I wonder: what would be on your list of values you think a charity should uphold?

It may not be at the top of your list, but I think determination is a core value that keeps us moving forward. 

Here at Acts, Determination is one of our six values. We aim to approach everything with high energy and a positive attitude and channel our passions into positive action, focussing on solutions over problems. We have faith that greater things can be achieved than might seem possible and so we make decisions with confidence and boldness and ensure our commitment is thorough and reliable.

The Night Light Cafe project was launched in January 2020, mere weeks before the beginning of a season that changed the horizon of daily life for all of us for the next few years. It would have been easy to pause, to pluck one of the hundreds of reasons why launching during a pandemic might be a bad idea, but instead the team persevered. They began with phone calls: an ever growing number of volunteers signing up to answer, listen and encourage those at the other end of the line. By the autumn of 2020 we were open 7 nights a week in 7 different locations.  Since that day, a Night Light Cafe has been available to the people of Lincoln every single evening. Today, there are more than 20 Night Light Cafes county-wide, with dreams for further growth and supporting more and more people. 

Determination isn’t just about perseverance; it’s also about innovation. When traditional methods fall short, it can drive us to find creative solutions. Faced with a 47% increase in Foodbank use in 2020, the Trussell Trust, didn’t just appeal for more tins: they determinedly lobbied the government, collaborated with supermarkets for ‘food waste’ schemes, and launched digital platforms to connect donors directly with those in need. Their refusal to accept hunger as inevitable has sparked a national conversation on food poverty, one we’re proud to be a part of as Lincoln Foodbank. 

Yet it’s crucial to note that determination shouldn’t be confused with blind stubbornness: the most effective charities and people pair it with reflection and adaptability. When I look around at our Job Club and Life Ready courses, they’re full of people determined to see a change in their lives, but also courageous enough to recognise the methods and ways they’ve tried so far haven’t produced the results they were hoping for. It’s been a privilege to celebrate alongside people returning to work after more than a decade after completing Job Club, or to see hope and light sparkle in someone whose confidence and self esteem has grown after being part of a Life Ready group. Of course, it takes further determination to cement these changes; to resist the urge to slip into old habits.

Why is this important? Why does it matter whether we as an organisation – or as people – are determined? 

Because determination is contagious. 

Our determination has a unique power to captivate and motivate those around us. I think determination is inspirational because it lays bare the potential within all of us. The stories we see play out whisper to the onlooker, “If they can do it, maybe I can too.” 

In a world that often feels overwhelming, witnessing determination cuts through the noise: it’s a reminder that progress, no matter how incremental, is possible. And in that possibility, we find the courage to take our own next step.

Where the odds often seem stacked against us – both in life and in the third sector, determination is our not-so-secret weapon. It’s what turns the Night Light Cafes, the Trussell Trusts, the Restore Course guests of this world from statistics into celebration stories. It reminds us that every ‘no’ can just be a step towards ‘yes’, every setback a setup for a comeback.

So, to every volunteer braving the rain for sponsorship, every innovator facing another rejection, every guest taking one more step towards change: your determination matters. It’s the heartbeat of the third sector; the force that ensures that as long as there are problems to solve, there will be people who refuse to stop until they’re solved.

In the grand tapestry of social change, determination is the thread that holds it all together. Keep pulling it, no matter how tough the knots – because in the world of making a difference, it’s not just the size of the challenge that counts, but the size of our resolve to meet it.