Essay Archives

To the young, Black fundraiser…

Remember that you carry within you the spirit of those who fundraised, not just for survival, but for the thriving of generations to come. Embrace this heritage, draw strength from it, and let the echoes of their heartbeats guide you in reshaping the narrative of philanthropy.

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Remembering our first CCF ancestor

On March 1, 2023, Rakhi became our first Community Centric Fundraising ancestor. It was an unexpected transition, and there was much left unsaid. What does it mean to grasp fruitlessly at the closure we so profoundly yearn for? With the end of the year as a marker to ponder love and loss, the passage of time, and our ancestors, we hope to bring closure to this year and those moments by honoring Rakhi.

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Ways whiteness shows up in CCF to the detriment of everyone (including white folks), part 3: Retribution for speaking out in support of Palestine

The worst way that whiteness is showing up in our movement and elsewhere in the sector, from my purview, is and always has been white folks retaliating against People of the Global Majority speaking truth to power. Most recently, it’s shown up as retribution for speaking out in support of Palestine.

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Ways whiteness shows up in CCF to the detriment of everyone (including white folks), part 2: “Stop using that word.”

White cisgender women especially, but white folks of all persuasions, have flooded the CCF channels where BIPOC folks are having fruitful and honest conversations, derailing them and re-enacting the worst bits of whiteness, at times making the spaces feel like a glorified replica of every white-led organization I’ve had the displeasure of navigating.

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If I could put sexworker on my resume…

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.

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