What The Nonprofit Sector Needs: A Community Dialogue

In early April, SIF hosted “Strengthening Our Sector: A Community Brainstorm” at More than Words to bring together nonprofit leaders, funders, and consultants to speak openly about the current strengths and opportunities of the nonprofit sector. The team hoped that they would come away with a better understanding of each other’s views and experiences. 

Participants shared their thoughts on the strengths and opportunities for the Eastern Massachusetts nonprofit sector when they registered. By sharing out the main themes, the SIF team provided a brief overview of the sector at a hyper-local level. A theme quickly emerged around the impact of the current political climate and the need and opportunity for collaboration, both between funders and nonprofits, to address it. Though the Eastern MA nonprofit sector already has a, “culture of collaboration¹,” there is still room to grow. Suggestions included joint nonprofit programming, collaborative grant applications, and funders partnering to support initiatives aimed at driving progress on specific social issues.

We were joined by Rory Neuner, Senior Learning Manager, Barr Foundation, and Dr. Jaykyri (Jay) Simpson, Executive Director, Young Man with a Plan, who reflected on the data and the state of the nonprofit sector in today's political climate. They recognized the grief the group felt because of the impacts of the current political and economic climate on their communities. Rory and Jay discussed how the challenges of the current moment impact their work, with regard to their leadership positions – Rory as a funder and Jay as the Executive Director of an organization that works with low-income, young Black and Latino men. Both stressed the importance of connection and collaboration between funders and nonprofits in the coming years and beyond. While discussing the current challenges, the speakers remained hopeful that, by working together, the sector could sustain progress and even thrive.

After the fireside chat, participants broke out in small groups and spoke about the current state of the Eastern MA nonprofit sector and the challenges they each face in their work. Then, participants did "15% Solutions," an activity that focused on small changes anyone can make to build momentum toward systemic change. Participants committed to acting on their ideas by sticking them on the “Wall of Momentum” (showcased below).

Many of the actions fell under these themes:

• Embrace an abundance mindset
  “Don’t accept the premise of 'limited resources' in a city with so much wealth.”
• Create learning opportunities for funders (especially those with Donor-Advised Funds)
  “[I want to] educate people on the importance of philanthropy & be transparent about it.”
• Community connection
  “[I will] set up structures so staff and board can let scholars and graduates tell us what they need. Let them lead.”
• Collaboration between funders and/or nonprofits
  “[I am going to] assist nonprofits and funders/resource providers to develop narratives that create collaborative opportunities.”
• Commit to DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) and social justice
  “[I will] advocate for my organization to stay strong in our commitment to DEIB.”

The plethora of Post-Its reminded participants that individual actions contribute to building the momentum towards positive change.

¹This is a quote from the survey mentioned above, unattributed to preserve anonymity.