, in educating more girls. We often don’t hear about all the positives because we’re trying to beat the drum about the ongoing need – but so much is changing in a positive way, and we’re part of it.”
You will find the complete article here.