Thoughts on Robert W. Scrivner

Write short, clear sentences to describe Mr. Scrivner in your own words, and assign a character trait(s) to each statement (Caring, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Justice and Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Giving)

Passage 1: Composed byDr. Richard Chasin, President of the Rockefeller Family Fund:

In 1963, at the age of twenty-eight, he entered the world of philanthropic foundations where, for his remaining twenty years, he revealed in his work the seamless fusion of his idealistic and pragmatic selves. He worked first for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and later for the Rockefeller Family Fund. He became executive director of the Family Fund in 1972 at the time when it became a fully professionalized foundation with clearly defined program areas and a board which consisted principally of younger members of the Rockefeller family...Independent and idealistic, he served not us but our common ideals. Possessed of pioneering vision and courage, he characteristically pointed out the way, encouraged us to consider it and led us along its path...In his work, Bob frequently expressed a cause before it was popular, deftly identified its most promising leaders and assisted in its earliest struggles...Providing early and profoundly effective causes and projects was the hallmark of his career. Though he often trusted and acted on intuition, Bob appeared to have an even greater faith in reason. He believed that even the most complex riddles would yield to the study and analysis of facts and ideas. If he learned enough, he would discover what had to be done...I think of Bob as a searchlight. His passion and brilliance were focused into a fervent beam, which sought out paths to a better future...For those trail blazers on whose path he was focused, he was exciting, enabling, enlightening and inspiring. My words may seem to describe a mythic figure, a giant. But, my impression of his physical person is quite different. He occupied only the volume of space in which he stood. His gestures were spare. His words were not wasted. He thought before he decided and he decided before he spoke.

Possible conclusions about Robert W. Scrivner:

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Write short, clear sentences to describe Mr. Scrivner in your own words, and assign a character trait(s) to each statement (Caring, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Justice and Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Giving)

Passage 2: Composed by Robert L. Allen, executive director of the Kendall Foundation:

By pushing a fine mind to flank speed, Bob got there before most of us. And, once there, he mapped the territory. He read the books; he scoured the technical papers; he questioned the experts. And, then, deliberately, after time for reflection, he was ready to lead – to lead a board of directors or the whole funding community...Each nonprofit leader with whom I spoke mentioned Bob’s consummate skill as a grantmaker seeking information. With the savvy of a police reporter, the background of a scholar, and his own easy, unthreatening grace, he worked unerringly toward the essence. And Bob was a virtuoso listener. He listened because he cared about what you were doing. In Bob, superiority of mind and position nurtured humility...The president of a nonprofit organization in Washington said, “Most of us gloss over or find ways of couching our passion, but not Bob...did he convey passion! And did he stimulate me! After a meeting with him, I felt that I could do anything!”

Possible conclusions about Robert W. Scrivner:

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Write short, clear sentences to describe Mr. Scrivner in your own words, and assign a character trait(s) to each statement (Caring, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Justice and Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Giving)

Passage 3: Composed by Tom Wahman, consultant to the Rockefeller Fund:

His deep concern about people and issues was filtered through one of the clearest minds I ever met. His intelligence would cut through to the core of a problem, and then he would speak and write about it with a clarity and simplicity that was as elegant as a work of art...[he]did not get discouraged or downcast about the possibilities of turning things around and making them better. He was not a cynic. Although his mind was nimble and quick, he also pondered and thought about things quietly alone in his office...He was steady; he could see far down the road. He knew that the issues he was involved in developed a certain momentum of their own...[he] had wisdom and a sense of timing as to when things should be done and how far one could push ahead...We all learned a great deal from him.

Possible conclusions about Robert W. Scrivner: