Posts in Economic Mobility
Socially Awkward: Reflections on Gathering in the New Normal

Socially awkward. That’s how I captured my feelings at the closing of an in-person convening a few weeks ago.

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No Thank You: Why One Foundation Leader Doesn’t Want Gratitude From Grantees

Early in my career, I had a job as an administrative assistant. I kept a manila file folder on my desk called “Excellent Lisa.”

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Finding the joy in social change

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. That makes it hard to plan the day." – E.E. Cummings.

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When All Of Our Tools Are Weapons

I don’t like conflict. I’ve never been good at it, and I’ve grown into someone who is decidedly not a fan.

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How to Tend to Your People AND Your Organization When Staff Struggle

While there are many ways one can describe liberation, in its simplest terms, liberation is the experience of wholeness, freedom, justice, and thriving.

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Three Lessons (so far) for Funding Liberatory Leadership

I was hired by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation in early 2020, primarily to bring my skills as a network organizer, facilitator, and racial justice practitioner to the Sterling Network NYC.

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I’m not feeling a barbecue this Fourth of July

At the end of almost every week, I find myself reflecting on how hard this past week was.

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RVC Redesigned: Our New Organizational Chart

When we tell people that we have moved to a four Co-Executive Director model, often the first reaction is a mind-boggled stare: “You have four people doing the Executive Director job? How does that even work?!”

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In an Ecosystem of Trust, the Possibilities Are Endless

I spent a good part of my career working on the grant seeking side of the equation, where I went through all the hoops of funding cycles.

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Opinion: The next generation of nonprofit workers are demanding more for themselves, and we should support them

They should be set up to do meaningful work that helps repair the world, while still living whole, happy, joyful lives.

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Setting up your nonprofit the way you play with LEGOs

I’ve had a Harry Potter LEGO castle in the corner of my living room for about a decade.

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Pandemic Reflections, Two Years On

COVID-19. It feels like it became COVID-20, then COVID-21, and now COVID-22.

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Getting to Know You Series: Meet Marissa Martin of The Advocacy Institute

Elisabeth Rapport (ER): Tell me a bit about your professional background and what led you to The Advocacy Institute.

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The genetic code linking violence toward Asian Americans and the murder of George Floyd

Prejudice against Asian-Americans is nothing new. Sadly it is as American as apple pie and Jim Crow.

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A nonprofit thought leader’s resolutions for a new year: To follow and to fail

Although the New Year came in without much fanfare, amidst the pandemic and uncertainty, I did make a few resolutions that will guide how I do my work and live my life this year.

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A New Generation of Foundation Leaders Need to Act Like Community Organizers, Not Gatekeepers

I am feeling something like hope these days. After many dark months and unthinkable trials, New York City is seeming more like itself again, or maybe like a wiser version of itself.

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