Posts in Social Justice
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.

Read More
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.”

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
Rest Isn’t Radical

I’m taking a sabbatical. Rest shouldn’t be radical.

Read More
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.

Read More
A Tip of the Hat to The Whitman Institute

“Talk to John and Pia.” I did. It’s some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten.

Read More
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?!”

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
Pandemic Reflections, Two Years On

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

Read More
Opinion: Nonprofit leaders, like everyone else, are scared and tired during these difficult times

I have had the word ‘grace’ rattling around my brain a lot these days.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
Vacation All I Ever Wanted…

…Vacation, have to get away. Those lyrics, from the aptly named “Vacation” classic summer anthem by The Go Gos, feel spot on for this moment in time.

Read More