Hello!
My name is Troy Riemer, and my company, Red Clay Creative, helps to design The Georgetowner every month. We thought it would be a great idea to highlight non-profits and organizations that are doing good, and The Georgetowner thought it would be a great idea too. An inspiring story can have a huge impact when consumed by the right people at the right time. Our goal is to share stories from leaders who do good and who have the power to make change in a positive way.
Here is an excerpt from a conversation I had with Abby Fenton, Executive Director, Whitman-Walker Foundation & Chief External Affairs Officer.
What was a major problem you faced as a non-profit leader, and what emotions were associated with that challenge?
A big challenge for me was COVID and the inability to connect with people as easily as before.
It made both of my jobs (Chief External Affairs Officer & Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Foundation ) more difficult.
How do we make sure that the community feels connected to Whitman-Walker? How do we keep connected to patients that are normally supported by Whitman-Walker and feel like our providers are family during COVID? How do we connect with donors?
Events are so important to our organization, and there was a void of connection without those events. Without the ability to meet face-to-face, how do people feel connected and give?
The lack of touch points made the work as a leader tougher to drive the team forward because we had what seemed limited options that easily became tired.
The work of my teams is all about the network, hearing stories, and making connections to the next person or providing information to connect to care or join a program.
All of the pieces are relationship-based and not transactional.
What solution or process did you apply to overcome that challenge, and how did it feel when you accomplished that?
One thing we did was we moved to phone calls instead of video calls all the time.
There’s something more intimate about phone calls.
You have the opportunity to walk and be outside instead of in front of a screen all the time. There is movement to a phone call.
We also tried to host events virtually. We did dance parties, and we hosted the Going the Extra Mile event in a video format.
I also took some of my one on ones via walks – I’m lucky that some of my colleagues live in my neighborhood. That was so nice.
The Walk to End HIV this past year (2022) was a huge moment and turning point. It was a nice hint of what it could be again after the PHE ended.
It felt so nice to be together again.
I know so many folks felt so lucky to be together again.
For example, there are volunteers that join us for the event every year – it’s their ongoing connection to Whitman-Walker. You could see how happy they were to be back.
Whitman-Walker celebrating 50 years at the Capital Pride March in June 2023
Why did it matter so much to solve that problem, and how did it affect you, your mission, and your network?
We hired a lot of new staff during the COVID years. And we hired them for roles that included a lot of event producing and networking. And then that was not a thing. So we had to reinvent these roles a bit – get creative about how we utilized their time and expertise.
Now, it is a challenge in a different way because we are out of the public health emergency and a lot of my team are brand new to the events that we used to do. That’s exciting though because it brings a new energy.
It allows us to look at things through a new lens.
That part has been a lot of fun.
I think we are all more adaptable and we’re also more prepared for the what if…
Like the Gala – what does that contract look like? Are we ok if COVID comes back? Do we have an alternative date? A different way to celebrate our 50th milestone if we are in lockdown?
Now, though, we have to transition from everyone being remote to the expectation of the team spending some time in the office and doing weekend events.
And as a supervisor, I have to balance giving my team more responsibility and autonomy while also supporting and coaching them through what may be the first time they are actively participating in something or producing an event for us.
Thankfully, we found people that are adaptable.
And people are really blossoming,
For some, this June is their first Pride with Whitman-Walker which is so inspiring and fun to watch.
Has it changed anything about giving?
During COVID we had a lot of corporations and foundations who may not have supported a health center donating to us.
Those opportunities to be in front of new organizations were great. And, now we have an opportunity to get people together and try to convince those groups who had not ever looked at Whitman-Walker or had not been with us for a while to join us as supporters.
In a possible recession, Whitman-Walker becomes more important because of the work that we do.
In tough times it’s important to be connected to healthcare and especially mental health services. We hope that Whitman-Walker can be supportive of the community and help folks thrive through hard times..
And we want folks to feel connected to our work and our mission.
Something I live by is to approach every conversation seeing what you can do to help other people and not yourself. By supporting us, we hope we bring the opportunity to feel joy by supporting our mission.
It feels good to support Whitman-Walker.
It’s also helpful for people to see how impactful the changes are going to be (i.e. tour Max Robinson).
Showing how they can do something beyond themselves in the city that they love.
What is your and your organization’s top priority or goal for 2023?
50th Anniversary – celebrate that!
And moving into the new Max Robinson Center in an efficient and sustainable way so that we can care for more people.
What can people do to help your mission?
Find a way to participate – it’s not all about donations.
Come out and walk at the Walk to End HIV.
Just be present. Support the LGTBQ community and be a good ally.
Donations are always welcome, but they aren’t the only thing. And gifts can be any amount. As long as it’s meaningful to the person giving, it’s meaningful to us.
And please share our stuff on social media.
