“Your squad is a small group of people you can trust without question. First and foremost, they must be people who fundamentally wish you well and want you to succeed, not just in work, but in life. They must be able to celebrate and be genuinely happy for your success, without jealousy or envy. They should not be “yes” people who offer you empty praise no matter what you are doing, but rather those who are willing to be honest with you, even if that means challenging you.” ~Vanessa Priya Daniel in “Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning”
If you’re looking for advice, inspiration, and lessons learned in the world of social justice, community organization, and philanthropy, then look no further than this book. The quote above is one of my favorites, because it reminds me that who I choose to surround myself with affects my work, my thoughts, and my life.
Kimberly and I were fortunate to hear Vanessa speak at Charis Books & More, the South’s oldest independent feminist bookstore, back in March. And then we got to continue the conversation on the Fundraising HayDay Podcast HERE. And oh, how we talked about things…
Vanessa founded and ran Groundswell Fund, an organization that moved over $100 million to grassroots organizations, for 17 years. They’ve supported groups like Florida Rising to end racist gerrymandering and Wisconsin’s Freedom, Inc. to build electoral power that resulted in the election of state supreme court justices who were value-aligned with the community.
“First off, there is never not going to be a power dynamic between funders and grantees,” says Vanessa. “So, I think we can disabuse ourselves of that. When we achieve the world that we’re all dreaming of, philanthropy won’t exist in the same way because there won’t be the kind of accumulation of wealth in the same way and so there won’t be the power dynamic in the same way.”
But in the meantime, there are things that can be done to even the playing field. Groundswell Fund includes a supermajority of former or current grassroots organizers, mostly women of color, as a part of every decision-making group within their organization, from staff up to board members. They also brought together donors and representatives from Donor Advised Funds with community organizers to talk about what was really needed in communities, to help donors open their eyes to true needs.
“You’re in spaces where people say things that trigger you; they don’t understand your lived experience, your history,” says Vanessa. “We have to have rigor about teaching each other. We have to have a thick enough skin to know that we’re in this not because we’re here to get some comfortable utopia. We’re in this uncomfortable experience because that’s the way we save all of our lives.”
When you’re standing up for change and others, it’s not always easy. And it can be especially uncomfortable to those of us coming from a place of privilege (whether because of our race, gender, or socioeconomic background), but when you have that privilege there is a responsibility to work with others to save all our lives.
This can look like collaborating with other agencies. It can look like reading a book like “Unrig the Game” to understand what others have experienced and learned. It can look like passing on a grant opportunity that your organization doesn’t need but helping a grassroots organization put together a proposal because that funding will go a long way towards change for that community.
“Every single generation pushes the next. And that’s always the way it should be,” says Vanessa.
Vanessa spoke to a tremendous lineup of women of color leaders, and she referred to many of them as her elders. She clearly was mentored by activists who helped raise her, which included listening, correction, setting boundaries, praise, and tough love.
It made me pause and think about the many lessons I learned along the way, from a boss who taught me that family comes first; from a mayor who was a true public servant and always listened to the community AND his staff; and to so many peers who taught me that philanthropy is more than just grant writing but thinking about the disparities and inequities in this world.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the topics Vanessa covered in our podcast and her book. I think I highlighted half the book because she shared so many nuggets of wisdom. One of my favs was from the final chapter of the book where she shared her hope of women of color in leadership embracing five pieces of advice:
Take a listen. Take a read. And give us a shout (email hello@haydayservices.com), because I have a feeling it will reenergize your work as much as it did mine.
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