Dear Reader,
The current administration has created a whirlwind of uncertainty, fear, rage, anxiety, and harm – including in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and in movement spaces.
In spite of it all, I believe deep in my bones that another world is possible. It is the grassroots movement groups that hold the wisdom to get us to that world. In this edition of Responsive Philanthropy, we hear from experts on how stories of courage and data-driven narratives that provide cold hard facts have historically helped fight authoritarianism – and still do today.
As my NCRP colleague Ryan Schlegel reminds us, authoritarianism is not made by accident. It is explicit, well-conceived and well-funded. His piece highlighting the increasing anti-democratic funding serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to counteract these forces through the strength of community-held power.
This issue of RP offers a diverse and thoughtful look at our current political climate and the dire call to action to fund democracy. We hear from authors and co-authors Scot Nakagawa, Ludovic Blain, Ryan Schlegel, Arthur Larok and Niranjali Amerasinghe, and Eric Ward. These authors challenge us to look at the tools that have helped authoritarian regimes succeed and what the left must do to fight back now using the power of storytelling and cold, hard facts. Because as NCRP Board Member Eric Ward says, “If philanthropy is to be relevant in this moment, we must treat narrative, data, and story not as supplements to our strategy, but as central pillars of it. This isn’t the first time regimes have tried to erase truth and control meaning. In fact, we’ve seen this story before – and we’ve seen how resistance rises.”
The way that we address increasing authoritarianism will have a lasting impact on the world we are envisioning. A world safe for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and communities of color. The ways that funders specifically support movement groups, which have already been doing the work of creating diverse counter-authoritarian narratives, has the ability to reshape the sector entirely.
Now is not the time to be meek.
Be courageous,
Aaron Dorfman
NCRP President and CEO
