Path to Purpose Competencies

Path to Purpose Lessons through the Community Organizing Model

 

Identifying self-interest:

The first shift in mindset that resulted from this fellowship was developing a habit of constantly “identifying self-interest” and analyzing the internal drivers of my desire to participate in service guided work. Before joining this program, I had already worked on growing my nonprofit, Enlight Educate, for a few years, however I think I was forming misguided habits of pushing rapid and formulated expansion goals for the benefit of gaining greater personal and organizational esteem instead of focusing on the quality of work provided for the communities we were serving. Resulting from this realization came a new focus on understanding local community needs instead of standardizing our practices in the regions we worked in.

 

Building relationships:

Path to Purpose has redefined how I view effective relationship building when it comes to community organizing. Through the program I was able to accurately understand the context of the relationship between the university and its local surroundings, allowing me to properly assess the approach to collaboration I implement taking into consideration the historical tensions that exist. Through existing bridges formed by the BCLS, the North Florida Neighborhood Foundation, as well as the organization I am now part of, the Neighborhood Revitalization Coalition, I am able to start integrating into the greater Gainesville community throughout my time here at the University of Florida.

 

Understanding root causes:

One of the most powerful and impactful presentations of the program focused on properly practicing root cause analysis when trying to find your niche in community organizing. Through this presentation I was able to clearly distinguish the purpose, benefit, and conflict that came from solely trying to address structural injustices/ root causes versus addressing the outcomes of these structures through more “band aid fixes”. Understanding the key differences and needs for both areas has allowed me to evaluate my own work as well as the different service organizations I am a part of.

 

Restructuring power:

There was a substantial emphasis on the importance of restructuring power throughout the fellowship. In particular we explored the ideas of whether power is inherently good/ bad, who wields power/ the impact of that, and how to use our individual power for positive change. A major shift in my personal mind set resulted from the learned understanding that power should belong to the community members of an “issue” area, as they hold the knowledge, experience, and credibility to drive meaningful and long-lasting change. As an ally to a community my role is to redirect my power and skills to bolster the missions of the members of the community, instead of usurping their goals in the name of self-interested “service”.

 

Centering the experience of the communities most impacted by injustice and systemic oppression

This fellowship uplifted the power of storytelling through the guest speakers, activities, virtual exchange, and our own projects, and at the root of storytelling was the mission to dissipate the experiences of potentially marginalized communities who had important narratives to share but lacked the forums to effectively spread them. To properly do this however there was a continual emphasis on the importance of listening rather than speaking, as well as actively interacting to learn and understand rather than to respond. The practical application of this lesson comes in the form of reflecting on my own identities and working towards aiding the communities that I belong to, while also recognizing the dangers of telling stories from a single perspective.