posted on: Tuesday, May 06, 2008

by Yna Moore

There's been a good amount of talk revolving around the future of the nonprofit sector and the next generation leaders.

Rosetta Thurman interviewed NCRP's field director Melissa Johnson for her blog Perspectives from the Pipeline on issues faced by emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector.

Asked about what she'd like to see changed in the nonprofit sector, she replies:

"I would like to see the nonprofit sector define itself and behave in ways that is rooted in the values of the work that we carry out. Why are we in this sector? What is the ultimate goal of our work as a whole? While we have failed and hopefully will not succeed in trying to run our organizations like corporate America, nonprofits exist to serve the public good, to be the connector between government service delivery mandates and the race for the have not’s this creates on the ground. We are the sector that can and should represent those most in need. I think we should all keep this at the forefront
as we truck along day-to-day in this imbalanced and unfair race. We should all
recognize that we have to work together to deflect this imbalance. And, most
importantly, we should remove our personal self-interest from the equation."

You can view the complete interview here.

This week, the staff from the country's foundations and nonprofits are gathered in the DC-area for the Council on Foundation's annual conference. With this year's event titled "Philanthropy's Vision: A Leadership Summit," one can hope that the next generation leaders in philanthropy see their role in making the sector more accountable, transparent and responsive to the needs of the diverse communities it serves.

Yna Moore in the communications director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.