Story of the Fifth Monk

photography by Nevada Wier, by permission

People often talk in philanthropy about “going further upstream” to address the root causes of problems vs. merely addressing the symptoms.  We talk about gaining greater leverage for change by engaging in “transformational philanthropy” that challenges our worldviews, our habitual ways of thinking, and the way that society is structured and organized.  But what does all this actually mean?  I’ve created the following Story of the Fifth Monk to illustrate the different ways of going about philanthropy and the concept of leverage.