By Rabiah Ahmed and Marc Ruben We have not been here before. By “here”, of course, we mean “facing unprecedented threats to our nonprofit sector’s existence.” And by “we,” of course, we mean you, me, and all of us who lead and work in the sector in any way. It’s rough. As you well know.
At least we’re not alone. It’s true. We are not alone. Most of us who work at nonprofits and associated agencies are facing the same things: coordinated assaults against the sector, threats to free speech and tax-exempt status, and increasing need as cuts to basic rights and services spread and become deeper.
In the spirit of non-alone-ness, here’s what we’re thinking, reading, recommending and doing.
- If you aren’t a part of The Nonprofit Alliance, now is the time to get involved. Our ability as a sector to act in solidarity with each other is critical — TNPA is helping us do it. They’re coalescing resources and leading the charge, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
- For a pretty damn comprehensive and utterly sobering lay of the land and what to expect, check out this recent memo from Americans Against Government Censorship.
- National Council of Nonprofits offers information on how recent executive orders may affect nonprofit operations, grants, and compliance obligations, and offers practical tips to prepare.
- Messaging guru Frank O’Brien has never been more on point, particularly his post about courage.
- This guide, which was compiled as part of the Charity & Security Network’s Civil Society Rights & Resiliency Project, is designed to create a defensive shield for nonprofits in the current political environment.
- Alliance for Justice has useful guidance on how lobbying rules for nonprofits continue to apply even in the wake of an executive order aimed at preventing misuse of federal grant funds, clarifying what advocacy is permissible.
- Alliance for Justice’s Advocacy Check-Up: Nonprofit Self Assessment tool helps evaluate a nonprofit’s advocacy practices and compliance with legal rules to identify areas for strengthening.
- Need a pick me up, some real talk, and reminders about grace? Please spend some time with the wise Vu Le over at NonprofitAF.
Also, a free webinar!
- But wait, there’s more! As you think about how to message in this moment, it’s not enough to decide what you’re saying — it’s just as important to consider HOW and WHO is saying it — especially if you’re speaking to audiences across the political spectrum. We’re hosting a webinar on October 8th at 1pm eastern time that should help: “Real Stories Win: Lessons from a Persuasion Experiment.” M+R’s Gwen McGarry leads a panel of organizations who participated in groundbreaking research around who and what will lead to changing hearts and minds. Find out more and register here.
Peoples’ expectations of advertising — political or otherwise — have changed, but a lot of organizations’ content hasn’t. Voters are tuning out what feels generic, scripted, or out of touch. As part of a massive coalition effort between AFSCME, AFT, NEA, and SEIU, we ran an experimental persuasion campaign targeted at Independents and Republicans in key districts.
What we found is that this approach — real people, real stories, real language — handily outperformed traditional political creative, especially with the voters we need to reach the most. Please join us — rsvp here!
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Friends, there is more to come. Let’s keep working together and speaking up with and for each other.
“The most common way people
give up their power is by thinking
they don’t have any.”
— Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
Need help? Reach out. We’re right here with you. ❤️✊