Collective Impact Insights

State surveillance in red states represents more than policy; it is the operationalization of power to erase trans identities. In Rooted Together, we call for a Mycelium of Resistance. Nonprofits must move beyond advocacy to build Parallel Governance—decentralized systems of safety, digital sovereignty, and mutual aid. By creating infrastructure the state cannot track, we peacefully undermine authoritarian control and move from survival to sovereignty.

A critical tension is shaking nonprofit journalism: the pursuit of community-centered reporting clashes with the 'power over' dynamics of institutional donors. A recent Prism report reveals how coverage of Palestine has become a high-stakes litmus test for newsrooms — one that threatens both their financial stability and their editorial integrity. In this ecosystem, we see all three types of power at work through administrative control, deciding which truths are allowed to re

Mega giving is a consistent and continuing American giving tradition, ultimately making mega-foundations more powerful now than they were 100 years ago, due to their greater number and the societal context in which they operate. The public is more reliant on the nonprofit sector to meet critical needs as government budgets continue to whittle away at social service programs over the past several decades.

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.

Over the last few weeks there has been consternation from White, male fundraisers [specifically, Tom Ahern ] about the Community Centric Fundraising movement, implying that those who support CCF’s methods are “wanna-be fundraisers” or “novices.” This year marks my *cough* 20th year in the nonprofit field, and I have spent almost as long within the fundraising field. The early aughts were when the donor-centered mindset hit its stride and authors churned out books about how to

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.

I see the broad strokes of the evolution of my beliefs, choices, and actions. It's the micro-evolution; the day-to-day changes that are more difficult to track. Recently, I began concluding my workshops with three statements: I used to think ________. But then I learned ________. So now I ________. This encourages folks to qualify their learning at a micro-level.

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.

Your organization can be a part of a virtual ummah this year and lift up the community through giving and fundraising.

Our call to educate is intertwined with making actionable change; as we discuss how we, as consultants, can incorporate these activists' insights into our own consulting firms, the nonprofits, and movements we serve. I'm sharing the discussion questions and action items I've drafted for The Revolution Will Not Be Funded in hopes that other nonprofit professionals will take this opportunity to critically think about the long-term consequences of the "nonprofit industrial compl

When we examine where donations have gone, we begin to ask if the communities being hit the hardest are the ones receiving the resources.

Reproductive rights are often reduced to "pro-life" or "pro-choice" binaries, yet teen pregnancy prevention remains a rare area of bipartisan support. Despite birth rates dropping 42% since 2007, the U.S. still faces the highest rates among peer nations. Now, TPPP—a program serving 1.2 million youth with medically accurate info—is on the chopping block. Eliminating this funding in favor of abstinence-only education ignores clear data and disproportionately leaves communities