Jan
7
2014
Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld
At BMP we have talked a lot – and for many years – about how service providers are the groups in the nonprofit sector with the greatest reach into low-income communities. They see the immediate problems facing their “clients” (or constituents, program participants, etc.), and they also know that structural barriers too often undermine the success and impact of their programs. But sometimes it’s been challenging to spread our work on service and social change, which is why I’m so excited to be presenting at two conferences that are picking up on the theme of the impact that nonprofits are uniquely positioned to have in their communities.
Next week, I’m heading to the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at Adelphi University to host a workshop on the lessons from community organizing that can be applied across all nonprofits. I’ll be on a panel with Julia Watt-Rosenfeld, whose work we profiled in our fourth report in the 5% Shifts Series. Then the following week, I’ll be in DC for the Service to Justice Conference, which is being organized entirely by volunteers, in order to create an opportunity for DC-based service providers, advocates and organizers to work together.
It’s too early to tell if our ideas about ‘small shifts, big change’ are catching on, but it seems like there are more and more nonprofits interested in making small shifts in their programs to orient their organizations toward social change. And we at BMP are happy to be a resource … and we continue to develop new resources that will be coming soon!!