Let's Talk Fundraising

Bridging Political Divides to Foster Better Fundraising with Dawn Strauss

• Keith Greer, CFRE • Season 1 • Episode 13

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Can you imagine fostering genuine understanding between political opponents in today's polarized climate? In this episode, we promise you'll gain the tools to do just that by learning from Dawn Strauss, Director of Development at Braver Angels. Dawn shares her remarkable journey of bringing Trump and Clinton supporters together through Braver Angels’ innovative Red Blue Workshops, which have grown into over a hundred alliances nationwide. We dive into how these initiatives not only heal personal and community relationships but also empower organizations to transcend political divides.

Fundraising in such a divided landscape presents unique challenges, especially when engaging donors with starkly different viewpoints. We recount a gripping real-life example where a conversation with a donor about January 6th could have gone awry but instead turned into a lesson on the power of active listening and respectful dialogue. Make sure to check out the Trustworthy Elections Report Braver Angels has put together. This chapter underscores that while discomfort is inevitable, it is also essential for depolarization and fostering mutual respect. Supporting organizations for their mission, rather than the political stance of their leaders, is a crucial takeaway that can revolutionize your fundraising approach.

Listening is an art, especially when engaging with those who hold opposing views. We explore how attentive listening not only builds bridges but can also correct misinformation and lead to unexpected alliances. By embodying these principles, fundraisers can enhance their organization’s mission and expand their reach. We also provide valuable resources from Braver Angels to further your understanding and encourage you to foster respectful human interactions for the greater good. Don't miss this episode if you want to transform your approach to fundraising and community building.

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Keith Greer, CFRE:

Hey, there, hi, and welcome back to let's Talk Fundraising. It's an election year and the political discourse and ugliness is just picking up. I hope it doesn't get as bad as it has in the past couple of cycles, where it literally has torn families apart. Parents and children stop talking, half the family isn't getting invited to Thanksgiving anymore and couples are separating or divorcing over how divisive the political rhetoric has become. As fundraisers, some of us may be lucky enough to work in organizations that so clearly proclaim our values and beliefs that those who agree with us flood our donation inboxes and those who disagree don't even engage with us. But I want to take a moment to see if you can hold space for a new idea, An idea that used to be the norm, and that idea is I can have a productive conversation about charged topics with people from the opposite end of the political spectrum. It's a scary idea, especially if there's any kind of real or perceived threat against you from the other person, and while I would absolutely never advocate or even ask for you to put yourself in a dangerous situation, I do want to ask you to consider the possibility of engaging respectfully with people whose beliefs are different than your own. Today, I'm joined by Don Strauss, Director of Development for Braver Angels, an organization dedicated to helping mend the divide between people on the political left and the political right. We dive deep into why healing this wound in our discourse is important, not just for our country, our communities and our families, but also for our organizations. We talk about resources that are available to help and how we can have these productive conversations. I hope that, as the political rhetoric heats up, this episode can help cool things down. This episode left me feeling inspired, brave and confident that I can hold these difficult conversations, and I hope that they can help you too.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

So let's get into it and let's talk fundraising. I want to introduce you to somebody that I've just recently gotten to know. Her name is Dawn Strauss, and she has extensive experience bridging the partisan divide between being raised by conservative parents in a very liberal suburb outside of Boston. After graduating from the University of Michigan and completing an MBA at the University of Texas at Dallas, Dawn started working in fundraising in a volunteer capacity. In 2016, she left the business world to begin a career in fundraising and development. Today, she manages individual giving as the Director of Development at Braver Angels, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the political divide in America by fostering respectful dialogue and understanding among individuals with differing political views. Dawn lives in Dallas, Texas, with her four children. Dawn, welcome to the show.

Dawn Strauss:

Thank you so much for having me.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Excellent, glad you're here. Could you share with us a little bit more about the work of Braver Angels?

Dawn Strauss:

Well, sure, we began back in 2016. Remember what happened November 2016?

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I sure do.

Dawn Strauss:

I don't know if you remember, but anyway, way back then our three founders met and were talking with each other. There was such a contrast between what was going on in one of their hometowns of New York City, where the election results kind of made everyone feel like, was walking around with these sad, depressed looks, and David Blankenhorn, our co-founder and current president, who lived in New York City, was commenting that it felt like he was just living in a funeral. You know, york City was commenting that it felt like he was just living in a funeral, the world had come to an end. In contrast, his former colleague, david Lapp, another one of our co-founders, lives in South Ohio, in a small rural community there, where just the difference in what was going on was just so striking. In South Lebanon, ohio, there was hope, there was optimism. It was a new day had arrived. The mood was one of optimism, of hope. When these two men were speaking to each other, they were saying you know, when these two men were speaking to each other, you know they were saying is it possible for us to still find each other, for Americans to still find each other as citizens, as humans and as friends?

Dawn Strauss:

So they with their, with our third co-founder, bill Doherty, a professor of marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota, met for a weekend with Therapy at the University of Minnesota, met for a weekend with I believe it was 11 Clinton supporters and 10 Trump supporters and did what has now become known as our first Red Blue Workshop.

Dawn Strauss:

Those 21 individuals went through a weekend of moderated dialogue with each other, really unpacking their differences, their different views, their perceptions of each other, their perceptions of their own party, a little bit about what led them to develop these views that they all held, and just really getting to know each other and to understand each other.

Dawn Strauss:

At the end of the weekend it was magic. Not only did these 21 people, were they able to survive in a room together for two days, but they realized just how much they had in common and how much they actually liked each other, and they formed what is now our first alliance, and we now have over a hundred alliances across the country. But they didn't want the dialogue to end and our three founders realized that they were on to something and took off on a bus tour across the country, bringing these workshops that we have to communities across the United States and fast forward to what are we eight years later? Braver Angels is one of the largest, if not the largest, bridge building organizations in the United States. We have a host of tools in our tool belt to teach communication skills and dialogue amongst people of differing political ideologies.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I think that's so important to be able to reach out across the spectrum and work with people that are very different than you and have very different beliefs, and finding that common ground is super important. But, dawn, can you share a pivotal moment when you realized the importance of bridging political divides in your fundraising effort, and how did that shape your approach at Braver Angels?

Dawn Strauss:

Yeah, absolutely. You know, braver Angels is not my first job in fundraising. It's not my first experience in fundraising, and so something that I've always done, no matter what organization I am raising money for, is I always start the conversation with a donor by asking that donor why Braver Angels? Or why, you know, fill in the blank of the organization. In this case, why Braver Angels? What brought you? Why did you decide to spend 30 minutes of your day with me today?

Dawn Strauss:

And one of the first conversations I had had with a donor when I got to Braver Angels was a woman who was telling me that, after the 2016 election, her three children would no longer come to Thanksgiving at her home. One wouldn't even bring his children to see her anymore. These three brothers had differing political opinions and she was, you know, on a different side as well and they weren't able to do Thanksgiving. They were barely talking to each other. The ones that even were talking were barely talking. And so when I started hearing that this political divide, you know this issue of depolarization it's literally tearing the fabric of our society If you can't have a, if it's tearing a family apart.

Dawn Strauss:

The problem was a lot more serious than I had ever imagined it was, and unfortunately that was not the last time I heard some iteration of that story of a family that was no longer speaking. You know siblings that couldn't join parents for a holiday. You know children not letting grandchildren visit the grandparents, friendships of 50 years that ended the day after an election, and I just started realizing this is, I mean honestly, I think one of the biggest, if not the biggest problem that we face today. If this is tearing our friendships and our families apart, what do we have left if we don't have our friends and family, our friendships and our families apart? What do we have left if we don't have our friends and family? And it really it just solidified that I am bringing my abilities to the right place. This is a big problem. It makes me approach my job with a bigger sense of urgency, knowing how significant and severe this problem is in our country.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and I think that's a really important point that you just touched on that. If this is an issue that's tearing families apart, it's a really deeply rooted issue, and I think that that's probably something that fundraisers are experiencing when they're talking with people who might be voting against things that are central to their core beliefs and to who their core person is. So, in your experience, what are some common misconceptions fundraisers have about approaching donors that have that diametrically opposed political view, and how can we overcome these biases?

Dawn Strauss:

Well, sure, I think there's actually two things that we really need to keep in mind when approaching a donor with a different political affiliation. Number one is that person is not evil, or maybe they are, but with who they're going to cast their vote for in November. And that's the first thing. You are not approaching some existential threat. You are not approaching somebody who's out to get you. You are approaching somebody who simply is going to pull a different lever than you are or I'm totally dating myself precedent, whatever in the voting booth. That's it. You cannot see this person as evil and as trying to just undo you. And the second thing is a lot of times I get well, I don't want to support Braver Angels. If you're willing to affiliate with somebody that supports, fill in the blank of whatever the issue is. I'm not going to support Braver Angels because you'll talk to people who support gun violence, or you work with people who support abortion, or you support people who are against abortion. So that's.

Dawn Strauss:

The other thing is that it is still okay to fund an organization that may be led by people with different philosophies or political ideas than you have. I mean, sure, if you are, you know, adamantly pro-choice. No, you probably shouldn't go. You know I'm not telling you go, you know, support an organization that's pro-life. But you cannot assume that you know, just because there is so many organizations doing such great work out there, that really isn't. The work is not affected by whoever that person that runs the place is going to be voting for, and so I think it's really important to kind of take that out, to take that political piece out of it when appropriate, and realize you're supporting a mission. You're supporting something much greater than yourself, or something much greater than any one candidate represents.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and I think, in your role specifically working in these depolarization efforts, you're having some of those incredibly difficult conversations with donors on a very regular basis, I would imagine. Can you walk us through a real life example where engaging in that respectful dialogue with a politically opposed donor led to a really positive outcome for Braver Angels?

Dawn Strauss:

positive outcome for Braver Angels. Sure, and you know, even though I've worked for Braver Angels for three years and I strongly support, you know, the effort for all of us to depolarize, I'm still human and I still have my beliefs and my political beliefs and, you know, kudos to Braver Angels, we are all very much encouraged to do so. So, you know, I'm human and I am going to hear things that make me, you know, as much as I like to say I'm depolarized, I still, you know, like, oh, why did they say that? You know, like, how can you think that? That's not what happened? But it is very important for me to make sure I walk the walk and talk the talk as much as I possibly can, and that means that sometimes, listening to viewpoints that are really uncomfortable to hear and you know, sometimes I will internally be screaming that's not true. Or you know, that's not how this is supposed to be, or you know how can you think that. But you know, there was a time when I was approaching a donor who apparently had a lot to say about the events of January 6th and his views were about what happened on that day were completely different from mine, and it was an extremely difficult experience for me to use my Braver Angel skills and to listen and to try to understand where he was coming from. And I did have to keep reminding myself you are just listening. You're not even agreeing, you are just listening. You are just being respectful. You are just holding space for somebody to express an opinion. You know I am not going. If I did attack him, it's not going to change anything really, it just is going to make people angry. Just it's going to make people angry. It's just going to get, you know, people pretty ticked off and it's actually goes against you know to to sit there and be like that's not true, then that you know all that's going to do is make them mad, upset them and nothing will be accomplished. But you know what it was.

Dawn Strauss:

I was able to sit with this donor, listen to his perspective, from the day. He did ask me my perspective. I rarely get asked and I did say I disagree, I don't see it that way. And we did have a little you know back and very respectful dialogue about, you know about what actually happened on January 6th. And you know I'd like to say I mean I can only speak for myself.

Dawn Strauss:

I know I learned things, you know, listening to his view. It hasn't changed my opinion on the events of the day, but it was interesting to hear another perspective and while it didn't necessarily change my mind, you know I kind of like oh, and while it didn't necessarily change my mind, you know I kind of like oh, I can see how this was taken as such and anyway, he felt heard, he felt respected, he felt, you know, understood, and he did make a gift to Braver Angels, which is ultimately my job. So it was a really good experience for me to have that situation where I had to listen to something that made me very uncomfortable and I got to employ my Braver Angels skills and it resulted in a gift for the organization. So we can teach how to have dialogue just like that.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and I think so many of us. When we are kind of confronted with those situations, we're not mentally or emotionally prepared for that kind of dialogue, whereas somebody in a politically depolarizing organization is kind of anticipating. Having these on a regular basis can kind of come up out of nowhere and they can almost feel like a barb or an attack in the moment. So what advice do you have or how do you prepare yourself to kind of go into these conversations with donors who might express values or beliefs that really make you uncomfortable? How do you prepare for that?

Dawn Strauss:

Well, like I said, I just totally gave myself away and I still feel like my blood pressure rising and, you know, I'm still biting my tongue. You know, like, don't say it, dawn, don't say it. So I am definitely not perfect and this is the space that I work in every single day. It is still challenging, um, but a couple of things that I, and one of the things that I really it's just the most beautiful thing that I think I've learned at Braver Angels that I will carry with me, you know, forever is it's okay to feel a little uncomfortable. It is okay to hear something that you don't agree with, and it's okay. It's okay to feel uncomfortable, and it's okay, it's okay to feel uncomfortable.

Dawn Strauss:

Also, another skill that I've learned through some of my amazing colleagues who do this work on the programmatic side every single day, is it's not up to me to end any kind of problem and my conversation with one person, with one family member, one friend.

Dawn Strauss:

These conversations are very important but at the end of the day, it's not up to the two of us to solve these issues that have, you know, we've been grappling with for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and I think, in some way, some strange way hearing that and that came from Dr Bill Doherty, one of our co-founders, and he said it so much more eloquently than I ever could. I don't even want to try to repeat what he said. He's just a genius with this stuff and probably all stuff but it was almost like somebody had given me permission to just kind of take a deep breath and relax and realize I'm just having a conversation, that's it. It's not up to me to convince this other person and if I, if I convince this person, I'm going to end whatever, um and I. I think that that was very helpful and just kind of leaning into that experience of being uncomfortable and knowing it's okay, you are not going to die from being a little uncomfortable.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

That's so true. I think, when we are kind of confronted with a lot of these situations, it can feel like an attack on one hand, and so I really appreciate you kind of sharing how you personally de-escalate the situation within yourself. Do you have any strategies that you use to soften the interactions with the other person that can help foster an understanding with your donors Once you really understand what their true intentions are? How do you get to that point with another person?

Dawn Strauss:

Sure, I mean being in this work every day. I definitely have. I really it's such a privilege. It is. Let me just say that it is such a privilege to be able to do this work and to be able to do this work with the people that I get to do it with. I truly just feel so grateful every single day to have this opportunity to be with this organization, learn, you know, constantly be trying to improve myself, but I will tell you that some of the most amazing story I hear some of the most amazing stories working at Braver Angels and just anecdotally, you know, just, you talk to your co-workers.

Dawn Strauss:

Well, when I talk to mine, I get these like life changing stories, you know, these just amazing gems of inspiration and true hope. And I think I've heard enough stories about how you get a Republican and a Democrat talking about an issue, any, really any issue, even the big ones, even the ones that you think are just unsolvable. Like you realize that what they, they want the exact same thing, it's just they have a different way of getting to that place. And so I think, after hearing enough of those stories about you know, we just went through this whole process on doing this series of workshops came up with this amazing report on trustworthy elections.

Dawn Strauss:

I mean well over a couple hundred people on both extreme sides of the aisle to talk about election integrity, and you know what? Every single person wanted the same thing. They want fair elections, they want accessible elections. They just have different ideas on how we get to that place. And so I think just knowing that you know for the most part we all want the same things. We just have different ways of getting there Really it helps. It helps you know this person isn't an existential threat to me. They want the same thing I want. We just think we you know how we get there just looks a little differently, and that makes it a lot easier to be able to engage with somebody from the other side.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

So thank you for sharing that and for bringing up that report about the trustworthy elections. We'll go ahead and link that into the show notes in case there's anybody that is interested in learning more about the work that Braver Angels is doing in that area. So why would you recommend fundraisers to go through the Braver Angels program? What unique skills or perspectives can they gain from this experience?

Dawn Strauss:

Sure. Well, first of all, I think I'm no longer unique in my perspective on how politics are overtaking life. I mean, I think you only need to have been alive the past couple of months to realize that you know politics, even for the people that are like I'm not interested, this isn't for me, it's everywhere. You cannot avoid this. You cannot go into a conversation anymore and assume you're not going to have to deal with politics, with someone else's political beliefs, and you know what We've been finding actually, that even with people on the same side, there's a lot of blue on blue disagreement, there's red on red disagreement. So, even if you think you're walking into a conversation with a donor and you're both reds, you can't assume that politics is not going to get in the way of the conversation anymore. That's, unfortunately, really no longer a thing. So it is extremely important, I think, to acquire the skills that we are teaching through our workshops, through our debates, through our programming, because you can't escape this anymore. If you want to have a conversation with anybody, you have to be prepared, you know, for the conversation to veer towards politics and how to handle yourself, because, truthfully, there's not one person on the planet that you're going to see eye to eye with on anything, and so it's extremely important.

Dawn Strauss:

You know these donor, fundraiser donor conversations. They're so fragile as they are, and you know fundraisers like we are doing such good work out there. We are raising money for such important causes. Please don't blow it, because you can't handle a situation where somebody says something you don't agree with. You know. Please don't lose out on money for your university or, you know, your child's school, because you can't engage in respectful dialogue when it comes to politics. You know our skills. Like I said, families are breaking up over this, friendships are being lost over this. We all, we all need this training. We all. It's just good practice on how to conduct ourselves on a day-to-day, and I think you know anybody listening to this. Obviously, fundraising is important to you. Your cause, I know, is important to you. Your cause, I know, is important to you. Don't let this be something that stands between you and your cause getting the funding that you need.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

And when you're in those one-on-one conversations it's absolutely critical to approach it with that respect that our messages, in those kind of pre-programmed deliveries that we're sending out, how do we make sure that they resonate with both conservative and liberal donors without alienating either side?

Dawn Strauss:

Absolutely, and this is something you know. We struggle. I mean, everybody struggles with this, but even us at Braver Angels. This is something that we are always wrestling with, and I mean, I think number one is to be aware that there is language that is going to turn off our red-leaning friends and that there is language that's going to turn off our blue-leaning friends. And I think the first step is to acknowledge that that is a thing and, whether you like it or not, if you don't want to upset your donor base, you have to embrace that concept and be willing to work with it and include language that may make you a little uncomfortable, but it's for the sake of the cause.

Dawn Strauss:

We actually have some lists that we use. You know, we have words that we've identified that can be very upsetting to one side or the other, and we try to stay away from those. We do. I mean, oh my goodness, we edit our work. I mean with a fine tooth comb, if I even said that. Right, I know that's such like a dated thing, but we really are. We work so hard at editing ourselves so that we don't fall into the trap of using a word that may just be natural to us but would really upset people from a different political party.

Dawn Strauss:

Braver Angels, we do everything on a 50-50 split, so if a blue writes something, we'll have a red edit it for us and vice versa, just to make sure that we are not using language that is alienating, because that's the last thing we want to do. And nine times out of 10, when know when somebody has gotten a word into some kind of communication that has upset the other side, it wasn't even done intentionally and so that's. You know, that's just easy, something you can easily do to just make sure your message is being heard. That's what we want. We want our message to be heard and we don't want to get sidetracked with. You know, this person hates this word or this one hates that word. So it's something that I think that people really should be mindful of and be open to the idea that there's words you really shouldn't be using unless you really do want to upset everyone.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and I think nonprofits play a unique role in this, because we are not governmental organizations, we're also not for-profit organizations. We kind of as organizations have to bridge a lot of divides in a lot of areas in that third sector. In what ways do you believe nonprofits can play a significant role in helping to heal this political divide that we find ourselves in right now, and how does Braver Angels kind of exemplify that?

Dawn Strauss:

Sure. Well, I still think of the nonprofit space. Like we're the good guys. We are the ones out there. We are fighting the fight. We are fighting for the ideals, we are putting our time and effort into causes that resonate with us. Like we are the good guys, we are the ones we are devoting our lives to something greater than ourselves, and I think we are actually the ones that are primed to make such an impact in this space. Our reach is large. Some of us are working for organizations that have an enormous membership. Some of us reach thousands a day, and we are the perfect ones.

Dawn Strauss:

We are role models in our communities. People look to us for how. They come to us for information. They come to us as the experts on certain subjects, and it really, I think, is up to us to model this behavior.

Dawn Strauss:

It starts as something as simple as making sure your communications are friendly to everybody that's going to be reading them.

Dawn Strauss:

That's really easy and I think just being open to learning these skills, to saying okay, maybe I can be a little uncomfortable for the sake of the organization, maybe I should have a conversation with somebody on the other side of an issue for me, just hear them out, and I think that it will not only benefit our work. I think it'll make us more accessible to donors. You know, when people feel that they can be heard and not judged, I think they're more willing to meet with us, to want to hear from us, and I think that we're already looked to as role models in our community. So let's do it, let's be those role models. Find me, I can hook you up with a bunch of great resources that we have over at Braver Angels, but we need a lot of partners in this work, and you don't have to be a political fundraiser to listen to us and just learn how to be a good human, a respectful human, somebody that somebody would want to be friends with.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely. We will definitely be including a link to Braver Angels within the show notes of this, so if anybody wants to learn more about this or get involved with any of their programs, like the Red Blue Workshops, there's great information on the website. But what advice would you give to fundraisers who feel maybe resistance or fear when they're approaching potential donors with those opposing political views? How can they shift their mindset to see this as something that's going to be beneficial and helpful for the organization?

Dawn Strauss:

Yeah, I'm going to say just lean in, lean into the discomfort, lean in to having a conversation with somebody that can help your organization, whether they disagree with you, whether they're going to vote for somebody differently than you are in November, lean in. This is your organization, this is your life, you know this is your life. Work, this is something you care about. Do not waste an opportunity to talk about what you do, to get money for what you do, to get funding, because you won't speak to somebody with a different viewpoint. They are not an existential threat. It's an opportunity. It's an opportunity to better yourself, to better your community, to better your organization. When you're able to listen, it's going to make you look as fundraisers. We should all be the pros in listening. I always say Fundraisers, we should all be the pros in listening that.

Dawn Strauss:

I always say you know fundraising. I do much more listening than I do talking and I think that when you're able to be a better listener than talker, you can actually be a better fundraiser. And you know people want to be heard, people want to be understood and this is our opportunity to let that happen and let that happen for the good of your organization. Let that happen as something you know that you can personally work on. You know, we'd say at Braver Angels, the other side is not going away and you know you can't, you're not going to get rid of them. I mean, I don't know where are you going to put them all, but I mean the other our work should be flourishing in. We've got to start accepting the other side as fellow Americans, fellow members of our community and potential donors, potential people for your organization, and I really hate to think that we could be missing out on some really outstanding opportunities to grow our organization, grow your budget, just because you won't listen to somebody that thinks differently than you do.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

So there are some of us that work in organizations that are welcoming to everybody and that have very apolitical points of view. There are others of us that work in very politically polarizing organizations, whether that's a pro-life organization or a pro-gun organization or an LGBTQ organization or even some very fundamentalist religious organizations, or even some very fundamentalist religious organizations. How is there an opportunity for us within those kinds of organizations to still continue reaching out across the political divide and finding people who are going to resonate and align with our missions, even if it seems that they're diametrically opposed? Because I think you've mentioned a couple times, oftentimes we want the same things. We're just trying to get at it in different ways. If we're in those kinds of organizations, I think we're so often predisposed to the belief that other people are going to not, or people who disagree with us in those areas are not going to be at all interested. Is there a way to find interest in those types of organizations?

Dawn Strauss:

Absolutely, and I would. So, oh my goodness, would I ever encourage people that work for an organization that maybe I don't want to say the word polarized, because that sounds a little negative. But I mean, if you're, you know, working for a political organization or you know one of these many issues that are being fought you know tooth and nail over? I'm sure your instinct says don't waste my time. You know, if you're working for an organization that is pro-life, I'm sure your instinct is that's a waste of time to reach out to somebody that's pro-choice. They're never going to donate, they're never going to become a member. I would beg you, with all of my Braver Angels backing, to please reach out to those people and I'll tell you why. Maybe not all the time, but many times it's going to be the greatest call of that person's day to receive that call from somebody that's so opposed to what they believe in and say I want to hear from you. Can we have a conversation? I want to hear your perspective. People are going to welcome that. They want to be heard and I think that you'll find speaking, and I think that you'll find speaking actually actively seeking out these conversations. It's going to make you better in your position and not because you're going to change your view. You probably are not going to change your view. In fact, I'm fairly confident you are not going to change your view. Do not worry about that, and I really hope that your convictions are such that you're not afraid to have a conversation for fear of changing your own views. You probably are not going to change your own views, so push that aside. What it will do is it will give you something to think about. It's going to help strengthen your convictions when you hear actually what the other side thinks. It gives you an opportunity to engage with somebody on the other side, to form a partnership, and you know what? I think you'll actually be surprised at how much can be accomplished with somebody that feels or works, you know, on the completely different side of the aisle.

Dawn Strauss:

I think it's going to strengthen your own mission. I think you gain a lot more credibility. You gain credibility when people hear that you're actually reaching across the aisle. A lot more people want us reaching across the aisle than I think we're led to believe, but it's going to make you a better person. It's going to make you understand your own positions a lot better when you can, and it's going to clear up a lot of the misinformation which I think we all agree has got to stop. When you can actually hear why somebody believes what they believe, and I think you're going to have the potential I don't want to say making a friend, because that's so Hollywood Maybe you will make a friend, maybe you won't, but I think you're going to have somebody that views your organization a whole lot differently and maybe speaks about your organization and his or her circle that's been bashing it a little bit differently. Get that reputation for being the organization that wants to hear from the other side. Don't be that organization that wants to just live in your echo chamber.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I think that's such inspiring words and you've definitely shifted something in me today, so thank you for that.

Dawn Strauss:

I speak from my own experience. I have a couple issues that they're my hill to die on and I have engaged with somebody on the opposite side. I believe what I believe it gave me. I do understand I got a better understanding. There's so much rumor and misinformation out there. It was helpful to hear the other side from somebody who's actually living it, not from you know my friend on Facebook and you know what it actually. I did walk away with a friend I guess I did have that Holly. You know that Hollywood ending somebody that I had you know would continue to communicate with and it's hard, but it actually I think it made me a better advocate for this particular instance, having just opened my mind a little bit to understand what the other side is, what their issue is. I highly encourage it. It's made me a better person, a better communicator, better fundraiser, a better advocate, for sure.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

That's great If somebody wanted to go through maybe one of Braver Angels workshops or wanted to get involved in your programs. How do they go about doing that?

Dawn Strauss:

You know what? At this point, I'm going to invite you to either reach out to a local alliance. We have alliances on our website. I refer people to our website every day because my geography sucks. Someone's like well, I'm in California, when should I go? I don't know. I'm alliance and that's a great place to start, and I really would encourage anyone and everyone to reach out to me. I can always direct you.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Excellent. As we wrap up this episode, are there any additional resources that you want to share, whether they're from Braver Angels or from work that you've researched, that you think would be valuable for our listeners?

Dawn Strauss:

I really I encourage you to go to the Braver Angels website and I know that's so, you know boring like Braver Angels person telling you to go to the Braver Angels website, but we have some media on there. We have some debate. Our debates are always posted. That we do. We do a national debate each month and I really encourage you to go listen to them.

Dawn Strauss:

And I hope, I think that you actually have changed some people's perspectives on being able to reach out across the aisle and to do work that is so necessary, not only for our organizations, but for our personal relationships as well. So thank you for keeping the fight going on this beneficial work. Thank you, Keith. Thank you so much for letting me come on your show and speak about something that has just become one of my greatest passions.

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Keith Greer, CFRE

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