Change … There and Here

Did you get the president’s message? He probably didn’t text you or leave it on your voice mail, but he no doubt was talking to you.

On Jan. 20, just after he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama delivered a speech that raised a lot of questions, lit a few fires and made a lot of promises. He promised change; he promised leadership.

What he didn’t promise, however, was to do it alone. Among his calls for personal, familial and community responsibility came those for service and a grassroots commitment to making positive changes in society.

That, of course, is where you come in. As fundraisers, you support the organizations that will be the catalysts of that commitment. Aside from fulfilling their vital and varied missions, nonprofit organizations provide this country’s growing base of Good Samaritans with opportunities to give their time, talents and treasures.

Even though it was wrapped in the shiny cloak of a new administration, the Jan. 20 call for grassroots service and activism is nothing new. No matter who has called the White House home, Democrat or Republican, it’s been a long time since the American public could wave the flag and believe — really believe — that the government was going to make everything right. This administration just seems to be putting it out there more boldly. Obama is challenging us to abide by the oft-quoted words of Mahatma Gandhi to “be the change [we] want to see in the world.”

Here’s hoping the new president will be a bright and constant champion of the vital need to support America’s nonprofit organizations and that he’ll be remembered for, among other things, lighting a fire of hope, compassion and service that will burn passionately for generations to come.