Why are we organizing this conference?

The progressive movement in the U.S. has faced many challenges since the end of the Civil Rights and power movements, and the rise of the neoconservatives and Religious Right. While we have powerful organizations that wage campaigns for social change all over the country, the movement has not succeeded in winning the majority of people in the U.S. to its various causes. One important aspect of the disconnect between the masses and the movement has to do with the fact that most progressive groups in this country are not funded by the people that they serve, or by the communities that they are working to improve or empower.

But fundraising—a sensitive topic that is tied to power, privilege and a host of other uncomfortable subjects—is often the elephant in the room when it comes to organization- and movement-building. It’s the big, disturbing, awkward thing that takes up so much space but that no one wants to talk about. But the impact of our discomfort with talking frankly about fundraising is unconstructive for our movement, and leads to several problems. From “chasing money” for work that is not central to an organization’s mission to “going to scale” due to pressure from funders, there are real limitations to the status quo of raising money from foundations and other large institutions.

The flip side of this dilemma is that nonprofits are getting stuck with more of the work that the government once provided as a public service, such as maintaining libraries and parks. In the 1970s, government funding was 60% of the total income of all nonprofits; today it is 30%. Our tax system is increasingly regressive, and the gap between rich and poor rises daily. United for a Fair Economy and others have documented that private sector giving cannot go up fast enough to replace government funding, even if that kind of privatization were an acceptable solution.  Yet there is little public outcry at the decimation of the public sector and the increasing privatization or elimination of crucial social programs.