The Real Estate Between

At The Patterson Foundation, one of our core approaches is helping organizations move FROM something TO something greater. We work to move from Scarcity to Abundance, from Issues to Aspirations, from Enabling to Engaging, from Silos to Systems, and from Outputs to Outcomes.

It is a beautiful aspiration, the kind of phrases that land well in strategic planning, keynote addresses, and proposals.

Who wouldn’t want to move toward something greater?

But here’s a reality I’ve learned while working in the nonprofit space: There is a whole lot of real estate between FROM and TO.

And in that space is where the real work happens.

In theory, the journey sounds linear. We can quickly leave behind our old ways of doing and being – mindsets, models, cultures – and arrive at something better, with a more aligned mission and impact.

But in practice, moving from what was to what could be is rarely a straight line. It’s a stretch of road marked by uncertainty, friction, fatigue, and downright anger. It is a place where clarity feels as though it flickers away, old habits beg to be renewed, and the thought of going back to what was stays squarely at the forefront of our minds.

It’s easy to romanticize the idea of transforming our organizations. We think, “Oh, we have the willpower and vision; we can do this.” But deep change won’t happen in slogans. It happens in the daily trenches.

The space between FROM and TO is a process, not a quick pivot.

At TPF, it is our aspiration that we can provide “realtors” for the real estate between. Walking together right down the middle of a messy lane, not with expedited fixes, but with deep connective tissue and accompaniment. True accompaniment means living shoulder to shoulder in these transitions, helping hold the tension of the in-between, and working through honoring the past and looking onward to the future. It’s in this messy middle that we see the power of other TPF values, like CLSES (Connecting, Learning, Sharing, Evolving, Strengthening), where we can unpack what it means to find alignment in our LWRCC (Leadership, Willingness, Readiness, Capacity, Culture).

It is where we build trust, where we can begin forming resilience.

As we look to move FROM something TO something greater, we need to take the messy middle seriously. It is not a wasteland. It’s a formative space where courage, clarity, and capacity are forged.  

For those of us who find ourselves as funders, facilitators, and stakeholders, we must ourselves, value the process as much as the outcome. We must celebrate small steps, not destinations. And we need to be champions of the tension, reminding others it is a sign of transformation, not a sign of failure. 

The next time we talk about moving FROM something TO something, let’s not forget about the journey between. Let’s honor that real estate. 

It’s messy, uncertain, and beautiful.

And it is where we find out what organizations are truly capable of.