A person’s word choice when describing their work or do-gooder endeavor can reveal quite a lot.

I’m talking about possessive pronouns and adjectives.

Unless you’re on the ground, doing the work with and on behalf of your own community on a daily basis, I believe a program cannot and should not ever be considered “yours,” grammatically or otherwise.

Without this awareness, “our project” can be dismissive and disrespectful to community activists and grassroots leaders, especially when the mutual accountability and trust are not there.

Years of the Keystone INGO Partner Survey sends a clear message. Partners working at the national and local levels do not want to be treated as sub-contractors, carrying out international agencies’ projects and priorities. Rather they want help from donors to become independent and influential organizations in their own right, enabling them to respond flexibly to people’s needs.

Read the full article about giving credit where it is due by Jennifer Lentfer at Medium.