“It, [Beautiful Response], serves humanity in a very real and tangible way. Children eat because you donate. Children go to school because you donate. Children are safe and loved because you donate. Not sure there’s a better argument than that.”
Faith Cordell first got connected to Beautiful Response while living in Washington DC. “When we lived in Washington, DC, Caleb was the pastor at our church. I was working in the International Development space, traveling frequently to Africa and Haiti. Because of my aligned interests, Caleb and Sonja asked me to join the board.”
Each of our current and past board members has brought their unique skills and experiences, and Faith is a prime example of that. “I have a master’s in social work, a lot of experience in the international development space, and a general interest in human dignity and equity. I want to use my knowledge and expertise (and frankly resources and privilege) to make sure people live healthy and happy lives.” Faith’s professional experience combined with her personal interest made her a great asset to the Beautiful Response team.
When asked what makes Beautiful Response different from other nonprofits, Faith responded, “The board and staff at Beautiful Response are incredibly collaborative. I think there can be a lot of attitudes toward service to people outside of wealthy, western nations, that take the problematic stance of ‘we know better than you, we have money, we know how to solve problems, etc. From what I know, Beautiful Response is just a way of listening and resourcing individuals who know what they are doing and what their communities need–and I think we need more of that in the world.” At Beautiful Response, our vision is to walk alongside our partners and support their work as they establish and develop their programs. We do not feel as though we know better than the people who are living and working at our partner organizations every day. Our mission is to support and empower our partners through our time and giving, not to control them. Faith captured this perfectly. She continued, “Furthering the mission of Beautiful Response is important because of what I said above, but also because it serves humanity in a very real and tangible way. Children eat because you donate. Children go to school because you donate. Children are safe and loved because you donate. Not sure there’s a better argument than that.”
Faith has had the opportunity to visit Ticarme in Haiti, “very briefly in Port au Prince–maybe 8 years ago. I was on a work trip and not able to head inland to see her, so she came to me.” Faith recalled her time with Ticarme, “I admired just how passionate she was about her work. She was so knowledgeable and genuine–and I felt hope coming from her, even though I knew neither she nor the community she was trying to help had everything they needed.”
As an organization, we will always face challenges with getting the donations and support we need. There will always be more that can be done. Faith addressed this by recognizing, “there are a lot of competing priorities out there for people.” She continued, “[people think,] ‘why should I give to this group and not another? What makes this different?’ I think giving people a real picture of the work being done and HOW it’s being supported is key to winning them over.” At BR, we strive to have an open line of communication between our partners, our staff, and our donors. We update frequently through social media and our newsletters in hopes of closing the gap between donors and recipients. Building relationships is the most important thing we do, and each of our donors has the opportunity to come alongside us to accomplish that goal.
