September 16, 2025

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Hey everyone! I'm back! Yay!

I made a little video sharing how my month off went.  I am trying to experiment with how video might be useful in my practice, so you might see more of these in the future. If you have any video makers/ "content creators" that you particularly like out there, send them my way. I’ll take the inspiration. Just note that I don't wanna be one of those TikTok floaty-head people. 

And, you, how have you been? I genuinely would love to know. Just hit REPLY up there and give me the update.

I’ll have more to say as the days go by. Despite being “off”, the one thing I continued to do was stack up links; so, there will be no shortage for weeks to come.  Today’s crop along with my usual pithy commentary can (as usual) be found below

1) Organization promoting justice system reform shutters

Equal Justice USA was founded in 1990 to imagine better ways to address the cycle of violence and trauma in the country. The group attributes their decision to close to the shifting funding landscape and a nationwide retreat from efforts promoting diversity and social justice. 

2) As AZ charter schools grow, public schools go

The state of Arizona has been at the forefront of voucher-based charter school expansion in the United States, which has led to a spate of school closures across the state. This Washington Post article highlights the race, class, and legislative challenges that have led to the foundering of their public schools, and the hard decisions faculty and families are being forced to make in the wake. 

3) British violence intervention org ends 

After 13 years of providing direct and radical aid to help hundreds of abuse survivors escape dangerous situations, Domestic Abuse Disruption (D.A.D.) has announced that it will cease operations at the end of September. Founder Trey Gregory cites his own faltering health as the reason he has chosen to wind down activity. 

4) Centre Pompidou’s Pause

France’s national art center, home to a sprawling national library and museum among other institutions, will be out of commission for at least five years as it undergoes extensive renovations. In the interim, Pompidou outposts are planned in Iguaçu, Brasil and Shanghai, China, along with a partnership that will bring the first ever contemporary art museum to Brussels, Belgium. 

5) Major investments fail to keep community-supported grocer open
Despite being the only supermarket for miles around, the Sun Fresh market in Kansas City, Missouri struggled to hold on to clientele and keep its shelves stocked. Community members named petty crime and overall mismanagement as a reason for avoiding the store. The city devoted extensive funds and police patrols, but could not avert the market’s demise. City leaders, however, state that the building itself is in good condition and hold out hope for a new tenant.

6)  Final bell rings at Zuckerbergs’ ‘pandemic pod’ school 

In what I hope is some justice on this planet, the home school that Meta capo and his wife opened on their compound some years back is being forced to close after neighbors complained of "big vehicles with darkened windows” rolling up to take the dozen or so pupils on field trips — a clear violation in their tony Palo Alto neighborhood.

Those readers who’ve been reading CR for a while, will recall how the Zuckerbergs recently defunded their other Palo Alto school when they realized the coast was clear for them to stop pretending they gave two *bleeps* about the education needs of the brown and black kids on the wrong side of the tracks.

7) “What Is More Urgent Than Today? Why Some Foundations Are Choosing to Wind Down”

There is little data on the time frame foundations pick when they decide to spend down. Stupski’s Galaich said that if he had it to do all over again, he’d spend it “by next Friday.” While some grants may not work out, increasing grant volume in a short time frame is sure to provide immediate, and perhaps lasting, results, he said.

Great little article in Chronicle of Philanthropy examining the shifting trends, opinions about, and approaches to spending down foundations. (free, sign in required)

EVENTS 

🌿 The Compassionate Processing Circle Series 🌿

These 90-minute virtual sessions are a dedicated space for nonprofit and arts professionals to breathe, reflect, and connect in community, especially those navigating burnout, leadership transitions, budget shifts, and the everyday overwhelm of this work.

Whether your team members are carrying grief, anger, worry, or joy, these circles provide a space for them to show up fully and be witnessed in solidarity with peers across the country.

Facilitated by:

❣ Calida N. Jones & Rebecca Novick

Session Dates:

📅 July 31 | August 28 | September 18

⏲ 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET / 4:00 – 5:30 PM PT

💵 Free for all staff of current Creative Evolutions partner organizations

Registration link here

(Sliding scale of $5–$30 available for others)

Yours in the end,

Camille

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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.

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