Should givers gain II: Ces Loftus

I thought I would revisit this topic if only to shout out a about a woman  in my network I admire greatly and one of the the most generous people I know in my network.

If you missed the previous post on the issue of being generous to those in your network you can catch up here

Ces is the brains behind Brand Buzz. She  is an avid advocate for my work and has used her expertise in branding to develop a whole new look for the following websites

Africa on the Blog

Let Them Help themselves out of Poverty

Ida Horner

I was pleasantly surprised when her and lovely hubby dropped in one evening to understand what I do and how they can help, bearing in mind that they lived in Liverpool at the time.

Ces’ generosity is legendary  amongst those of us in her network. She is currently running a free- yes a free Promotion  for producers of handcrafts in UK and if you would like to participate in this promotion please click on the diagram below

I decided to revisit this topic primarily to  acknowledge a woman that understands the meaning of networking and being generous to those in your network.

Secondly those who know me will be familiar with my community work in South West Uganda . I am not a rich a woman by any stretch of imagination  and one of  the questions I get asked a lot is Where does your funding come from? The simple answer is that from my networks both on and offline- in other words the generosity  of others enables me to help those less fortunate than I am and Ces is one of those that help by volunteering her skills and as such saving me a time and money. She never expects  anything in return!

Unfortunately some of us do not get this whole notion of networking being about building relationships, sharing what you know and have  with those in your network without expecting anything in return.

I recently  approached someone  for  contact details of someone  in their organisation. I went through my work and explained that I was trying to reach that person at the organisation he works at to find out if they would be interested in sponsoring an event we are organising to raise money to complete a water project in SW Uganda

I was unprepared for the answer I got back

“that is all very well but what’s in it for you”?

I must admit I was taken back by that answer and was at a loss of what to say and mumbled something along the lines of “hopefully God’s blessings” I am not sure what was behind that question and 2 weeks on I have not heard back from that person.

I have asked myself a few questions  following that exchange

1. Am I falling foul of the networking etiquette
2. was I wrong to expect that because I know this person they would help me?
3. should givers gain?

I don’t have any answer to those questions but I am grateful to people like Ces that have reached out to me

 

If you have any branding questions or would like a fresh look for your website Ces can be contacted at  ces@creativelyminded.co.uk