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Today is Sunday, July 31st. I am sitting on the front porch of a cabin at Camp Denali. The family that owns this paradise has “adopted” us. So occasionally we get a deal we cannot refuse to visit this great place. We come to be inside the Park and luxuriate in Alaska’s magnificence.
After we woke this morning and had a delicious gourmet breakfast, we hiked to Wonder Lake where we paddled around a while. I found my knees were not as durable as they were 45 years ago when I spent summers working at camps. I survived but was a bit sore this time.
The mountain isn’t out today. Too bad, because from this porch on the right day we could be front and center to the view what all visitors to Denali dream about.
My smidgen of insight for this blog is the power of thoughts and communication.
Last Thursday I spoke to the Chamber in Juneau. I presented the data from the latest ISER study and the trends we expect to have an impact on Alaska’s nonprofits derived from that data.
I have done that presentation six times across the state, but Thursday’s impact went almost viral.
The Juneau Empire picked up on many points I made, but a couple in particular set off a storm of reader comments on their blog. Those included the fact that Alaska’s highest earners are near or at the bottom of the generosity index and that our over dependence on the oil industry and federal government relegates us to being like a socialist state.
The Anchorage Daily News then adapted the Empire article and the title read, “Alaska’s Rich Stingiest in Nation.” You could imagine how that headline filled their blogosphere with emotion.
Sitting here looking across this vast wilderness, it’s hard to worry about much. What I said last week was based on data and our truths. Maybe it’s time for Foraker to step outside the comfort zone and say what we need in order to have an impact.
This was not the first time we got people’s attention – and that’s my 2nd smidgen of insight. One of the people at this resort, someone with only a passing involvement with the nonprofit sector, thanked me for the article we did in the Foraker newsletter in January on coming trends in the sector. He was one of very many random people who thanked us for that insight.
I guess you never really know how and when what you say and write affects others.
My lesson from this insight is to try to intentionally use such opportunities to help. Everything else will work itself out.
Dennis