Diverse on Purpose

People interested in our services often comment on the diversity of our sponsored projects.

Unlike some fiscal sponsors who specialize in a particular type of project--such as the fine arts or environmental issues--we're willing to sponsor a very wide variety of efforts led by people with a very diverse set of backgrounds and committments.

That characteristic breadth and diversity is no accident. You might say we're 'diverse on purpose.'

The senior leadership of Visions Made Viable is united by a Christian faith committment, though we come from and practice a variety of Christian faith traditions. We believe Visions Made Viable's particular role as a fiscal sponsor for all people of good will demonstrates something important about the love of God.

And though we're upfront about our particular faith motivations and celebrate them, we insist that no particular faith tradition or cultural background or ideological community has a monopoly on the ability to do practical good for others. Nor does any group have the inside track on creativity and innovation.

Indeed every group--and we believe every person--has the responsibility and the wonderful opportunity to use their creativity and energies to serve others. When we say we want to support 'people of good will' we're talking about people who--regardless of beliefs or backgrounds--want to use their resources to produce some tangible and important 'value added' for other people.

We want to spend our time supporting those kinds of people. We're inspired by them, enjoy them, and continue to learn a great deal from them.

Unfortunately, many fiscal sponsors won't sponsor new projects with a specifically religious orientation. Given the unique controversies and conflicts that sometimes accompany religiously oriented efforts for social change, we understand why some sponsors choose that route.

Certainly, we sponsor and celebrate efforts for social change with no specific religious or spiritual basis. But we're also committed to support religious change agents. We believe religious and spiritual communities can be some of the most effective engines for important social change and we want to advocate for them and help give them the tools to succeed.

We're even willing simultaneously to support projects that--ideologically or culturally or religiously speaking--may appear to be at odds with one another. We can support one project, for example, that tries to solve a particular social challenge one way while also supporting another project trying to solve it a different way. In many cases, we believe a variety of approaches should be tried, even if those different approaches are viewed by some as representing polarized and irreconcilable communities and ideologies.

Ideology and sectarianism have their place, no doubt. Both can be important sources of positive social change.

But our unique role is to help all people of good will do innovative and practical good for others.

And that's why we're diverse on purpose.