Transition of Power

So many in the nonprofit sector experience the transition of power on an annual basis with the onboarding of new board members and even more evident in the transition to a new board chair or board president. The governing body dynamic changes, an influx of new agendas surface and the history of the work accomplished up to that very moment quickly fades.
 
This inaugural day we experience the transition in power that changes our country’s dynamic, infuses a new agenda and charges past the efforts that have led to this day. Only time will tell how it will alter the work we do as a nonprofit professional. For some of you it will likely improve, for others it will bring challenges, and then there are those that won’t even notice anything different at all.
 
Let’s face it, public service is tough. People don’t always realize just how challenging it is until they roll up their sleeves and get to work.
 
The last few months have been rough. An unpredictable end to an intensely divisive presidential process has left many in the social change world reeling. So now what? Will the nonprofit sector be asked, or even forced, to do more and more? Will nonprofits become even more essential to fulfill the needs? Will nonprofits be asked to dig deeper and pick up where government leaves off?
 
What seems to build in importance is the need to stand together as a sector. Collectively we need to stop apologizing for being a nonprofit. Stop reacting as if the nonprofit sector is substandard to other sectors. We’ve got to use our voice, speak up and claim our role in the ecosystem. With the steady growth in our sector there is no need to be sidelined as a small piece of the pie, the nonprofit sector is becoming recognized for our undeniable and pivotal role we play in our economy, our institutions, our systems. Now is the time we rise up and take our rightful place as a critical force in shaping a sustainable future.
 
There is a need for more organizations to speak to the anxieties and fears of Americans across the nation. We are all interdependent upon each other. Our community benefits from the good work each of us do in our sector and our community prospers when we unite our efforts. Let’s use this transition to power as an opportunity to trust one another and raise our sectors credibility. It’s important that we unite as a sector to be a voice united.
 
There’s a saying that states, “there are three types of people in this world, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.”  Please join us at Nonprofit Connect, stand up for our sector, and unite with a voice filled with human kindness and good and make things happen.
 
Let’s come together and transition the power of our voice.

Luann Feehan
Executive Director
Nonprofit Connect