Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex [Online]
Full Tuition: $320 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Leigh Campoamor | 5 Weeks | Wednesdays | July 24 - August 21 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM ET | ONLINE
There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States, and nonprofits represent a significant sector in the global economy. The term “nonprofit industrial complex” has been used to refer to the ways nonprofits are enmeshed in powerful webs of elite influence from funders, who represent corporate and state interests. Many who work in the non-profit sector do it because they value the expressed goals of the organizations. But according to at least one critique, nonprofits not only work against the interests of the historically marginalized communities they claim to serve, but they have also co-opted the language of social movements, which limits the way we conceptualize social change.
In order to understand how nonprofits came to dominate the organizing landscape, we will look at both the history of nonprofits and the role they play in contemporary neoliberal capitalism. Questions we will consider include: Does philanthropic funding direct nonprofit work away from community building? What does it take for organizations to sustain themselves, and does their own maintenance disrupt their capacities to address systemic problems? Is the non-profit industrial complex just a tool for increasing the wealth of elites and sustaining a middle-class professional class? Or is there a way forward for social justice organizing that doesn’t require professionalization, corporatization, and competition for resources?
By honing our critique of the non-profit industrial complex, we’ll also be able to think about possibilities for the future of nonprofits. Can nonprofits be sites through which people build radical consciousness? And can obtaining 501-c3 status create a certain legitimacy through which communities can channel vital social justice work? We will consider the role of nonprofits in the United States as well the proliferation of NGOs on an international scale, under the rubric of global development. And together we’ll explore how critiques of the nonprofit industrial complex might allow us to ask deeper questions about the world we want to live in and imagine ways of achieving it. Readings/viewings might include the following authors and organizations: INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; Dean Spade; Ruth Wilson Gilmore; Arturo Escobar; Dylan Rodriguez; and Christine E. Ahn.
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Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing 50% or higher tuition tiers in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.
Full Tuition: $320 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Leigh Campoamor | 5 Weeks | Wednesdays | July 24 - August 21 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM ET | ONLINE
There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States, and nonprofits represent a significant sector in the global economy. The term “nonprofit industrial complex” has been used to refer to the ways nonprofits are enmeshed in powerful webs of elite influence from funders, who represent corporate and state interests. Many who work in the non-profit sector do it because they value the expressed goals of the organizations. But according to at least one critique, nonprofits not only work against the interests of the historically marginalized communities they claim to serve, but they have also co-opted the language of social movements, which limits the way we conceptualize social change.
In order to understand how nonprofits came to dominate the organizing landscape, we will look at both the history of nonprofits and the role they play in contemporary neoliberal capitalism. Questions we will consider include: Does philanthropic funding direct nonprofit work away from community building? What does it take for organizations to sustain themselves, and does their own maintenance disrupt their capacities to address systemic problems? Is the non-profit industrial complex just a tool for increasing the wealth of elites and sustaining a middle-class professional class? Or is there a way forward for social justice organizing that doesn’t require professionalization, corporatization, and competition for resources?
By honing our critique of the non-profit industrial complex, we’ll also be able to think about possibilities for the future of nonprofits. Can nonprofits be sites through which people build radical consciousness? And can obtaining 501-c3 status create a certain legitimacy through which communities can channel vital social justice work? We will consider the role of nonprofits in the United States as well the proliferation of NGOs on an international scale, under the rubric of global development. And together we’ll explore how critiques of the nonprofit industrial complex might allow us to ask deeper questions about the world we want to live in and imagine ways of achieving it. Readings/viewings might include the following authors and organizations: INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; Dean Spade; Ruth Wilson Gilmore; Arturo Escobar; Dylan Rodriguez; and Christine E. Ahn.
—
Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing 50% or higher tuition tiers in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.
Full Tuition: $320 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Leigh Campoamor | 5 Weeks | Wednesdays | July 24 - August 21 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM ET | ONLINE
There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States, and nonprofits represent a significant sector in the global economy. The term “nonprofit industrial complex” has been used to refer to the ways nonprofits are enmeshed in powerful webs of elite influence from funders, who represent corporate and state interests. Many who work in the non-profit sector do it because they value the expressed goals of the organizations. But according to at least one critique, nonprofits not only work against the interests of the historically marginalized communities they claim to serve, but they have also co-opted the language of social movements, which limits the way we conceptualize social change.
In order to understand how nonprofits came to dominate the organizing landscape, we will look at both the history of nonprofits and the role they play in contemporary neoliberal capitalism. Questions we will consider include: Does philanthropic funding direct nonprofit work away from community building? What does it take for organizations to sustain themselves, and does their own maintenance disrupt their capacities to address systemic problems? Is the non-profit industrial complex just a tool for increasing the wealth of elites and sustaining a middle-class professional class? Or is there a way forward for social justice organizing that doesn’t require professionalization, corporatization, and competition for resources?
By honing our critique of the non-profit industrial complex, we’ll also be able to think about possibilities for the future of nonprofits. Can nonprofits be sites through which people build radical consciousness? And can obtaining 501-c3 status create a certain legitimacy through which communities can channel vital social justice work? We will consider the role of nonprofits in the United States as well the proliferation of NGOs on an international scale, under the rubric of global development. And together we’ll explore how critiques of the nonprofit industrial complex might allow us to ask deeper questions about the world we want to live in and imagine ways of achieving it. Readings/viewings might include the following authors and organizations: INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; Dean Spade; Ruth Wilson Gilmore; Arturo Escobar; Dylan Rodriguez; and Christine E. Ahn.
—
Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing 50% or higher tuition tiers in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.