Predicting the Future by Being Engaged in the Present
There has been a lot of talk in the last several years about “the moment” that we’re in as a country, and its implications on our democracy and civil society. There is no shortage of ways to editorialize what that “moment” is or means, exactly; nor is there a shortage of debate around how or why we got to it.
To be sure, our present and our history both present pressing and urgent questions that require our care and attention to protect and strengthen our democracy and communities in the near-term. But sustaining our democracy also requires us to play the long-game, and some might say it’s never too early to be thinking about the future and what could happen next. One of the people who might say such a thing is Trista Harris, a well-known “philanthropic futurist.”
Trista and I both had the honor to keynote the recent New York Funders Alliance Summit in Albany in September. I spoke about how funders can engage in democracy and civic life, and Trista spoke about trends that are shaping giving practices and driving the field of philanthropy, whether it realizes it yet or not. We sat down to talk about if, where, and how our topics intersect.
Kristen Cambell: Let’s start by talking about philanthropy — what do you think is the biggest thing happening in philanthropy that people may not yet realize or see coming?
Trista Harris: I think there is a big question about the relevancy of philanthropy moving forward. If our foundations can’t offer the flexible and fast funding that is needed when critical community issues arise, we won’t have access to the tables where the most important work is happening to move our missions forward. In this time of rapid societal transformation, we have to learn to be nimble.
KC: Do you have predictions about the future of democracy?
TH: I think democracy is going to become more hyperlocal. The population is so large in the United States and our needs are so different across the country that I think more and more people will start to become more engaged in their local government, down to the level of your local neighborhood association. We will learn how to provide pressure on those institutions so that they can give us the results that we desire, no matter what is happening at the federal level. I think we will also have an influx of young people, people of color, and women running for city council seats, school boards, and county commissioner seats.
KC: Do you see those predictions having implications on each other? Where and how might they intersect, and is there a way to get ahead of them, in your view?
TH: I think foundations need to harness this trend of hyper-locality and invest in this level of citizen engagement, both for leadership development for people that might one day be candidates, and for helping people become a more informed electorate.
KC: The tagline to your book, Future Good, is “how to use futurism to save the world.” What does that mean to you, and how do you see civic engagement as a strategy to world saving — or at least “being the change you want to see in” it?
TH: I think civic engagement is one of the most critical strategies to save the world. We need to be engaged in our communities and influence what our future looks like, not just sit on the sidelines and complain. I believe that the future doesn’t just happen to us, we create the future with the decisions that we make today.
KC: That reminds me of the quote often attributed to both Abraham Lincoln and Peter Drucker: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Which also relates to my next question…You talk in your book about the skills that will be necessary in the future. Can you talk about the role of civic education in developing those skills?
TH: I believe that civic education is a critical skill that is missing from the curriculum of many U.S.-based schools. I take funders on something that I call “Field Trips to the Future” and one of those trips was to Sweden to see their early childhood system in action. The thing that surprised me most was how much time was set aside for students to practice being good citizens. From lots of time on the playground negotiating with each other, to a shared responsibility for cleaning up classrooms and making sure that their fellow students we being taken care of, Swedish students starting at age 2 or 3 were learning about civic engagement. I’d love to see more of that here.
KC: What advice would you give to funders who would like to ensure their philanthropy has a positive impact on democracy and civic life, both now and in the future?
TH: I encourage funders to think about what the world (or their community) would look like if the problem that they care about was fully solved. Sometimes by spending a lot of time imagining that ideal future, you find new ways to get there.
Trista Harris is a philanthropic futurist and nationally known as a passionate advocate for leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. She is a President of FutureGood, a consultancy focused on helping visionaries build a better future. Her prior roles included serving as President of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, executive director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice in Minneapolis, and as a program officer at the St. Paul Foundation.
