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October 31, 2025
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In the new Netflix film Steve, we get a fictionalized look into the lives of a group of passionate, broken, loving, rattled and yet fiercely-committed administrators and educators providing residence and education to children who have run into trouble in society. As the film opens, a television crew has come in to film a probing and politically-problematic segment on the facility for a day. And, unfortunately, on this day it seems everything that can wrong does go wrong --- including the revelation that the school's funding has been pulled and they'll have to shut down immediately.
In all honesty, throughout most of the film the residence seems so out of control that the viewer might agree that closing would be a blessing to all the people that live and work there. In fact, at one point, one of the young residents corners the main character, a troubled teacher called Steve, and asks, "Why do you even give a shit?!" Steve stares on dumbfounded and tongue-tied, but his passion for the place and the troubled boys they serve there --- even in the hard times -- is evident in his face.
Working with vulnerable populations is some of the hardest and most thankless work on the planet. The people that are doing it are often fighting with social systems, a resistant "client" base, and probably a fair amount of their own fear, disappointment, self-doubt, and cynicism. A career in direct care work is a daily commitment to the possibility of maaaaybe making a small shift in the seemingly insurmountable problems of our society. Those who do it well are patient, persistent, and resilient. However, that resilience is built brick by brick, day in and day out, and still remains fragile enough to be bulldozed in the blink of an eye.
This film was a stark reminder that this kind of labor is not just something to be turned off and on when it's convenient to the-powers-that-be. Direct service providers operate below the surface and at the margins helping to hold our world in place or pull things back together when they've fallen apart. If we continue to be careless and casual about their well-being, we will continue to lose vital champions and the crucial battles that their tireless labor makes possible.
Here are the links:
1) Unending war forces farmer coop out of Ukraine
CHS Inc. is a cooperative owned by more than 325,000 U.S. farmers. It purchases, stores, processes, and exports grains and seeds, and has assets in over 70 countries worldwide. It has operated a subsidiary in Ukraine since 2008, exporting corn, wheat, and other crops and seeds. However, war-related risks lead their shareholders to call for a retreat from the nation.
3) Activist NYC church seeks license to demo and create support fund
Proving, once again, that no landmark in NYC goes down without a fight, the leaders of the West Park Presbyterian Church are pushing for permission to demolish the structurally-compromised building and put the proceeds from the sale of the land into a $30 million social justice fund and mixed-use
Founded in 1890, the city-landmarked church has long been a center of activism and advocacy --- from fighting anti-Chinese bigotry in the 19th century to serving meals to New Yorkers with AIDS in the 1980s. For that reason, a coalition that includes actor Mark Ruffalo and the church's tenants have launched a campaign to fight the demolition.
If approved for razing and sale, the Upper Westside church's intended developer plans to erect a mixed-use building that will provide not only worship and community space but also housing.
4) DC nonprofit winds down, creates endowment
When CulturalDC, a 25-year old Washington DC arts organization, made the difficult decision to close due to federal funding cuts and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the group looked into how their remaining funds and resources could continue to be of service to the community. Proceeds from the sale of its theater, The Source, provided them with a tidy sum to seed an arts fund at Howard University.
5) Indiana arts group shares designs on ending
Formed in 1970 as the Evansville Arts Council, the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana bolstered artists and musicians in the area for seven decades. The Arts Council's closure comes amid an avalanche of cuts to arts programs and wind downs of art spaces across the state and the country. (see CR #37 for more recent art space sunsets)
6) Russian domestic violence charity closes, hampered by "foreign agent" status
Just shy of its 10-year anniversary, Nasiliu.net has advised its community that it must cease operations. While the group has helped tens of thousands of domestic violence survivors over its lifespan, an increasing number of people had advised that they were hesitant to continue reaching out for fear of being associated with "foreign agents".
Despite the center’s closure, its founder says that its team of lawyers and psychologists would continue providing independent support to victims of domestic violence.
7) Rural Iowa newspapers are closing shop, but not without a fight
"When you lose a new source in a small town, no one else is coming in to cover that town," Vonnahme says. "The Des Moines Register, the Omaha World-Herald, they're not going to send reporters to a small town in western Iowa because their staff is so small to begin with."
Great coverage in Axios on strategies for saving rural news in Iowa and throughout the US, and what happens when these efforts fail.
8) Matchmakers Help Charities Find Merger Partners "
"Spinning out assets to another nonprofit can be a quicker and easier process than a full merger, and it’s something that can be coupled with a wind-down," says Hilda Polanco, who leads BDO’s Nonprofit & Grantmaker Advisory practice and is one of the leaders of Nonprofit GPS.
“The term ‘responsible closure’ is one that we hear people feeling comfortable with,” Polanco says. “And often there’s an understanding that it would be really helpful to transfer some of the assets — or intellectual property — to save that legacy that’s been created.”
Another great piece from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, where they are doing a pretty admirable job helping folks in the sector get their heads around the idea of endings and mergers.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Nov 3 to 14, 2025 - Educopia Transition Office Hours (online)
- Nov 6, 2025 at 15pm ET - Tending Our Grief mini-workshop (online)
Join us for a collective pause; an opportunity to reflect, name, and witness the unique forms of grief we carry in our sector.
- Nov 11 at 7:30am ET - Tending to Endings in Museums
Are you, or your museum, struggling with something you need to bring to a close, give up or pass on? Join us to explore how we close, dispose and end well. (online)
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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