Blog

Earlier this month, a small group of roughly 50 people gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico to discuss what a liberatory movement for community economic development might look like. For many, it was their first in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic. The convener? CEO Circle, an informal network of leaders of color of national community development organizations. Founding members of the loose network are Akilah Watkins-Butler of the Center for Community Progress , Tony Pickett of...

They toiled through back-breaking labor during both frigid winters and blazing summers. Hundreds died from explosions, landslides, accidents and disease. And even though they made major contributions to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, these 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese immigrants have been largely ignored by history. Hilton Obenzinger, associate director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University, says that Central Pacific Railroad director...

In the last two years, this five-cylinder engine has propelled funders to break through historic barriers to change. Global crises of the past two years have yielded at least one silver lining for nonprofits: They have accelerated a movement among grantmakers to match the duration and flexibility of their funding to the arc and demands of change. Such a shift couldn’t come at a more important time for organizations addressing acute threats to climate, health, our social fabric, and world...

For children and families, last year’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit provided crucial support, helping them afford basic needs like food, clothing, and housing. Yet this historic policy achievement that almost immediately reduced child poverty was fleeting. Just six months after the first payment went out, the opportunity to help children thrive abruptly ended. The expanded policy was never extended, and these families are now right back where they started. Research shows that long term,...

The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) reflects on progress made in the recently-passed Fiscal Year 2022 budget and the fight ahead in FY23. Congress passes appropriations legislation annually to fund the federal government, including federal agencies and their programs for businesses and local governments. Each year, funding levels are subject to change: while new programs begin and others grow, some shrink or are cut altogether. CTIPP is working toward a society that...

In her new book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World , Patrisse Cullors starts with courageous conversations. She says, “We have courageous conversations because our goal is to live inside of a healthy community that values the dignity of every single human being.” These conversations typically arise out of our lived experiences. They are conversations we have because we care. They are conversations that first start with us. Through Cullors’ own story, she...

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, a wave of fear ran through the country that led America to violate the civil liberties of tens of thousands of its own citizens. In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans and people of Japanese ancestry in ten camps throughout the country. Two-thirds of those interned were U.S. citizens. The smallest of the camps, Amache in southeast Colorado, housed...

We live in a time when climate disasters, political violence, religious and social persecution, and imperialist wars worsen the international refugee crisis, and children are some of the most vulnerable in the tragedies of forced migration. UNICEF reports that “Children make up less than one third of the global population, but almost half among the world’s refugees in 2020. … The refugee population is much younger than the overall migrant population.” It recorded that almost 1 in 3 children...

The social sector aims to empower communities with tools and knowledge to effect change for themselves, because community-driven change is more likely to drive sustained impact than attempts to force change from the outside. This commitment should include data, which is increasingly essential for generating social impact. Today the effective implementation and continuous improvement of social programs all but requires the collection and analysis of data. But all too often, social sector...

In many Asian Americans communities, such reluctance to seek mental health care is common. A 2007 study by Jennifer Abe-Kim, a psychology professor at Loyola Marymount University, found that less than 9 percent of Asian-Americans sought any type of mental health services compared to nearly 18 percent of the general population nationwide. A survey released in October by the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 77 percent of Asian Americans with mood disorders reported...

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Committee, released the following statements on inclusion of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA) in a bipartisan appropriations deal. The bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022’s tribal provisions will restore justice for Native...

Dr. Karyn Harvey, noted expert on trauma with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) argues, “Trauma in people with IDD is the elephant in the room.” Yet, few IDD organizations train their staff about trauma, address trauma in the people they support, or recognize how re-traumatization can happen in their programs. This 60-minute webinar will discuss how TIC could strengthen your organization and how to determine your readiness to make this rewarding change.