On a hot August afternoon 46 years ago I dropped my first direct mail campaign at the main post office in Washington, D.C. The 250,000 envelopes contained a six-page letter that began “Everybody’s organized but the people…” announcing the formation of a new “citizens lobby” called Common Cause.

It was a big gamble. Few organizations had ever gone to the people themselves seeking small contributions to reform the political system.

In those days most “social change” agendas were funded by major contributions from labor unions, foundations or powerful special interests. Small gifts were not considered an engine powerful enough to advance social and political change.

The social change, social justice funding paradigm changed that summer. With disenchantment in government growing, the idea of Common Cause was planted in very fertile soil. In just 23 weeks, 100,000 people had paid a minimum of $15 annual dues to advance Common Cause’s mission to make political institutions more open and accountable.

A tsunami of social justice funding, paid for by the people themselves, soon followed. Public Citizen, the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion Rights League, Environmental Defense, Handgun Control and dozens of other groups took flight. All funded in their early years by the people themselves.

Today, nearly 50 years later the phenomenon of small gift funding for social justice is alive and well. Bernie Sanders’ $145 million in campaign contributions averaging $27 is but the latest example.

HOWEVER … despite the massive growth in the nonprofit sector and the thousands of social justice groups that have joined the ranks of the 1.5 million diverse nonprofits, I worry that too many social justice groups may have grown complacent and settled on what some call “the nonprofit model”.

What is the nonprofit model? It starts with the granting of tax-exempt status by state. This carries with it the threat of a cutting edge or even radical agenda being co-opted into acquiescence by the threat of withdrawal of their tax-exempt status. The radical edge needed to achieve social justice is then further dulled by the replacement of activists by careerists. And hell raisers are shoved aside in favor of managers, CFOs and MBAs.

If you share any of my concern that our social justice sector has grown too “careerist”, too “complex”, or too “managerial” I urge you to read Kim Klein’s thoughtful post Is social justice fundraising an oxymoron? that appears in Transformation, the social justice newsletter of openDemocracy.

I urge you to read Kim’s post in its entirety. But for now here are the key takeaways:

• Money can be a divisive force OR it can be a force for bringing people together for effective collective action. The latter comes when an organization seeks to fund its mission from people it serves.

• In short, “By moving away from dependence on large donors and re-focusing on smaller contributions from those who are themselves struggling for change, fundraising can become a pathway to social transformation.”

• WARNING: Over the last 20 years many organizations have moved away from building a larger base of individual members/supporters in favor of larger grants and funding provided by foundations.

• It doesn’t have to be this way. “There’s a common belief that people on low incomes can’t, won’t or shouldn’t be asked to contribute financially. But from the perspective of social change this is a serious mistake. It cedes power and influence over the direction of the group to external institutions and their agendas and positions money as a sign of privilege.”

• This year you heard Bernie Sanders rail against Citizens United and “the billionaire class” that controls the political process. We would also be wise to subject our approach to funding to the French philosopher Voltaire’s dictum: “If you want to know who owns you, think about who you are afraid to criticize.”

Kim’s Conclusions:

• Fundraising is a key part of the struggle for social justice. “Part of the work of organizing, educating, advocating and providing human services.”

• The most successful social change organizations share the work “with as many people as possible; collective action enables people to achieve results through building equal and mutually-supportive relationships that move the organization forward in a radically different spirit. Joy and happiness –not just efficiency and cost-effectiveness — are generated in the process.” [ Emphasis mine.]

• As one organization put it, “We don’t raise money to do our work…. how we raise money and from whom is part of our work.”

Fundraising Bright Spots

An important section of Kim’s post will give you specific examples — she calls them “Fundraising Bright Spots” — of successful social justice fundraising that will raise your spirits and provide some great ideas.

Are you overlooking the immense benefits and significant effects that spring from inviting those you serve into your donor ranks?

Roger

P.S.  My thanks to Simon Joyaux for alerting me to Kim’s post.