Part One in a series about the authority/vulnerability matrix, presented in Andy Crouch’s book Strong & Weak. In this matrix, authority is the capacity for meaningful action and vulnerability is exposure to risk, loss, or harm. Leaning into these two dimensions and how they intersect has been really powerful for me. Seeking to live in the Top Right Quadrant, I named my business TRQ!
In the bottom right quadrant, says Crouch, a high amount of vulnerability and a low amount of authority lead to SUFFERING, a state where people or institutions are exposed to harm and don’t have the agency to change their circumstances. In grant writing and fundraising letters, it’s all too easy to get stuck here. You follow instructions and describe your community’s need, then explain your organization’s need—and suddenly your request is sounding more like “rescue us!” than “partner with us!”
Instead of locating your organization and your constituents in the Suffering quadrant and addressing your funder as if they live in the Controlling quadrant (high authority, low vulnerability), try to imagine that all parties involved are in the top right quadrant, where authority and vulnerability combine for HUMAN FLOURISHING. Shape your narrative to acknowledge that the funder has a specific mission to fulfill, and that the responsibility of awarding limited dollars to an overwhelming number of requests is not easy. Highlight that your organization and your target population both have exciting strengths and genuine agency in addressing community problems. Present the grant award as a relationship, where all parties are taking risks together in a shared hope for the future.
One practical way to make this shift is to interrogate how you’re using data. Are the numbers you cite focused solely on need or threat of harm? Are you quoting research being done on solutions and not just problems? Have you challenged yourself to quantify your organization’s vision statement? Answering these questions can help us stay positioned in the Flourishing quadrant.
