After 92 years of service to her family, her community and her state, the world said goodbye to a truly exceptional woman. My friend, mentor and the founder of my nonprofit organization, the one and only Pat Potts, passed away last month. In partnership with her husband, Ray, Pat was known as a changemaker. Her charitable résumé is extensive, from her work with Oklahoma City Public Schools, to founding the Potts Family Foundation, to founding the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits and much more. What an inspiring legacy. So often, “change” is seen as something to be avoided. That’s why we have change management, “change champions” and other mechanisms in the business world to help organizations navigate moving from one concept, process or system to another. And, of course, we need these tools to help make important transitions. But Pat was undaunted by change. She saw problems and wanted to find the most efficient, equitable and sustainable ways to solve them, and that usually meant affecting significant change, shaking things up and, very often, starting something entirely new. There is a lot of uncertainty right now for nonprofits due to a number of policies affecting charitable funding, operations and more. However, too often these times of uncertainty can lead to a feeling of recoiling, doing what we know works and – above all – not rocking the boat. However, I am challenging my organization and all Oklahoma nonprofits to ask themselves an important question: What would Pat do? Pat would – and did – fight the good fight, even in times of adversity. She championed excellence even when budgets were tight. She never forgot that the ultimate goal was to make Oklahoma the best possible place to live, work and grow. We would all do well to be more like Pat – and, as I always say, we are stronger together! Marnie Taylor is president & CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits.