Nonprofit Solutions

Polycrisis and Just Transition – Part 4

Image description: The arms and joined hands of a number of people wearing brightly colored sweaters. Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash.

The problems associated with the polycrisis are not solely created by for-profit businesses. Many nonprofits are run with traditional management approaches borrowed from extractive capitalism or align with capitalism in other ways. We rely on practices such as hierarchy, low wages, and governance by elites. In some cases, our desperation for resources makes us vulnerable to cooptation. Consequently, we are both a part of the solution and a part of the problem. Here are a few ideas that I have read about recently that I think point to better ways forward for nonprofits.

Make power dynamics more visible and then change them – Two great thinkers on this topic are Karla Monterroso and Cyndi Suarez. Distributing power more equitably can be done within an organization and within our sector. At the organizational level, shared leadership with attention to inclusion of leaders from historically marginalized groups can result in more resilient organization if staff members are truly supported to build and practice the required skills. At the sector level, philanthropy can be reformed with more inclusive decision-making, more reliable support to grantees, and greater transparency. These changes help to equalize power to some degree.

Reorganize with inspiration from the Commons – I also recently read this essay by Thaddeus Squire about “commoning.” It proposes a new structure for nonprofits inspired by the commons, an ancient method of sharing resources practiced throughout the world. Squire’s application to nonprofits looks like shared management and fiscal sponsorship. This type of structure has the potential to support movement building and a variety of small, local change initiatives by removing the administrative effort of funding a freestanding organization.

Reject partnerships that require collusion – This essay by Clint Schnekloth provides some analysis of what is rotten in some nonprofit institutions, using church indulgences as a metaphor for our current collusion via the “charity-capitalism nexus.” A clear example of collusion is pink-washing, and all of us have seen corporate-nonprofit partnerships that seem designed more to improve the corporate giver’s reputation than to create meaningful social change. Another related concept is elite capture. Community-Centric Fundraising has a wealth of resources to help nonprofits resist collusion.

These concepts are simultaneously theoretical and basic—share power, share resources, do not collaborate with people who are working counter to your mission and values. In addition to instituting changes to how we work, we can focus our work on programs that align with and bring about a just transition for all.