Across the country, essential health and human service programs are being gutted. Authoritarian politics are reshaping public institutions and undermining basic rights. Climate disruption, housing crises, and rising inequality threaten the very communities nonprofits exist to serve.
In this moment of historic volatility, the nonprofit sector’s inability to fulfill its transformative potential isn’t just a missed opportunity; it’s a liability. The stakes for both the sector and society are high, yet our forums for renewal feel disconnected from the urgency of the times.
It’s not that nonprofits fail to deliver an invaluable public benefit. They are foundational to American civil society. Yet, in a rapidly changing environment, they are constrained — held back by the limitations of an outdated business model.
Read the entire commentary on Substack In The Center Lane With Herb Paine →
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