Can Your Organization Maintain Unity in an Age of Fracture?

The events of early January in D.C. have shaken many of us to our very core. The sight of the capitol building being stormed is one that has not been seen in over a half-dozen generations, since the war of 1812.

On August 24, 1814, following the Battle of Bladensburg, 4,000 British soldiers marched on America's capitol, eventually setting it, and an array of other buildings (including the Executive Mansion and the Treasury building), on fire. The capitol smoldered through the night, until heavy rains fell the next day.

The capitol did not burn on January 6, 2021, but the damage to the heart and soul of our country was much greater. There are rifts that will take ages to heal, if they ever do. These divisions have been festering below the surface for ages, but now they've finally come bursting through. And there are no quenching rains on the horizon.

In early December, we looked at some predictions about how a Joe Biden presidency could positively or negatively impact nonprofit organizations. Near the top, I wrote that Joe Biden would become president of the United States on January 20, 2021, "unless some drastic and unforeseen event changes the political landscape." Yes, Biden will still be president, but that drastic event has come and left its mark. (Opinions may vary on how unforeseen it was. I included the line because deep down, I had a small knot in my gut telling me that something might happen.)

Biden campaigned on being a president for all Americans. It was a phrase he said numerous times on the campaign trail and again on November 7 when enough results had rolled in for him to be projected as the winner of the election. Following the events at the capitol, Republicans are now also calling for unity. (For them, it may be more a ploy to avoid consequences for the events of that day. But perhaps some are sincere.)

In these divided times, how can your organization incorporate this idea of unity? And is that even possible?

First and foremost is a focus on mission. While politics seem to have invaded nearly every aspect of our lives, the missions of most nonprofit organizations are, at their most basic level, nonpartisan. If you are operating a food pantry, the amount of hunger felt by your clients does not vary based on their political leanings. Focus on the specific task at hand: providing meals. Targeted goals (e.g., offering 700 meals per week) can help you drown out the outside noise and work toward helping your constituents.

Some missions are inherently political. For example, environmental organizations have faced four years of deregulation and the opening of public lands to private interests. While certain aspects of these organizations' work can avoid politics, e.g. a cleanup of a local park, the organizational leadership will have to decide on the tone they want to take in their marketing and advocacy. Will choosing a politically tinged message activate your membership, or will it risk alienating some members or potential members? Organizations must carefully weigh their decisions.

Now is also a good time for organizations to review the laws governing their nonprofit status. The Internal Revenue Code's section 501(c)(3) states that "organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office." Keep in mind that there is a difference between support for a candidate and lobbying, which is activity in relation to specific legislation. So your organization cannot campaign in support of a progressive candidate, but it could promote expansion of SNAP, the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps children and low-income Americans maintain access to food. However, lobbying cannot make up a substantial portion of a nonprofit's work, unless it is a 501(c)(4) organization. (The National Council of Nonprofits has some good information on sorting all of this out.) Make sure that your organization is abiding by the rules so as not to jeopardize your legal status.

We've now reached the point in the article where some authors might make a call for us all to bond together, to join hands and find that if we work together, we can move forward. But what we've seen recently is far beyond what many of us have seen before. Anyone offering easy or comprehensive answers is trying to predict the unpredictable. The road forward will be rocky and treacherous, and none of us know what the endpoint will be.

Your organization may need to take a look inward to see if any internal rifts will affect your work. If such divisions exist, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Smaller organizations might make headway with heartfelt discussions among their members. Other organizations may need to create policies to address differences of opinion that may impede work toward the organization's mission.

For our country, the veneer has been ripped off. There is the distinct possibility that this dream of unity will never be achieved. We may just keep drifting further and further apart. But if that drift happens, the work of nonprofit organizations will become more and more important. People will always need your help. That is your fight. Be brave.