logo logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Social Change Manifesto

Shafaq Hasan and Aine Creedon
February 17, 2015

 

Editor’s Note: Social Change Manifesto is a republished call-to-action orginally created by the Andrew Goodman Foundation Millennial Advisory Committee. Please view the orginal manifesto here.

Today, economic inequality is on the rise. Equitable access to opportunity is being threatened by failing K-12 systems and ballooning costs of higher education. We are seeing disparate outcomes in education, health, employment, mobility and housing on an unprecedented scale. Communities of color are particularly affected. Despite the best efforts of many who have made fighting poverty their lives’ work, we have failed to turn the tide. And, much needs to be done to protect and improve the health of the environment.

Meanwhile, the entire notion of community has been transformed by revolutionary forces such as globalization and the Internet. Political engagement and activism have begun to take on new forms that have the potential to make power and responsibility more distributed and equitable than in times past.

Yet, we often let the magnitude of the issues lull us into inaction. As much as technology has great equalizing potential, it also makes us less likely to seek out deeper forms of human interaction. Daily, we are overwhelmed by information that leads us to scan for anecdotal evidence rather than to strive for deeper understanding of issues in all of their complexity. Online movements, such as ‘clicktivism’, though important pieces of comprehensive efforts, overemphasize ‘quick fixes’ where the scale of the solution is nowhere near commensurate with the scale of the problem.

It is in this context that we commit ourselves to charting a new path forward. This path must be informed by a renewed spirit of empathy and responsibility for others present and future. We cannot allow technological and social advances to render us short-sighted or allow the previous generations’ heroes to be lost in the Internet’s white noise. When we have the ability to connect and collaborate with virtually anyone across the globe with the click of a button, we cannot be satisfied with surface, knee-jerk forms of civic participation.

PERSONAL

BUILD A WIDE NET

Expand your networks to include folks in sectors and movements beyond your specific interests. The digital space offers great potential to this end.

ENGAGE IN INTER-GENERATIONAL CONVERSATIONS

In order to marry the wisdom of leaders who have driven our most important social movements with the innovation (including technological advances) of today.

INNOVATE & EDUCATE

Strive to make positive change in every facet of your life, from the work you do to the things you buy. Educate others, while being empathetic. Learn from the past successes and failures. Don’t let the status quo define our generation.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

CALL OUT INEQUALITY

When you see or experience inequality, make a point to understand the underpinnings of what systems are in place that lead to that inequality.

CROWDFUND CAUSES

Harness the viral potential of memes to bring awareness to/raise money for causes.

INSTITUTIONAL

MOBILIZE OUR GREATEST HOPE: THE YOUTH

Organize the constituency that has historically been at the forefront of social change — young people — where they are in physical and virtual spaces.

OPEN-SOURCE CHANGE

Today, we have the ability to share and co-create solutions like never before. Engage with the work, ideas, and experience of others to expand the adjacent possible.

HOLD GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE

Some of our most innovative solutions are emerging from the ability of citizens to harness government data for good. Push all levels of government to be more transparent and release data; an increased understanding of policy decisions empowers citizens.

DISRUPT THE SYSTEM

Be bold, think big, and fail hard.

About the authors
Shafaq Hasan

Shafaq Hasan is a Community Builder at NPQ. She is a graduate of Brandeis University where she majored in Art History and spent most of her time working in the office of the student newspaper as the Opinions editor, and later, as an Associate editor. As an undergraduate, she was also a research assistant for the Justice Brandeis Law Project at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism from 2011 to 2014.

Aine Creedon

Aine Creedon is Nonprofit Quarterly's Director of Digital Operations and has worn many hats at NPQ since 2011. She has extensive experience with social media, communications and outreach in the nonprofit sector, and spent two years in Americorps programs serving with a handful of nonprofits across the nation as well as a community organization in Dorchester, Boston. Aine currently resides in Denver, Colorado where she enjoys volunteering, seeing live music, and hiking with her pups Frida and Tucker.

More about: Policy

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Trump Moves to Gut Low-Income Energy Assistance as Summer Heat Descends and Electricity Prices Rise
Conor Harrison, Elena Louder, Nikki Luke and Shelley Welton
“Advocacy Works”: Nonprofit Status-Stripping Measure Dropped from Republican Budget
Isaiah Thompson
Cancer Research in the US Is World Class Because of Its Broad Base of Funding—with the Government Pulling Out, Its Future Is Uncertain
Jeffrey MacKeigan
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely on Them More Heavily in Turbulent Times
Ellen P. Aprill
US Colleges and Universities Have Billions Stashed Away in Endowments—a Higher Ed Finance Expert Explains What They Are
Todd L. Ely
Nonprofits Under Fire: How the IRS Can—and Cannot—Revoke Federal Tax-Exempt Status
Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Esq.

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register

    
You might also like
A close-up of a man with dark brown skin sitting outside in a park with a white towel around his neck. An older woman with brown skin sits next to him, wiping her neck with her towel in the heat.
Trump Moves to Gut Low-Income Energy Assistance as Summer...
Conor Harrison, Elena Louder, Nikki Luke and Shelley Welton
A view of the US Capitol against a blue sky.
“Advocacy Works”: Nonprofit Status-Stripping Measure...
Isaiah Thompson
A female scientist wearing a turquoise protective hair cap, yellow safety goggles, blue gloves, and a blue protective gown peers intently into a black microscope while carefully holding a pipette.
Cancer Research in the US Is World Class Because of Its...
Jeffrey MacKeigan

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.