Informing Change’s Post

This summer, I had the honor of contributing to Nonprofit Quarterly, joining a conversation with esteemed nonprofit leaders on the topic of economic justice. In my essay, ‘Forging a New American Narrative,’ I discuss how the system has been manipulated by powerful elites at the expense of the middle class and our democracy. We need a paradigm shift founded on the principles of putting people first and caring for one another. Our nation’s history has shown that real progress requires collective movements. The challenge now is to build a multiethnic and multiracial movement centered on economic justice for all. It’s time we craft a narrative that showcases how we can progress together. Read the full essay and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gQTh8xRq

The following white paper is a quick read on collaborations within the nonprofit sector. Check it out and let me know what you think in time for Red's article on "collaborations" going out on Blue Avocado next month. I would love to quote you! https://lnkd.in/dv6EZcEX

This is a fascinating article about the future of nonprofit leadership. What do you think are some of the barriers to professionals taking the leap into a leadership role? How can we better support emerging leaders? 

A few weeks ago, I had this reading for my non-profit class. This speech was a thought-provoking analysis on the role of philanthropy in American democracy. It challenged conventional views and gave me the opportunity to think about and reexamine the relationship between foundations and grassroots initiatives. The speech also quoted Alexis de Tocqueville as someone who believed in democratic agency and community empowerment. This was actually one of the key-takeaways I learned from this speech was when it contrasted the traditional view of delivering services to clients and the Tocquevillian concept of citizens forming associations to address societal issues. I had not thought of philanthropy adopting corporate practices, nor had I questioned it. I have always been an advocate for having experts play a vital role in delivering services to increase efficiency but have not considered this to stifle grassroots democracy. This reminds me of a book I read in college: The Future and Its Enemies by Virginia Postrel. She also argued that the mindset that favors centralized planning and expert control over individual creativity and spontaneous order would stifle progress and limit the potential for individuals and decentralized networks to shape the future. What do you think? Is there a balance between expertise and grassroots movement in impacting the trajectory of societal progress? What roles can we have to shape future generations? Here is the link to the speech: https://lnkd.in/gKqd6qE7 I'm really curious about what you think! :)

“If we are to succeed in our vision of creating a thriving democracy and fair economy, civil society leaders must have the time and capacity to focus on their work and not fundraising. Funders need to have a deeper understanding of the interconnected issues they seek to solve, and exposure to the diversity of solutions out there. They also need to learn about and operate with best practice processes that truly shift power, and be willing to fund new ideas and approaches. In this context, collective philanthropy serves as a comprehensive solution addressing all of these critical needs.” Harriet McCallum, Mannifera Executive Officer, makes the case for collective giving in a recent article for Alliance magazine. Dive into the piece to get her take on how giving together can better support advocates pushing to strengthen democracy and create an economy that works for everyone.

What a wonderful surprise for the 361 nonprofits and organizations that received a collective $640M from MacKenzie Scott! There’s no doubt that these $1M and $2M gifts will have big impacts on these nonprofits. But these organizations shouldn’t stop here. These transformational gifts present more opportunities to engage with donors to bring even more dollars into the organization. That’s not always easy if you’re fighting the perception that your organization’s fundraising goals have been met thanks to a large gift. At Philanthropy Innovators, we’ve developed strategic solutions to overcome these challenges and drive additional donations for organizations. Reach out to us to see how we can help your organization elevate its fundraising efforts and exceed your goals. #Philanthropy #Fundraising #FundraisingStrategies #Nonprofit

Interim leadership needs to be part of this mix. It’s unrealistic and unfair to expect a new ED, especially if it’s a leader of color in an historically white-led institution, to not only deliver and fund an inspiring vision but also to bring the entire culture in a completely new direction is it likely unprepared for. These are two completely different skill sets, and this confluence of unrealistic expectations sets new leaders up to quickly burn out and leave. What’s undervalued but sorely needed is effective interim leadership: people who may not themselves be visionary but who can work effectively with boards, donors, and staff to align values and expectations around a central “why” so that the eventual top leader can have the runway and support they will need to be successful.

Thanks for the mention Matthew Ganz! It's much appreciated. Jon Farley and I started C-IMPACT after careers in higher-education first with a focus on wanting to improve how human services are delivered - a continuation of the work we had been doing at Hopkins and even before that. A recognition that people exist within an ecological system, so we have to bring cross-sector, collective approaches that put the community-based organizations who are frontline in serving populations in the driver seat of defining the needs and interventions, and get them working better together toward holistic approaches that result in coordinated and comprehensive services. What we were not expecting was the massive inequities between nonprofit organizations. Here in our home state of Maryland, 6% of the nonprofits receive 98% of the funding. Nationally, that figure is about 3% to 97%. Coming from one of those 6% organizations, we had the luxury of infrastructure, support, and resources that were internal to our organization, and that helped to perpetuate our ability to compete for funding, project confidence to donors, and more importantly - to have seats at the table to discuss problems to be solved and define solutions - even if we were degrees removed from the populations and issues at-hand. So our work through C-IMPACT expanded with the aim of democratizing access to the same types of expertise and tools that we were accustomed to in the "6% club" for those smaller, mission aligned nonprofits that are doing amazing work but don't have the internal capacity on their own to acquire the resources that allow them to scale, to collaborate, and to have more positional power in driving the conversation about what solutions are needed. To avoid the pitfalls of a death by a thousand consultants, we wanted to try a different approach of what we're calling compounded leadership - basically crowdsourcing expertise and capacity across a coalition of independent nonprofits, representing a continuum of human service missions, that function as a collaborative. C-IMPACT, as its own nonprofit, helps to focus the group on funding opportunities that enable collective impact responses, and then helps support grant applications and post-award compliance logistics - but most importantly - helps to ensure the organizations are implementing their interventions toward a holistic ecological model that produces better outcomes for the populations being served. That's how we meet our mission. Of course, we are a small nonprofit ourselves, and not immune to the same capacity challenges of the groups we are working with, so I appreciate your shedding light on this need. Thank you!