Let’s be honest. November was a really tough month. The terrorist attacks in Paris (and other attacks in Mali, Beirut and elsewhere) put the world on edge. And the anti-refugee rhetoric that followed was incredibly disheartening. Finally, the loss of tenacious nonprofit investigative journalist Rick Cohen made for a difficult November, a month that is typically focused on gratitude and giving back.
But there is always hope. Some foundations are taking an innovative approach to failing cities and to supporting networks, students are rising up for equality, and the Overhead Myth was dealt another blow.
Below are my selections of the top 10 reads in the world of social change in November, but please add to the list in the comments. And if you want a longer list of great reads, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+.
And you can see past months’ 10 Great Reads here.
- The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris created an ugly backlash in America against Syrian refugees. There were worries about the attacks causing a slowdown in fundraising for Syrian refugees and parallels drawn to the exclusion of Jewish refugees in World War II. But rising above all of this Rick Cohen urged nonprofits to take their rightful place as defenders of the downtrodden and speak up against anti-refugee policies. As he put it: “If the U.S. slams the door on desperate Syrian refugees, the nonprofit sector that claims to represent openness, inclusion, and democracy will find its credibility seriously damaged should it fail to do whatever it can to confront the politicians using fear and hatred as a tool for political advancement.” Amen!
- Adding insult to injury, that beautiful piece was Rick Cohen’s last published article because he died in November, creating an enormous loss for the sector. The Nonprofit Quarterly created a lovely tribute to their colleague by culling his best pieces, and they have big plans for carrying on Rick’s legacy.
- There is hope amid the fear and turmoil of our times. Susan Ragusa from Inside Philanthropy looks to the nonprofit sector to “lead with optimism and champion hope.” Yes.
- Perhaps heeding that call, some foundations have stepped up in innovative ways to help struggling American cities. Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin described ways resilient cities can mitigate climate change.
- The whip smart David Henderson has created a new tool (currently in beta) for individual donors to track and analyze their favorite nonprofits.
- We are far from completely overcoming the Nonprofit Overhead Myth, but there was a big step forward in November when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to pay the full costs for nonprofit services. As Tim Delaney, president of the National Council of Nonprofits explained: “Los Angeles County has now raised the bar for collaboration between governments and nonprofits by stating its firm stance that its nonprofit partners must be paid the full cost to deliver services that the County contracts with them to provide. We urge states, counties, and localities across the country to follow its lead.” Amen!
- Student protests against racial inequality on college campuses across the country reached a fever pitch in November with some wins at the University of Missouri. It will be interesting to see how student demands and this movement evolve.
- Steve MacLaughlin from Blackbaud put together an interesting Slideshare on 50 Fascinating Nonprofit Stats that became so popular that Blackbaud created a whole website around it.
- Many nonprofits made preparations for today’s Giving Tuesday campaign (perhaps using the nifty interactive data dashboard that allows you to slice and dice online giving data, or some new Facebook giving tools). But some nonprofits, feeling that it’s just a gimmick, opted out of participating in Giving Tuesday at all.
- The Ford Foundation announced that a big part of their new direction will include further investing in networks and institutions. As Darren Walker described: “Networks are fulcrums for creativity and dissent, beacons of stability, scaffolding for aspiring change makers, and connectors for social innovators.” And to help create more effective social change networks, network entrepreneur theorists, David Ehrlichman, David Sawyer, and Jane Wei-Skillern offered 5 Steps to Building an Effective Impact Network.
Photo Credit: Jens Schott Knudsen
