Poverty is a term often thought of as emptiness with no boundaries, a helpless void, a place of no foundations. Or some think of it as a monolithic wall that no army could ever breach. Yet in 2005, Elfenworks Foundation emerged with a passion to take on this social justice issue – specifically in America. Impossible? Maybe. . .
We had resources, but with an undertaking that big, where does one really begin? Did we need to go it alone? Most important, where do we put our money?
Fortunately, in January of 2006 our founder Lauren Speeth had the privilege of sitting down with former President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter for some guidance. He shared seven guidelines[1] – based on his rich experience but tailored to the Elfenworks vision of tearing down the wall of poverty and starting to build something meaningful in its place. We use a Seven Pillar methodology in our work identifying chasms, creating change and amplifying success. One of these pillars is to go where there is a real, unmet need, and be non-duplicative.
[1] Go where your vision for change takes you, ignoring naysayers; Go where there is a real, unmet need. Be non-duplicative; Match your skills to your project; Work in true partnership with others; Measure your results to allow for course correction; Share the credit with your partners; Stay for the long-term, expecting bumps in the road.
