Bright Spots


Give People Possibility

moon
By David Pines
Mar 13, 2019

The Possibility Fund was by started a small group committed to a big idea—reframing intractable challenges to create new possibilities in distressed communities. We were founded on the premise that everyone can, and should, have access to a bright future. This future begins by leveraging the resources and commitment which exist in every community to revitalize, reenergize, reinvest, and rebuild our communities from within. 

I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to chart a new path to a world of possibility. This year is the 50th anniversary of a number of personal milestones—my time as an exchange student in Brazil, college acceptance and high school graduation, watching people walk on the moon, Woodstock, and the Days of Rage in Chicago.  Fifty years ago, many of us took positive action in the face of relentless horror—the war in Vietnam and the egregious racial tensions tearing apart our cities (my own community of Baltimore was burning). People were inspired by the idea that something else was possible.

Seeing the vast spectrum of possibility, many of us chose to believe we could, and would, change the world.  We chose to see the possibilities of change and to embody the change we envisioned. Our commitment and perseverance paved the way for creating a new reality even though the pathways to new actions were not yet clear.

Possibility is a ‘not yet’ world—an imaginary realm of fiction. What we do impacts the lives we lead and the results we produce. However, we generally do what we think we can achieve. The limit of our thinking sets the boundaries of our imaginations. When we think we can make the improbable achievable, we breakthrough our self-imposed limits to make fiction into reality.

The human capacity to forge new realities is why we started the Possibility Fund. When people see familiar challenges in new ways, the world changes. Together, we can, and will, spark new possibilities. Together, we will build new realities in communities everywhere. Together, we will create a bright future for everyone.