How One Email From a Stranger Ended in Helping a Community
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One thousand dollars is a lot or a little depending on who you are, where you are, or what you need.
This is the story of such a gift, one given to a woman we’ve never met, Amber Smith, who was looking to find seed money to hold a women’s leadership conference in eastern Montana.
First, some quick background: This year at Oliver Russell we’ve explored the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for focusing our social impact, specifically SDG 5, Gender Equality.
As part of this process, we’ve been sharing our resources with women entrepreneurs and organizations around the world—you can follow our work in this area in the recent blog, “Why I’m Prioritizing Women in My Workplace.”
Amber enters this picture on May 7 of this year through a contact form submitted to our website. Spoiler alert: $1,000 can make a seismic difference. We thought we’d simply relay our email conversations with Amber to illustrate. We think you’ll enjoy them.
MAY 7, 2018 HI! I'm Amber from rural Montana and I have partnered with folks in CA to bring a "Women in ranching" gathering to Eastern Montana. The original inspiration for Women in Ranching was framed as an opportunity to connect women working in ranching through discussion and activities to promote leadership and inspire creative thinking on how best to support a growing resource of female land managers. The hope was to provide beneficial, facilitated discussions, sharing of stories, challenges, goals, inspirations and opportunities for connection and mentoring through this coming together. This first hope was not only achieved, but grew into a deeply rooted and connected core with profound reach and impact, both for the women in the circle and their communities. The gathering that emerged from this call to action is about creating space for fellowship, connecting through shared stories and experience, identifying personal roadblocks, breaking down negative self narratives, thinking big, and fostering creative and collaborative energy around regenerative land management. I recently submitted a grant proposal to the red ants pants foundation and while doing that research ran into your website (I absolutely love the way you share stories and the pictures of your team and clients). I would be thrilled to have a conversation about possibilities. Thank you! -Amber |
MAY 7, 2018 Howdy Amber, Sure—would be happy to talk to you about this sometime. Sounds like a great initiative. Sarah Calhoun and Red Ants—love them! Which part of Eastern Montana? -Russ |
MAY 8, 2018 Hi Russ, My husband and I ranch about 80 miles North of Miles City, MT. Have you been in the area? What would work best for you, email or phone call? It looks like we will be getting rain all week, so I shouldn't be venturing too far off the ranch. Our roads are fairly impassable with rain, so I should be pretty available all week. Looking forward to it and thank you for such a quick reply! -Amber |
MAY 8, 2018 Never have. Was born in Missoula, have family on the High Line and over in Nashua, daughter went to school in Bozeman—but have never made it that far east. Some day! How about a little more via email and then we can have a phone call? Impassable roads—whether it’s mud or being snowed in, if you allow them they are a great way of providing limitations and near-term focus, as I’m sure you well know. Send me an email with a little more info and questions or—whatever. I’ll bounce back your way, one way or another. Happy Tuesday, -R |
Editor's note: Russ and Amber continued to go back and forth about love of land, shared acquaintances, and meeting spaces.
On May 18th, we talked with Amber on the phone. At the conclusion of that call, we told her that we’d give her a $1,000 grant for her conference.
JUNE 5, 2018 Hi Russ, I just wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten you all and hope to be in touch within a couple of weeks regarding how to direct financial support for the Women in Ranching event. I am waiting for a couple of conversations and then I will also look forward to sending you a short synopsis of the event to hand out to other interested parties. I told you on the phone that I was learning a lot by hosting this event. Well, let me tell you, I think the learning has just begun! My Best -Amber |
JUNE 6, 2018 Great to hear from you, Amber—and happy that you’ve joined me in the “learning life.” :) Let me know when you’ve got things settled and we’ll get a check your way. Happy Wednesday, -R |
JULY 17, 2018 Dear Russ, I finally have a formal procedure for receiving donations for Women in Ranching. We are now working in partnership with the Western Landowner's Alliance (a certified 501 c3 corporation), who is managing our finances. A check can be mailed to: Western Landowner's Alliance
Please write the check to the Western Landowners Alliance and in the memo line write: Women in Ranching. Upon receiving the check, they will send a thank you plus the receipt for your records. Your contribution of $1,000 is much appreciated and we greatly value your partnership in this endeavor. Russ, thank you for taking a call with me and being the first organization to donate to this important event. It means the world to me! We are just a little shy of our total desired donation with about a month to go. It's going to happen! I've attached a write-up about the Women in Ranching event and a few pictures. I want your staff to know what a great cause they are supporting! Sincerely -Amber Smith |
JULY 17, 2018 Thanks, Amber—I’ll forward this along and get a check cut and mailed. Just shy of your mark—keep going, you’ll get there! Let me know how it goes and please keep us posted so we can share with our staff and our audiences, as appropriate. -Russ |
MAY 8, 2018 Hi Russ! Could I get your company's logo? We would like to use it in a way that the women will know who supported and funded this event. Thank you again for your support. I was able to raise enough to bring a really great caterer on board, a young woman from New York who just opened Whole and Nourished in Bozeman about 1 year ago. When I told her about the event, and how we want to support local farmers and ranchers during the gathering but also in the way we purchase food for the event, she said, "Oh God, I need this too, I can't wait to make the food for these women!" The ranch is sandwiched between the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations, and I found a Cheyenne woman to perform a traditional welcoming ceremony for the event and to share the history and stories of the area. It is really turning into something so beautiful. -Amber |
MAY 8, 2018 Sounds like it’s all coming together for you, Amber. Congratulations! I’ve attached several logo formats for you. Happy Wednesday -R |
Editor’s Note: Departing from email, the following handwritten note arrived from Amber for the Oliver Russell team.
Dear Russ & Team,
I just wanted to send a quick note of appreciation for your generous donation to the first Women in Ranching gathering in MT. To say that the gathering was a success would be an understatement. To date, the event has garnered more social media response & donations than any other event for the Western Landowners Alliance. We’ve had great media coverage & even have a segment coming out in the New York Times.
The excitement has been astounding.
Some of my favorite quotes from participants are:
“This has been the most substantially transformative experience of my life.”
“Where did you find these women? I never knew there were other women like this in agriculture.”
“Yoga is life, horsemanship is life, it’s all the same energy.”
Thank you for being our first donors & for believing in me, someone who had never raised funds before. What a gift!
Sincerely,
-Amber Smith