Nonprofit Organizations as Tools and Pathways for Social Change
Over the last few months, I’ve worked with a few nonprofits that have really given me hope for the future of my community, and here’s why. In preparation for some strategic planning projects, I learned that pregnancy is a stress test for the body - anything that happens during pregnancy would have eventually happened to that person. It feels clear to me that the pandemic was a stress test for United States culture. The pandemic brought light to the cracks and inefficiencies in the childcare/education sector, the healthcare sector, and the workforce structure (how we work), to name a few. While these cracks have been challenging to navigate and the impact is not completely clear, I think this has been a good thing. I think social justice is rising to the forefront of people’s minds because we now have the knowledge and technology to see it and recognize it. I believe this because I see and hear a desire to address the root of systemic problems when I’m working with nonprofit organizations. And because of this, I think nonprofits are a key vehicle to liberation and lasting social change. Here are a few things I’m seeing and hearing.
“ I think nonprofits are a key vehicle to liberation and lasting social change.”
One of the things I’ve noticed is the shift to de-silo.
Organizations are looking to understand their place in the ecosystem of their sector or community. From this perspective, they reflect on their organizational strengths and gaps in their systems so community resources can grow and be utilized effectively. Many nonprofits have strategic goals of building relationships with other nonprofit organizations to learn, collaborate, and share information and resources. I think collaboration in this way is one of the keys to our social future because we are better together. And this isn’t easy. I’ve also come across collaboratives that are struggling to work together despite their goals and efforts being similar. Again, I think that’s okay. Collaboration is new when you think about the long-standing value of individualism in U.S. culture. We’re all learning. Document it, share your stories, and keep engaging in conversations and collaboration because we’ll eventually learn to get it right.
The other thing I see is a desire for genuine community engagement.
Historically, nonprofit organizations assume the needs of communities and provide programs and services based on these assumptions. This also leads to white saviorism in nonprofit organizations because many nonprofits are led by privileged white people while the programs and services are for oppressed minority groups. Many nonprofit organizations seem aware of this and want to be more responsive to the expressed needs of the communities they’re in. One organization reflected on their desire to work with individuals in their program by first understanding the problem from the individual’s perspective. Community engagement enables organizations to create and maintain effective and accessible programs. If social change is the focus, then genuine community engagement is necessary for organizations to build relationships that strengthen individual and community power and influence. When I imagine an equitable society, I see all community members creating and building the world they want to live in that fills the needs of each member. When organizations decide to allow community engagement to guide their work, I believe we are taking steps in the right direction.
I’m proud to be able to engage with these groups in a way that allows them to dream big and go for systemic and social change. This is the type of work I love doing because it gives me the opportunity to practice a new way of being and working with others. If you are interested in social or systemic change, reach out to me and the team at The Spark Mill.