Annie Schmitz Says Goodbye to Memphis and Momentum Nonprofit Partners
At the end of this week, I will be moving on from my role as Director of Programs and Research at Momentum Nonprofit Partners. My husband was recently offered his dream job in Minneapolis, and after much deliberation, we made the decision to accept this exciting opportunity for our family.
It feels like déjà vu. Just over a year ago, we were having long conversations over walks and dinner about whether my husband should accept an exciting new opportunity in Memphis. Neither of us had ever lived in the South. My references for Memphis were as sparse and stereotypical as you would expect from someone who spent her life exclusively in northern climates (that is to say, indoors): Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley’s Graceland, Paul Simon’s song about Elvis Presley’s Graceland...you get the idea.
Kevin, Andrea, and Annie at an event at the Memphis Botanic Garden
It was a complete leap of faith, but I knew we had to do it. Small signs and synchronicities kept popping everywhere, all pointing me towards Memphis. Have you ever heard a word for the first time, then you suddenly start hearing that word everywhere? It was like that; except this time the word was Memphis.
Whether it was intuition, some higher power, or my own tendency to make meaningful connections between random information, who was I to interfere? Something was telling me we needed to go to Memphis, so we did. And what I thought was going to be my husband’s exciting opportunity quickly turned into mine.
When I saw a job opening with Momentum Nonprofit Partners, I almost didn’t apply. Not because I didn’t want to, but because...well you know, Imposter Syndrome (turns out we all suffer to degrees).
Annie and April chat with a fellow attendee at the National Council of Nonprofits Confab in Washington, DC
I had already identified Momentum as the gold standard organization in the area. Almost immediately, resources like Momentum’s job board, sector research, and training events became so precious and valuable to me as a nonprofit professional getting my bearings in a new city. Even more exciting, Momentum had a vision. And that vision was bold, and it aligned with my own deeply held values. This wasn’t just any old job board; this job board only posted jobs that pay a living wage. Momentum’s research explored topics like racial and gender equity in nonprofit compensation. The Mid-South Nonprofit Conference, my first introduction to Momentum’s trainings, had speakers talking about issues like community-centric fundraising, spite philanthropy, and racial justice. Most importantly, Momentum was doing this in genuine partnership with the community. I was inspired. And I wanted to be part of it.
But what really motivated me to take the leap and apply (my second leap of faith) was reading the staff bios on Momentum’s website. Here was a team of people from all walks of life and backgrounds, each bringing their unique expertise, passion, and creativity to the work. These people were clearly dedicated to Momentum’s values - those same values I shared. And their biographies were impressive (actually, intimidating). I wanted to know these people. I wanted to learn from them. And I thought to myself, I want to be like them when I grow up.
It would be impossible to detail everything that has happened between the time I started at Momentum and now. Even though my time with Momentum was brief, it has been one of the most enriching years of my life. The lessons I gained here will assist me far into the future. In the spirit of Momentum - which is all about partnership, sharing, and learning – I'd like to share a few of these insights with you:
Make room for love
I resisted using the word love here, wanting to avoid mushy and unserious connotations of cartoon hearts and puppy dog eyes, but there really is no synonym for the word love – and I mean love precisely. So many of us are driven to work in nonprofits out of love. At the heart of our work is the importance of connecting our own notion of what is valuable, what we love, to the future we desire to bring about. And this, too, we do out of love. Love for our communities, for future generations, for each other. It’s the special ingredient that makes the nonprofit sector unique from the private sector, and we should embrace it. Of course, we must still hold ourselves accountable to high standards in our work and outcomes. At Momentum, this includes ensuring our work is research based, and that research starts from an inclusive and informed place of inquiry. But it also includes making space for other kinds of knowledge like intuition, lived experience, and love. This isn’t easily quantifiable, but it’s an important factor in our work and there is magic in striking the right balance.
Dare to be imaginative
Of all of Momentum’s guiding principles, the one I find most resonant is “challenge and disrupt entrenched thinking for positive change.” Entrenched thinking constrains the imagination, and imagination is necessary for expanding the scope of possibility. Our work as a sector is big and bold. Nonprofits tackle big, systemic issues ranging from eliminating poverty and ensuring quality education, to protecting civil rights and establishing affordable healthcare - and everything in between. If we want this work to be transformative, we need to dream big. What if, as a sector, we measured ourselves against what’s possible, what’s moral, rather than against the way things have always been done? Momentum lives this principle – whether helping funders to invest more dollars into BIPOC-led organizations, flirting with the 4-day work week, or training nonprofits to get involved in advocacy – inspiring us all to be bigger, bolder, and more imaginative in our work.
There are no shortcuts
Transformative change takes time. We aren’t entitled to it, and we must put in the work. The day in and day out work of nonprofits is often mundane and unglamorous. Practices like grant writing, scheduling, accounting, training, and building relationships aren’t always visible or obvious, but this is the continuous work we do to nourish growth. It can be boring and frustrating. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes it’s about hammering away at the same repetitive task until we gain a mastery of skills or new foothold that allows us to move forward. But it’s all important and all builds towards our impact. I recently read a Jay-Z quote about success and entitlement. In his words, entitled people are those who tend to “emulate the end result not the process.” Being a Capricorn, I immediately applied this lens to my own work. In nonprofits, we can become so narrowly focused on the fruits - our outcomes and our impact - that we forget growing fruit involves labor. This part of the process can be tedious, but putting in the work brings us closer to the results we want. The work is to keep doing the work. Our impact blooms repeatedly through this process.
It’s been an immense pleasure being part of the Memphis nonprofit community and having a front row seat to all the incredible work happening here. There is no one way to do this work; it takes all of us, coming from all directions, to move things forward. I’ve gained so much and my only hope is that I was able to contribute in my own way, however small, to building the momentum of the Mid-South nonprofit sector to create equitable, measurable, and lasting change. While I don’t think I will fully process the impact Memphis has had on me for years to come, I now understand why I was compelled to follow the path here.
Thank you, Momentum Nonprofit Partners, and Memphis, for having me. Onward!