Our experience in Cape Town reminded me that when it comes to giving, receiving, and making an impact, there is no ledger.

South Africa?! In a month?! All expenses paid?! With Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Deloitte?!

Cue the instant imposter syndrome.

When I first learned that Giving Connection had been selected to participate in the AWS and Deloitte Social Entrepreneur Accelerator in Cape Town, South Africa, my brain immediately filled with logistics, excitement, and—if I’m being completely truthful—a lot of anxiety.

So I paused.

Breathe in. Hold. Hold. Hold.

Exhale gratitude.

My younger self wouldn’t believe it. Not five-year-old Steph, who had only touched a computer a handful of times. Not five-years-ago Steph, who hadn’t even started Giving Connection yet. Not even five-minutes-ago Steph. None of them could have imagined that I would be invited to Cape Town representing an organization I founded, surrounded by some of the most compassionate and impressive social impact leaders I’ve ever met.

On May 8- 9, 2025, we will spend two days together at the AWS Skills Centre in Cape Town enhancing their business models and cloud capabilities to advance global health, education, and workforce at scale.
35 social entrepreneurs
27 social-impact-focused organizations
17 countries
5 continents
3 focus areas: health, education, workforce

Giving Connection was one of 32 organizations selected for the accelerator, one of 10 nonprofits, and one of just six organizations from North America.

My exact reaction when I forwarded the news to our Board of Trustees was: “Is this real life?” And honestly, I almost didn’t apply. There was a voice in my head asking why our small-but-mighty nonprofit would be selected for an opportunity like this. Giving Connection is still a young organization. We have a tiny team, a big mission, and no shortage of things we are still figuring out.

But we applied anyway.

A month later, I was in Cape Town.

The experience gave us the opportunity to step outside of the day-to-day work of running Giving Connection and think bigger about where we are going. We learned alongside social entrepreneurs tackling enormous challenges in communities around the world. We had access to expertise, technology, new perspectives, and—perhaps most importantly—a community of people who deeply believe that innovative ideas can make life better for others.

For an organization built around the idea of connection, that felt especially meaningful.

Getting selected didn’t magically make the imposter syndrome disappear. That voice—the one that whispers that you aren’t enough—has followed me through every day, every decade, and every win. It followed me to Cape Town, too. 

In conversations with brilliant leaders. During presentations. While hearing about the scale of other organizations’ work. It kept reminding me that I could be doing more.

And somewhere in the middle of this incredible experience, I realized how closely that feeling was connected to something I have believed for most of my life:

Never take more than you give.

Yes, I know. The Circle of Life. I cringed a little too. Stay with me.

“Never take more than you give” has always been a sort of compass for me. I never want to receive an opportunity, an accolade, an experience, a donation—anything—that I haven’t fully earned. I want to give more than I take. Pull my weight. Keep my place on this planet paid in full. 

It sounds noble.

But if I’m honest, it’s also exhausting.

And transactional.

Because one of the things I came to understand in Cape Town is that there is no ledger. Giving and receiving don't always happen at the same time, in the same amount, or even between the same people. Life is an ecosystem. One day, you are the person who needs help. Years later, you may be the person offering it. Sometimes you have more to give. Sometimes you need to receive more than you possibly could give back.

That isn’t imbalance.

That’s life.

You take what you need. You give what you can.

There is no scoreboard. There is just showing up. Being human. Belonging.

Maybe that is why this lesson feels so connected to Giving Connection. Giving Connection exists because there have been times in my own life when I needed help. Sometimes that help came through a nonprofit. Sometimes it came through a person. Sometimes it was enormous, and sometimes it was something small that arrived at exactly the right moment.

It was given to me.

Giving Connection is, in many ways, my way of passing that help forward.

Our mission is to make it easier for people to find nonprofits and community resources when they need them—and easier for people who have something to give to find meaningful ways to volunteer, donate, and support their communities.

Some days, you are searching for help.

Other days, you are searching for a way to help.

And sometimes, you are doing both at once.

That is the circle.

Our time in Cape Town was an extraordinary opportunity for Giving Connection to learn, grow, and imagine what is possible for our organization. But I came home with something more personal, too. That sneaky voice still shows up. I don’t think one trip—or one accomplishment—makes it disappear.

But I have a different answer for it now:

I’m giving all I’ve got to help someone. And I’m receiving what’s given to me so I can keep doing that.

Once upon a time, I needed help.

It was given to me in big and small ways.

And now, this is how I give it back.