Assuming positive intent

I should have been inter-railing in Eastern Europe this week en route to Ukraine and Moldova but, of course, all travel is off for the foreseeable.

And, anyway, this is happening.

While everything’s upside-down and we’re all getting to grips with the New It’s Not Normal, I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose and intent. My wise friend, Lesley Pinder, was talking to me about how she and her colleagues are being encouraged to assume positive intent. If someone or something is irritating you, try to give a bit of space to assume they’re only trying their best in a world of weird. This is a helpful thought as I navigate London’s pavements and wish I had Susana Distancia at my side.

Finally this week we learned more about the £750m package of support that’s being made available to the voluntary sector by the Treasury. This is welcome news for some charities that are working on the frontline of civil society’s response to the virus but many, many charities will be ineligible. We risk a very changed sector when we emerge from this crisis.

I know it’s hard when in disaster mode, but I would urge charities to maintain their focus on their core purpose at this time. We are seeing lots of organisations repurposing at the moment - business models changing from wholesale to retail. Charities are shifting their offerings from face to face to online or telephone-based support too. For many it is a deeply painful time as they navigate a transformed funding landscape. Claire Warner has launched a survey into the wellbeing of fundraisers at this time and I’m doing regular live broadcasts over on Fundraising Chat to check in with people.

The #CharitySoWhite campaign launched its excellent new web site this week with a clear call for racial justice to be at the heart of the voluntary sector’s response to Covid-19. I wrote an article here in support of this campaign and why work on racial justice is as important during this time as it ever was.

Learning points:

See above, re assuming good intent. What? Even the joggers and the pavement cyclists? Yes, Lucy, even them.

What am I reading?

I’m actually being rubbish at reading at the moment. I’m vaguely reading something but I couldn’t tell you what it is. This happens sometimes.

What am I listening to?

This episode of the Standard Issue podcast featuring Layla Saad is well worth a listen. She discusses her book White Supremacy and Me, performative wokeness ( 👀) and why being a good ally requires action as well as words.

Joy-giving things

This week I’ve been enjoying the morning rush hour at Caenhill Countryside Centre.

Happy Goose Friday, everyone. I’m about to dive into a Hot Cross bun.