Elks National Foundation Blog

by Claire Schnucker Donor Services Coordinator Numbers have always moved like birds in my mind. During the past few months the ENF’s Director, Jim O’Kelley, and I have been tasked with ENF’s File Analysis. We look at a bunch of numbers from this year and previous years, tell a story about what happened, and maybe make a few predictions of what will happen. In other words, look at where we have been, where we are now, and where we might be headed. Numbers, like animals in nature, move in different patterns of behavior. For animal patterns and gatherings, the English language has words for how they congregate. Such as “a grumble of pugs” or “a murder of crows.” These words are filled with whimsy and truth, and I highly recommend collecting them. When numbers move like geese in a skein , my job is easy. They fly in patterns, have a similar progression of movement with obvious parameters and outlines. If I look at where they have been, I know how they will move forward. When t