When the news broke a few months back about my nonprofit Swipe Out Hunger acquiring the College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA), we received an overwhelming positive response alongside a dose of skepticism about the term “acquire.”

“Acquire? What are you, a corporation?”

From our beginnings more than ten years ago, I designed Swipe Out Hunger to be anything but a traditional charity. Rather than running the same program each year, we learn and adapt our work—from acquiring other nonprofits to writing legislation that moves us closer to actually ending the issue of college student hunger.

While more and more in our sector push for real systems change, here are three practices that could advance your justice work.

  1. Welcome mutually beneficial partnerships.
    In our early days, it always felt like we were on the team of students vs. the world. While this excited and galvanized our student community, it also left us disconnected from major systems that needed our influence. As changemakers, we need activists working outside of and within the system.
  2. Dispel the myth that all social impact requires martyrdom.
    The new generation of leaders knows that this work is not a sprint nor a marathon, it is a relay race. Developing a team culture of self-care and support has been central to our evolution, especially over these last two years.
  3. Deal-making shouldn’t be taboo.
    Last year, our nonprofit partner CUFBA—a beloved, highly regarded, and expert association—asked us if we’d carry their work forward as their infrastructure wasn’t where they needed it to be. With my organization’s expanded capacity and our deep mission alignment, the answer was an overwhelming yes. This was a chance to bring CUFBA’s wealth of resources under one roof and ultimately, better serve our community of students, administrators, and advocates who are invested in ending student hunger.

Read the full article about social justice work can benefit from entrepreneurship by Rachel Sumekh oat Blue Avocado.