My first week of Moxie? Check. And I have absolutely loved it.

In just one week, I have been extremely impressed by what all my organization does. Observing the countless ways that Sanctuary serves the NYC area has left me in awe.

Yet, for me, I am conflicted with the nonprofit sector. Not on their work, but on this entire infrastructure. I am pushed to question what is Sanctuary, and other nonprofits like it, actually working towards? Meaningful change or only temporary aid, which in the end will only perpetuate this system of inequality? I feel like sometimes these shelters and centers can just continue the cycle. As Gilmore questioned, why aren’t organizations working towards liberation?

In my work learning more about grants and nonprofit funding, I have seen how organizations can be so limited by their endless pursuit of funding, which is why long-term change and the liberation of which Gilmore speaks, can seem almost impossible. Nonprofits are coerced into being extremely program-focused in order to receive money and continue to function as a whole.

Essentially, this structure of nonprofits renders organizations somewhat of an arm to the government, forced to cater to this system which perpetuates these issues in the first place. If Sanctuary was able to work towards liberation, rather than temporary relief, I can only imagine the change that this organization would be able to accomplish. They have the vision, the drive, and the change-makers, yet their fight for funding limits their ability to collectively act to solve these problems.

The more I learn, the more negative I begin to feel toward society and the system within which we are all forced to accept. But relief in the moment and having people in this world that genuinely want to help this community is better than not having nonprofits at all, right? #Confused