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US Nonprofit Sector Documents Its Own Powerlessness, but What Will We Do?

NonProfit Quarterly

Since 1973, I have started or led 14 nonprofit enterprises in the arts, community development, and civic engagement sectors. I have been a managing director, a board member, a board president, a consultant to nonprofits, and taught college courses on nonprofit management and policy at several Chicago universities.

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From Impact Investing to “Impact-First” Investing—What Is the Field Learning?

NonProfit Quarterly

But while the report makes various calls to action (for foundations, donors, donor-advised-fund sponsors, lawyers, and policymakers, among others), it also offers a snapshot of the state of the field today, highlighting initial successes and indicating where further change in the field is required.

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How to Interrupt the Public Funds to Private Profits Pipeline: A California Story

NonProfit Quarterly

Public banks, especially in California, are envisioned as wholesale banks exclusively serving local governments. They can also take deposits from various private organizations (such as foundations, unions, and pension funds) but do not provide accounts to individuals.

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A Political Roadmap to Social Housing: How Do We Win?

NonProfit Quarterly

Politicians are influenced by money as much as or, frankly, often much more than votes, and public policy is the product of calculating trade-offs between the two. Policy changes without accompanying operational support and infrastructure are like trees without roots. But again, strategies are already at play.

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Building Infrastructure to Support Equity: A Conversation with Dr. Akilah Watkins

NonProfit Quarterly

Akilah Watkins, who previously led the Center for Community Progress and has been a leader in the CEO Circle, a group of community development leaders of color, became president and CEO of Independent Sector in January 2023. I don’t want that just to stay in community development.

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Democracy in Peril: In South Africa, Will Philanthropy Back Economic Justice?

NonProfit Quarterly

One is that many foundations, under the guise of philanthropic pluralism , have supported a status quo that has harmed South Africa’s Black majority. For example, Limpopo returned over US $6 million in unspent grants —money earmarked for community development—back to the Treasury from 2022 to 2023.

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Economic Justice: Nonprofit Leaders Speak Out

NonProfit Quarterly

Nelson Colón of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, and Clara Miller, president emerita of the Heron Foundation—come from philanthropy. Worker-owned co-ops and benefit corporations are additional public policy frameworks for a just economy. Two of them—Dr. Cunningham, Marcia L. 1 (2014): 51–65.