Thank you for having me here today. I see many familiar faces in this room and others that I look forward to getting to know.

Typically, when I give a speech, I get the normal butterflies in my stomach: "Do my words make sense? Is my message worthwhile? Am I putting them to sleep?" But today, I am nervous for a different reason. Assembled in this room today are men and women of great intelligence, expertise, and influence. The foundations and organizations you help guide are a critical part of the ties that not only bind Atlanta together, but also keep it strong. Your leadership is to be respected and admired, and I would never presume, in my own youth and inexperience, to say that I have any definitive answers to the question of "What is Good Philanthropy?"

What I can do, however, is share with you my personal thoughts -- since this luncheon is called a "Heart to Heart" talk -- and hope that these thoughts inspire some degree of dialogue and reflection within your organizations and within the community of philanthropy.

In preparing for today, I spent time browsing through the United Way's website. What struck me the most -- what truly resonated with me -- is the mission and vision of United Way. United Way defines its mission as "improving people's lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities." And its vision is seeing itself as a community leader that addresses the most critical issues by mobilizing resources beyond just the dollars.

"Beyond just the dollars, I kept thinking about those words and the way philanthropy usually operates in our city. Too often, I think we are content to just write the check, satisfied we have done our part to fix the problems ailing our communities. This standard approach is certainly safe and respectable, and quite often, most appropriate, but as Charles Dodgson said, "If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much."

So, on this day, October 9, 2002, I dare to say that simply writing the check will not get us where we need to be. As much as I would like to pretend that our world, our children's world, is O.K., the reality is that these are critical times that call not only for wise counsel, but for brave action. And, I think that it is time in Atlanta to redefine how we view philanthropic action and bravery amongst our most influential foundations.

Aeosop said, "It is easy to be brave from a safe distance," but we all know that often the fruit is out there on the end of the limb. And the fruit we all want is that "peach of an idea" that we are doing our part to make the world a better place.

Please don't think I am dismissing the importance of grants and grantees. The necessary work of United Way could not be done without your generous support, along with hundreds of other well-deserving non-profits.

What I am suggesting, however, is that we can achieve so much more if we are willing to take some risks, to step forward and to spend forward, instead of watching from the sidelines.

I recently read an anonymous quote I love. It says, "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." What we are currently doing usually puts band-aids on our problems, but rarely brings about lasting systemic change, and we continue to get back the same problems year after year.

Abraham Maslow said, "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." Well, sometimes I think the reverse of this is true for many philanthropic organizations. I think if you see every problem as a nail, then the only tool you use is a hammer. And very often, our only tool is writing that check.

Now I realize at this point, many of you are sitting here thinking, "What the heck is she suggesting we do?" And the United Way folks are probably thinking "What the heck did we invite her for? She's sounding like they should stop writing checks."

I assure you, I'm not suggesting that at all. What I am encouraging all of us to do is to think about what other tools we have in our toolbox and how to best use them. Every organization in this room has at least three tools I can think of beyond "just the dollars."

The first is leadership. You are all rightly viewed as leaders in our community. Leaders who have the ability to bring attention to problems and who have the opportunity to become a part of the solution. I recently had a conversation with a gentleman from another foundation and told him, like it or not, people in Atlanta view you as a leader. And to see a leader sitting on the sidelines is to see potential and opportunity wasted.

The second tool is collaboration -- collaboration with both non-profits and other foundations. Collaboration often makes the impossible possible, because it pools together precious resources. The Georgia Early Learning Initiative would not be possible without the public/private partnership with United Way. Collaboration with non-profits also brings your expertise, vision, and I think most importantly, accountability to the initiative or group you are working with -- which, in turn, helps to ensure not only its individual success, but also its chances of creating long-lasting change.

The third tool you have is the ability to become ground-engaged with those organizations you fund. Reaching out does involve risk, both personally and professionally, but the rewards far outweigh any real or imagined risks. Becoming ground-engaged, operating inside of arm's distance, allows us to fully appreciate the humanity and selflessness that exists in our world. It also enables us to more fully understand the obstacles facing so many of our neighbors, and most importantly, it keeps us humble, and reminds us of our exceptional multitude of blessings.

You might say I'm fishing here today, but there's an old Spanish proverb that says, "You can't catch trout with dry breeches." I'm hoping that you will join me in wading into this river of life in ways we haven't done before, to lead the way in our city, to catch the big fish, instead of being "big fish."

Some of you are leaders in business, some in the non-profit community, some in both, but you are all leaders of hope for a better and brighter future.

I don't pretend to have all the answers (just some)! And I know I'm going to have to back my own words with my own actions, but I do know that for us to be leaders of the positive change our children and our grandchildren need, we must get in the game. Unless we are in the game, getting dirty, out there on the field, we have no way of truly ensuring victory.

Thank you.