CommunityCentricFundraising, Author at CCF

It’s time to throw away the spoons. Employers don’t get it.

Nov 13, 2023 | Essays, The Hub

By Corrie Jacobs, professional communicator and disability advocate

As a person with multiple invisible disabilities, I’m sick of explaining this theory. When you have service for 200 in your pocket, you’re probably not going to understand those who have to wait for their three spoons that are stuck in a rinse cycle.

If you know anything about the chronic illness and disability community, you’ve probably heard about spoon theory.

The basic idea is that everyone starts their day with a certain number of spoons, representing units of energy or effort. Non-disabled folx seemingly have an infinite number of spoons to make it through the day. People with disabilities and those living with chronic illness, AKA “spoonies,” have a limited number of spoons to use each day, which may also be impacted by how much their disabilities are impacting their functioning that day. Tasks may take one spoon or 10 spoons depending on how difficult they may be or how much energy we may have.

As a person with multiple invisible disabilities, I’m sick of explaining this theory. When you have service for 200 in your pocket, you’re probably not going to understand those who have to wait for their three spoons that are stuck in a rinse cycle.

It’s time to throw away the spoons. Let’s go with gas guzzlers instead. Surely the capitalist leaders of the world will get that more than tarnished silverware.

If my boss is a pickup truck with a 25-gallon tank, I am the first car I learned to drive in: my grandma’s 1990 Geo Prism with missing door handles, a window being held up with duct tape, no working AC, and an engine that could not exceed 70 mph. (Yup, and I loved that car like it was a traumatized stray cat found behind a dumpster.)

I’m generally running on empty, but let’s assume my 10-gallon tank is somehow completely full one day. Now, when I go to work, I have to be especially strategic about how I use those gallons in order to reach the same destination the pickup truck can reach with half a tank.

Does that mean I shouldn’t be allowed on the road at all? No. (A 2018 study found that hiring employees with disabilities will result in “countless benefits.”)

Does that mean I can’t reach my destination if I have to follow the rules of the road set by the impeccable pickup truck? Probably. And I’m probably going to break down a quarter of the way there.

And I hear you: Just drink more coffee!

Well, you need to find the right meds. Can’t you find a better doctor?

If you really care about your work performance, you would be participating in the free yoga program.

Invisible (and visible!) disabilities are not something we can magically wish away with a positive mindset, a miracle drug that doesn’t exist, or a gallon of caffeine. Nor should we want to wish them away.

You could ask yourself questions like, If I have an employee with a limb amputation, can I demand that they grow that limb back like a lizard tail? (The free yoga can help with that!) Are they going to get a “needs improvement” in their performance evaluation because the elevator is broken in your five-story building and they are late to meetings?

I hope that paragraph above sounds absolutely ridiculous to you. But all of the other messages I listed above in italics are things my employers have told me.

It’s almost 2024, y’all. Isn’t it time we fix this line of thinking? It really is no wonder that people with disabilities are almost twice as likely to be self-employed as compared to their non-disabled peers.

Rather than setting the rules of the road based on the pickup trucks – oh, those shining bastions of climate change – it’s time to make some improvements to the highway. Once you make those adjustments, here are just a few things you can expect:

1. Creativity and innovation

I can’t go 90 mph from San Francisco to LA with no breaks. But I can get from Point A to Point B in a way you’ve never thought about before. Oh, look, employees with disabilities bring new ways of thinking to your organization.

2. Diversity begets diversity

Your lack of stops may be a badge of honor, but when I’m at those rest areas, I’m engaging with people you didn’t even know existed. If you want to open up the diversity of your donor pool, client base, student population, or membership community, you need to hire people with disabilities. According to 2021 U.S. Census Bureau data, there 42.5 million Americans with disabilities. That’s 13% of the population. And that number is likely severely understated.

3. Employee loyalty and satisfaction, improved company culture, better reputation, all of the things!

If you modify a lane on your highway so that it offers private rest areas, institutionalized mentorship, quiet workspaces – or, you know, the flexibility to work from home and not have to pay the exorbitant cost of gas in the first place – you are going to see a lot more ROI from that than from the lunchtime meditation program and free popcorn machine (not to knock down either of those things, but a Friday nacho bar isn’t going to fix any of your deep-rooted personnel problems).

As a writer, I know I’m supposed to end this article with some pithy call-to-action that easily inspires you, makes you smile, and helps you feel good as you go about your day. Ha. I’d love to be able to do that for you!

What I can pithily say is: give us a damn parking spot in the executive lot already (or make it a safe enough space for those already in the lot to share their identities). Subsidize our trips to the mechanic. Let us skip the rush hour traffic, or better yet, stay home.

My 3.5-door sedan deserves to take up as much space as the freshly polished F-150.

We just may surprise you. I guarantee that our different perspectives are going to drive positive change for your organization.

Corrie Jacobs

Corrie Jacobs (she/her), who identifies as a disabled person, has been a communications professional in public education for the last decade. When she’s not fighting for disability and mental health awareness and equity in the workplace and the classroom, she’s keeping people cozy and building community among fiber artists through her business, Comma Craft Co.

If you want to connect with her about mentorship, workshop/speaking opportunities or something else, you can find her contact information via the Alt Ac Support Network.

If you want to help her fill up her gas tank, you can tip her via Venmo @CorrieJacobs or PayPal.

If I could put sexworker on my resume…

Nov 6, 2023 | Essays, The Hub

By Nel Taylor, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Requiring a college degree narrows a hiring pool to those who have access to a college education and can lend to a homogenous candidate pool, which will be reflected in the staff makeup. An organization pursuing equity can look beyond bureaucratic requirements and checkboxes to value a wide array of lived experiences.

How many times have you seen “Bachelor’s degree required” on a job posting and felt discouraged?

Seeing a college degree requirement on a job posting when the position doesn’t legally require a degree (if you’re hiring a veterinarian or a lawyer, you get a pass) doesn’t just tell me that I won’t get the job, it tells me about where an organization is in its equity journey. If I see a required degree on a job posting, I move on, even if I technically meet the requirements.

Requiring a college degree narrows a hiring pool to those who have access to a college education and can lend to a homogenous candidate pool, which will be reflected in the staff makeup. An organization pursuing equity can look beyond bureaucratic requirements and checkboxes to value a wide array of lived experiences.

And I don’t just mean adding “or equivalent experience,” which usually means years in the field and ignores any other “equivalent.” Recognizing and being open to informal or unusual experience can open your organization to candidates who can provide a breadth of expertise that may not be represented in your staff.

I have an associate’s degree from a community college and ten years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, but I got my most relevant and useful experience in an unorthodox way.

I spent four years of my life unhoused. During those four years, I panhandled on street corners and sold weed in parks. People make a lot of money in the cannabis industry now and are recognized as successful entrepreneurs. Conversely, I carried three felonies with me during my transition out of homelessness and through my 20s.

After receiving housing through a wonderful nonprofit, I began working as a dancer and sex worker and was finally in a thriving financial position.

I am comfortable asking for money. My experience with it started as a young person standing on a street corner with a cardboard sign that read, “I bet you a dollar you can’t throw a quarter in my can.” I grew even more comfortable with rejection and eye contact avoidance.

When I moved into cannabis sales – before it was legally sanctioned – I began to excel in sales. I knew I was offering someone an opportunity, and it was easy to confidently name my price. In the strip clubs, my regular communications with wealthy men and the occasional bachelorette party eliminated any lingering fears I might have had around talking about money.

Imagine if we were to view other kinds of lived experience with an open mind.

I had faced my money story. I had experienced extreme poverty, asked for help from strangers who had more than me, learned to ask for what I’m worth, and I was in community with people who had wealth. I learned not to demonize someone who had financial success and to not demonize myself for seeking my own financial success.

These skills converged when I moved into individual fundraising, and I felt like I had finally found my place in life. I was right where I was supposed to be, offering community members an opportunity to build the world they want to live in and asking directly for what we need.

Imagine if we were to view other kinds of lived experience with an open mind.

How can a candidate who has been to prison enrich your organization in ways that no one else on staff can? What perspective could a houseless parent offer while you develop your food justice programs? How could a bartender upgrade your donor communications?

And I’m not talking about expecting candidates and staff to parade their trauma so organizational leaders can feel good about their DEI efforts. I am saying, see the whole person and be open to how our diverse lived experiences can offer skills and unique perspectives and drive our work with fresh insight.

Let’s remove superfluous barriers in job postings, open ourselves up to what experiences and skills someone can bring outside of dominant culture norms, and say that in your job description. Tell your candidates that you know “equivalent experience” means so much more than having worked in the field for a certain number of years or having gone into debt for a college degree.

If I could put sex-worker on my resume, it would say a lot more about my skills in fundraising than my associate’s degree ever will.

Nel Taylor

Nel Taylor (they/them/theirs, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation) is a nonprofit development, equity, HR, and fundraising strategy consultant with over 10 years of nonprofit experience, bringing a strong justice lens to indigenizing fundraising, systems, and strategies in the nonprofit sector. They are the Founder and Steward of Now This Consulting, based in Portland, OR.

Their introduction to nonprofit work came out of their transition from houselessness when they were 18 years old, advocating as a program participant in fundraising efforts. After experiencing exploitation at the hands of the nonprofit industrial complex, they set out to shift traditional harmful practices in fundraising, and then the internal systems that perpetuate harm throughout the nonprofit sector.

Their firsthand experience working within non-hierarchical organization structures, co-leadership models, and shared power systems, as well as being an impacted community member with lived experience of relying on the support of nonprofits, uniquely position them to guide organization leaders through the reckoning required for systems-change.

Learn more about Now This Consulting at www.nowthisconsulting.com, follow Now This on Instagram and TikTok @nowthisconsulting, and find Nel on LinkedIn.

To support Nel’s work while they grow their new business, visit www.nowthisconsulting.com/support and give to their GoFundMe.

The myth of inherent good: Why the non-profit sector operates in an illusion of its own making

Oct 30, 2023 | Essays, The Hub

By Alli Rolle, Strategist and academic rooted in community

The basis of our work, our motivations, is rooted in a desire for change. We seek to create a world that is more equitable and just, but more often than not, we miss the mark.

We want to change the world, right?

The basis of our work, our motivations, is rooted in a desire for change. We seek to create a world that is more equitable and just, but more often than not, we miss the mark.

The truth is that the non-profit sector has as long of a history of harm as it does of good. Marginalized voices have been silenced to satisfy white comfortability, yet they are also “amplified” by organizations that claim to champion equity, diversity, and inclusion. In doing so, these organizations have stripped BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled folks of our agency while leaving us with little to no resources.

Skeptical of that statement? Let me provide an example.

A 2020 report by Echoing Green found that non-profit organizations led by Black and Latino executives saw significantly less revenue and unrestricted assets than their white counterparts, even when focusing on similar issues. The data from this study shines a bright and unavoidable light on unequal funding in the sector and how that has placed decision-making power in the hands of those who cannot fathom our experiences.

In my own work, I have witnessed the immense power imbalance in funding allocations across North America. I have also seen the harm perpetrated against BIPOC colleagues and non-profit professionals. Our experiences are often requested by white-led organizations who seek to “expand” their DEI initiatives. In doing so, these organizations have tokenized our existence while neglecting to listen to the deep-seated issues that they themselves have produced.

I have been a part of this silencing and have also been projected as the “amplification” of my community’s voices. As a Black person in this sector, I am helpless without the support that stems from white saviorism, but should not dare challenge it. I have been that token as I watched the sector operate in an illusion of “goodness.”

So to my white colleagues and white-led organizations, I say to you this: be wary of confusing saviorism for benevolence.

We must face the reality that the non-profit sphere has a history of colonialism that persists to this day. It resides in institutional function, organizational structures, the treatment of BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled employees, and individual ideologies that place intention over impact.

What I’ve said may be activating for you, in either a positive or negative way. However, I ask you to reflect – really reflect – on the following points so that we can deconstruct the myth that our sector inherently “makes the world a better place.”

Distinguish Passive Ignorance from Structured Ignorance

There are issues you don’t know about. There are nuances you will never be able to experience or have explained to you. That is the reality of living in a position of power and privilege. However, there is a difference between issues you can’t understand and those you don’t want to understand.

In my work as a non-profit strategist, I could tell when the issues I raised were valuable lessons and when they were perceived as a nuisance or disruption. Calls to action were met with surface-level DEI commitments. Challenges to issues such as wealth disparities and the harmful projection of stereotypes in campaigns were met with resistance and frustration. In these reactions and actions, non-profit leaders and professionals evade the work required to produce widespread change.

This is structured ignorance. This is the reinforcement of colonial dominance through the evasion, or resistance, to reality.

In the non-profit sphere, ignorance is a historical, ongoing process that upholds white saviorism and institutional inequality. You must analyze the social epistemologies that not only reinforce racism, but your role within it.

This also means analyzing how color-blind racism plays a role. In the vein of ignorance, colorblindness hinders, or stops altogether, the advancement of racial justice and equity. That must lead us to ask in what ways the sector has bypassed social justice-oriented learning in favor of a model where “everyone plays a role in creating change.”

Remember, motivations are telling.

You must separate a lack of knowledge from a lack of willingness.

Embrace Anti-Racism Despite Your Comfortability

Anti-racism is a scary word in the sector; I think we can admit that. The use of acronyms such as DEI, EDI, or even JEDI has served as palatable introductions to a much deeper issue. This ties back to the issue of structured ignorance and unwillingness.

Anti-racism must be embraced by non-profit organizations, leaders, and professionals if we are to dispel the myth of inherent good.

Educating oneself about the racial and colonial history of the non-profit sector is non-negotiable. We must move beyond a surface-level knowledge of systematic inequalities to actively engage with structures built on dominance and who is defined as the “disadvantaged.” Through this active engagement, we find the roots of the “myth,” firmly situated in white saviorism and supremacy.

However, engaging with history is only the first step in embracing anti-racist principles. There are many anti-racist resources and referrals curated by BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled individuals that will challenge you to reflect, recognize, and rectify your knowledge of a sector supposedly built on “doing the good work.”

De-center Damage-Centered Mindsets

In “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities,” the incredible Eve Tuck wrote about the exploitation and mistreatment of people and material. In this letter, Tuck warns that a focus on brokenness means that our communities “become spaces saturated in the fantasies of outsiders.” While Tuck is critiquing damage-centered approaches to research, this can be applied to the damage-centered ideologies held by white-led organizations and professionals.

Much of the research surrounding BIPOC communities is fixated on victimhood and “dire need.” In the collection of stories, I have been asked to seek out and amplify harm, pain, and brokenness. In the evaluation of campaigns, I have been tasked with searching for the most compelling elements that produce the most revenue, and they are often the ones that evoke the empathy of white donors.

The damage-centered mindset contributes to the long-standing prevalence of the myth of inherent good, or inherent benevolence. The depiction of marginalized people as desperate victims has upheld harmful stereotypes. Moreover, operating from deficit models has led many to believe that the non-profit sphere, at its core, is about saving people who cannot save themselves.

It is imperative to deconstruct this mindset to not only move beyond the myth, but also return agency to the voices you claim to uplift.

We are not broken, and we do not “need saving.” We need you to de-center yourself as we take the lead on addressing the issues our communities face.

With All of These Steps, Can The Myth Be Dispelled?

By themselves, no they can’t. The deconstruction of the myth of inherent good requires the sector to undergo a change that not only gives communities a seat at the table but builds the table from their direction.

Deconstruction means reconceptualization on the part of white-led organizations and charities. In doing so, an environment built on truth and transparency can emerge. Without it, we risk the continuation of an illusion that leaves the sector very far behind.

Alli Rolle

Alli Rolle (they/them) is an award-winning artist, scholar, non-profit leader, and activist. Honoring the legacy of their ancestors, Alli seeks decolonial futurities that bring about collective liberation. Alli’s work centers an Afro-Queer-futurist approach that both critically reflects on – and reimagines – life possibilities for the Black, Indigenous, Queer, and other marginalised people. Outside of the fundraising sector, Alli shifts theory to praxis by creating art-based programs that disrupt the historic and ongoing processes that subjugate marginalised bodies.

Your 9-step guide to ditching donor-centricity to actually effect systemic change

Oct 23, 2023 | Essays, The Hub

By Maria Rio, cynically optimistic fundraising consultant with 10+ years of experience.

In a world where “doing good” has become a marketable commodity, an ESG metric, or an acceptable defense against valid criticism, nonprofit leaders must take time to reflect on the role we play in the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC).

Money talks, and in the nonprofit sector, it practically screams. When a nonprofit’s survival hinges on the whims of a handful of donors, their activities may start to look less like grassroots activism and more like veneered, smile-and-hold-this-$5,000-cheque-for-the-photo, donor-approved exercises.

The result? A sector that is excellent at putting on a show but is largely ineffective in enacting real, systemic change; change that requires nonprofits to be nimble and unafraid of challenging inequity.

In a world where “doing good” has become a marketable commodity, an ESG metric, or an acceptable defense against valid criticism, nonprofit leaders must take time to reflect on the role we play in the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC).

For those unfamiliar with the Complex, the NPIC is a system where nonprofits serve as a buffer between government (in)action and oppressed communities. Capitalism and white supremacy are integral to the NPIC; their influence shifted the focus from social impact to revenue generation, basically turning charities into corporations.

Due to a reliance on external funding, nonprofits refuse to “bite the hand that feeds them” and often choose to focus on “safe, non-political” issues – issues that won’t challenge existing societal power structures or upset funder expectations. The nonprofit sector is thus in conflict: it exists to challenge systems but is funded by those very systems.

So, now what?

Are we going to be activists or glorified event planners?

A good first step would be for nonprofit leaders to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if they’re true activists or just glorified event planners. If the former, let’s be real – it’s wayyyyy past time to move away from donor-centricity. Now. Today. Nonprofits need to tackle the purposefully politicized issues of the housing crisis, the environmental crisis, policing, Land Back claims, accessibility, and poverty. We cannot continue to wear the mask of social activism while also being perpetrators of social control or an enabler of oppression. We should not pat ourselves on the back for doing the bare minimum to qualify as do-gooders as our community (including our staff) continues to go unheard.

But I get it; it’s complicated, it’s hard, and it’s exhausting. I’m a fundraiser, after all. I know the pressures that come with this shift. Navigating the issues of the sector while trying to run programs and raise funds could easily make your head spin.

However, if our sector is not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem. We know we haven’t been successful in our mission of effecting systemic change and justice; what do we lose by trying something different?

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” ― Desmond Tutu

Based on the values of Community-Centric Fundraising and my desire to effect systemic change, I have created a checklist to help you and your organization move away from the NPIC and towards true activism.

A checklist to help activists move away from the Nonprofit Industrial Complex:

1. Conduct a Self-Audit

A self-audit is an evaluation of your organization’s alignment with its mission, values, and impact – from governance, to HR policies, to programming and fundraising. It’s an opportunity to take a step back and critically assess how well your organization is doing in achieving its mission and stated values.

Let’s consider the example of a nonprofit focused on environmental conservation. During a self-audit, they discovered that while their mission was to promote sustainable practices, their own office operations were far from eco-friendly. They were using non-recyclable materials, their energy consumption was high, and they had no policy for waste management. This was not only contrary to their mission but also a problem for staff who joined the organization because of a perceived value-alignment. After the self-audit, the nonprofit implemented a sustainability policy, switched to renewable energy, and started a recycling program. This not only aligned their operations with their mission but also improved staff morale and credibility in the eyes of their donors and community.

Evaluate your organization’s mission and goals: Are they still relevant? Do they reflect the needs of the community you serve?
Assess whether current projects and operations align with the mission: Are you doing work that actually serves your mission or just what donors want to fund?
Identify any external influences: Are there donors or board members pushing the organization in a direction that doesn’t align with its mission?
Evaluate donor education: How well are you educating your donors about systemic issues and the pitfalls of the NPIC?

2. Revisit Funding Sources

Money can either align with or work against your mission, so examining donors and sources of wealth is important. For example, imagine taking money from a police force while your mission is to combat wrongful incarceration. This is a glaring conflict of interest that deeply undermines your systemic impact.

Make a list of all your funding sources: Know where your money comes from and note any conflicts between the source and your mission.
Identify any strings attached: Are there conditions that limit your advocacy work or program development?
Consider diversifying funding: Look into community-based fundraising, grants, or social enterprises to reduce dependency on a single donor.
Community Power: If there is a conflict of interest, do not assume that you “could put the money to good use,” especially if your organization is not representative of the community that was harmed through the creation of that wealth.

3. Review Governance Structures

Boards are a huge problem; we know this. As a friend of mine refers to them, they are often “stale, pale, and male,” lacking lived experience and removed from the day-to-day of nonprofit life. Boards like this often make decisions that are out of touch with the needs of the people they are supposed to serve. Only 32% of boards place a high priority on “knowledge of the community served” as part of board recruitment. This is a flaw by design. For example, think of any youth-serving organization with a board made up of people over forty, or an organization supporting people experiencing homelessness without anyone on the board with that lived experience, or even an anti-racism organization with an all-white board. It doesn’t work to effect systemic change for the community, and keeps us out of decision-making spaces.

Examine your board’s composition: Does it reflect the community you serve?
Ensure community representation: Include community members in decision-making processes.
Implement a bottom-up approach: Involve staff and beneficiaries in program development and execution.

4. Reevaluate Performance Metrics

Metrics guide behavior, and what gets measured gets managed. Therefore, choosing the right metrics is crucial to keep your organization focused on meaningful, mission-aligned work. The Outcome Indicators Project does an amazing job of providing some metrics around public policy, community partnerships, and more. I highly recommend you check out this resource as it even breaks down the metrics into sample nonprofits such as those focused on adult education, performing arts, community organizing, etc.

By moving toward an impact-over-output metrics system, we can more deeply understand the systemic effects we are (or are not) having.

List all the metrics: Know what you’re currently measuring.
Assess meaningful impact: Are these metrics actually indicative of the change you’re making?
Replace or modify: Shift focus from quantity (like the number of participants) to quality (like the true depth of impact).

5. Foster Community Engagement

Engaging with the community you serve ensures that your programs and initiatives are responsive to real and current needs, thereby increasing your impact. In the past, I have approached this by surveying community members on their top public policy priorities; that way, we know for sure instead of assuming. In that case, low social assistance rates, unaffordable housing, and free dental care were ranked highly. We then used this information to advocate publicly, connect with organizations addressing these issues, and send letters to our representatives.

Create platforms: Allow community members to voice their concerns and suggestions.
Involve the community: Make them part of the decision-making process and project planning.
Regular updates: Keep the community informed about your activities and financial status

6. Advocate for Systemic Change

Advocacy for systemic change is a missing element in our sector. While many organizations excel at providing immediate supports, almost none engage in systemic advocacy. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, less than 3% of American nonprofits lobby to advance their missions – compared to 100% that have the legal right to do so. This massive gap represents a missed opportunity for lasting, impactful change. We must tackle the root causes of social issues, not just piece-meal address their effects.

Identify systemic issues: Choose issues that align with your mission.
Develop advocacy campaigns: Use your platform to push for change.
Collaborate: Partner with other organizations to amplify your voice.

7. Implement Internal Transparency

Transparency is ethical and practical. A Harvard Business Review piece showcased study after study showing that transparency significantly improves staff morale and trust.

It says: “…healthy work relationships require clear, consistent, honest, and open communication, which itself is the key element in trust, without which all relationships fail. There is robust research showing that authenticity and transparency are critical to effective leadership. Without those qualities, employees feel disregarded and dehumanized. Moreover, research…also shows that we register inauthenticity as threat. Our heart rate goes up when we encounter someone who is pretending to be something they are not.”

By not inviting staff to give input or collaborate, a board or leadership team often fails to address concerns. Those excluded often bear the consequences of these failures.

Shared knowledge: Make financial statements and project outcomes accessible to all team members.
Psychological safety: Encourage open dialogue about the organization’s direction and any concerns.
Whistleblower policy: Implement a system for anonymous reporting of unethical practices.

8. Train Staff, Board, and Volunteers

Organization-wide training around the NPIC is key to ensure everyone involved in your nonprofit understands and is aligned with its mission, values, and methods. Training equips your entire team with the knowledge and skills they need to serve your community and advocate effectively. You can approach this via topics like “why shift to CCF,” “how to partner with other organizations to effect systemic change,” “when to step away from or pass the mic,” and “the impacts of capitalism on our staff and systems.”

Educate about the NPIC: Make sure everyone understands the problematic system you’re a part of.
Community-centric approaches: Train in ethical fundraising and community engagement.
Regular updates: Keep the training programs current and relevant.
Educate donors: Donors are part of your community and thus need a role in systemic change as well. Educate them on Community-Centric Fundraising principles and actionable items they can take.

9. Monitor and Adjust

Equity is not static; it evolves with societal changes, community needs, and organizational growth. It is not a one-time checkbox but an ongoing commitment that requires continuous effort, analysis, and adjustment.

You must spend time regularly revisiting your social impact strategies, assessing their effectiveness, and making necessary adjustments. By adopting an iterative approach, you ensure your organization is not just reacting to inequities but proactively working to eliminate them.

Regularly revisit this checklist: Make it a part of your operational plan or quarterly review.
Make necessary adjustments: Be willing to pivot when something isn’t working.
Celebrate small wins: Acknowledge and celebrate progress, however small.

The nonprofit sector has a unique role and responsibility in society, but we must be willing to critically examine and change our practices to truly make a difference. We need to own that our current approach as a sector isn’t resulting in “the change we want to see in the world” – so let’s change it!

Maria Rio

Maria Rio (she/her) is a fundraising consultant with Further Together with 10+ years of non-profit experience. She is regularly asked to speak on issues related to fundraising and her op-eds have been featured in national publications. She was a finalist for the national 2022 Charity Village Best Individual Fundraiser Award and has a deep passion for non-profit work. Maria also sits on the Board of Living Wage Canada.

You can connect with Maria through Further Together or through LinkedIn.

Navigating complex partnerships: Or why I talk to prison staff the same way I talk to corporate donors

Oct 16, 2023 | Essays, The Hub

By Jocelyn Nelson, Social Impact and Fundraising Change Management Consultant

What do you do if it seems like your funder or prospective partner is inherently opposed to your approach to meeting your mission?

A few years ago, I was sitting with a group of prison abolitionists who had come together to found Liberation Library—a non-hierarchical group that provides incarcerated young people with access to books and worlds of their choosing—and I felt like I was living a double life.

That was because during the day, I was working as a corporate fundraiser, building relationships and networking with Fortune 500 executives, and at night, I was organizing for a world without prisons.

Somehow, both sides of me existed, and both parts of me felt challenged and inspired by the work that I was doing. One day, I came off an afternoon of calls with a potential corporate donor and the principal at a prison, and I realized that these worlds had more in common than I thought. And I was leveraging the exact same skills to navigate both.

At Liberation Library, I was in charge of facilitating and building relationships with the prisons and jails where we hoped to bring Liberation Library’s services. These are complex relationships—we are dependent on prison staff for getting books to young people and for the program’s ability to function. And as an abolitionist group, we are explicitly against the existence of their workplace. We were attempting to build trusting relationships with people who we knew we had significant differences with and who we simultaneously depended on in many ways.

As a corporate fundraiser at a volunteerism organization, I cultivated and stewarded relationships with corporate donors at a critical junction in the nonprofit’s history. The organization was evolving its approach to be more community-driven, and donors had to be brought along. This meant that I stepped into not just a fundraising role but the role of an influencer, challenging donors to shift their approach while maintaining their financial support.

I was building and cultivating relationships that each organization depended on to exist but whose priorities often conflicted with our own understanding of best practices. At the time, in 2017, many corporate funders wanted to participate in a single day of service with matching t-shirts, but the organization was evolving to a community-driven approach that centered the priorities of grassroots organizations and emphasized relationship building and long-term investment. Many prisons wanted to provide young people with books but wanted those books to be “appropriate,” which led to the desire to censor.

What do you do if it seems like your funder or prospective partner is inherently opposed to your approach to meeting your mission?

The Community Centric Fundraising Principles gave me language and a framework for how I approached each of these relationships. I utilized the sixth principle—we treat donors as partners, and this means that we are transparent, and occasionally have difficult conversations—in both my work with corporate donors and prison staff.

I know I’m not the only one working to balance the complexity of relationships where there is difference and dependency. So here are some lessons I learned:

Focus on the shared why, not the difference in the how.

In any prospective partner conversation, I asked questions to find the shared why. So often, our corporate partners wanted to make meaningful social impact, and prison staff did believe that reading was valuable for young people. The more you can explicitly call out these similarities, the more you can set the tone for a conversation that isn’t rooted in difference but grounded in a shared goal.

But don’t be afraid to assert your organization’s expertise!

Once you’ve defined the shared goal, now is the time to assert your organization’s expertise in the how. What is it about the way your organization is structured, the experience it has, and the research it’s done that makes it an expert in how to address the common why?

For example, I was part of an organization structured to elevate and prioritize the work of grassroots organizations that knew what their communities needed the best. Often companies came to us with a specific volunteer project in mind and we would have to refocus their request on what was actually needed. For example, one company initially wanted to do a food drive when the community actually needed volunteers to phonebank and connect residents with food deliveries.

Change doesn’t happen overnight.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty impatient person (maybe it’s a reason why I’ve always gravitated to the lightning speed of most nonprofits and grassroots groups). But I’ve had to cultivate a lot of patience as a fundraiser. Especially when I am working to start a new program or bring along donors when an organization is shifting its approach to its mission.

In the examples I’ve used above, each organization had identified bold north stars for their work, but not every donor was ready to achieve that immediately. It was critical in these prospective conversations for me to be transparent about the long-term vision we had in store for our work and relationship. It didn’t mean that I expected partners to be ready to jump into that vision tomorrow. Still, it was important for them to understand that a relationship with us meant a long-term intentional journey towards something that may feel hard to fully embrace right now.

Be flexible in your how, but not at the expense of your values.

As long as your partners understand the ultimate goal of your work and your relationship, there can be flexibility in order to build momentum and internal buy-in for that vision.

For example, sometimes we still did the large-scale day of service project with a corporate donor, but only with the explicit promise that we would return to those same communities the following year to build on those relationships and evolve the service engagements to be smaller scale and scattered throughout the year. This flexibility helped create more partnerships and opportunities.

However, knowing and sticking to your organization’s core values is critical. For example, at Liberation Library, we do not censor. There is already so much controlling of young people inside; we want them not just to have access to books, but choice and voice. But many facilities we partner with tried to censor us.

Once, we had a long-standing partner that crossed out a book a young person tried to order. I approached the facility with appreciation of our partnership, but reiterating our boundary around censorship. Once they realized they could lose our program, they agreed not to censor any future requests.

Relationship building with partners where there is dependence and difference is challenging. I’ve learned to love the opportunity to build bridges and dance in the complexity of this work. I hope these tips provide support and grounding for those of us who work to challenge institutions of power to build more equitable futures.

Jocelyn Nelson

Jocelyn (she/her) is an institutional ambassador, working across sectors to cultivate resources and mobilize visions, through authentic relationship building. With over 15 years as a program manager and fundraiser in the nonprofit sector, Jocelyn is currently a social impact and fundraising consultant with a focus on corporate relations. When she isn’t spotting ducks with her toddler, she’s conspiring with others to build a world without prisons. You can find her on Linkedin.