Closing Remarks #38

In my blogpost about possible reasons to close an organization, one of the reasons I note is safety, meaning when the well-being of any stakeholder or group of stakeholders is at significant risk. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many art spaces, community centers, schools, and churches had to quickly hit pause or even, in some cases, completely shut down. As we all know, the pandemic experience was shot through with uncertainty, and it took us all quite a while to know when and how it would be safe to gather in these places again.

In other cases, the danger is expected and organizers intentionally and tactically barrel into an unsafe ending. Such was the case of the Global Sumud Flotilla. While all the individuals aboard the humanitarian flotillas into Gaza were given extensive training on how to handle turbulence and aggression at sea, they were aware that there was a high probability that their ships would be intercepted and seized before they arrived. An intentional ending precipitated by running headlong into danger was expected and --- in large part --- the point.

The term scuttling refers to the practice of intentionally sinking a boat to either dispose of it, save it from enemy capture, or possibly even to create or extend a reef for divers and deep sea creatures. In a sociopolitical moment like our own, it makes sense to consider the power of the scuttle. What might it mean to wield our weakness as a weapon? What in our world is already so imperiled that we might want to consider intentionally sinking it now to make way for what is sailing up next?

Here are the inks for this week:

1) Welsh youth sailing charity scuttles, sells off boat
After 16 years, Challenge Wales, an organization that supports young people in developing life skills via nautical training, has closed due to insurmountable financial pressures. As part of winding down operations, CW has transferred ownership of its 72-foot Challenger training vessel to a partner organization, Tall Ships Youth Trust.

Tall Ships has a similar mission to CW and plans to use this new boat to expand the number of youth it serves from its base in Portsmouth, England.

4) Why One Charity Chose to Wind Down While Still Flush With Cash

“I’m not trying to be the angel of death,” Smyth says. “It’s really about recognizing that mission and organization are not the same thing — yet they get conflated so easily.”

A great profile of the well-crafted closure of the Full Frame Initiative (that also includes a nice little mention of me and The Wind Down!). FFI's outgoing ED Katya Fels-Smyth is a valued thought partner and source of inspiration for me. Please join the community gathering on Thursday, 23rd October, where Katya will be sharing more on this admirable and enviable ending.

5) Plastic pollution-fighting group wraps up
Bristol's City To Sea, an organization that spent a decade pushing for a reduction in plastic usage and an increase in recycling, is now halting operations owing to unfavorable macroeconomic trends. In closing, the group's leaders have called on the government to pick up their ecological mission.

6) Maps illustrate the impact of mass pharmacy closures in Pennsylvania
This one really hit since many of my local pharmacies recently closed! I am pretty sure this is a really troubling nationwide phenomenon of consolidation.

7) Bay Area homeless support org to sunset
Palo Alto's Downtown Streets Team helps people find jobs and housing in exchange for volunteering to clean up local streets. However, a sharp and abrupt cut in funding and city contracts means that the group will no longer be able to service the communities it supported in 16 towns throughout the Bay Area, including San Jose, Marin, Berkeley, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.

8) Century-old Polish dairy cooperative kicks the bucket
Lidzbark Welski Dairy Cooperative has been running continuously since the turn of the 20th century, operating as a valued supplier and source of pride for generations of people in the Polish regions of Warmia and Masuria. Rising costs and fierce competition tanked the dairy, taking with it their famed Welski cheese.

9) "No Time Like Now: 'Giving in Time'”
"There are many other arguments I could make in favor of giving in time. Still, ultimately it comes down to this: From political polarization to climate change to widening inequality, we face serious challenges that catalytic philanthropy can help address. There’s no better time than now for philanthropy to act with urgency, focus, and creativity. "

In this brief but thoughtful piece in Chronicle of Philanthropy, Raikes Foundation cofounder Jeff Raikes makes an impassioned plea for aggressively pulling forward funding timelines. Raikes previously served as president of Microsoft’s Business Division and CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Closing Remarks is brought to you by The Wind Down, a consultancy for exploring, building, designing, and delivering better endings for mission-driven projects and organizations, and also raising closure consciousness. If you're enjoying it, please support my work.