Letter from Leadership
Five years ago, in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the global Movement for Black Lives, we released the original Crises as a Catalyst as a call to action for racially equitable leadership.
That resource aimed to make sense of a critical time, offering reflection, care practices, and inspiration for collective transformation.
Today, crises continue to surround us through government-sanctioned violence and ongoing attacks. In response, we are offering Crises as a Catalyst 2.0, not just an update, but an evolution. This toolkit emerges from hundreds of conversations; it reflects the wisdom and needs we’ve heard from leaders across the sector, including those who completed our recent State of the Sector survey, nonprofit and philanthropic partners we work with daily, and movement leaders we are honored to be in community with. These leaders know that navigating crisis is not just about survival; it is about transforming how we lead, how we relate, and how we build structures that allow us to thrive and create lasting change.
Our intention is for these workbooks to serve as a tangible resource that helps identify practices to foster more sustainable leadership and organizational infrastructure. Inside you’ll find reflection questions, prompts and activities that individuals and teams can use to navigate crisis with courage and creativity. We want social sector leaders to know: your well-being matters. Joy is possible while we change systems. Our healing is essential for collective liberation. You are not alone. Together, we are powerful.
With love and admiration,
Bianca Anderson, CEO
Introduction and Intersecting Crises
Times of crisis challenge social sector leaders in extraordinary ways. The unprecedented circumstances brought forth by COVID-19 and the global uprising for Black lives in 2020 called on each of us to individually reflect, collectively support, and intentionally adapt our leadership to meet the urgent needs of the moment. In that crucible, Crisis as a Catalyst was born; a call to evolve our leadership practices toward a long-term vision of a world free from systemic oppression and rooted in race equity, where all people thrive.
Now, half a decade later, the context has shifted, but the priority remains. In this second iteration, Crises as a Catalyst 2.0 emerges in response to a new set of converging crises that demand not only reflection, but courageous transformation.
These crises are not isolated, they are interlocking expressions of structural racism, white supremacy, and systems of control designed to suppress movements for justice and silence the voices of those most impacted.
Across the social sector, we are witnessing:
The Crisis of Disinvestment and Downsizing — a quiet but deliberate pullback from racial justice commitments, the erosion of equity-centered infrastructure, and a return to risk-averse funding that sidelines liberatory work.
The Crisis of Political Weaponization and Retaliation — a climate of heightened repression where BIPOC-led organizations, equity-centered leaders, and social movements face state surveillance, legal threats, and public vilification.
The Crisis of Uncertainty and Silencing — pervasive instability, emotional exhaustion, and fear that weaken our trust, organizing capacity, and ability to boldly imagine new futures.
How to use this toolkit
The Crises as a Catalyst 2.0 Toolkit is a flexible, values-rooted resource designed to support nonprofit leaders, boards, funders, and community organizations as they navigate today’s intersecting crises. It can be used for self-reflection or team sessions. You can move through the workbooks however is most supportive to you.
Get Started
- Download our Thriving Through Uncertainty opening workbook to begin your journey
- Engage our Thriving from Within and Thriving Together workbooks below
- Register for our upcoming Crises as a Catalyst 2.0 Public Webinar on January 29 at 1PM Eastern here
- Stay tuned for additional workbooks designed for organizations, boards, and funders.
Thriving Through Uncertainty Workbooks
Thriving Together and Thriving Within are workbooks designed to support social sector leaders and teams facing today’s overlapping and intensifying crises towards building personal resilience and disrupting isolation. They offer simple practices and practical reflections to lead with clarity, purpose, and stronger relationships for collective resilience.
The opening workbook provides background on this series—what it includes and why it matters now. It also gives you a moment to pause before diving in, though you’re welcome to move ahead to the first two workbooks.
WORKBOOK 1
Thriving Within supports individual leaders with grounding oneself to lead with clarity and purpose.
WORKBOOK 2
Thriving Together supports leaders and teams with strengthening relationships for collective resilience.
Register for our upcoming Crises as a Catalyst 2.0 Public Webinar on January 29 at 1PM Eastern.