I think what makes The Salvation Army exceptional as a social service agency is its ability to see the people it serves as people. That’s where the listening comes in, and often the improvisation. In our location, the proposed strategy for outreach to Latinos in the neighborhood hasn’t been nearly as effective as an Ethiopian-born streetworker–go figure! And so we keep him hard at work reaching Latinos.

The Salvation Army seems very ready to say “If it works, it’s right.” And as a development officer who’s been experimenting with new approaches for much of the time since I arrived–and radically increasing revenues as a result–I appreciate the freedom.