This was such an incredible, honest, spot-on read on the sector. It’s incredibly hard to name these problems (which we all notice and acknowledge) and be able to explain them so well and concisely. The highlights for me were the point about the expectation of this work requiring university degrees (which tells you what kind of knowledge is valued and is in itself elitist) as well as your point about growth as the goal of most nonprofits. Also, more people should be naming capitalism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness in sector conversations. At the end I think capitalism ties it all together (to your point on foundations): the growth narrative, the professionalisation of nonprofit work, the “savior” narrative… Capitalism and white saviorism have been ingrained in the system from the beginning as you well point out.
Paola, your response means SO much to me. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to leave it here! Honesty is definitely one of my super-powers. And it is SO affirming to meet other folks who appreciate that... rather than get their heckles raised by it.
I really love hearing which points especially resonated with you, too (i.e. which degrees and learning are valued, and growth as a goal). And I needed to hear you appreciating that I name capitalism, White Supremacy, and anti-Blackness... because sometimes I feel like a broken record... and sometimes people tell me I should give it a rest.
And YES! I agree that capitalism and white saviorism are really the foundations here. In other things I've written, I say that more directly... but I kind of talked AROUND it here. I think it does come through the examples though, for sure.
Appreciate you so much, Paola! THANK YOU for being here and engaging!
Exactly, Sally! This is SO counter-productive, when you think about it.
AND... there are reasons why this is so common.
The lack of sustainable, predictable funding for nonprofits (and thus the ability to get out of reactive mode and move into visioning and planning mode) keeps everyone so busy on the hamster wheel... that they never stop to look up at the horizon.
They can't!
The way things are, the whole thing could come crashing down (and even more people will suffer), if they don't keep sprinting along on that wheel, huffing and puffing, completely consumed.
Appreciate you asking the harder question here. An organization can get very good at growing its response to a problem without ever changing the system producing the problem. In some ways, the ultimate measure of success for a nonprofit should be whether it can eventually put itself out of business because the problem it was created to solve no longer exists.
AMEN! My thoughts exactly. Thanks for reading and engaging with this content. Appreciate being in community with you… and working towards a better world together!
This was such an incredible, honest, spot-on read on the sector. It’s incredibly hard to name these problems (which we all notice and acknowledge) and be able to explain them so well and concisely. The highlights for me were the point about the expectation of this work requiring university degrees (which tells you what kind of knowledge is valued and is in itself elitist) as well as your point about growth as the goal of most nonprofits. Also, more people should be naming capitalism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness in sector conversations. At the end I think capitalism ties it all together (to your point on foundations): the growth narrative, the professionalisation of nonprofit work, the “savior” narrative… Capitalism and white saviorism have been ingrained in the system from the beginning as you well point out.
Paola, your response means SO much to me. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to leave it here! Honesty is definitely one of my super-powers. And it is SO affirming to meet other folks who appreciate that... rather than get their heckles raised by it.
I really love hearing which points especially resonated with you, too (i.e. which degrees and learning are valued, and growth as a goal). And I needed to hear you appreciating that I name capitalism, White Supremacy, and anti-Blackness... because sometimes I feel like a broken record... and sometimes people tell me I should give it a rest.
And YES! I agree that capitalism and white saviorism are really the foundations here. In other things I've written, I say that more directly... but I kind of talked AROUND it here. I think it does come through the examples though, for sure.
Appreciate you so much, Paola! THANK YOU for being here and engaging!
All of these 🔥 #4 - I see this too often. Orgs solely focused on downstream work while never asking why more clients are showing up every day.
Exactly, Sally! This is SO counter-productive, when you think about it.
AND... there are reasons why this is so common.
The lack of sustainable, predictable funding for nonprofits (and thus the ability to get out of reactive mode and move into visioning and planning mode) keeps everyone so busy on the hamster wheel... that they never stop to look up at the horizon.
They can't!
The way things are, the whole thing could come crashing down (and even more people will suffer), if they don't keep sprinting along on that wheel, huffing and puffing, completely consumed.
What a sticky wicket nonprofits are stuck in!
Really appreciate you sharing this. Thoughtful content like this helps everyone learn. We recently wrote about non profit financing qualifications and hope it adds value to the conversation: https://thesemblereview.substack.com/p/organizations-that-qualify-for-non?r=8ofna4
Thanks for reading and engaging!
Appreciate you asking the harder question here. An organization can get very good at growing its response to a problem without ever changing the system producing the problem. In some ways, the ultimate measure of success for a nonprofit should be whether it can eventually put itself out of business because the problem it was created to solve no longer exists.
AMEN! My thoughts exactly. Thanks for reading and engaging with this content. Appreciate being in community with you… and working towards a better world together!