I often talk about this idea with people in advocate or organizing leadership spaces. This is why many often pull away from wanting to form a grassroots movement into a nonprofit; the typical successful nonprofits create expensive fundraising events for high donors, to only receive enough money back just to pay for the event. It's short sighted, when more money needs to be going in to the programs that the nonprofit actually works towards instead of the fancy meals, music, or hotel rooms of the rich. In reality, the issue is not with philanthropy or nonprofits, but in how traditionally they or it has functioned, and we need to explore better ways of fundraising than just adhering to the ultra wealthy.
Thank you so much for reading! And yes, everything you said is spot on. Many avoid turning grassroots work into nonprofits because the focus too often shifts from the actual mission to pleasing donors. The issue isn’t with nonprofits or philanthropy itself, but rather how they continue to function traditionally. We need fundraising efforts that are community-driven, not performative.
I’m grateful for this dialogue. This topic has shown up for me as a former fellow researching impact entrepreneurship during my masters to now, after losing my husband to early-onset colorectal cancer and becoming an advocate for health equity and more integrative, human-centered care.
I am increasingly drawn to models of care that emerge not from institutions alone, but from lived experience, supportive reflection, story, and community. Wellness is shaped by a constellation of relationships, systems, and inner truths. To me, reimagining care also means restoring agency: supporting people in reclaiming stake in their healing rather than outsourcing it to profit-driven systems. There’s deep potential in designing from this place.
Thank you for sharing this, and I’m so sorry about the loss of your husband. I’m truly moved by how you’ve transformed your experience into advocating for something both important and personally connected to you. And what you said about care emerging from lived experience, story, and community is so true. So much of what we call “care” today is disconnected from the very people it’s meant to serve. Reimagining care as something relational and co-created is the shift we need. Reminds me a lot of the work that Caring Across Generations does about shifting narratives about care!
I often talk about this idea with people in advocate or organizing leadership spaces. This is why many often pull away from wanting to form a grassroots movement into a nonprofit; the typical successful nonprofits create expensive fundraising events for high donors, to only receive enough money back just to pay for the event. It's short sighted, when more money needs to be going in to the programs that the nonprofit actually works towards instead of the fancy meals, music, or hotel rooms of the rich. In reality, the issue is not with philanthropy or nonprofits, but in how traditionally they or it has functioned, and we need to explore better ways of fundraising than just adhering to the ultra wealthy.
Thank you so much for reading! And yes, everything you said is spot on. Many avoid turning grassroots work into nonprofits because the focus too often shifts from the actual mission to pleasing donors. The issue isn’t with nonprofits or philanthropy itself, but rather how they continue to function traditionally. We need fundraising efforts that are community-driven, not performative.
I’m grateful for this dialogue. This topic has shown up for me as a former fellow researching impact entrepreneurship during my masters to now, after losing my husband to early-onset colorectal cancer and becoming an advocate for health equity and more integrative, human-centered care.
I am increasingly drawn to models of care that emerge not from institutions alone, but from lived experience, supportive reflection, story, and community. Wellness is shaped by a constellation of relationships, systems, and inner truths. To me, reimagining care also means restoring agency: supporting people in reclaiming stake in their healing rather than outsourcing it to profit-driven systems. There’s deep potential in designing from this place.
Thank you for sharing this, and I’m so sorry about the loss of your husband. I’m truly moved by how you’ve transformed your experience into advocating for something both important and personally connected to you. And what you said about care emerging from lived experience, story, and community is so true. So much of what we call “care” today is disconnected from the very people it’s meant to serve. Reimagining care as something relational and co-created is the shift we need. Reminds me a lot of the work that Caring Across Generations does about shifting narratives about care!