Recently, Murdock Trust staff and plus-ones boarded vans and drove from our offices in Vancouver, WA, up the Columbia River Gorge and into the Tri-Cities. We were embarking on our annual staff trip, internally called our Mission Immersion Experience, because it is just that: an annual chance to immerse ourselves in our “why” as an entire staff. Getting to see the work of our community partners in action is always a true joy and encouragement.
As we toured an outstanding lineup of grantees, many on our staff were struck by one common thread: the power of collaboration. Every nonprofit we visited shared how their work is strengthened through community partnerships. To name just a few examples, B5 Learning can offer educational services for people who are refugees and asylum-seekers thanks to a building partnership with a local church and collaborations with the Boys & Girls Club and World Relief locations down the road. Maryhill Museum of Art is bringing meaningful and thought-provoking art to local high schools through community art projects that share stories of the region and encourage empathy and action. SIGN Fracture Care is providing orthopedic education and implant systems to surgeons in developing countries through long-established relationships with local doctors in those countries, engaging in a responsive feedback system to continue to deliver resources that meet evolving needs. Each nonprofit we visited was a living example of the power of partnerships.
They say that when you collaborate, one plus one can equal three. I’d go even farther and say that in true, active collaboration – collaboration that goes beyond shared sentiments and words, investing deeply in partnerships, identifying common needs, sharing building spaces, hosting community events and programs together, and responding to feedback – one plus one can equal something truly limitless. In our lifetimes and in our limited line of vision, we may not see the full impact of putting our collective wisdom into action. The nonprofits of our region are examples of the power of one organization doing good work through the support of many. I think Jack Murdock’s legacy is just this, too: an example of how one man can have vast waves of impact when many people step up to steward the legacy.
This season, which may give us reasons to feel divided or discouraged, let us remember that in many things, we have reason to feel united and encouraged. While there are very real and deep divisions, recent data is showing that narratives of polarization may be inflated, and we may be less divided than we think. The good news is that we have more common ground on which we can stand to address the very real and significant differences we face. I hope that we will all seek to avoid the inflammatory rhetoric we may see reflected in media or online spaces in the weeks and months ahead. Let us lean into those things about which we can agree and do the work to find solutions to our biggest challenges. I am grateful to those organizations that opened their doors to our team during our Mission Immersion Experience to remind us of and encourage us about the power of collaboration.