Five years ago, in the early moments of the greatest health and socio-economic crisis of our lifetimes, I got the privilege of a lifetime to follow in Ruth Shack and Javier Soto’s footsteps as CEO of The Miami Foundation.
Whatever dreams I had about doing a thoughtful listening tour or starting my tenure with a series of cocktail parties and introductory meetings was quickly thrown out the window – schools were just about to be shut down, offices were closed, and the world was in acute crisis mode.
Some might have argued that it was the worst moment possible to start an important leadership role. Looking back, I couldn’t be more grateful.
Because the truth is, there wasn’t any way to lead through that moment other than with bravery and absolute obsession with partnerships. (More on that in a sec.)
Harnessing the power of 1,000 funds underneath our umbrella and hundreds of nonprofit partners, we dove into collaboration mode, launching a community-wide COVID recovery fund, co-creating Miami Connected (internet for all youth), Arts Access (arts in all schools), a proactive disaster resilience strategy, and half a dozen other collaborations to address the most pressing challenges facing our region. What started as a new collective impact department ultimately evolved into a way of being for our Foundation.
Five years in, it’s clear as day what’s fueled our growth: it’s all about the way we collaborate—and we’re just getting started.
I hope you’ll join us in our obsession with strategic collaboration. And since I hear that our version of collaboration looks and feels a little different, I’ll break down what I mean when I say those words:
- Puts others first. Every person is the most important person in the room. Lift others up before lifting yourself. Go last. Obsess with the experience of your partners, and make sure everyone feels valued, seen, and heard.
- Play the long game. Treat partners as forever partners, not transactional partners. Impact happens at the speed of trust. Invest not just in what we can do together today, but what we might accomplish together tomorrow. Grantees will become funders. Employees will become bosses. May we all live long lives and work together again a million times.
- Help unusual partners play together. When unexpected coalitions form, magic happens. Difference is unavoidable. Division is a choice. Be a unifier, see the good in everyone, and build spaces where everyone can contribute as the best versions of themselves.
- Prioritize joy. Yes, really. People perform differently when they are in a state of joy. Optimism is a choice. Joy attracts opportunities and serves as fuel to keep going, even when the work is hard.
- Go big. We seek to collaborate on things that would not be possible to accomplish alone. We set goals beyond the immediate year ahead of us – because when you dream big, your actions follow.
I’m pretty sure this gospel of collaboration is the reason for every good thing that has come our way. And as I stare ahead at the next five years, I’m reflecting deeply on all the people who have co-created with us.
The 1,000+ families who shape their philanthropic legacies with us — instead of operating in silos, they stand together to fuel a massive hub for generosity in Miami. I’m inspired by the way we give back both individually and as a network for good.
The 150+ Miami Fellows and Saltwater Fellows who have graduated from our leadership programs, who stand at the helm of so many vital community institutions and collaborate deeply with each other to address the most important issues of our generation.
The 900+ nonprofit partners who build with us, who gather around tables with us to find commonalities, shared goals, and gaps in services together, and who leap across boundaries to solve big community needs together.
The tens of thousands of dreamers who step forward with us whenever Miami needs us…
This month alone we saw…
- 65 disaster resilience partners join with us to kick off hurricane season as a unified force for change
- 120 champions for local journalism stand together for the Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards
- 100 volunteers finalize selections for our annual Community Grants cycle
- 50 nonprofits gather for a strategic planning workshop
- A massive Arts Access coalition stand together to sign a partnership agreement with Miami-Dade County Public Schools aiming to bring programming to all students
- Hundreds of scholarship recipients get awards to unlock their dreams
All of us was rooted in collaboration. All of it.
Here’s to the next five years. I’m excited to see what we can build together.