WEBVTT - 060824 Vu Le on Why We Should Think About Non-Profits Differently ft. Leanna Taylor (Part 2) 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.240 Keep on riding with us as we continue to broadcast 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:04.680 the balance and defend the discourse from these hip hop 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:05.760 weekly studios. 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:06.840 Welcome back to Civic Cipher. 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:09.360 I'm your host, rams' ja big shout out to my 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.000 man q Ward who is out globe trotting, but. 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.000 Have no fear. We have a couple of special guests 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:15.720 with us today. 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.760 Special guest interviewer Leanna Taylor of the Arizona Pet Project. 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:25.080 Well and our guest of the hour. He goes by 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:25.720 the name of Boulet. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.040 He's a writer, speaker, Vegan Pisces those are important, and 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:32.240 the former executive director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:35.239 that promotes social justice by developing leaders of color, strengthening 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:39.320 organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration among 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.559 diverse communities. He currently writes the blog Nonprofit af and 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:47.239 is involved with community centric fundraising. We are going to 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:54.120 continue to have a fantastic conversation diving into nonprofit work 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.200 and how it could be better and some of the 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.800 things to look forward to after we discuss ba BA 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.760 becoming a better ally BABA and Today's Baba. Sponsored by 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:04.120 Friends of the Movement. You can sign up for the 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:07.280 free boter wallet from Fotmglobal dot com to support black 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.039 businesses and allied businesses as well as make an impact 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:14.440 with your spending. Again, that's Fotmglobal dot com today. To 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.360 become a better ally, we would like for you to 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:21.600 support NAF. I'm going to share a bit from NONPROFITAF 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:26.040 dot com. You can contribute by a Patreon. Nonprofit AF 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.360 publishes every week. Each post takes many hours and multiple 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:33.399 bars of dark chocolate to research, write, edit, and find 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:36.680 and insert pictures of baby animals. Join the NAF community 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.600 by being a Patreon patron and donating a couple of 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.480 bucks each month on Patreon. Thank you for keeping this 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.160 going and also one time donations can be made through 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.400 PayPal and you can also subscribe for email updates. Again, 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:54.960 that's at NONPROFITAF dot com, the site that is championed 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.760 by our guest of the Hour. I'd also like you 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.000 to pay attention to the eras on a pet project. 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.640 Our guest host, Leanna Taylor heads the Arizona Pet Project 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.120 and from their website support the Arizona Pet Project at 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:10.720 Azypetproject dot org. Extended helping hand to families with pets 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:14.160 and needs in need. By becoming an Arizona Pet partner, 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.160 our partners make the important work we do in our 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:20.040 community possible. With your support, we provide our most vulnerable 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:23.399 community members in crisis with free services like veterinarity care, 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:28.160 temporary boarding, pet food assistants, and lost pet reunification. Again 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:33.400 that's Azpetproject dot Org. I think that both of these 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:40.160 are fantastic initiatives. And I know, at least you know, 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.800 we don't deal with pets all that often on the show, 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:46.640 But I do want you to know that I have 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.040 become a believer. I'm not the biggest fan of pets, 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:54.880 but I become a believer in the connection that humans 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.400 and animals have and how important that is for people's 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.800 mental health and obviously a dispreportioning effects can inities of color. 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.800 So again, Azypetproject dot Org. All right, back to the 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.239 man of the hour, Leanna. Yes, I want to sho 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:07.799 start us off. 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.560 All right, Well, we're going to dive into a couple 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.440 of more difficult topics, topics you and I have talked 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:15.880 a little bit about over the past couple of months. 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:20.400 But before we do that, you use the imagery of 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:24.680 unicorns a lot in your work, And I wondered if 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:29.520 you would tell the listeners why why unicorns? And how 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.320 do we use that as a call to action for 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:38.280 getting more leaders of color involved in nonprofit and philanthropic work. 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.080 Yeah, a few years ago I was writing this blog 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:46.320 post ranting about how people don't want to pay for people. 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:50.200 They want to pay for supplies and things, you know, 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.560 food sandwiches, or they don't want to pay for the 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.000 people making the sandwiches, And I was like, who do 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:57.960 you think it's going to run these programs? Is it? 0:03:57.960 --> 0:03:59.520 Do you think it's going to be like elves and 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.920 unicorn horns magically if you have nowhere and the image 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.000 of this of the unicorns a kind of a mascot 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.720 because we are we're magical, where we as nonprofit leaders 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:14.600 are expected to be unicorns, to perform miracles on magic 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.520 and constantly scrambling for resources all the time. So that 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.760 kind of caught on and it's become kind of this 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:26.800 unofficial mascot of the nonprofit sector here. But I think 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:28.640 I think that we need to learn some other lessons. 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:32.960 Unicorns have very sharp horns. We've been like this nice, magical, 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.599 friendly creature, But I think we need to stab more 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.800 with our horns. So horns of equity and justice. I 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:40.520 think that's right. 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:43.480 That's the important part, horns of equity and justice, and 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:46.400 we'll use it to stab people in the face, which 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:52.960 I believe is a direct quote. The other question I 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:55.760 wanted to ask you is those of us in nonprofit 0:04:55.880 --> 0:05:00.000 have had a mortal enemy, and that enemy is hummah. 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:04.480 Can you tell the listeners why. 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.360 Oh no, we don't have a moral enemy. I love hummus. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:11.320 We love hummus, but is also and it's also like 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.239 a good symbol for our sector. Right. It is nutritious, 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:20.080 it's delicious, it's cheap, it's filling. That's that's the nonprofit 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:22.760 sector and oftentimes underappreciated because people are like, oh, it's 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.120 just hum miss, But a good Hummus takes a lot 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.120 of work and skill to make the right balance of 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.440 the heini and lemon juice and everything that is. That 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:35.120 is very important. So I don't know where I'm going 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:35.359 with this. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.719 I guess yeah, and I guess my immortal my mortal 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.400 enemy ship with hummus is just that it's at every 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:46.320 nonprofit event. It is apparently the only thing that both 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.200 thunders and nonprofits can afford. 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.720 Well, you know what that brings me the. 0:05:53.680 --> 0:06:04.400 Thought the last eight months, about eight months. 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.599 Have been particularly troubling. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:14.279 You know, this show covers a broad range of topics, 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:22.000 but obviously since October seventh, a lot of things have 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.680 have shifted. You know, once upon a time there was 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:30.320 this really strong pro black movement, let's call it twenty twenty. 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.560 Maybe a year after that, there was this really strong, 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:39.280 pronounced stop Asian hate movement, and you know, we had 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:43.160 to shift gears and accommodate these these movements because these 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:46.919 were communities in neat And then, of course, since since October, 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:52.599 we've learned that Palestinian people in particular, and to a 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:59.600 larger extent Muslim people have kind of been enduring something 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:05.080 that is particularly channeling here. I want you to help 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:08.880 for our listeners, help help connect some of the issues 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.400 surrounding that. In other words, how does what's happening in 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:15.640 Palestine connect to American issues? 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:22.800 Yeah, I mean we talked about October seventh and what's 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:24.840 been happening, but you know, what's been happening to Palestine 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:28.640 has been going on over seventy five years since Nakbav 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:34.840 I think nineteen forty eight and the US government has 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:39.560 been supporting Israel and setting weapons like and sending dollars 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.320 every single year, like I think about four billion dollars 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:45.440 a year, and recently it's like an additional fourteen billion 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:49.720 dollars of our taxpayer's money is going there to fund 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:56.280 this genocide of Palestinians. And we're also like stopping, we're 0:07:56.400 --> 0:08:01.120 vetoing ceasefire deals where we're basically enable link this genocide 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.800 that Israel has been committing. And I think that we 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:08.080 should care because this money could be used here to 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:10.720 solve issues over here in the United States with veterans, 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:15.720 with homelessness, with the environments, also with education. There's just 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.400 we we still have like the Flint water crisis, Like 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:21.920 that's not gone away. People are still having issues accessing 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:25.400 clean water in parts of the US. And meanwhile, we're 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:29.360 just sending money over to a foreign country to commit genocide, 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.840 and so we should be paying attention. This is just 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:36.240 not like had something that's happening over there to other people. 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:40.800 We're supporting it. We are complicit in enabling this genocide. 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.839 So we absolutely do need to care because it's our 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:43.760 money funding. 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:48.920 It, and it's been it's been pretty quiet in the 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:52.400 nonprofit sector in speaking out about this, and I think 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:58.800 that's a frustration that many people in the social justice 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.360 movement and who were involved in the BLM movement in 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.720 twenty twenty, there seems to be a massive disconnect between 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:10.840 people's understanding of how this particular issue also relates to 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:16.959 the struggles that you know that people here have been fighting. 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.160 And I know you wrote a really poignant blog piece 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.480 about that. Do you mind touching a little bit on that. 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:27.680 Yeah. I mean, we've been talking about equity and justice 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.439 for a long time in the sector in society, right, 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:33.679 and it seems that we've forgotten a lot of the 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:36.160 lessons that we've been learning that we should be learning 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:41.920 about standing with the oppressed, about power dynamics, you know, 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.960 Like I think people always say things like, oh, you know, 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:49.680 it's complicated, or it's a war. It's not a war 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.520 when one side is the fourth largest army in the 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.040 in the world, the fourth most powerful army in the world, 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.920 which is Israel, and the other side doesn't even have 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:03.319 an army right and no supplies and no support from 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:07.000 any Western power like the United States or Canada. So 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:11.400 it's not an equal footing here. So I just feel 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:14.680 like we've been trying to learn things from BLM and 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.679 from other movements that are really vital and important, and 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:20.199 we've just kind of we've just lost we've lost the 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:23.480 lessons we've learned, and it has been very frustrating when 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.400 right now we really do need to be using these 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:27.880 lessons that we've we've been learning. 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:35.760 So, yeah, yeah, there's a there's another you know, there's 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.880 a lot of things that you know, you're making a 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:43.280 broader connection to kind of the goings on in the 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:47.560 government and the things that are necessary, the things that 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.600 actually can create the changes and the outcomes that we 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:52.880 would like to see on the ground. Again, those of 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.840 us closest to the problem are often closest to the solutions. 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.560 So one of the things that I know you're familiar 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:05.000 with is the idea of reparations and how that could 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.360 impact and shape outcomes. So talk a little bit about 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:13.560 reparations and kind of where that falls in the overall 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:14.280 equation here. 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.240 Yeah, we're going to move away from this charity, this 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.560 philanthropy as charity and like a hobby for the rich, 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:27.400 into towards actual the philanthropia as a mechanism for justice 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.360 and we do need to talk about reparation. It can't 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.880 just be a hobby for rich people anymore. It needs 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.359 to be about how do we restore to wholeness communists 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:42.079 that have been affected negatively affected by white supremacy and 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:46.839 just awfulness over over the past several hundred years or so. 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:48.959 So I'm glad to see that more and more people 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.520 are talking about reparation, and more governments are starting to 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.760 think about doing things such as buying land and returning 0:11:55.760 --> 0:12:01.040 that land back to native communities, or ensuring like providing 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:05.680 reparation for descendants of people who were enslaved. Like these 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:08.719 are things that are really critical, and it does, and 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:10.880 you know, like it takes different forms. There could be 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:15.880 like major efforts to try to do restorative reparative work, 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:17.920 but I think each of us can also think about this. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:19.920 I was talking to a friend of mine who attended 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.760 a workshop where she discovered that her family's wealth was 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:27.320 built on literally stealing a Native family's land. And when 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:31.000 she discovered this, she had this epiphany where she wanted, 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.360 you know, she was committed to when she gets her inheritance, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:36.960 she is going to return one hundred percent of this 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:41.319 money back to the Native community. It's fantastic, and we're 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.880 starting to see more and more donors taking up these 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:46.920 conversations which in the past they have never really touched 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.319 on because again, we've been treating them as heroes. We've 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:52.800 been trained to We've been trained to treat. 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:53.080 Them that way. 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.760 And now I think that we need to understand we've 0:12:55.800 --> 0:13:00.320 been underestimating our donors and our the funders of ability 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:04.120 to actually have some very difficult conversations and uncomfortable conversations, 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.520 and I think we need to have these conversations that 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:11.080 we're going to be effective in creating this just an 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:12.720 equitable world that we want to see. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.440 Talk a little bit about, you know, for our listeners 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.559 because we haven't delved into it too deeply, but talk 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.240 a little bit about the kind of the land back 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.160 hashtag land back movement, because I feel like you kind 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.760 of touched around it, So just touch on that a 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.160 bit too, because I think that's something that is kind 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:33.520 of a special movement in and of itself. 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:37.040 Yeah, I am not native, so I am I'm definitely 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.439 no experts on this, on this movement, but I do 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:45.080 believe in it. I do support you know that the 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:49.920 importance of recognizing just the injustice is that have been 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:53.920 done to Native communities, the lands that were stolen. I mean, 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.480 we have to acknowledge that we're on well on stolen land. 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.920 But it's not enough to just acknowledge it. We need 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.679 start thinking about doing something. And I think some governments, 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.559 state governments, I think some probably in California and some 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.760 other places I know in New Zealand as well as 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.400 other countries, are thinking about, Okay, how do we actually 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:16.880 return land to Native communities. 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.800 Canada just had a couple of pretty historic land transfers 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:25.480 back to the indigenous First Nations communities. One was in 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.760 my hometown of Vancouver, right in the middle of the city. 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.400 People said it couldn't be done, but it is. And 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:34.320 then the other one is up in a Blueberry River 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.880 area for the indigenous peoples there. You know, Canada's got 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:43.440 a long, long, long way to go before they right 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:50.359 the wrongs of centuries of abuse of power and genocidal actions. 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:53.240 But I was heartened at this first step because I 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:58.000 think it shows that it can be done real quick. 0:14:58.040 --> 0:14:59.560 While we're here, I want to make sure that I 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:03.760 take them to acknowledge and thank you for this. 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:04.160 VU. 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.480 I want to acknowledge that we are broadcasting from the 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:13.400 unseated ancestral lands of the Akima Odam peoples. So you 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:18.760 know this much we can do right now. So I 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:20.960 know that we could spend all day talking about that, 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:22.840 and I appreciate that much. And I asked for that 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:28.040 only because I know you're not native, but you know, 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.440 you just seem to be more familiar and working in 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.200 that space. And that's something that's a conversation we've yet 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.080 to have. We've been trying for some time, but getting 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:38.800 the right person here to have that conversation. 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:39.560 We're still working on it. 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.840 I think it's also just it's really important in talking 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.320 to somebody like VU who really is an expert in 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.400 nonprofit work. How does all of this intersect, Why do 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:52.520 these seemingly individual issues matter when we're talking about broader 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:57.720 community change and that intersectionality of struggle, How this issue 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.680 relates to this issue, and how those of us in 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.080 nonprofit really are beholden to think about all of those 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.320 structures and systems that have upheld status quo so we 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.120 can work together to dismantle them all. 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:19.280 Now, I want to talk to you about burnout. 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:22.520 And perhaps you know. 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:29.760 Backlash against DEI work and if that is contributing to 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.680 or does contribute to to burnout in the nonprofit sector. 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.920 Yeah, definitely. I mean, we have a lot of factors 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.560 creating burnout in the nonprofit sector in the first place, 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:47.920 the lack of pay, the unstable funding, unpredictable revenues model 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.160 that we have what we rely on, the whims of 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:54.280 donors and funders. That has been very challenging. I mean, 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:56.960 there's a lot of underpayment in the nonprofit sector and 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:01.120 people leave because they can't afford to work here, and 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:03.920 it's very frustrating. We lose a lot of really good, 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.639 dedicated people this way. And recently we have another factor 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.280 to consider, which is after the Supreme Court kind of 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:15.960 overthrew affirmative action, and now that has opened a door 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:22.080 for conservative movements, right wing movements to start suing organizations 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.600 who are trying to support marginalized people, such as Fearless 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.439 Fun we're just i think trying to get more funding 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:33.520 to yeah, and so yeah, it's given them permission to 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.000 just go and sue everyone who just wants to have 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:41.240 some start doing some restorative justice work. And our sector leaders, 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:45.040 funders and others, instead of kind of doubling down saying 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:47.760 we believe in DEI, we need to double down, we 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:50.879 need to maybe increase our own lawyers to fight back 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:55.400 against these lawsuits. Many of these leaders go the opposite way. 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.760 We just run scared and become very risk averse and 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:03.640 start decreasing work. And they're funding around DEI, which is 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.200 very frustrating because it was really a challenge trying to 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:08.760 get funding for DEI work in the past before all 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:11.280 of this happened, and now we're having even less and 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.679 less chances actually getting the funding that we need to 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.439 advance the kind of community that we that we believe in. 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:22.520 Well, the state of affairs. 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:28.440 Might feel bleak, but around here we are always optimistic. 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.919 So let's talk about what we can do. Maybe some 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:40.879 advice for folks who maybe are some best practices for 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:44.560 individuals listening. These people might not run nonprofits, they might 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:48.480 not be intimately familiar with the nature of that type 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:50.960 of business model, but these are people that feel like 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:54.119 we are collectively in pursuit of a better world for 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:57.720 all of us. What advice or what best practices would 0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:02.520 you offer to our listener today in terms of what 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.679 they should be doing and could be doing to create 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:09.960 meaningful changes in and around the areas in which you 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:13.560 feel are most likely to create impact. 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.080 Yeah, well, I mean that would take us a lot 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:22.000 of time to discuss, we would think. But I think 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:24.680 right now people just need to be more aware and 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:28.960 to have more conversations and to be okay with being 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.639 in this sort of discomfort when we're having these conversations, 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.240 because I don't think we can get anywhere if people 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:38.159 as soon as they feel a little bit uncomfortable they 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:40.919 start kind of running away and not participating anymore. I 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.520 think it takes a certain amount of privilege to be like, oh, 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:45.119 I don't want to be involved, I don't want to 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.080 think about that stuff. Because for many of us from 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:49.480 our sas communities, we have to think about this stuff 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.480 like we can't get away from it. So I would 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:55.880 say for those of us those who have privileges, and 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:57.680 I think all of us have some sort of privilege 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:01.880 in some ways, right, I mean, like I have male privilege. 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:04.879 For example, I have an able body privilege. I have 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:08.760 neural typical privilege. And I had to start thinking about, 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.240 like what what does that mean for me? And how 0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:14.480 do I actually contribute to making the world better. So, 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:16.840 for example, I had been ranting about all these things. 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:20.119 For a long time, I've been speaking up against you know, 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:25.359 like Israel's action and genocidal behavior against Palestinians, and that 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:30.199 has cost me a lot of followers, speaking engagements and 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:34.080 so on. But I understood. But I know I am 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:37.080 a privileged person and I can take the hits and 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:38.879 be okay with that. Like I think those of us 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:40.840 who have more privilege need to be thinking about that 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:43.399 privilege and figure out how we actually use this to 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:46.160 make the world better. And that means sometimes we got 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:50.000 to take the flak because you know, like marginalized people, 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:53.280 women of color, disabled people, trans people have often taken 0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:55.760 a lot of the hits over years and years, and 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:57.639 it's really time for us who have more privilege to 0:20:57.640 --> 0:20:58.000 step in. 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:03.760 Well well said, I know that this conversation should be 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:05.359 continued and will be continued. 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:08.960 So let's do uh. 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.360 Let's let's make sure that people know you know your 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:13.320 social media so that they can tap in with you 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.359 and get your thoughts, and of course, mention the website 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:18.919 one more time where people can find your blog. 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:22.240 I'm at nonprofit AF dot com and you can find 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:25.440 me on Instagram at nonprofit AF dot com. As well 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:29.480 as Facebook and Twitter. I'm still calling it Twitter. 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:34.800 And then Leanna make sure people know how to find 0:21:34.800 --> 0:21:35.280 you as well. 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:37.440 Definitely, And I just want to give a shout out 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:40.200 to Community Centric Fundraising dot com as well. I think 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:42.960 that people should get involved there figure out how we 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:46.280 can reshape and reimagine what nonprofit and philanthropy looks like. 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:52.359 Sorry dot org, so sorry Community Centric Fundraising dot org. 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:57.959 But yeah, there's lots of helpful tools and ways, and 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:00.280 I think just kind of getting a firmer hand on 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:04.160 what that means so that we can reshape that together 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:09.000 as a community, and then people can find my organization 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:14.080 at Azypetproject dot org as well. And on social media, 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:18.840 We're on Instagram, LinkedIn Facebook, we have opted out of Twitter, 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:23.480 slash x, and we are at the Arizona Pet Project. 0:22:24.119 --> 0:22:24.439 Listen. 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:26.600 I'm not mad at at the opt out of Twitter 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:31.399 slash x so hashtag same. But if you would like 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:35.000 to follow us, we are at civic Cipher on all platforms. 0:22:35.040 --> 0:22:37.480 Of course, you can download this in any previous episodes 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:41.080 at Civiccipeer civiccipher dot com. 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:42.800 Try to give us a follow on. 0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:48.560 YouTube because we are growing there and your support would 0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:50.840 be well received and also don't be afraid to make 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:53.800 a donation again at civiccipher dot com. I'd like to 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:55.639 thank you both for being on the show today and 0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:57.280 until next week, y'all peace,