Collective Impact Insights

If your team is struggling with silence in meetings, guarded language, or chronic exhaustion, you are dealing with the biological baseline of trauma. Trauma, whether individual, collective, or historical, reconfigures how people perceive themselves and the world. In the intimate and private realms, from the family home to the prison cell, trauma dictates a person’s ability to feel safe in a room with others.

To become a savvy steward, you must move beyond these three expressions of ‘power over’ and begin cultivating ‘power with’ – the shared strength that emerges when power is distributed rather than hoarded.

In the social impact sector, change-makers often focus on 'clarity' as a single metric for success. We chase clear spreadsheets, clear KPIs, and clear organizational charts (top-down management). We must move past the lens of clarity and activate the essential frequency of resonance (bottom-up amplification).

It's a perplexing question that often plagues observers of institutions, big or small: Why do some organizations seem to languish in incompetence rather than embracing necessary change? Why do they cling so fiercely to outdated models, even when it's clear these no longer serve their purpose or the very people they claim to protect? This isn't just about inefficiency; it's about a profound resistance to evolution, often with real consequences for those who depend on these o

Who are the power players in your community? Are they charismatic, creative leaders who get things done for the community? Is it sustainable, shared power that brings people together or is it authoritarian power sustained through coercion and fear?

The systems we operate within are of our society's own design. The architects of these systems designed them in a way that is beneficial to themselves and people like them. As we move toward building new systems that are mindful and inclusive of the unlimited types of diversity that exist in the human experience we must: -Reflect on our role in perpetuating old systems -Define our new role in rebuilding these systems -Leverage data to create tools that hold institutions acco

Systemic gender bias and sexism are pervasive in the nonprofit sector. It is a myth that the “do-gooder” nature of nonprofits means an organization is more self-aware or better equipped to challenge power imbalances that exist in society. The racial, gender, and class power structures we see in the wider world are common in the nonprofit world.

It's exhausting to always swim upstream, codeswitch, and uphold "respectability politics" to be accepted and succeed in White dominant workplace culture. As part of Talem's ongoing effort to uplift the leadership and voices of women of color leaders in the nonprofit community, we are building a space where BIPOC women (including non-binary and gender non-conforming women) in nonprofit leadership roles are able to have honest and authentic conversations.

For new grant seekers, grant writing can seem daunting. Where do you start? Allow your organizational strategy to dictate the grants strategy. Grants should fulfill the priorities that have been decided on by staff and the board. Don’t dilute programs or add new programs simply to maximize the chance of receiving funding.

Understanding that equity is impossible until we address structural/systemic and institutional racism entrenched in our nation's history and culture is not the most exciting way to spend your free time. You are deliberately making yourself so uncomfortable it feels like you are dying. But we can't wait until people feel comfortable talking about racism to acknowledge the harm that is occurring every day across America.

Our country is in the midst of a democratic crisis. It is the responsibility of White folks to clean up this mess and dismantle our country's white supremacist infrastructures. What does that mean for nonprofits?

We are in the midst of a lifelong fight - one that must upend current nonprofit beliefs and practices by resetting the power dynamic. That means rethinking philanthropy, advancing structural change in organizations, and creating accountability frameworks for foundations and endowments - in particular, those who earned their money on the backs of underpaid, undervalued, and unprotected laborers.

It has been 10 weeks since the death of George Floyd and 21 weeks since the death of Breonna Taylor. Since their deaths, we have seen a wave of protests across the country with Black people at the forefront calling for justice in the deaths of Floyd and Taylor as well as countless others at the hands of the police. Yet, as of today, there has been little police accountability and the escalating police force against protesters has created even more violence.

The nonprofit sector often operates as a "white space"—an environment where an implicit racial order demands that leaders of Color "pass inspection" for provisional acceptance. Following Cyndi Suarez’s critique of how these spaces sanitize racial justice into "diversity," Talem Consulting is launching two parallel governance initiatives.

If you are a reimbursing employer you must pay 100% of unemployment costs before you are eligible for 50% forgiveness.

We are sharing a snapshot of what we have heard from organizations about their needs during COVID-19.

Nonprofits are going to be looked to during these times to step up as they have during other national disasters or crises. It is the obligation of all of our organizations to protect public health and responsibly keep our movements going to protect and serve our constituents.