Giving Compass' Take:

• Matt Iverson-Comelo argues that using a startup mindset is the way to engage thousands of organizations to advocate for policy change and strengthen democracy.

• To what extent are you already engaged in social justice philanthropy? Can advocacy advance your social justice agenda? 

• Learn about the role of trust in social justice philanthropy.

What would it mean for society if thousands of individuals and organizations started advocating for policies that advance social justice in their communities?

At a time when inequality is the highest in recorded history and the foundations of healthy democracies are under sustained attack, there is a very real need to build the capacity of people and places to get engaged towards achieving greater equity. To do this, there needs to be a focus on changing public policies, many of which serve as the rules that sustain inequality.

Community-based organizations (CBOs), often serving as direct service providers in their community, are a natural group to lead the charge on changing public policies. CBOs are uniquely qualified, since they’re intimately familiar with the problems in their communities. CBOs generally have budgets that are too small to afford high-end advocacy/campaign consultants like 270 Strategies or Purpose, but they’re big enough to have a local constituency and a network of allies that they can bring to bear on solving a systemic community problem.

Read the full article about scaling social justice by Matt Iverson-Comelo at Medium.