Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex [Durham, NC]

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $320 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.

Instructor: Leigh Campoamor | 5 Weeks | Wednesdays May 1 - May 29 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM ET | IN PERSON, 719 N Mangum St., Durham, NC

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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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion. 

Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity. 

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.