Nonprofit AF

21 Signs You or Your Organization May Be the White Moderate Dr. King Warned About

Posted on January 17, 2021January 15, 2024 by Vu

[Image description: A black-and-white photo of people gathered, with someone holding up a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. speaking into a bunch of microphones. The picture has the caption “I have the same dream.” Image by Jerónimo Bernot at Unsplash.com]

This week we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose teachings have often been beacons of light for our sector. As we transition into something resembling hope and renewal with this incoming presidential administration, I encourage us to reflect on the words Dr. King wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, where he warned of the “white moderate” being the biggest barrier toward social justice. He said:

“I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

What to say and not to say in your statements about the white supremacist coup attempt at the Capitol

Posted on January 10, 2021January 11, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: Silhouette of a person standing in front of a raging fire. Image by Adam Wilson on Unsplash.]

Over the past few days, I’ve been seeing public statements about the violent fascist coup attempt. Some are great, and some are awful. At this point, after the hundreds of statements that came out after George Floyd’s murder, many of us are exhausted with these statements against injustice, because so many of them are meaningless.

If you are going to write one about the violent white supremacist efforts to install Trump as an autocrat, here are some suggestions, in no particular order. Please keep in mind that I am not a communications expert or a PR person. But I do interact a lot with colleagues, and the below are some of the things I’ve been hearing. Take what’s useful to you, ignore the rest:

The importance of BIPOC voices and the unique challenges BIPOC content creators face

Posted on December 6, 2020December 9, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: An orange cat, lying on the keyboard of a laptop, half their face pressed against the screen, looking exhausted. Image by IRCat on Pixabay.]

Hi everyone, before we get into today’s post, three quick reminders. First, this Thursday December 10th at 11am PT, there is a free webinar on Transformational Capacity Building; read this article I helped write about how #CapacityBuildingSoWhite and let’s work together to change that. Second, go to grantadvisor.org and write an anonymous review of a foundation, or remind your grantees to do so, if you haven’t done it in a while. Third, make sure you’re flossing; dental hygiene is still important.

Since its launch five months ago, the Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) movement has been growing. Get involved by joining the Facebook page, Twitter, Slack, and Instagram. Also check out all the amazing and mind-blowing content on the CCF Hub. I am grateful for all the folks putting time and energy into writing, podcasting, doing videos, and crafting poems challenging existing fundraising philosophies and practices, because #FundraisingSoWhite. (You can contribute to the Hub too; here are the editorial guidelines).

It’s not just fundraising and capacity building, but also #EvalSoWhite, #PhilanthropySoWhite, #GovernanceSoWhite, #HiringPracticesSoWhite, #CommunicationsSoWhite (and during the Before Times, OfficeSnacksSoWhite), etc. We need BIPOC folks to share their experiences and push to change these narratives.

However, many brilliant BIPOC folks are still really hesitant to contribute content and get their voices out there. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. Let’s examine this, because the perspectives of folks who are most affected by injustice are vital to our sector. This post is meant as encouragement and advice for BIPOC content creators, but I want white allies to pay attention to this issue, as you have a lot of gatekeeping power in this area.

Funders, back up your equity statements with actual cash to BIPOC communities

Posted on November 30, 2020November 30, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: A rolled-up wad of US dollars, the outer one being a one-dollar bill, held together with a rubber band. The wad is resting on a spread of higher-level bills, including 20s and 100s. Image by pasja1000 on Pixabay]

Hi everyone, thank you to all of you who expressed concerns for my sister on her COVID recovery, which I mentioned last week. She’s getting well enough for us to resume our ongoing sibling bickering over inane things, so I think that’s good.

Before we get into today’s post, on December 10^th at 11am PT, there is a free webinar on Transformational Capacity Building, led by my brilliant colleagues April Nishimura, Roshni Sampath, and Anbar Mahar Sheikh, based on this article I helped write. Fellow organizational development nerds, I hope to see you there so we can explore a more equitable model of doing capacity building. Or at least figure out how to explain what the hell it is to our families over virtual holiday dinners.

As I drove to my sister’s to deliver groceries and minestrone soup, I passed by a home improvement store and noticed the dozen folks standing out in the cold, waiting for construction or landscaping day jobs. As the pandemic progressed, day laborers have been hit hard. Gigs have been drying up, and many workers have families to support.

This year has been a nightmare, but I don’t think the majority of us really understand what is coming. Moratoriums on evictions are ending soon, and 40,000,000 people face being kicked out of their homes. As winter arrives, the levels of poverty, homelessness, pain, and trauma will reach levels we may not be able to grasp and our sector is not equipped to handle.

Why we need to drop the idea of 100% board giving

Posted on November 16, 2020November 16, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: A hand putting folded money into a ceramic piggy bank. The piggy is white with pink ears and decorated with painted flowers. Image by horstkoenemund on Pixabay]

A few years ago, I led a Vietnamese-community-focused nonprofit as a youthful executive director filled with equal parts optimism and adult acne. I remember though one time at a board meeting trying to get board members to donate. “Please,” I said, “just give something. Anything! Even $5! I just need us to be able to tell funders that we have 100% board giving!” The elders stared back blankly at me. I was desperate. “OK,” I said, “how about I give you each $10, then you donate $5 back, and you make a profit of $5!” I was joking, but also kind of not.

The idea of “100% board giving” is one of those concepts that somehow have become entrenched in our sector, an unwritten truth that we don’t question. To this day, I still see funders asking about it on grant applications. Fundraisers, meanwhile, whisper warnings to one another: “There was one organization that only achieved 50% board giving. Their donations eventually all dried up. If you walk by the office, you can hear faint ghostly echoes of weeping from the development team.”