Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement

Objectives:

• To allow participants to experience the appreciative inquiry approach of “looking at the good stuff in their organization and/or community”
• To look at organizations and communities as ‘half-full’ with potential rather than ‘half-empty’

Activity Theme:

“Appreciative Inquiry suggests that we look for what works in an organization or community.”

~ Sue Annis Hammond, “The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry”, CSS Publishing Co., 1996

The facilitator draws two glasses on the flipchart with each filled to the same point in the middle of the glass and asks, “What ís the difference between these two glasses?” Some participant in the group will say, “one is half-full and the other is half-empty.”

The facilitator says to the group, “To understand the ‘good stuff’ of a community or organization, we need to look at the positive things which are happening. Another name for this is appreciative inquiry.”

 

Activity:

Appreciative Inquiry is a dynamic approach to resolving commu¬nity problems. Included in this activity is background for the facilitator. It is recommended that the faciliator review this concept in advance.
For more information, check out:

• http://www.appreciative-inquiry.org/AI-moreinfo.htm OR
• “Positive Image, Positive Action” by David Cooperrider OR
• “The Affirmative Basis of Organizing. Appreciative Management and Leadership: The Power of Positive Thought and Action in Organizations.” Jossey-Bass, 1990.

STEP ONE: TOPIC SELECTION
The first step in the Appreciative Inquiry process is to select a topic to explore. The facilitator offers the following topics from which the participants may choose. If they say they’ve not had a positive experience like those named, ask them to imagine what one would be like and use that.

• A time when you felt really involved in this organization and/or community
• A time when you saw the organization/community come together to meet the needs
• A time when young people made a significant impact on the organization and/or community
• A time when you were proud to be a member of the organization and/or community

STEP TWO: INTERVIEWS
The activity can either be done as an assignment where participants interview a number of people outside the group or as an activity in the group where participants interview each other. Interviews are structured by asking a series of questions about the selected topic:

1. HIGH POINT EXPERIENCE:
   Tell me about a time when you felt proud to be member of this community.
   What were the circumstances around that time?
   How were people relating to each other?
   What were some of the feelings you remember about that experience?
   
2. VALUE QUESTIONS:
   What do you value most about yourself?
   What do you value most about…(your community, school, organization or whatever the topic)
   
3. WISHES:
   What are three wishes you have for... (your community, school, organization or whatever the topic). This question can also be phrased as “Imagine it is three years in the future and your organization is operating at its best. Describe the situation.

Each interview should have these three parts: high point experience, values, and wishes. The wishes allow the interviewees to explore things that they may not have experienced in the past but hope for in the future.
Participants should take notes during the interview paying special attention to key words that summarize what they are hearing and capturing “quotable quotes.”

STEP THREE: SUMMARY
The facilitator asks questions to summarize the themes from the interviews and lists these themes on a flipchart. Some leading questons may include:

• What were some of the circumstances you heard described?
• How did people feel about the experience?
• What were key memories that people had about their experience?

STEP FOUR: AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENTS (provocative propositions in appreciative inquiry language)
The group reviews the themes and develops affirmative statements that reflect what might be in the future. An affirmative statement is stated in the present tense as if it were already happening. The statement should grow out of the themes from the interviews, so the statements are grounded in reality.
Examples:

• We have a community that uses all of its members to create and implement projects that benefit the common good.
• People of all ages come together to discuss possibilities for the future and find ways to reach for our dreams

Affirmative statements are statements of hope for a positive future. Since the statements come from the experiences of members of the community, the hopes have roots in reality.

STEP FIVE: ACTIONS
Actions grow out of the themes and affirmative statements. How can we make these statements more of a reality? The word more is important. Since the entire process is based on the experiences of community members, the future is a building on good stuff, not creating from scratch.

Application:

Families, schools, and organizations might enjoy learning about Appreciative Inquiry. Use the interview questions with them to discover their high point experience, values, and wishes.

 

THE APPRECIATIVE APPROACH

In everyday life, most people and organizations are constrained by the perception that their resources, and hence their horizons, are limited. This perception — that we must face realities— is without a doubt the greatest single constraint on human imagination, vision and enterprise.

Appreciative Inquiry begins with a different set of assumptions. We begin with the belief that we have a choice — that we can consciously choose (in the Gestalt sense) what we “see” and act upon. In both the personal and social realms, we can choose to focus on problems, needs and deficits — the traditional problem-solving approach. Or we can choose to see possibilities, capabilities and assets — the basis of appreciative inquiry.

By focusing on what’s right, rather than what’s wrong with an organization, an individual or even a society, AI gives us access to the kind of energy that can be transformative. Having that kind of energy to work with gives us the confidence to develop and pursue a new image of the future.

A key question: If you want to inspire, mobilize and sustain human energy which is the most effective way — by focusing on problems or pursuing possibilities?

AI is a generative method that gives us a way to bring possibilities to life and develop our capacities. Through a carefully developed set of questions and a process of dialogue, we uncover stories of our peak experiences — those moments in our lives when we felt most effective, most connected, most alive.

These stories provide irrefutable proof of our actual capabilities. They give rise to new images of what the future could be. They raise our sights, energize us and give us the courage to dream and act boldly.

Rather than “accepting reality,” we see that what we call “reality” is defined by what we choose to see, what we choose to think and talk about, what we choose to act upon. It follows that we have the capacity to create the kind of future we desire. So it is that we move from the negative to the positive to the possible.

AI was developed by David Cooperrider as a new paradigm with the potential to replace the conventional problem-solving methods of organizational development. Four years ago, AI adapted this process to the realm of philanthropy — broadly defined as love of humanity — and made it the keystone of the process known as the Philanthropic Quest.

Philanthropy is an excellent instrument for AI because philanthropy operates at the nexus of values and action — where individuals give concrete expression to their deepest beliefs, desires and aspirations for humanity. That expression can take the form of financial contributions or voluntary deeds.

David Cooperrider and associates at Case Western Reserve developed the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach in the mid-seventies. Appreciative Inquiry is an approach that explores what is right in organizations and builds on strengths rather than focusing on problems.

Even though AI is presented here in the context of an activity, the applications of the approach are much broader. AI says that we create our reality through our images and our images are born from our conversations. AI uses the power of positive (appreciative) ques¬tions to help groups talk about strengths and high-point experiences. These positive questions allow groups to uncover what is present when a team, organization or community is at its best. These positive elements then become the basis for future growth and improvement.

To understand the power of AI, we need to realize the power of our questions. We can inquire into any topic with a variety of questions. If we are working on a service program in the community, we can ask questions in two ways:

1. What is wrong with the community? What problems can we fix? What are the needs of the community? What is broken?

OR

2. What are the strengths of the community? What was a time when you felt our community was at its best? What do you value most about our community? What is the essence of our community that makes it good and strong?

The conversations that follow these two approaches are profoundly different in content and tone. The exploration of problems often leaves a group feeling depressed and overwhelmed while an exploration of strengths gives a sense of hope and buoyancy.
When we work with young people, we are helping them form images of the future. The questions we ask and the conversations we start lead to new or reinforced images. Here are two topics with differ¬ent approaches to questions:

YOUTH-ADULT RELATIONSHIPS

1. What can we do to improve youth-adult relationships? What are things adults need to learn to better relate to youth? What do youth need to learn to relate to adults? What are some problems in youth-adult relationships? What are some causes of the generation gap?

OR

2. Think of a time when you experienced a positive youth/adult partnership. What was the situation? How did the adults treat the young people? How did the young people treat the adults? What was your role? What can we learn from this experience about positive youth-adult partnerships?

RACE RELATIONS

1. Think about a time when you experienced prejudice. What were your feelings during this experience? Where do you see racial tensions in your school? In your community? What contributes to the racial tensions in our community?

OR

2. Think about a time when you saw or were involved in a situation where people of different races got along well. What was the situation? How did people treat each other? What were the factors that led to this being a positive experience? What was your role?

In both of the examples, we can have conversations that highlight the negative aspects of an issue or that shed light on the positives. The conversations that follow will differ greatly and so will the images that form in the minds of participants.

A few of the important beliefs behind Appreciative Inquiry include:

• Groups and individuals move in the direction of what they study. Focusing on strengths allows movement in a positive direction.
• Our reality is shaped by our focus. If we focus on what is wrong or broken, that will be our reality.
• Future visions that are not grounded in experience are often dismissed as impossible. By finding strengths in actual experiences,. a solid, realistic vision can be created.
• Our conversations alter our perception and the way we perceive our reality influences our actions and what we achieve.
  

A good summary of the AI approach is:

• What we ask determines what we find...
• What we find determines how we talk together...
• How we talk determines our image of the future...
• Our image of the future determines what we achieve.

While a positive image of the future doesn’t guarantee a positive outcome, it does greatly increase the odds of success.

The activity that precedes this discussion is a condensed version of the “4-D Model” used in AI.
1 DISCOVER — The group discovers the positive through partner interviews that focus on strengths and high-point experiences, participant values and dreams for the future. The selections of topics and phrasing of the questions is very important.
2 DREAM — The group works with what was discovered in the interview process to construct a dream of the future. The dream is articulated through “provocative propositions” that are positive statements reflecting the strengths discovered in the interview process.
3 DESIGN — A design for future action is formed that will allow the group to live out more of the positive attributes discovered in the themes distilled in provocative propositions.
4 DELIVER — The group takes actions to make the design come to life.

Before doing the activity, take time to digest thoroughly the AI approach. Additional reading of the resources listed can help. Formatting appreciative questions to a number of topics will help you get the approach clear in your mind.

A favorite phrase in AI circles is, “you don’t do AI, you be AI.” Once you do AI a few times, you will find it easier to be AI. You will naturally want to help groups and individuals explore and build on the positive through the gentle guidance of your questions.