Southern Partners Fund | Rosetta Thurman

Opportunities for Social Justice Collaboration in the South

September 12, 2010 by rosettathurman · Leave a Comment

The final day of the the Southern Partners Fund 2010 Regional Grantee Gathering in Atlanta was all about ideas for further collaboration. Grantees talked about many of the economic, political and social/cultural trends in the south that were having an impact on their work. One trend that stood out in many of the conversations was that racism and division within various communities has increased due to the state of the economy, with some using race to divide people of limited economic means.

Opportunities for Collaboration

Share resources

Collective resource development
Support for methodology and research
Share outcomes from reflection and evaluation
Share frequent flyer miles to help other leaders get to the same conferences
Use respective funders as a means of connecting similar organizations for collabroation

Share best practices

Leadership development
Accessing funds
Community building
Ongoing training about working with local government
Land retention
Identify training needs
Identify skills and abilities that can be used as collaborative training to address current challenges

Build capacity for collaboration

Build collaboration organically to coincide with specific events throughout the year, i.e. the Southeast Social Forum (conferences present opportunities for a “container” to continue the work)
Ongoing conversations with each other from state to state, community to community, organization to organization about what’s working and what’s not
Identify groups that work on similar issues
Be efficient and effective in collaborative efforts or it will present too much of a challenge for organizations. Collaboration needs to save time, not use more. Time management is important.

Be transparent in collaboration efforts

Utilize MOUs to formalize collaboration
Ensure equitable resource sharing from joint grants
Sharing organizational values upfront
Get buy in from both organizations for joint ownership of the collaborative work

Out of all the suggestions that were put forth, it was clear that organizations need to be more proactive instead of reactive when it comes to collaboration. But by the end of the gathering, grantees had committed to further collaboration in the spirit of community interests over self interests.

Full disclosure: Southern Partners Fund paid me to provide blogging services for this event to leverage the power of social media to share their stories with the wider philanthropic community. The views expressed here are solely my own, however, and I stand by my commitment to authentic coverage of these issues.

Filed Under: Leadership · Tagged With: Nonprofit Management, Social justice, Southern Partners Fund

Hollis Watkins: The Social Justice Movement is ‘Sick’

September 12, 2010 by rosettathurman · 1 Comment

The keynote address for the Southern Partners Fund 2010 Regional Grantee Gathering was presented by Hollis Watkins, co-founder and President of Southern Echo. He was the first Mississippi student to become involved in 1961 in the Mississippi Voting Rights Project of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Highlander Research and Education Center, the Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network, and the Southern Sustainable Agricultural Working Group. Mr. Watkins is a founder and member of the Civil Rights Veterans of Mississippi.

We need to be extremely careful about the words we say. If we remember what is written in Scripture, it says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

So human beings dwell among human beings. And in our quest for knowledge and understanding, words were spoken to us and we spread it, with our words, to others. Now we wonder why young people are the way they are – because we have often used harmful words in raising them. We have put out words that become monsters that we then have to deal with.

The Ego

One of our monsters is the Ego. It starts small and then it grows bigger and bigger. We start to do things, not for good reasons, but to outshine someone else. We will do a little something and become satisfied, saying “look what I did.” But we should never be satisfied with what we have accomplished because there are always other things out there for us to do. There is always more to accomplish.

The Importance of Faith

The Farmer has a lot of faith. He goes out there to plant the seed and has the patience and the faith to wait for it to grow. He knows that he can’t make growth happen all by himself. But we have to have faith in ourselves before we can have faith in anyone else. We need to develop faith in ourselves before we can develop it in other people. We judge other people by ourselves. A thief will not trust you because they know that they can’t be trusted.

Looking Back

It’s important to look back from where you once came from. Once you have knowlege of your past, it better prepares you for wherever you need to go. Too often when we look back, we go back there and we stay there, never moving forward to do what needs to be done. When I look back over where I come from, I know I don’t want to go back there. So I’m not going to be satisfied with where I am today. When I look back at my work, we were not organizers, but we mobilized people. There was not the empowering process that takes place in organizing. We didn’t know any better. We just went on faith and guts to move forward.

The Movement is ‘Sick’

Most of us today don’t work for a cause, we do it to make a little money. If you think I’m jiving, just tell your staff that you won’t have any money for a few weeks to pay them. As as result of the money, we will do a little bit for the cause.

The state of the social justice movement is sick. It’s ill. It’s sick because people have gotten away from doing things for a cause. They’ve gotten away of being responsible to the community and are instead looking out for “what’s in it for me.” In the 50s and 60s people did the work for a cause. Those of us that have reached a certain age, we say, “this is good enough for me” and we don’t want young people to come in with their energy. Young people come in shining with their 200 watt light bulb that outshines our little 25 watt bulb. So we say, “Naw baby, you don’t come in here shining like that, you want to come in here you gotta do what I say, how I say or you can let the doorknob hit you…”

We need to look at and examine the word justice, which is a principle of fair dealings with one another. But because we don’t deal with each other fairly, people always looking for payback because they feel they have not received justice.

We have to come out of a state of denial and say we’re not where we want to be and not where we ought to be. We have to out our resources together for the betterment of the entire community. A lot of us, once we get to a certain level in our organizations feel that this is our personal thing – we run it. We get to a state where we feel we don’t have to answer to anybody. So we need to become the kind of men and women that we think we are.

It’s too often that we talk what’s the role of young people in the movement. They should have the same role as anybody else! All of us are important, yet we look at ourselves as being more important than others. I tell young people:

“If we older folks can’t figure out how to create a space for you, you have to get there anyway. I want you to respect me for who I am and what I have done. but this is your day, your time to shine to use your gift to do what you are here to do. Under no circumstances can you allow me to hold the movement back.”

Getting Over the Fear

We have to get over the fear.

We can’t allow the fear keep us from saying what needs to be said to whom it needs to be said. If you’re not working for a cause then you need to reexamine yourself. We need to reevaluate ourselves and be honest about our shortcomings. If we do that, then we will begin to make a lot more progress than we have. If we know that the words we use become flesh, I hope you will join me and put the word out there for it to become reality.

Freedom come and it won’t be long.

Filed Under: Leadership · Tagged With: Hollis Watkins, Social justice, Southern Partners Fund

12 Ways to Pass the Torch: Trusting a New Generation to Sustain the Social Justice Movement

September 11, 2010 by rosettathurman · Leave a Comment

One of the great things about the Southern Partners Fund 2010 Regional Grantee Gathering is that one of the main breakout sessions is called Passing the Torch: Trusting the Next Generation to Sustain the Social Justice Movement. As the session gets underway, participants acknowledge the importance of preparing new leaders for nonprofit work. They affirm the fact that there has always been youth engagement in major social justice movements.

The session begins with an invitation for participants to reflect on their own leadership journey. They were asked: When did you first realize you were a leader? What did you do? What impact did it have on you?

Some of their stories:

For one man, it started back in his homeland of Peru. He and his wife decided to come to the U.S. to create a better life for their family. He had a job, but it left no time for him to spend with his kids, and he no longer wanted work like a slave at his job.
One woman went to a workshop that changed her life and inspired her to lead.
One man was inspired by his grandmother who got things done for the community through her church – roads paved, etc.
One woman organized a walk-out at her school in the 10th grade over a problem in her school and the teacher they had a problem with lost his job.
One woman became a leader when she became a mother and realized that she wanted to do something good in the world as a responsibility to her children.
One woman recalls when there were immigration raids in Miami Dade County. She was inspired to quit her job to fight the border patrol and educate Latinos about their rights.

All of the leaders were very proud of the work they had been able to do in the community. Most of them were Baby Boomers and were in the session to figure out ways they could pass their legacy of leadership down to the new generation of leaders. One woman talked about her goal (and frustration) to give voice to the young people in her organization. Although they were challenged in adopting social media, participants pointed out the potential value of the tools to advance their causes with the help of younger leaders. The main idea of the session was to emphasize the fact that “passing the torch” has to be intentional because in the nonprofit sector, we’re so busy doing the work to think about sustainability.

Participants discussed several challenges and opportunities related to supporting and developing the new generation of social justice leaders.

Barriers to Passing the Torch

Understanding that the values of each generation are the same, but the needs are very different.
The complex and technical nature of some of our work.
Not being able to come to consensus about the importance of passing the torch. Organizations can be divided on the value of that knowledge and power transfer.
Trust factor – because of previous bad experiences with staff, it can be hard to invite other young people into the organization.
No time to develop a relevant curriculum for leadership development.
We often model bad processes in doing the work – no money, overworked, etc – young people may not even want the torch when we get done with it.
Sharing power and giving them the room and grace to make mistakes.
Resistance to change.
Stereotypes of “younger people” that they are so much more different than older leaders.
Perceived protocols in how young people interact with elders.

Different Levels of Leadership

One leader in the session urged the group to begin thinking about organizational leadership in terms of levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary leaders. He said his job as an Executive Director is to move everyone into that primary circle. If a person starts today, a year from now hopefully you can move them to a higher level.

How can this apply to young people?

Test them out on small things to see what they can do. Leadership development does not happen by itself – if you want to nurture younger leaders, give them opportunities for reflection. And make time for yourself to look at who is in each level and set goals for yourself to move them from one level to another. It’s also important to develop leaders not just to take over as the Director of your organization, but to prepare them to be able to go out and lead in an effective way in any other leadership role they may take. For example, if one of your former staff becomes Chief of Police, they can do that work with the understanding of the big community picture. Young people may not always work in nonprofits throughout their career, but through your organization, they can be educated in the work and be advocates for your cause long after they leave you.

Strategies for Passing the Torch

Host focus groups – ask the young people on your staff what’s working and what’s not working.
Designate a person in your organization whose focus is making sure young people are engaged in the organization.
Board governance – give young people a seat at the board table.
Recognize the value of young people as leaders, not tokens.
Make it a part of your bylaws and codify the value of having young people at the table in your organization.
Ensure visibility of young people at organizational events.
Replicate other organizational models that are working.
Build relationships and meet young people where they are. Meet with them face to face and connect with them on social networks.
Self-reflection – be honest with ourselves about our organizational issues. Become vulnerable again to ask questions and see how we can make things better for everyone.
Help young people build their own torch.
Define what “the work” is for yourself before trying to teach young leaders. We throw around the term a lot about “the work” and we know what it is since we’ve been doing it for so long, but others may not.
Show young people that there is value in doing nonprofit you can make enough money to support yourself in this field.

Out of all of these ideas and strategies that came out of the session, the one about helping young people to build their own torch is the one that stood out for me the most. For me, leadership development is about making the space for people to grow in their own way, not telling them exactly what to do.

Filed Under: Leadership · Tagged With: Leadership, Now Generation Leadership, Social justice, Southern Partners Fund, young nonprofit leaders

A Cultural Approach to Social Justice

September 11, 2010 by rosettathurman · 3 Comments

I’m in Atlanta once again. Although it’s fall in DC, it’s still warm here in the south with the sun beaming down on the city. It’s the perfect space for the cultural opening at the Southern Partners Fund 2010 Regional Grantee Gathering, designed to provide a safe space for the foundation’s grantees to find strength and assurance in one another as grassroots organizations committed to social change in the south. We’re at the Lodge at Simpsonwood in a big room with a piano in the corner and as usual, there is a song. The grantees are here to explore the threads that bring them together in their work, using music as one obvious commonality to kick off a weekend of listening and learning. There are all races and cultures represented here – African American, Native American, Hispanic, white – and the idea is to honor that diversity. As one grantee points out:

“Beyond the song or the dance is a story. The music might be different but the words are the same. We don’t all have to sing the same note, but there can still be harmony.”

Indeed, this gathering weekend is about harmony. It’s also about revival and renewal and being able to go back to do their work better.

Please be patient with me,
God is not through with me yet.
Please be patient with me,
God is not through with me yet.

When God gets through with me,
when God gets through with me,
I shall come forth,
I shall come forth like pure gold.

There are nonprofit leaders here from Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia. Several are from Mexico, Peru, or Lagos originally but are in the U.S. to help their communities get more information and education about their rights. As each grantee introduced themselves, the leaders shared stories about their background, their faith, or their commitment to their community that brought them to this work. This first evening gathering was not just about introductions, however, but a first step to figuring out the common thread: social justice.

I just can’t give up now
I’ve come too far from where I started
Nobody told me the road would be easy
And I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me

Filed Under: Leading by Faith, Philanthropy · Tagged With: Social justice, Social justice philanthropy, Southern Partners Fund

28 Days of Black Nonprofit Leaders: Janine Lee

February 18, 2010 by rosettathurman · Leave a Comment

Janine Lee is President and CEO of the Southern Partners Fund in Atlanta.

From the Southern Partners Fund website:

Janine Lee is a veteran strategist and grantmaker in philanthropy, with more than twenty years of rich and diverse leadership experience with nonprofits and foundations; and expertise in prevention, youth development, education, community building and non-profit effectiveness. Janine most recently served as Vice President for Fostering Opportunity for the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, an Atlanta based foundation with $20 million in annual grantmaking. In that role, she led the development of a strategy articulation process, for two of the Blank Foundation’s four impact areas: Better Beginnings, an initiative aimed at ensuring a healthy, nurturing environment for disadvantaged children from birth through age five; and Pathways to Success, which encourages educational opportunities for low-income youth beyond high school. Prior to joining the Blank Foundation, Janine served as a senior leader at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation where her tenure spanned over 15 years. In her role as Vice President, she provided leadership in the creation of the community building strategy, youth development initiatives and the Kauffman Scholars Program, a $70 million college access program for low-income youth from the inner city. She also managed Project STAR (Students Taught Awareness and Resistance), a nationally recognized alcohol and drug abuse program created and administered by the Foundation.

Janine holds a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, and a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services education. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Lee is dedicated to performing civic duty, currently serving on the board of the Skillbuilders Fund for Women and Girls, a member of the Interfaith Children’s Movement, alumna of Leadership 2000 in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City Tomorrow in Kansas City, Missouri, co-founder and former chair of the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), and a former Rockhurst University Regent. Lee is also a lifetime member of the National Black MBA. Janine is currently the President and CEO of the Southern Partners Fund, a public foundation established in 1998; emerging as one of the most significant organizations in the United States which provides funding, capacity building, operating support and technical assistance to rural organizing efforts in the Deep South.

See also: Janine’s 2009 guest column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philanthropists need to focus on reason for grants

Photo credit: Southern Partners Fund

Full disclosure: Southern Partners Fund is a former client.