Hey you!
At the beginning of every month. I feel so confident that I am going to churn out So. Many. Issues. of CR, and then I look up and it is almost the end of the month, and I have only done one. A friend told me not to beat myself up; she thinks the infrequency is good. In a world of 20 kajillion Substacks and deals! deals! deals! clogging our inboxes, a newsletter that comes ehhhhhhvery once in a while sticks out. It’s a rare treat! I’m trying to look at it that way.
In the meantime, I want you to know that my infrequency is due in large part to the fact that I am out here doing the work of delivering care-ful closures. I am trying to reason with angry members, soothe the nerves of well-meaning nonprofit CEOs, make sure we are giving the right level of info to trusted board members, help employees think through their Next Things, and the list goes on and on….plates are spinning y’all! But it’s all for you and this movement of trying to do endings well. I am gaining so many wild and wooly experiences that will all feed into newsletters and blogposts and other words that I am so grateful I get to share with you and you and you!
Thanks for reading this….whenever it gets to ya!
Here are the links:
1) Alaska LGBTQ clinic closure highlights queer care crisis
In May 2026, just shy of its “golden” 50th anniversary, Identity Alaska announced it was shuttering. Among the reasons listed were financial strain and employee burnout. Draconian laws at the state level coupled with drastic Medicaid cuts in Washington have created a situation in the US, where health centers serving this beleaguered community have found it increasingly difficult to keep their doors open.
2) UK community services org hits 40 and falters
Since 1986, Gatehouse, which is based in Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk has provided such varied services as a food bank, furniture reuse project, community cafe, social supermarket and overall wellbeing support. Despite an effort to raise operating funds off the back of the anniversary celebration, they did not reach their goal. They’ve given themselves until the end of August to tie up loose ends and find other local groups to carry forward some of their work.
3) Community museum calls it quits but keeps swimming program afloat
Stages of Freedom is a Providence, Rhode Island-based nonprofit known for its downtown museum and bookstore that shared the stories of Rhode Island’s African American community and also offered youth programming such as its free swim empowerment program. After their building was sold to a new owner, they were forced to shut down their physical location and pivot their focus.
However, its organizers — longtime local activists — say they are undeterred by the loss. They plan to double-down on their commitment to uplifting Black Rhode Island and ensuring that local black youth (who are statistically 76 times more likely to drown in a pool than white children of the same age!!) learn to swim.
4) Funds no longer flow for menstrual product provider
Helping Women Period in Lansing, Michigan was created to raise awareness about the phenomenon known as “period poverty”, which means a female-bodied person has inadequate access to either sanitation, products, time, and education to deal with their menstrual period. Since 2015, the group was able to distribute more than nine million products It also pushed Michigan to repeal its tampon tax in 2021 and funded a pilot program to provide free period products in schools, among other accomplishments. While leaders say the need is still great, the group was forced to sunset operations due a large drop in funding and donations.
5) Beloved Hong Kong bookstore enters its final chapter
As Chinese government policies reach further into Hong Kong, cultural actors are being forced to make hard decisions. When Elmbook in Mong Kok was informed that it would not be able to participate in the Hong Kong Book Fair this year, due to “imported Taiwanese books”, the shop’s owners realized the end was near. While an exact date has yet to be shared, their lease will be up in April 2027.
“This has not been an easy decision. We badly need a better food system. For many years we persisted despite organizational challenges because of our dedication to the mission of AJP: to transform the food system by seeking justice, fairness, and empowerment for everyone from farm to retail.
However, after an extended process to evaluate our programs and future possibilities for our work, we still lack the resources to keep going. While we take this step of closure with heavy hearts, we also know that many of our friends and collaborators are doing vital, beautiful work to transform our food and agriculture system and win a better world for our people. We trust that this transition for AJP will make space for new voices, new visions, and new projects to emerge that continue the important work of fighting for the people of the land.”
I am completely bowled over by how much loving care the Agricultural Justice Project put into signing off from the food justice fight. Their sunset report is an absolute masterclass on how to depart while leaving breadcrumbs and planting seeds for the future!
7) Signing Off with Gratitude and Joy
“It is a gift to have four years to end well. Instead of fading into our sunset, we decided to pursue a more ambitious goal: to embed the principles and practices of high-quality, equity-centered listening into key philanthropy infrastructure partners and make funder listening to shift power standard practice in the sector.”
A fantastic announcement from the Fund For Shared Insight. I love how loving, orderly, intentional endings are coming more and more into the fore!
Yours in the end,
Camille
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