On Thursday, April 29, I had the honor of speaking with three individuals who I respect deeply for their insights within their fields. Our topic was Building Better Nonprofits. Our conversation centered around our current moment interacting with the nonprofit sector and how this moment affects those in the sector. Together, we discussed how we can and how we are building a better nonprofit sector that is intentionally equitable, that is centered on radical healing, and not centered on our own fragility. Below is a takeaway among many takeaways from our conversation. I encourage you to listen to the full conversation. I also encourage you to follow each of these incredible people and the organizations within which they do their work.
Image: Dr. Arnold
Dr. Kristy Arnold (@AskDrKMA) – Radical humility means being intentional. We are not doing things out of history and habit because that can reinforce supremacist values. Being intentional means driving from the driver's seat and setting a strategic plan that is authentic to the work you are trying to achieve and checking your organization often to ensure the mission is aligned with how the work is being done. Also, culture needs to be intentionally created and if your organization doesn't do that work, a culture will be created, it just may not be the one you want.
Image: Mr. Reuler
Ben Reuler (@SeattleWorks) – Dismantling racism as a white person involves embracing discomfort and conflict, things that don’t often come naturally. Self-compassion and self-love are crucial, they liberate us to shed white supremacy cultural norms including perfectionism, urgency, defensiveness, and power hoarding. Dismantling racism needs to be ongoing, in perpetuity, so having grace with ourselves will allow us to sustain for the long haul, and to weather haters and detractors along the way.
Image: Dr. Bishop
Dr. Elizabeth Bishop (@DrBishopDigital) – Tension and burnout far preceded the pandemic. And, how do we want to consider the self-care that was necessary before the pandemic while in the pandemic? We as people who are serving others need to serve ourselves first and not feel like that is selfish and define how we bring ourselves to this work as our full, best selves. What does this actually look like in practice at all points within our organization and the people we interact with at all levels? Keywords – trauma-informed, healing-centered, transparency to the messiness that this kind of approach produces and not as something to run away from.
We are in this together. Conversations like the one I had with Dr. Arnold, Ben and Dr. Bishop help us all to widen our aperture of understanding, patience and seeing systems that are not helping everyone. When we can see the harmful systems so clearly, when we have the tools to help one another before we help those in our community, we truly can build better nonprofits.