Advancing Nonprofit Talent Justice
The movement for talent justice works to advance intersectional equity and investment in the nonprofit workforce. Earlier this month, Belinda attended the three-day California Talent Justice Summit in downtown Berkeley, which brought together nonprofits, funders, and intermediaries as part of the California Talent Justice Initiative organized by Fund the People. It was full of innovative ideas, inspiring leaders, and opportunities for collaboration and connection. Here are a few of her takeaways from the conference:
A chronic lack of talent investment has led to the existential crisis facing the nonprofit workforce today. Robust investment in the nonprofit workforce will advance equity and sustainability in the sector, while strengthening our communities.
Our democracy, nonprofits, and civil society are under threat. A prime current example is the “nonprofit killer” bill, HR9495/S4136. The bill seeks to revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations if designated "terrorist supporting" by the federal government, which will allow the executive branch the broad and unchecked power to target organizations for political ends. Check updates from Fund the People for what you can do to take action.
Nonprofit rabble rouser Vu Le of Nonprofit AF emphasized the need for sector leadership to address the needs and defend the value of nonprofit organizations nationally.
Funders should lean into trust-based philanthropy, support low barriers for nonprofit organizations to apply for funds, make reporting easy, and provide multiple years of grant support. Leaders and grant recipients of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s Endeavor Fund called on foundations to provide sizable multi-year general operating grants. Through the Endeavor Fund, seven leading Bay Area organizations have been awarded seven-year grants of $3.5 million each.
The definition of burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stressors that have not been successfully managed. UC Berkeley Professor Christina Maslach, an expert on burnout and author of The Burnout Challenge, Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs, shared that it is a myth to say that burnout is a medical condition. Talking about burnout this way and saying that people need to be “more resilient” or practice better “self-care” places the responsibility on the individual to improve rather than on the organization to fix the conditions that cause the burnout. There are six paths to a healthier workplace: workload, control, recognition/reward, community, fairness, and values. We should regularly ask, “How can we make things better around here?”
Stay connected with Fund the People and its California Talent Justice Initiative to help strengthen the nonprofit sector.