Throughout 2019 I experienced a persistent feeling that something bad was coming that would rock America. It turned out to be COVID and the murder of George Floyd. Now four years later after all the death, after January 6th, and continued promotion of hate, fear, and division, we are entering into another Trump administration and Project 2025. A racist and patriarchal agenda to take us back 200 years. While the inclination is to be angry, resist and fight back. We must first and foremost raise our level of vibration and cultivate a practice of creating inner peace and activating kindness to enter a new era of societal transformation. Because our world is about to experience a wave of change that will push us to make decisions about where we stand in relation to the future of our humanity, and our pathway toward equality and freedom will take center stage.
For nonprofit organizations this polarizing period we are living through is paralyzing. Organizations are operating with fragile cultures. Struggling with complex issues that are compounded by years of resource and capacity challenges. CEOs and Executive Directors talk about the need to focus on strengthening their culture and examining current management and governance practices, but the urgency to keep the doors open takes priority. The pressure and stress to lead a nonprofit is real. But strong cultures that operate through values and mission alignment is critical to true transformation. What I find in my work is that many nonprofit professionals join organizations because of the mission, but frequently express a disconnect between the mission that lives on the website and the organization’s management and government practices. Unfortunately, this is quite common within nonprofits because the sector's history comes from saviorism. It comes from a top-down hoarding of power that in the past 50 years integrated corporate management models. Even identity-based organizations with staff members who are directly impacted by the mission are often working in environments that replicate a corporate management structure.
I believe that nonprofit organizations must transcend to a higher level of unity consciousness and embody the humanity and social change they talk about. When promoting a social mission, it’s imperative to operate in service to the mission. Nonprofit leaders must ask whether they are willing to do the work that is needed to transform the organization from the inside out? Pausing from the traditional way in which they’ve operated and investigating whether their management and government practices cause harm or support equity and inclusion.
The future of our country needs nonprofit organizations to thrive. The overall social impact of nonprofits will take shape through our active participation to evolve in service to humanity. Through collaboration with people willing to be uncomfortable with not having all the answers, but who want to grow by changing their mindset and behaviors. And most importantly, who want to grow in partnership with their staff and board. Strengthening organizational cultures to work harmoniously toward transformation can only manifest by doing the work. As Albert Einstein said, “you cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that created it.” So, people must begin talking to one another and creating space for open dialogue through supportive and radical listening. It means developing an ongoing practice where organizations pause and foster unity consciousness and allied liberation. It means having difficult and transparent conversations and bringing forth an energy of joy and kindness when conducting programs and services, including fundraising. Transformation won’t happen in the board meeting, or through another survey, or the written word. It will happen through our individual and collective actions. Some of these actions include – internal work, embracing innovation, centering community voices, fostering partnerships across identities, collaborating with organizations and other social movements, and boldly sharing truths and ethical storytelling to raise awareness about why the mission of your work is critical.
This is not a time to retreat. It’s our time to pause, convene, strategize, and then move collectively with a unified force. I want to emphasize unified because nonprofits in philanthropy compete for funding, which has played a role in the scarcity mindset within nonprofits cultures. It has forced nonprofits to feel that they must bid against each other, and the idea of partnering to raise funds has felt out of reach. But this is a new day and organizations should be open and not always turn to the same fundraising playbook to fuel their missions. I experienced firsthand the powerful impact one can make in fundraising when you are mission driven and step out of the box of limitations.
As we stand on the precipice of monumental change, nonprofits must lead with courage and authenticity. This is a time to embrace bold new strategies and collaborations, grounded in the values of equity, inclusion, and humanity. Let us reimagine a future where mission-driven work inspires systemic transformation, and where nonprofits serve as beacons of hope, resilience, and unity. Together, through intention and action, we can create a more just and compassionate world for generations to come.
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