Giving Compass' Take:

• Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) shares some lessons from its 2018 Nonprofit Management Institute, in which civil society leaders discussed how we can create more diversity and equity in a politically divisive world.

• Whether through the arts or finance or our own offices, the wisdom described here is valuable for our nonprofit work and a good reminder that social good is worth the fight.

• Here's more from SSIR on how civil society acts as a public conscience.

In his opening keynote for SSIR's 2018 Nonprofit Management Institute, Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, shared a simple message that captured much of the spirit of the conference: "When oppressed people win, they win for everybody."

That point — along with others from Robinson about the nature of power and the importance of continually assessing the nonprofit sector's efforts to bring about change — led to a standing ovation for his speech. It was one of several rumbling rounds of applause that marked this year's conference, "Toward Real Change: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion."

The gathering brought together several hundred scholars, philanthropic leaders, and social justice advocates to explore, understand, and celebrate the making of a more equitable world. Over two days, speakers discussed the importance of viewing the disadvantaged as collaborating colleagues rather than passive recipients of aid, the relationship between justice and people's intersecting identities, techniques for effecting change, the opportunities for progress nested amid the thorns of today's public discourse, and much more.

Read the full article about why helping the oppressed helps us all by M. Amedeo Tumolillo and Eden Stiffman at Stanford Social Innovation Review.