supply. There are so many people asking for help, and we can only do so much. If I want to help everybody a little bit, I can’t help any one person a huge amount. What I stay focused on is getting people started and then getting them to take the initiative to go on without me. It’s like parenting, in a way — at some point, I have to say, “You are on your own,” and that can be gut-wrenching. They want computers and phones, but that’s not the mission of the organization, so I have to say no. If you want chess sets, I will say yes, or if you are going to go to a tournament, I will give you chess clocks. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry? Finances, always. We want to do more, but we have to be able to say no sometimes. We did multiple fundraisers just to get our building done in Uganda, and each one was a challenge. I always close my speeches by saying, “Help me help them,” and people do. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved? Things like the COVID-19 pandemic happen, and people are worried about inflation. With things like those, people are not as likely to donate as when everything is going well. The philanthropy that we do is all about getting the message out, so having someone help us do that is critical to our success. When we’re trying to build up from something small to something medium-sized, we want to build trust over time and get people to know that their money is going where they want it to go. I think those programs that have large administrative costs have become very suspect, and people do not wish to donate their money to those organizations. It costs me very little to have a social media presence — YouTube, for example. I think generally speaking we try to get our message out without getting in people’s faces and establish a sense of trust — if they donate to us, we will use that money for the intended purpose. What excites you the most about your industry? I got a birthday card from two orphaned kids in Uganda that said, “Happy Birthday Papa Jim,” and it was heartwarming. I got a picture of one of them from when she was a little older, and she was holding up a chess medal that she had won in her first chess tournament. She was one of the people we first started with. The reward is seeing the difference you’ve made, and you get back more than you give. That has been my experience in philanthropy. Fifth Edition Marquis Who’s Who INSIGHT 15 INSIGHT MARQUIS WHO′S WHO FIFTH EDITION
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