Diverse partnerships

Building Sustainable and Effective Partnerships

From our nation’s beginning, we have segregated people according to race and class. Almost two and a half centuries later, we’ve made progress but segregation continues today. Consequently, we often have limited understanding of the experience of people who are different than us.

A natural consequence of the work of Wisdom & Money’s invitation to engage with money as a doorway to spiritual transformation at the personal, communal and systemic levels is that most will experience a shift in their relationship with our global family.  Shame or fear or whatever prompted individuals to build a wall around themselves and their money lessens in the support of Wisdom & Money circles. People often begin to know themselves as neighbor to all, and begin to understand the prophetic message that there is a connection between us that demands a unique, personal response to the world’s injustice.

Once the prophetic dimension is awakened, it is easy to assume that good intentions are enough to bridge the historical gaps of race, class, gender, power, ethnicity, religion (and more) between us.

They aren’t.

Given the pervasiveness of cultural injustice and inequity, both overt and unconscious, most of us have internalized more injustice than we realize. Whether we intend to or not, we also make assumptions about others across our differences. In addition, we live in a world where horrible things continue to happen across race, class and gender, and that has resulted in a milieu of broken trust, suspicion and fear across our diversity.

It requires robust practices to navigate these land mines in working across difference. In truth, we also have trouble navigating the land mines in working across difference with those who appear to be “just like us.” Wisdom & Money has discovered that the Be Present Empowerment Model is exquisite in supporting personal, communal and organization spiritual and social transformation. This model is now one of W&M’s core practices.

Read more about why Wisdom & Money has included the Be Present Empowerment Model as a core practice.
Read more about Wisdom & Money Core Practices.
Read more about Wisdom & Money’s 9-year process of giving away land in Mississippi in collaboration with a cross race and class group composed of both givers and gifted.

Blog posts about working within a diverse community:
Money and Transformation: Diversity

Photo by Noa Mohlabane