The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex
by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
people who think about radical social change alot
This is a skinny book, but each article is alot to think about.
I've been excited about the discussions that incite! is raising around the idea of the non-profit industrial complex. every social change organization that i've been involved with has had pain and conflict and compromises and inability to surface conflict around money/funding issues. so i think i place alot of unfair expectations on this book--i want answers. i want to be effective & take care of relationships & surviv...more
I've been excited about the discussions that incite! is raising around the idea of the non-profit industrial complex. every social change organization that i've been involved with has had pain and conflict and compromises and inability to surface conflict around money/funding issues. so i think i place alot of unfair expectations on this book--i want answers. i want to be effective & take care of relationships & surviv...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
activists, organizers, academics, non profit workers, social service providers
I've read almost all of the entries in this anthology so I am declaring it read! I would like to revisit this book again to finish the unread pieces.
This book is excellent. A definite must read for anyone who works in or supports the nonprofit industrial complex, and especially those who see nonprofits as a solution to the destruction caused by global capitalism (a viewpoint that the book dismantles!).
The book includes a real diversity of voices on this topic and examines it fro...more
This book is excellent. A definite must read for anyone who works in or supports the nonprofit industrial complex, and especially those who see nonprofits as a solution to the destruction caused by global capitalism (a viewpoint that the book dismantles!).
The book includes a real diversity of voices on this topic and examines it fro...more
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3 comments
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
non-profit employees
Wow. I love books that completely change my way of looking at the world. This is the kind of book that you can't help bringing up in conversations for months after it's over.
This is great for anyone who is working for social change, and is still trying to figure out the best way to do that. Basically, this anthology discusses the ways in which the non-profit industry may actually be limiting our capacity to create real revolutionary change in the U.S. and abroad. Although non-profits are...more
This is great for anyone who is working for social change, and is still trying to figure out the best way to do that. Basically, this anthology discusses the ways in which the non-profit industry may actually be limiting our capacity to create real revolutionary change in the U.S. and abroad. Although non-profits are...more
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bookshelves:
social-work-school-or-relevant
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
maybe people who haven't already thought of this stuff
At times I start getting really, really burnt out on radical leftist complaining. This is one of those times, probably because I've read too much of it recently for school.
I don't know. So far this book reminds me of that great cartoon from years ago of the artist who's painted a picture of a guy in glasses and a suit and underneath it the letters "FUCKING ASSHO" only apparently the artist has just run out of paint, because he's turning to the guy standing next to him -- the exact ...more
I don't know. So far this book reminds me of that great cartoon from years ago of the artist who's painted a picture of a guy in glasses and a suit and underneath it the letters "FUCKING ASSHO" only apparently the artist has just run out of paint, because he's turning to the guy standing next to him -- the exact ...more
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Read in May, 2008
This book is great! It is a collection of essays and some of them are fabulous. My favorite was an essay by Paul Kivel called "Social Service or Social Change?" which you can read online here:
http://paulkivel.com/articles/...
There is also a really exciting essay by Alisa Bierra of Seattle's own Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) called "Pursuing a Radical Antiviolence Agenda ...more
http://paulkivel.com/articles/...
There is also a really exciting essay by Alisa Bierra of Seattle's own Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) called "Pursuing a Radical Antiviolence Agenda ...more
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bookshelves:
movement,
tools-for-change
Read in March, 2008
This is a pretty wonderful collection of essays, put together by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, covering the rise of the Non-Profit Industrial Complex and it's vampiric and co-opting effects on radical movements for social change. Some of the essays are more compelling than others, but I particularly found the historical background of the NPIC undercutting and distorting radical movements of the last 25 years revelatory. Plus the case-studies of groups that went for the 501(c)3 tax st...more
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Read in May, 2008
This anthology discusses the problems with 501(c)3 nonprofits and the reliance on foundation money. Can groups that rely on capitalist loot for their funding ever truly challenge the system?
The first time I read The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, I was working within the 501(c)3 system, and this book helped me find words for the frustration I was feeling (such as having to make projects more palatable to donors by including pictures of starving - but cute - children), and understanding why th...more
The first time I read The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, I was working within the 501(c)3 system, and this book helped me find words for the frustration I was feeling (such as having to make projects more palatable to donors by including pictures of starving - but cute - children), and understanding why th...more
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Read in May, 2008
Conceptually i was really into this book. after the first couple of essays, it really started to repeat itself, which given the nature of some essay type books, i had trouble getting the motivation to pick it up and move on. i really gained from the personal stories of struggles that lead people to understand how the non-profit industrial complex works, and how their organizations either succeeded or failed based on how they reacted. Although i agree wholeheartedly with the thesis of this boo...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
liberal do-gooders, nonprofit professionals, academics
These essays collectively blew my mind and provided a whole new lens through which to view the nonprofit sector (and the foundations who feed it), particularly those organizations working for social justice. Some essays were insightful and filled with factual evidence, understanding, compassion, and wonderful anecdotes. Other essays were heavy-handed, one-sided (and thus simplistic), seemingly inaccessible to people without an academic understanding of systems (you know, like the constant droppi...more
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My review from thinkgirl.net:
This radical and visionary anthology explores the proliferation of the nonprofit organization model in the United States, and its implications for social justice movements. The writers rightfully emphasize that this model, in which organizations are accountable to generally wealthy, white persons’ foundations, monitors, stifles, and professionalizes activism at the expense of movements. The book argues that movements must remain accountable to low-income people...more
This radical and visionary anthology explores the proliferation of the nonprofit organization model in the United States, and its implications for social justice movements. The writers rightfully emphasize that this model, in which organizations are accountable to generally wealthy, white persons’ foundations, monitors, stifles, and professionalizes activism at the expense of movements. The book argues that movements must remain accountable to low-income people...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Eric by:
its a long storyrecommends it for: every body
Just started this baby after crossed paths with a professor at UIC who recommended it. My copy just arrived in the mail two weeks ago. Its about how liberal Goo Goos don't fund non profits organizations and programs that might actually empower people to radically change the system. I was talking about this and she asked if I had heard of this book. The rest is history. So far after the first chapter,
I'm blown away!
UPDATE UPON FINSHING
O.K. I finished this yesterday and I was a littl...more
I'm blown away!
UPDATE UPON FINSHING
O.K. I finished this yesterday and I was a littl...more
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2 comments
Read in April, 2007
I'm finding this so refreshing, read it at the perfect time. Really clarified for me how the non-profit structure misdirects social movements.
However, it's totally US-centered and some of the essays in the first half feel really repetitive. Also, I'd like more on what grassroots fundraising can actually look like- I'm sorry, but house parties don't cut it. Because while folks like me shouldn't be paid to organize, sometimes we do need to pay people for their labor so that they can eat. So ...more
However, it's totally US-centered and some of the essays in the first half feel really repetitive. Also, I'd like more on what grassroots fundraising can actually look like- I'm sorry, but house parties don't cut it. Because while folks like me shouldn't be paid to organize, sometimes we do need to pay people for their labor so that they can eat. So ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Kristie by:
Heatherrecommends it for: nonprofit "professionals," anyone interested in building a revolutionary social movement
This book offers an incredible critique of the formation of the nonprofit sector, its reliance on foundation funding, and "professional" activists... all from the perspective of people engaged in radical social action. The central question is whether the nonprofit model (with its ties to capitalism and reliance upon the money of wealthy, White families) can truly produce revolution.
This book shook up the way I see my own role in social change and prompted ideas for how to challenge...more
This book shook up the way I see my own role in social change and prompted ideas for how to challenge...more
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back in the day activists didn't get paid. Now they do. In fact, if you think about it, people actually go to college to become paid activists. I even remember students in political science classes I took in college talking about how they wanted to get jobs with non-profits. But how do non-profits work to support the system? And how can you destroy capitalism when you spend all of your fucking time writing grants to get money from that very system you hate so much? Well, you can't. Sure, ...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone with a high school reading level
This book is crucially important for thinking about making changes in the world today.
While all the essays aren't essential, as at some point you get it and really need to TALK to other people about it, if we are going to make change we need to stop relying on systems that we know won't work...this book outlines very well WHEN nonprofits are such a system (the answer is mostly but not always).
Would love to chat about the set of ideas found in this book or how to go beyond/reign in nonp...more
While all the essays aren't essential, as at some point you get it and really need to TALK to other people about it, if we are going to make change we need to stop relying on systems that we know won't work...this book outlines very well WHEN nonprofits are such a system (the answer is mostly but not always).
Would love to chat about the set of ideas found in this book or how to go beyond/reign in nonp...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is one of the most compelling and critical books I've read in a while. Although some of the arguments are overly rhetorical and simplistic, it provides a sharp question to the ability of real social change to come out of the non-profit field, and the bigger picture forces at work in philanthopy, social services, and professional organizing. Highly recommended to all of us in that field -- it will certainly keep you on your toes and provide excellent fodder for vision and analysis.
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Reading this book scared the shit of me. Like Unions, non-profit organizing can be heavily focused on campaign wins. If we win Campaigns then we're guaranteed our jobs and bread because the funds are continuing to flow. We don't just look at a campaign and ask ourselves if it's winnable. We're asking, "what will our funders think?"
What did I learn?
1. Take care of myself
2. Stay accountable to the community I'm organizing
3. Don't burn out(bringing it back to number 1)
What did I learn?
1. Take care of myself
2. Stay accountable to the community I'm organizing
3. Don't burn out(bringing it back to number 1)
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bookshelves:
currently-reading
recommends it for:
social change activisits and non-profit workers
as i read this book, it is as if my emotions, resulting from my work at a ngo non-profit, are being reflected back at me with a big, clear mirror. the critiques of the non-profit sector confirm my deepest doubts and questions about the problematic aspects of the services and especially the increasing corportrization of non-profits. i'm only on the second essay and want to send this book to everyone i know. i hope it comes accross your path at a perfect time as it did mine.
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bookshelves:
activism,
anthology,
critical-theory,
cultural-studies,
feminism,
globalization,
history,
labor,
political-science,
the-state
An awesome book from INCITE! It was a really great read especially during a time when an organization I was working with was deciding to reclaim its independence from a very disempowering, manipulative "social justice" organization. There were a few essays that were a bit slow or didn't quite belong. Also, it would have been nice to see more essays laying out practical options within an anti-capitalist framework. Otherwise, I totally recommend this book. F the NPIC!
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Read in August, 2007
Lots of helpful essays that frame the current discussions people are having about how the non-profit sector hinders radical grassroots organizing, along with ideas about what kinds of changes would be necessary for it to play a more supportive role (as opposed to its current role of supressing) to movement building in the u.s. i definitely got more out of some essays than others. i recommend reading this with other people!
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