How much do you think Google searches for the topic “loneliness” have gone up in the U.S. since COVID hit? 

The person I was a year ago would have chuckled darkly, said “a lot,” and left it at that. But I’ve learned there’s more answers out there than you’d think since then, and so I Googled it. It turns out, there’s actually less searches than there were this time last year. Surprising? Maybe. But a silver lining of the pandemic, for me at least, is that it’s highlighted the creative ways we come together when we realize how much we need each other. 

Or maybe that’s just a product of this work. Julian’s blog starts with a quote that I’ve thought of often, and here’s another: “The Master doesn’t talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, ‘Amazing! We did it, all by ourselves!” 

This work is about “building capacity,” and that’s meant thinking about how to make my job obsolete. That’s impossible without the help of many other people, so I’ve had to search for resources outside my small circle. What I’ve found has been surprising. There’s more organizations working on the same issues than I could have dreamed. If you’ve got an idea for a nonprofit, here’s some of what you can expect.

It starts out with some obvious helpers– the Montana Nonprofit Association and the Missoula Community Foundation have all the paperwork help and mentorship you could need as you start out, and Blackstone Launchpad offers free legal advice. All are crucial cornerstone resources. But that’s not the half of it. Need a free website? DreamHost has you covered; just ask. Free graphic design software? Canva offers their premium version for free to nonprofits. Free donation platform? Paypal offers that too. Managers of multi-million-dollar foundations take the time to give you a call. Local businesses are eager to partner with you. Those other nonprofits, the ones competing for the same grants, volunteers, and donors? They want to collaborate with you, send people your way, and let you know when they see grants that might help you. Busy students and professionals volunteer their precious time just to learn the ropes with you (even during the middle of finals week). When you want to give, people want to give to you.

It turns out humans want connection and purpose. We want to say yes– all you have to do is ask. And even if someone can’t help you in the specific way you thought you needed them, don’t think you’ve gained nothing! Sometimes a new contact or a word of advice is worth far more than material help. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, I was among those googling how to keep from being lonely. The best piece of advice I found was to write down three good things every day. You’ll surprise yourself with how consistently, even on the worst of days, you can find things to be grateful for. This work has shown me the best side of people and society, in a time when I really needed to see it. For that, I’ll always be grateful.