An Open Letter to Social Impact Leaders
Dear friends,
Lately, we’ve been having the same conversation over and over—with nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, founders, and advisors.
It starts with a quiet truth: “This doesn’t feel like it used to.”
There’s more tension in the room. More uncertainty in planning. More risk in simply saying what your mission has always been about.
If you’re leading an organization—whether it’s grant-funded, revenue-driven, or both—you’ve probably felt it too.
The shift is real. The rules have changed.
You’re still being asked to deliver outcomes, prove impact, and show growth—but the political and cultural conditions that allowed that work to thrive are eroding. The words that used to signal progress—equity, justice, sustainability—now carry more than political risk. The system isn’t just resistant. It’s reactive.
That’s not just frustrating. It’s disorienting. And scary.
What we want you to know is:
You're not imagining it. You're not overreacting. And you're definitely not alone.
So how do you create impact when the system is in disarray—and naming injustice makes you a target?
You start by working on your mindset. The fear, the scarcity, the self-doubt—they’ll creep in if you don’t name them. You need practices that anchor you, habits that restore you, and relationships that remind you why you started. This isn’t self-help. It’s leadership hygiene.
You work on your systems. The ones that were built for predictability will break under pressure. You simplify where you can, decentralize decision-making, and build in slack so your team can adapt. Systems are not just workflows—they’re containers for resilience.
You work on your brand. Not to market. To clarify. To say out loud what you stand for, who you stand with, and what you refuse to compromise. Your brand becomes a stabilizing force—something people can trust when the rest is uncertain.
These are the three areas of your work most vulnerable to fear—and also the most powerful when aligned. That’s where the real impact begins.
This moment will require more parts of you as a leader than you knew you had. But take heart. You’re part of a larger field of people learning how to lead inside uncertainty, with courage shaped by complexity and clarity grounded in purpose.
We see you. We respect the weight you carry. And we trust the wisdom you’re cultivating as you walk through this fire.
And we are with you each step of the way.
In solidarity,
Virginia & Justin
Made for This Moment
Social impact work in the United States has always been complicated. Now it’s dangerous.
The system isn’t just resisting change—it’s retaliating. The Trump administration has made it clear: if your work challenges dominant narratives around race, gender, equity, or justice, you are a target. Whether you’re a nonprofit executive, a social entrepreneur, a DEI consultant, or a liberation-focused educator, you’re no longer just a changemaker. You’re being positioned as an enemy of the state.
This is a threshold moment.
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