I am an imposter. I don’t belong in the nonprofit sector–as it is. I refuse to subscribe to the underpinning values of white saviorism, colonialism, donor worship, poverty tourism, and overall self-congratulatory air that ‘we came into this sector to do good.’
Work-life imbalance: I am Black Girl Magic
I don’t want to define myself by what I do, or my performance. I want to instead be. People pursue what my life looks like because capitalism wills us to. It looks like success. Expectations to look like things are working for you are literally chewing people up and spitting them out…
Navigating Policy and Advocacy: Essential Skills for CCF Practitioners
Philanthropy is the love of humankind, the love of people. And we made it about money. We made it about power. But before the colonization, before the capitalism, before the patriarchy, we lived in community. We shared resources. We took care of the people.
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) and changing the sector
Some nonprofits and a lot of nonprofit workers they surveyed love those mysterious little packages from phantom donors. All I see is unfettered, hyper-individualistic capitalism with little structure to consider community needs.
Community Centric Fundraising (CCF) and Nonprofit Leadership
With Global Council members: Sommer Dawson and Rickesh Lakhani
“I took on a role as executive director… came on board and realized that there’s no way that I can kind of shift from being a community-centric fundraiser to not being a community-centric leader, as an executive director. And I just have kind of embraced the role by sort of filtering all my decision making through the lens of community-centric fundraising.”
My workplace aligned with CCF; they didn’t know it.
It is easy to feel frustrated when you are passionate about CCF but your workplace does not seem interested or is hesitant to engage. Do not despair! The people where you work might be more aligned than they initially seem.
Building a liberatory future: Rethinking fundraising communications for lasting impact
In our pursuit of justice, equity, and liberation, we cannot afford to lose sight of the inherent humanity at the core of our endeavors, even if it feels impossible to raise money any other way—language matters.
Treating your donors as partners: Where to start?
One of the key tenets of Community Centric Fundraising is “Treating Your Donors as Partners” – but where do you start?
What you can do this Pride month: Disrupt Israel’s pinkwashing and your local Pride events’ complicity in it
Pinkwashing has become even more despicable and insidious because an ethnostate is using it to justify the genocide of Palestinians. And every member of the 2TLGBIQA+ community must band together to say unequivocally, Not in our name!
The trauma of grant writing to support the unhoused: PTSD, vicarious trauma, and problematic leadership
We, as an organization, encourage trauma-informed care for clients. I believe part of why I was hired was my lived experience status. But when I try to bring my full self to my job, I find it unsafe.
“I am more valuable than you are”: A perspective on nonprofit hierarchy culture
And throughout the past five years, I’ve had this major question persistently nagging at me: why do we, by default, impose hierarchical power structures on work that is specifically meant to distribute power more equitably?
A call for responsible AI that leads with care and imagination
Responsible AI must be considered more than a buzzword or a box to check; it is a commitment to developing transparent, equitable, and accountable technology. It means we need an approach to design that considers the inclusion and representation of all stakeholders, particularly those likely to be easily ignored in technological advancements.