Standing on the Shoulders of Movements
All our organizations stand on the shoulders of movements. Are you strengthening the movements that provide the nutrients for your org?
Article Highlights:
Are nonprofits ready for the next generation of leadership?
The generational handover of the nonprofit sector — one organization at a time — is well underway. Take a look around any conference and you’ll see it! An important but dangerously unnoticed difference between baby boomers and the Next generation is that they are strikingly different in “what they don’t know they don’t know.” (Warning: generational generalizations ahead)
In a nutshell: baby boomers came from activist backgrounds (“I’m a child care activist”) and their organizations grew out of movements. They not only didn’t know how to manage, they first had to discover the concept and then why they should learn about it (“HR: what’s that?”).
In contrast, today’s younger managers are completely familiar with management. They know management.
But what don‘t younger leaders know? They don’t how to build movements, to get 100 people to a rally, to make staff or an audience feel called to a cause greater than themselves. They don’t know they don’t know how to build movements, or why they should.
In a speech, Buck Parker of Earthjustice hit the nail on the head (paraphrased): We protect the earth by bringing lawsuits to make government enforce existing laws. But what we didn’t realize is that all these years we have been standing on the shoulders of the environmental movement.
He continued: And that movement is declining. We can’t do our work anymore without working to build that movement. It probably means our metrics will go down because some of our resources will be going to build that movement rather than to win our own cases. But we need that movement the way a tree needs soil. We can’t just benefit from the environmental movement, we have to be a part of it and we have to feed it.
All our organizations stand on the shoulders of movements. If your organization helps children with disabilities, you are standing on the shoulders of the disability rights movement. If your organization does health education, you are standing on the shoulders of the patients’ rights movement.
Different assistance needed for the next generation
Foundations and the capacity-building sector have tooled up for the management needs of baby boomers by fielding programs on HR, on accounting, on strategic planning. But they are typically failing to see the movement-building leadership needs of the next generation. Some leadership programs are addressing this, but too often they focus on management skills (again) and personal attributes (again).
So ask yourself: what movements provide the soil and nutrients for our organization? What are we doing to build and strengthen those movements?
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About the Author
Jan is a former editor of Blue Avocado, former executive director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and has sat in on dozens of budget discussions as a board member of several nonprofits. With Jeanne Bell and Steve Zimmerman, she co-authored Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, which looks at nonprofit business models.
Articles on Blue Avocado do not provide legal representation or legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for advice or legal counsel. Blue Avocado provides space for the nonprofit sector to express new ideas. The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect or imply the opinions or views of Blue Avocado, its publisher, or affiliated organizations. Blue Avocado, its publisher, and affiliated organizations are not liable for website visitors’ use of the content on Blue Avocado nor for visitors’ decisions about using the Blue Avocado website.
I absolutely love this publication. It’s one of the very VERY few I actually take the time to read. I’ve said it before and I”ll say it again, THANK YOU!
Keith Deisner, Peter & Paul Community Services
St. Louis, MO
www.ppcsinc.org
Jan Masaoka, I've heard folks say things similar to this, sometimes when attempting to mobilize a group of next generation-ers. Each instance failed. It feels to me similar generalizations do not take into account how much many of us do know about the roots of our organizations, our causes, and of course our privileges. It is that knowledge that informs so much of our work, our lifestyle. To pay a generalization with a generalization, I would even go as far as to say we'll be spending the rest of careers and lives fixing. That is not a lack of passion or sense of history or immediacy, it is not even disrespect, it's our lot in the timeline. My frustration, I mobilize every day, it just looks and sounds different than it once did. I can't even address paragraph 4 and on without feeling all I'd really just be saying is "parents just don't understand." -Danielle
My eyes were recently opened to all the generational differences and now I keep seeing a LOT of things like this article. This is great to see it in a non-profit perspective. As a Gen Y myself, I would love to learn more about building and strengthening the movement that’s important to my organization. Perhaps I just need to talk to one of my baby boomer board members. Any other ideas of how to fill in the gap I have in this area?
I would suggest reading Peter Brinkerhoff’s book Generations, The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit. He is a great speaker if you have the opportunity to hear him.
Look at all the gen Xers posting here, unknowingly affirming the point of the article: “I’m offended and you can’t say that”, “How dare you say I don’t know or get something”, “Don’t blame me…it’s someone else’s fault”, “Old people should just adapt to us, we don’t need to change” Nice try, Jan, but they just don’t want to hear it. They’ve been told they’re perfect their entire lives and will only learn to compromise and adapt when they’ve explored all the other pull-down menu options we’ve provided for them.
This article resonates with me. As a younger manager I do “know management” better than my predecessors. But I had to learn it, and it isn’t what I ever dreamed of doing–the only reason I learned was because it felt like that was the area of greatest need at the organizations I most wanted to serve.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to rally. My organization is through its change agent period of leadership transition and because of this I need to re-align my focus. I’ve been guilty of giving off the wrong cues and being overly deferential to funders and volunteers, and of not articulating community benefit as clearly as I could.
Your article is great food for though, Jan, so thanks again!
I'm sorry if I came across as being anti-next generation especially because I see these remarks as a critique of the baby boom generation. The baby boomers are proud of having grown organizations without acknowledging that they did so when the U.S. economy was growing at a fast rate and government money into the sector was the key driver of that growth. Yet despite this they still hang onto growth as the measure of success, and tell next generation-ers to focus on major donors when they seldom did. It's ironic.
But the issue around movements is more important: when we allow our organizations to be characterized as factories that produce unduplicated client hours, and use sob stories to get donations (as too many fundraising consultants counsel), then we lose the sense of cause that is actually fundamental to our organizations and to our success (redefined as "prevailing" rather than "growing").
I recently attended a dinner for a baby-boom-founded nonprofit with its original founder in place and he gave out all the wrong signals. He said "thank you to volunteers for helping us" as if volunteers help staff rather than clients (he should have said "thank you to volunteers for helping clients"). He talked about how important it is to help the vulnerable in society. Yes, but he has failed to explain to people that what motivates hiim is the sense of cause, not of charity: a sense that his work strengthens the community of color and the progressive movement that both nurture his organization. By failing to characterize his organization as a cause he does a disservice to his younger staff, their clients and constituents, and to all service nonprofits.
Okay, now I'm ranting. Better stop here. Thanks for writing, Jan
Can you help me to understand why a donor’s giving out of a sense of cause strengthens a community more than does a donor’s giving out of a sense of charity?
I’ll try to answer this. If you give because you want to be a part of a solution, that builds your connection to society at large. You are approaching the recipient of aid from a position of equality, to some degree. On the other hand, if you are giving out of a sense of charity, implicit in that is an inequality between you and the recipient. You feel sorry for them, so you give them a hand-out. In the first case, you are placing yourself within the community and collaborating with others. In the second case, you are giving out of sympathy, which in nice at funerals, but not necessarily constructive in poverty alleviation. To be sure, charity has different meanings in different contexts (i.e. religious, cultural, etc.), but on the whole, the word charity is considered less and less appropriate as we try to engage aid recipients in the work of poverty alleviation. My two cents on the topic… Nancy http://socialchangecollaboratory.org
Hear, Hear!!!!
Jan Masaoka, I've heard folks say things similar to this, sometimes when attempting to mobilize a group of next generation-ers. Each instance failed. It feels to me similar generalizations do not take into account how much many of us do know about the roots of our organizations, our causes, and of course our privileges. It is that knowledge that informs so much of our work, our lifestyle. To pay a generalization with a generalization, I would even go as far as to say we'll be spending the rest of careers and lives fixing. That is not a lack of passion or sense of history or immediacy, it is not even disrespect, it's our lot in the timeline. My frustration, I mobilize every day, it just looks and sounds different than it once did. I can't even address paragraph 4 and on without feeling all I'd really just be saying is "parents just don't understand." -Danielle
I agree about Blue Avocado. It really is one great site.
This article is especially worthy, as it’s so easy to get lost in all of the important work of governing, managing, developing and planning, and forget about why we do what we do. Lots of opportunities to think, when we need to remember the whole notion of feeling!!!
I would agree that many leaders of the Next Generation don't have the same movement backgrounds as their predecessors. I would also add that there are even fewer Next Generation leaders who DO have movement backgrounds being tapped for the top-top positions in organizations. These activist leaders are often relegated to the activist work. They are often the most overworked people in their organizations, particularly in organizations where activist work isn't wholly embraced (but someone has to do it). They are also often the most visible people in the community, and relied upon heavily by many levels and layers of stakeholders. To add to the set of questions posed in this post, I would add…What are we doing to support and promote Next Generation leaders who are building and strengthening movements and providing the soil and nutrients for organizations? Linda Nguyen Director, Civic Engagement Alliance for Children and Families
Loved this. I have noticed in international development work that the most really interesting social change comes in the margins of pre-organized programs funded by foundations. If funders would accept more overhead for the work of these amazing activists (working with managers), so much more would get accomplished around the world. Nancy Bacon http://socialchangecollaboratory.org
I think “movements” in general are declining because the next generation has had everything handed to them and has been raised to think that the answer to every problem lies in government saving society from all things unpleasant. In my observation, young people don’t see the urgent need for nonprofit agencies to continue the good work of providing much-needed services because they believe it’s the government’s job to serve society. I don’t agree with this philosophy, but it’s the new way of thinking.
I really enjoy your newsletter and appreciate that you offer such a fantastic resource like the Nonprofit Bookkeeping Test.
I find this type of comment unhelpful at best and offensive at worst. The next-generation faces a completely different reality than the baby-boomers and recognizing that they are working in a different, not inferior, way of thinking would be more helpful. The reality is that as government and businesses are forced to pay the rising cost of baby-boomer aging (medicare, social security benefits, pensions etc.) less and less money is funding the causes, movements and services they once did (remember the Great Society?). This shifts more and more of the burden of being society's safety net to nonprofits while funding sources (private and public) are drying up or becoming unreasonably demanding (eg. more and more foundations and private funders unwilling to "waste" money on infrastructure, overhead and salaries). Baby boomers may have had the luxury of working for "love of the cause" rather than for money but the fact is we're taxing the rich less, the income gaps are widening and our education system is spiraling down in terms of quality (as a direct result of loss of public funding) and, simultaneously up in terms of cost for higher education. The ideological battles in state and federal governments (led primarily by self-righteous baby-boomers) are only making civil society less civil. The next generation deals with more demand for higher education (just try getting a job nearly anywhere with only a high school diploma) and, as a result, has a larger amount of debt to deal with from day one of entering the workforce. Working for "poverty wages" simply isn't possible. Some have talked about the "brain drain" that results from baby-boomers retiring from the nonprofit sector and lament the fact that the next generation is unwilling to "carry on the torch" but it would be more useful to focus on how to recruit and retain the best talent from the next generation. In regards to movement building, I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned the incredible movement and coalition building driven by social media. The next generation's ability to organize movements is clearly obvious if you look at what happened recently in Egypt and the way Barack Obama conducted his presidential campaign. How can you say that the next generation understands management but is ignorant of "roots building" with such amazing and blatant examples right in front of us? It would be much more helpful if the self-congratulatory baby boomers stopped griping about how the next generation "just doesn't get it" and worked harder to understand the new (to them) reality and to support the younger generation in transforming the nonprofit sector to meet it. -Christina Dragonetti
Excellent Christina! You’ve hit the nail right on the head. In my opinion, the problem with the Baby-Boomer generation is that, as you noted, they are less educated, thereby giving them less historical perspective… AND they all vote!
Besides, I don’t know how many baby boomer activists are even left. Didn’t most of you sell out your beliefs in the 80’s?
I take extreme offense to anything being “handed” to me. I’ve got $65,000 in debt to put myself through my undergrad and part of graduate school (and I got about 3/4 tuition scholarships). All while I pay for my son to attend private school b/c I sure won’t put him in a public school b/c baby-boomers think the Gov. is a big conspiracy and don’t want to pay their property taxes to fund schools in Indiana.
The article was good, and thought provoking. Sorry for my rant… I just have a serious issue w/ the majority of baby-boomers and their opinions about the way the world works (case in point above).
As a movement boomer, still immersed in the movement but going in directions that continue to push the envelope in tiny organizations, what makes me effective is my rootedness in community and ability to cross boundaries. I work with fantastic colleagues of all ages and see great ability in young organizers as well as my cohort. That i am a dinosaur who still has no cell phone or lap top (all my desks have computers and phones) and walks the city to do my work, I do not fret for the movement.
Thanks for this discussion. The generational change occurring in leadership of NPOs is fascinating. I wonder what if any evidence exists to support the idea that Baby Boomers are better at movement-building and subsequent generations are better at management? And, assuming Boomers have better skills in activism, how can they effectively pass this expertise on to X-ers and Millenials?
As a X, and leader of an organization that drives a movement, I personally struggle with how difficult it is to ‘build’ the movement. It’s frustrating and ironic in a lot of ways. I have found myself recently searching for leadership development/training opportunities to this end. What I do know is that I have the necessary skills: I am able to work across various fields, generations, socio-economic diversity, I communicate with passion and inspiration, I lead action – but I don’t think my skills are properly directed. There is something obviously missing and I can tell. And I mostly notice when around older generation activists that make it happen – which I like to be around because they inspire me. I still can’t understand though what it is they do that I do not…
I would be interested in understanding the solution to the commentary posted here as well. How can we adopt this expertise?
I am glad to see this discussion starting, but I hope we will see more of it from a cross-generational perspective. Each generation brings different skills to different challenges. I believe the paradigm changing times we live in call for changemakers of all generations to work together challenge the status quo of the way the nonprofit sector has been ‘doing business’ to better address new world realities. Thanks again for a thought provoking piece and getting this discussion going…
You said share our thoughts…
Well…I love reading this, but…I hate your name “Blue Avacado”.
Karen Harlin
It might be unfair to hold today’s new leaders accountable for the strains on the ngo system. The broader environment seems more challenging than in the past, with, as noted, gov funds slowing, the American work week generally lengthening, and the primacy of the role of consumer currently ascending, at least to my observation.
I sometimes feel that here in Seattle, we have several v. large ngos and a plethora of micro groups that fly under the radar, are self-organizing, and many of which are funding by little slices of local funding and focused on neighborhood projects (not even programs). The v large orgs are definitely absorbing resources in comparison to the mid-sized, which are struggling.
I don’t get the sense that our ngos are keeping pace with technology or with business development & managment practices that we can see in the private sector. For example, I have one contract at a 12 person, $1million org that operates in some ways like it might have in the 80s. At another slightly larger org, they’re operating with technological, fundraising and HR practices that haven’t changed in years.
One last breakfast note, as someone who was/is self employed, I’m often surprised by the lack of ingenuity in the ngo sector with regard to operations management and building the movement. I do see inovation in media and messaging and in studying and understanding the complexity of the core issues the orgs try to solve.
It might be unfair to hold today’s new leaders accountable for the strains on the ngo system. The broader environment seems more challenging than in the past, with, as noted, gov funds slowing, the American work week generally lengthening, and the primacy of the role of consumer currently ascending, at least to my observation.
I sometimes feel that here in Seattle, we have several v. large ngos and a plethora of micro groups that fly under the radar, are self-organizing, and many of which are funding by little slices of local funding and focused on neighborhood projects (not even programs). The v large orgs are definitely absorbing resources in comparison to the mid-sized, which are struggling.
I don’t get the sense that our ngos are keeping pace with technology or with business development & managment practices that we can see in the private sector. For example, I have one contract at a 12 person, $1million org that operates in some ways like it might have in the 80s. At another slightly larger org, they’re operating with technological, fundraising and HR practices that haven’t changed in years.
One last breakfast note, as someone who was/is self employed, I’m often surprised by the lack of ingenuity in the ngo sector with regard to operations management and building the movement. I do see inovation in media and messaging and in studying and understanding the complexity of the core issues the orgs try to solve.
I am glad to see this discussion starting, but I hope we will see more of it from a cross-generational perspective. Each generation brings different skills to different challenges. I believe the paradigm changing times we live in call for changemakers of all generations to work together challenge the status quo of the way the nonprofit sector has been 'doing business' to better address new world realities. Thanks again for a thought provoking piece and getting this discussion going… Bonnie Koenig @BonnieKoenig http://www.goinginternational.com
I love this publication but think this article misses the mark. Young professionals in nonprofits do know how to create movements, they just operate on a different platform – social media. Aren’t the recent events in the Middle East “movements” led by the younger generation? Don’t we hear countless stories of the young leader who got thousands of people to donate to their favorite cause simply through Facebook and Twitter?
I think defining whether a young professional gets “movements” by whether they have 100 people at a rally or by motivating staff is not a good measure of their abilities.
Maybe the issue is not that young adults don’t know how to do a “movement” – but that movements are no longer the best currency of social capital for nonprofits?
I think this critique also fails to take into account the ever increasing demands for accountability, data and management requirements. When many of the movement boomers came into their respective fields the standards were much looser and the bar for proving the effectiveness of a given intervention lower, if the question was asked at all. Leaders of the next generation may not have the luxury to spend time organizing, because if the paperwork isn’t processed, the data isn’t entered and the outcomes aren’t proved, the odds are good that your program will no longer exist. I agree wholeheartedly that as leaders we have to clarify the vision of our organizations for staff, board and the larger community and that this is a crucial piece of remaining vibrant and relevant.
I am a Gen X’er. Since I first got involved in community organizations as a teen, I have heard accusations that my generation is not “involved” enough, not “active” enough, not “motivated” enough. These statements are sweeping generalizations that discounted my own leadership, as well as that of my peers.
Unfortunately, this commentary really sounds like more of the same, whether that was the intention or not.
On the other hand, I agree that the nonprofit sector as a whole has been focused on building professional organizations, rather than on building powerful movements. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but if you look at where time and money have been spent, much more has gone into professionalizing the nonprofit sector.
Yes, it would be fantastic to have more resources to support movement-building leadership development. I disagree that it’s a generational issue.
I think this critique also fails to take into account the ever increasing demands for accountability, data and management requirements. When many of the movement boomers came into their respective fields the standards were much looser and the bar for proving the effectiveness of a given intervention lower, if the question was asked at all. Leaders of the next generation may not have the luxury to spend time organizing, because if the paperwork isn’t processed, the data isn’t entered and the outcomes aren’t proved, the odds are good that your program will no longer exist. I agree wholeheartedly that as leaders we have to clarify the vision of our organizations for staff, board and the larger community and that this is a crucial piece of remaining vibrant and relevant.
‘Generation Tex-ters” can bypass our movement-building leadership using the laws of physics — momentum comes from a combination of mass and velocity. Technology gives us both. Here’s a haiku to explain it simply:
It’s a new world when
A text or status update
Starts revolutions
(posted by a baby boomer)
Can you provide a link to Buck Parker’s whole speech? I would very much like to read the whole thing.
I'm afraid it wasn't published. I was in the audience for the speech and took copious notes. But that's why I had to paraphrase his talk since I couldn't quote directly from a transcript. Thanks for asking . . . I wish I had it, too. Jan
This is a controversial article that sparks some good dialogue, but I think it’s ultimately just one person’s opinion.
My first disappointment with this article is that Jan doesn’t present data to support her claims. What proof is there that next gen leaders don’t know how to start a movement? How is this statement a fact?
Second, next gen nonprofit leaders intentionally engaged themselves in nonprofit education and career paths specific to nonprofit management and leadership. The fact that so many of us understand management better than our predecessors is a movement in itself. We’re changing the sector to be more professional and responsible. I think Jan tipped her hat to this by mentioning capacity, but really glossed over it by asking the unanswerable “what don’t they know?”
Third, if true, why do next gen leaders deserve criticism for not starting the movements they support? It’s an ingracious art-snob way of looking at things, as if to say that a cubist work by Andy Warhol is total crap because Picasso did it first. My generation is just as engaged, interested, excited, and energetic as the baby boomer generation, but we shouldn’t have to walk in their shoes to garner credibility.
I’m all for disruptive nonprofit leaders and controversy to spark dialogue, but this is futile, base and unproductive criticism. What’s the purpose?
Boy, what a fun article. The part i found most helpful was Jan’s identification of the support structures from foundations that have been built around one kind of leadership and one kind of nonprofit. I think that we do struggle now to build movements; as a society many of us have either forgotten how to do it, or haven’t taught others what we know. The best, recent movements are a combination of all generations. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was run on hope and energy from younger people but the strategy was built on old-school house party organizing based in the labor movement (from Fred Ross via Marshall Ganz). As a young(er) leader in my field, I personally feel the lack of this organizing expertise, and would LOVE some support in this area. I’m hungry for it, and so are many of my colleagues.
Boy, what a fun article. The part i found most helpful was Jan’s identification of the support structures from foundations that have been built around one kind of leadership and one kind of nonprofit. I think that we do struggle now to build movements; as a society many of us have either forgotten how to do it, or haven’t taught others what we know. The best, recent movements are a combination of all generations. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was run on hope and energy from younger people but the strategy was built on old-school house party organizing based in the labor movement (from Fred Ross via Marshall Ganz). As a young(er) leader in my field, I personally feel the lack of this organizing expertise, and would LOVE some support in this area. I’m hungry for it, and so are many of my colleagues.
This article resonates with me and the social justice sector in which I work. The success of the grantees we fund as a social justice grantmaker reflects well on us, hence the need to build the capacity of current and future grantees. Plus, we benefit from a national network of kindred funds. The movement is multi-dimensional and indispensable! Thanks for the thoughtful piece. Bruce Moffat Wisconsin Community Fund Madison, WI
This article resonates with me and the social justice sector in which I work. The success of the grantees we fund as a social justice grantmaker reflects well on us, hence the need to build the capacity of current and future grantees. Plus, we benefit from a national network of kindred funds. The movement is multi-dimensional and indispensable! Thanks for the thoughtful piece. Bruce Moffat Wisconsin Community Fund Madison, WI
Look at all the gen Xers posting here, unknowingly affirming the point of the article: “I’m offended and you can’t say that”, “How dare you say I don’t know or get something”, “Don’t blame me…it’s someone else’s fault”, “Old people should just adapt to us, we don’t need to change” Nice try, Jan, but they just don’t want to hear it. They’ve been told they’re perfect their entire lives and will only learn to compromise and adapt when they’ve explored all the other pull-down menu options we’ve provided for them.
This article resonates with me. As a younger manager I do “know management” better than my predecessors. But I had to learn it, and it isn’t what I ever dreamed of doing–the only reason I learned was because it felt like that was the area of greatest need at the organizations I most wanted to serve.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to rally. My organization is through its change agent period of leadership transition and because of this I need to re-align my focus. I’ve been guilty of giving off the wrong cues and being overly deferential to funders and volunteers, and of not articulating community benefit as clearly as I could.
Your article is great food for though, Jan, so thanks again!
I get the Blue Avocado newsletter but somehow missed this conversation until a colleague sent me the link – and I’ve kept it open in a tab all week. Now to join the conversation 🙂
Younger generations (I am a Millennial, for full disclosure) certainly DO know how to build movements. There are countless examples of younger generations pulling together 100s (or tens of thousands) or people together at a rally, a march, a campaign. What’s different, and I think crucial to this conversation and to the turning point in nonprofit management, is that these younger generations do not know why they would need to be part of YOUR organization to make change. Further, many of the hesitation or fears I hear from my peers about supporting (whether it’s financially, because Millennials do in deed donate!, or with our time) individual organizations is around the fact that there’s so much focus on the branding, messaging, and “ownership” or a cause that people feel like they would rather find another way to make a difference, where their impact isn’t owned by an organization. That, to me, is the real definition of movement building. I think the opportunity now is for organizations to ask how we are creating campaigns, calls to action, and real impact that continues to open up our work instead of close in and lock down. I’m asking myself this every day and if others have ideas, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks for this conversation!
I get the Blue Avocado newsletter but somehow missed this conversation until a colleague sent me the link – and I’ve kept it open in a tab all week. Now to join the conversation 🙂
Younger generations (I am a Millennial, for full disclosure) certainly DO know how to build movements. There are countless examples of younger generations pulling together 100s (or tens of thousands) or people together at a rally, a march, a campaign. What’s different, and I think crucial to this conversation and to the turning point in nonprofit management, is that these younger generations do not know why they would need to be part of YOUR organization to make change. Further, many of the hesitation or fears I hear from my peers about supporting (whether it’s financially, because Millennials do in deed donate!, or with our time) individual organizations is around the fact that there’s so much focus on the branding, messaging, and “ownership” or a cause that people feel like they would rather find another way to make a difference, where their impact isn’t owned by an organization. That, to me, is the real definition of movement building. I think the opportunity now is for organizations to ask how we are creating campaigns, calls to action, and real impact that continues to open up our work instead of close in and lock down. I’m asking myself this every day and if others have ideas, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks for this conversation!
Where do we sign up? I don't need statistical research to confirm what I know. I feel the movement's eroding when I see the legislation (pick a bill, any bill – pick a state, any state) that's passing without protest. And then when I see the protests, but it still passes, I'm not sure where to turn. How do make social progress if we can't even hold the line? This young leader read something seriously valuable in this conversation. TEACH ME. Tell me the story of my causes – tell me how they all connect – tell me who died for this life – I wasn't there. But I'm here. And here is getting scarier and scarier. I cannot sit on the couch and pretend that it's okay to watch the telly anymore. I NEED to build the movement. YOU need me to. Pass the torch and walk with me. We ARE the movement. Thanks to Jan for lighting my fires again. I was getting worried (http://www.nextgenfortwayne.org/) And I have to give a shout out to Frances Kunreuther, Helen Kim and Robby Rodriguez for Working Across Generations. This book is so very helpful on this very topic and I have mad love for their Building Movement Project work. Lettie
There is an interesting mix of posts in this discussion. I hope those who became a little defensive about the discussion–both Next-Gens and Baby Boomers–can learn to incresingly let go of their egos, especially their organizations’ egos, and instead of looking for accusations become trans-generational.
While there’s concern over “movement building,” the deeply held personal values that drive any movement are still out there – perhaps just in different forms or accessed differently. As boomers age, they will look at the world differently. The same goes with the following generations. Plus, as each ages they affect the others. Movement as expressed in the 1970-s or 1980’s will be differently described today and in the next 3-5 year bracket. Our challenge is to identify the values behind the work of nonprofits and use this insight to apply in our relationship building of all types. For those readers, the book the Fourth Generation combined with What Would Google Do might make an interesting mashup and help frame some of our “movement” opportunities and challenges. Kevin Johnson Growing Social Profit blog at: http://retrieverdevelopment.com/growsocial
While there’s concern over “movement building,” the deeply held personal values that drive any movement are still out there – perhaps just in different forms or accessed differently. As boomers age, they will look at the world differently. The same goes with the following generations. Plus, as each ages they affect the others. Movement as expressed in the 1970-s or 1980’s will be differently described today and in the next 3-5 year bracket. Our challenge is to identify the values behind the work of nonprofits and use this insight to apply in our relationship building of all types. For those readers, the book the Fourth Generation combined with What Would Google Do might make an interesting mashup and help frame some of our “movement” opportunities and challenges. Kevin Johnson Growing Social Profit blog at: http://retrieverdevelopment.com/growsocial
I had to reflect on this a bit….being a Gen X, I am in the middle. I agree with a lot that is said in this article. I have had the privelage and challenge of working with many of the past leaders who were going to be advocates and work in nonprofit for a few years, but stayed.
After I thought about it a bit more, I felt a little uncomfortable. Though great, this article discounts the reality that many younger leaders see movement building very differently than those who came before us — in the past it was a zero-sum power struggle (it was about conflict). Building consensus agendas meant agreeing to the lowest common denominator which usuall mean the people would lose.
There are many examples that show the need to build movements across sectors (nonprofits, foundations, government, business, academic, tec) and across issues (environment, education, housing, transportation, health and work force development). Unfortunately, I have seen efforts to build social equity across sectors met with resistance from those advocates who came before us.
I think we all can learn from each other — we have been very engaged in some struggles for far too long. Maybe we need to try new ways to engage others and create the change we want.
What a great discussion! I hope it goes to bridge building across the generations that make the current and next movements possible. Learning–by listening, mainly-to each other is the best way forward. And we can all learn by studying the rise–and, sadly the fall of some–of the great movements in the U.S. over the last hundred years. I’m a wee bit older than the boomers (i’m 71), and recently retired as executive director of a multi-program agency providing shelter and services for homeless families. I was succeeded by an X-Gen who is every bit as movement-conscious as I am, and we continue to enlighten each other, meeting for lunch often. I serve on a multi-generational board of an area advocacy coalition, and we are united in building a movement to end homelessness. So when we have conversations like these, it’s to that end. I guess the difference is that our local discussions are rooted in the context of our common reality and we have common goals, whereas the one here is more philosophical. I think both move us forward.