Finding the Confidence to Pursue Impact

Guest Author: Maddie Pardue

Community Engagement Lead, KORE Venture

As a 3rd generation inheritor, Maddie received both the many blessings and difficulties of wealth. After going through the KORE Venture program in 2019, she is passionate about cultivating conversation and community amongst young inheritors to empower and navigate the complexities of wealth together.

Maddie graduated with a B.A. in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Psychology from Colorado Christian University. Maddie and her husband live in the beautiful state of Colorado.

Wealth has been a shaping force in my life. Growing up it mostly took the form of a dark cloud, a looming cause of confusion and guilt that seemed to permeate most areas of my life. Its complexities isolated me and burdened me. Yet, two years ago this shaping force morphed from burden into hopeful opportunity. This is my story of what set me free.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to change the world. But I remember keenly that my desire did not come from a place of altruism, but rather, immense pressure.

I grew up seeing my parents as world changers. My entire childhood was spent either on the mission field or hopping around the world going from one project to the next. I saw the world through the eyes of the suffering and the vulnerable, and I saw my parents doing something about it. I was thankful to be a part of it, but I remember asking myself as I transitioned into college, “How will I ever measure up to what my parents have done?”

Not only that, but my grandparents instilled in us the value of generosity. They modeled it in extreme ways, charitably giving millions of dollars to causes they believed in. We took opportunities to enjoy our wealth as well, but ultimately it was a gift to steward. In my college years, learning about sustainable giving, microfinance loans, and the power of impact investing should have made me excited. Instead, it overwhelmed me. I became paralyzed by the fear that I would not do it well. That among a family and legacy of world changers, I would be considered a failure.

Underlying it all was a deep seeded conviction stemming from my own faith, and the legacy of the faith and stewardship of my family. I knew my life was not my own. My passions and resources were to be held with open hands, for God to use for His own glory. And yet, instead of being grounded in the depth of God’s love for me, the fear I was controlled by translated into a sort of legalism in my faith. I needed to do more, be more, give more, and then I would be seen worthy in the eyes of God.

All this accumulated into a feeling of being “stuck.” Three years ago, when I graduated college, I wanted to do something “big,” yet I was passionless. I was independently wealthy, yet fearful to take ownership of it because of what my peers would think. I was 22 and wanting to change the world but lacked the confidence and agency to do so. I knew I needed a change, but I didn’t know where to start.

I heard about the organization KORE Venture in that time, and to be honest, was hesitant to sign up. KORE Venture is a program designed to equip young inheritors to navigate the opportunities and complexities of wealth in the context of a peer community. I did not want to label myself as “wealthy,” but decided to take a step of faith anyway. I thought that having more knowledge would equip me. If I knew the dos and don’ts of investing, the ins and outs of legacy planning, if I knew every legal or financial term that was used during our family business meetings, then I would be set! So, I signed up.

What unfolded over the next few months was the most unexpected and pivotal experience of my life. I arrived at the first day of KORE Venture programming and it became very clear from the beginning that what I actually needed to give me confidence and equip me for my future was not more knowledge, but my peers standing with me.

I hadn’t grown up in wealthy circles, so for the very first time I could speak about my life and didn’t have to monitor myself. There was a sense of freedom that I didn’t even know I needed. My confidence soared. I realized for the first time in my life that I wasn’t alone. I had a community behind me that bolstered me to be able to take ownership of the things in my life that brought me so much guilt, shame, and fear before.

This community saw my gifts and strengths and called them out of me. My understanding of my purpose and identity grew in light of that support. I was able to see myself not as a potential failure in my parent’s shadow, but a potential partner. I now saw myself as a strong young woman who had her own agency for impact. KORE Venture transformed my life because I saw that changing the world was not about what I did, but who I become.

KORE Venture is a wholistic program. There are plenty of programs out there that deal with the hard skills of wealth. However, wealth is so much more than abundant finances. It is relational dynamics, generational tension, overwhelming options, the feeling of isolation, burden, guilt, etc. KORE’s programming is designed to face those complexities head on, so that participants and their families can thrive.

I now work for KORE Venture as their Community Engagement Lead. I get to meet other young inheritors and tell them they aren’t alone, and there is a community that cares about them. I feel honored that I now get to be a part of KORE’s work in equipping Next Gens to explore how they will impact the world through how they are uniquely gifted. 

Maddie can be reached at mpardue@koreventure.org