Are you a socialite or a social change agent?

Author: Emily Stoddard Furrow

Nonprofit may be in YNPN’s name, but it’s an organization for anyone who works toward social change. That’s good for me, since I’m a line-crosser who runs a business but still thinks like the nonprofit employee I once was. With that in mind, my hope is that this essay speaks to anyone who has something to do with social change in greater Grand Rapids.

This makes for a pretty big audience. Anyone who works for a nonprofit, volunteers, donates money, or runs a business that shapes culture, makes responsible products, and so on. That means I may run the risk of offending a lot of people if I don’t first take care of that obligatory, Grand Rapids self-congratulation. So, good work, everyone. Isn’t Grand Rapids so great? We’ve got this big art competition. Did you hear about the lip dub? We have sustainable, innovative, millennial, social media, and insert-other-buzz-words-here entrepreneurs! Sometimes I’m so busy slow clapping for Grand Rapids that I totally forget to add the #NewsweekYouSuck hashtag to my tweets.

So on to the task at hand. From my little corner of the world running a business that works exclusively with nonprofits and businesses with a social purpose, I have met many people with diverse ideas for Grand Rapids and different motivations behind those ideas. And in the paper-airplane-flurry of change and coolness that seems to have taken Grand Rapids by storm, a curious situation seems to be emerging:      

It appears that some of us are more concerned about whom we stand next to rather than what we stand for.

Despite how “after school special” it may sound to say that, I’m willing to take a chance on it, because I believe people want to talk about this issue.

Unfortunately, some feel like they can’t talk about it – they don’t want to affect their budding career, they don’t want to offend a funder, or they don’t want to seem anything less than happily collaborative. They don’t know how to be honest about this without apologizing a lot first (it’s Grand Rapids, after all – the kingdom of nice).

I consider many of these people social change agents. They are working, donating and/or volunteering in ways that are influencing systems and ideas much bigger than themselves. It’s often the kind of change that can’t come with naming rights because it’s meant to permeate the community. Being seen is not the point – being smart about change is. Some of them are fighting it out with local leaders to make the case for quality housing, social equality, and other rights. Some are making gifts based on information and dialogue, not just the sparkle of an idea. They can tell you stories about neighborhoods, spout data about city and county systems like it’s another language, and have the ego-less ability to say, “We’ll get further faster if we include so-and-so in this work.”

There is nothing particularly sexy about what they do, and maybe that’s why we don’t hear about them a lot like some other folks. It’s not one-night stand social change. Their work doesn’t get thousands of clicks on YouTube, and it can take years to pay off. But our community needs these people, because what they do (and how they go about it) is redefining the fabric of our community.

The good news is that we can all be part of this kind of social change. You don’t have to be the most systemic thinker or a data geek or even a huge donor. You just have to be authentic about your purpose and act with intention to serve that purpose.

Because I tend to cling to purpose regardless of the consequences, the emergence of the so-called socialites feels at odds with the intent of social change agents. It’s left me wondering things like:

·      Has Grand Rapids started to confuse events for social change, awareness for impact?

·      What does a photo with the “right” person achieve? Some Grand Rapidians seem to confuse influence with simply getting the Grand Rapids Social Diary to their event.

·      Why have public stunts taken the place of strategic thinking? I’ve actually been in meetings where board members have asked, “How do we help the community understand our impact? What would Rob Bliss do?” or “How can we get young professionals involved? What would Rob Bliss do?”

·      Why do some organizations beg for any fans and followers instead of connecting with people who care about their purpose? Do these organizations even know why people should care about them, or are they hoping that the so-called slacktivism really does equate to complacency?

·      Why does Grand Rapids love the hero story, especially when it’s a white dude?

·      Are we hurting the potential for movements when we focus on the celebrity of individual personalities?

I believe these are the types of questions we need to address to move forward as a community of social change agents. If you are passionate about creating a bolder, more inclusive Grand Rapids, you have choices to make, and they have everything to do with your intent. It’s the difference between saying, “Hey, look at me at this event with this person who tweets a lot! OMG – G-Rap socialites FTW!” and… being too busy getting things done to say anything at all, let alone attempt to absorb the credit. 

Emily Stoddard Furrow is a writer, communications strategist, and social change junkie born, raised in, and glued to Grand Rapids like George Bailey to Bedford Falls. As the co-owner of DVQ Studio, she has worked with more than 30 nonprofits to help them create their story and share it in meaningful ways. You can find her on Twitter @emilystoddard.