The events of the last year, continuing to this year, have called on us to deepen practices that center intersectionality, solidarity, racial justice, and mutual aid. Organizers have been working one-on-one with people in communities and side-by-side with other organizations to support people’s immediate needs and build movements for love, dignity, and justice.

The pandemics we face today—the murder of Black people by the police and COVID 19—further expose the illusion of who and what the US is as a nation. It amplifies the ugly truth, one that many, especially BIPOC, have always known: Our nation was built upon and continues to be fueled by structural racism, an extractive and exploitive economy and a broken democracy.

An individual social movement can span many generations. During that time, it is likely to face many different, complicated political contexts. As time passes, a social movement develops its analysis of a problem and changes the language and definitions of things.

Money is a flashpoint. It illuminates existing and historic inequities in our movements and communities.  It often sparks organizational anxiety about competition. It stirs personal feelings around money and class. Network conversations around funding are conversations about power. Yet, to have impact at scale, networks must both leverage existing resources and raise additional new resources.

As leaders work together to increase scale and impact through networks, many of us are asking practical questions about how to create governance and leadership structures within the networks that can advance work, make decisions, encourage accountability, embody stated values, and strengthen our movements more broadly. As we’ve worked with leaders, organizations and networks across multiple movements on questions of governance and leadership structures, some shared elements in the structure of their network formations have emerged.

Robin Katcher, MAG Senior Advisor, participated in an Innovation Challenge workshop this past Spring as a part of the Future Forward project. Future Forward is an innovation process exploring new, sustainable ways to resource Forward Together. It brings together an incredible group of Forward Together staff, funders, movement builders, strategists, and storytellers.

Like many movement networks, the Coalition for Abortion Access and Reproductive Equity (CAARE), was started by a group of leaders who came together because what they were doing individually, in their own organizations, wasn’t enough to realize their social change missions.

How can grantmakers help strengthen and sustain impactful and agile movements? In the closing plenary from GEO's Supporting Movements conference, Sarita Gupta of Jobs with Justice and Kierra Johnson of Choice USA, joined by funding partner and session moderator Vanessa Daniel of Groundswell Fund, discussed some of the ways grantmakers both help and hinder efforts to accelerate policy and systems change.

Two years ago, President Barack Obama announced a regulatory change that guarantees labor protections for an overlooked group of workers: home caregivers. At his side, beaming with triumph, were members of the Caring Across Generations campaign.

To understand how leaders are adapting to work in movements, the Management Assistance Group (MAG) (now Change Elemental) launched the Network Leadership Innovation Lab —a multi-year program of dialogue, analysis, and active learning.

The Lab convened social change leaders and other practitioners to advance our shared knowledge about leading at the nexus of organizations, networks, and movements. It stimulated innovative thinking and experimentation; captured and shared learning; and identified ways to support and strengthen the work.