I keep doing the math, still — just backwards now. Nine days since Sept 1. We’re calling this whole stretch Founding Month, because a single launch day was never really the point. The point was whether people would show up once we opened the door. Nine days in, I can tell you: they have.
Fifty people have raised their hand. Ten conversations have started through Connect. People have found us from eight countries so far — not just the ones we expected. Those numbers are real and I’m not going to pretend I don’t care about them. But I want to be honest about what I actually want them to mean to you, because it isn’t what a number on a website usually means.
What we’re not asking for this month
We’re not going to open Founding Month by asking you for money you don’t know us well enough to give yet. That’s not humility for its own sake — it’s how I actually think trust works. You don’t hand someone your trust because they told you a good number. You hand it to someone who showed up, told you the truth, and gave you room to ask your own questions first.
So this month, the real ask is smaller than a gift. It’s a conversation. Tell us what you think. Ask us something you’re not sure you’re allowed to ask. Point us to someone who should know we exist. Every one of those is a complete contribution on its own — not a stepping stone to something bigger we’re secretly hoping for.
Why that’s not a soft launch strategy
I’ve spent twenty-five years in child welfare and protection reform watching organizations mistake attention for trust, and then wonder why the trust never showed up. I don’t want that here. I’d rather build The Ties Foundation slowly, on real relationships, than build it fast on people who felt asked before they felt known.
So if you’ve been reading these notes and haven’t clicked anything yet — that’s not nothing. That still counts. But if you’ve got two minutes this month, I’d rather hear from you than count you. I read every message myself.
Nine days in, twenty-one days of Founding Month left. Come say hello.
— Ian Forber-Pratt
Executive Director, The Ties Foundation
