Closing Remarks #30

I don't even know where to start this week. Every time I think I couldn't be more dismayed about a situation ---- Medicaid cuts, starvation in Democratic Republic of Congo, bombing in Ukraine, and Gaza, Gaza, Gaza ---- something else heartbreaking comes flying across my screen or pouring into my ears. The idea that so much suffering could be alleviated by simple phone calls, makes me nuts. At a moment like this, how can anyone feel like they are even making a lick of difference?

The other day, while talking to a friend struggling with a personal situation, I just said, "Focus on getting to completion. Every thing looks bad or weird or confusing in the middle. Even batter for a delicious cake can look a bit odd and unappetizing before it is baked. Just get to done." And so it is that I just keep focusing on these endings, one hotline call at a time and one little newsletter at a time; one foot in front of the other.

I hope things make a little more sense at the other side of this or that thing getting wrapped up.

1) California governor poised to decommission another prison soon
In what is WELCOME news for this California girl, Governor Gavin Newsom has outlined plans in his proposed budget to close yet another prison in the state. While the location has not been named, he expects the chosen facility to be emptied out by 2026. This would mark the fifth such prison shutdown since Newsom came into office.

California has one of the world's largest prison populations, but political, legal, and budgetary pressure ---along with COVID-19 safety concerns --- have forced a downsizing over the last decade; cutting the population nearly in half from its high of nearly 165,00 in 2006. Advocates believe there are at least 5 others that could go in the coming years.

3) Antiracism center out of business amidst scandal, plagiarism
Less than four years after its founding, the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities is over. Its founder, Professor Rachel Hardeman stepped down earlier in the month following accusations of plagiarism from other black women scholars. The collapse comes on the heels of this year's wind down of Boston University's scandal-ridden Antiracism Research Center, which was helmed by controversial showman and educator Ibrahim X. Kendi.

4) Progressive magazine outlet sunsets
After 30 years of advocacy and education, YES! Media is calling it quits. The Washington-based magazine carried news and views from radical and liberal movements around the world, and emphasized innovative and community-centered solutions for global challenges.

In the press release, their interim executive director emphasizes a long period of financial instability that lead up to this moment. As such, they are calling on subscribers to donate remaining subscription balances and also asking supporters to consider making contributions to help defray costs.

5) Podcast explores UK charity disasters
The crack team at Third Sector journal and podcast are at it again! Beginning June 3rd, they will be rolling out their When Charity Goes Wrong podcast, highlighting three notorious British charity blowups. Check out the website and listen along!

6) Nonprofit killer restrained...for now
The legislative clause that had nonprofit leaders across the US sweating through their sheets (for fear of a disastrous overnight change in tax status) has quietly disappeared. Amidst the political machinations that regime officials are attempting to ram through Dear Leader's One, Big, Beautiful Disaster, the nonprofit killing clause was edited out of the wording.

While savvy sector leaders don't believe this is the end of the attack, many are grateful for the reprieve and chance to regroup. We will certainly not miss any fresh attempts to push the measure through!

7) Foundation CEO speaks to Gates Announcement, joy of closing

"What you see immediately when you go into a spend down is this sheen of negativity – people say, “you’re not going to get to do this anymore.” But they rarely talk about what you get to do.
As the guard comes down, the joy goes up. The excitement, the possibilities – you end up gaining so much more than you give away."

In this interview with Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, which is in the last four years of a planned spend-down, speaks to the possiblities of such wind downs. I also recommend checking out his podcast Break Fake Rules.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 11, 12PM ET - Retrenchment and Reconstruction: Strategies for a Sector on the Brink
Join my friends from SeaChange Capital and others from the nonprofit sector in this discussion of strategies to mitigate harm to mission-driven work. Sign up to join them here.

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.