Yesterday, MacKenzie Scott announced a generous commitment of $2,739,000,000 in gifts to 286 organizations, and the Building Movement Project (BMP) was one of those groups. We are humbled by the recognition of our work, and gratified to be among so many long-standing partners who also benefited from Ms. Scott’s commitment to invest in organizations and […]
On February 21, 2020, the Mary Turner Center for Advocacy honored Linda Campbell and the Detroit People’s Platform with the Nida Donar Social Justice Award. Linda has worked for over forty years in the nonprofit and governmental sectors. Her career began in public health and social services, working at the Center for Disease Control in […]
In the late 90s and early 2000s, one of the Building Movement Project’s founding members, Linda Campbell, was working with service providers struggling with shrinking budgets and increased need in her own hometown of Detroit. Linda watched as public funding for services to people living in poverty was cut. At the same time, the City […]
A Session with UndiosUS Affiliates Written by Noelia Mann On a snowy second-day of Spring, I facilitated a workshop with BMP Co-Director Sean Thomas-Breitfeld at the UnidosUS Leaders in Action Summit in Washington DC. UnidosUS, formerly NCLR, was established in 1968 to serve the Hispanic community through research, policy analysis, and state and national advocacy efforts, as […]
Written by Jesse McGleughlin Jesse is a recent graduate of Brown University and a 2014 Fulbright recipient. Earlier this month, Aisha Sultan wrote an article for the Atlantic titled “The Limitations of Teaching ‘Grit’ in the Classroom.” In it, Sultan critiqued the idea that if low-income children just transform their mindsets—develop perseverance, a good attitude, […]
Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld This past week, the Building Movement Project Team had the privilege to hear from several leaders in Los Angeles about how the implementation of Obamacare is being leveraged by forward-looking organizations as an opportunity for movement building. We met at one of St. John’s Well Child & Family Center’s many clinics in South Los Angeles. […]
Written by Frances Kunreuther Each year the people who provide you with technical assistance, organizational development, leadership training, transition management, and a host of other supports for nonprofits meet together at the Alliance for Nonprofit Management conference. This year it is practically in our back yard – in Newark, NJ – and Sean and I will be headed there […]
Written by Caitlin EndykeSean Thomas-Breitfeld This piece originally appeared in Transformation, a new online publication from Michael Edwards and openDemocracy. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “Detroit?” Government bailouts for the auto industry, perhaps? A ruined city that has largely been abandoned? Or maybe the “cheap suits” from Chevrolet who shot Kenny […]
Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld Posted by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, Co-Director Here at Building Movement, we often talk about the importance of devoting time for learning as the first step in the Transformation process of integrating social change values and activities into the work of service agencies. Our staff and project team are always trying to address tough questions facing the […]
The North End Woodward Community Coalition, a longstanding BMP partner in Detroit, recently made headlines by announcing that it will file a Title VI Civil Rights complaint against the Detroit Department of Transportation, alleging recent bus cuts came without proper notice or public hearings. The severe cuts to bus service in the city hit transit-dependent […]
