GV in February: Care Work is Work

This is my first beehiiv post! I’m moving this newsletter off of LinkedIn and Squarespace. I’m also about two weeks behind on publishing - but this newsletter has a self-imposed deadline, and I’m trying to become more graceful with myself when I break made-up rules.

I’m reading: No time/energy for books! That said, Marisa Kabas’ The Handbasket has been one of my go-tos for staying updated on the fast, wacky, horrifying news. She’s an independent journalist whose reporting has been keeping a lot of us in the social sector informed. Speaking of “breaking news” - the simple rule of not looking at the news first thing in the morning or last thing at night has alleviated a lot of the anxiety I felt right after Inauguration. What a surprise. I’m also working to make sure I’m not overconsuming chaos and doom – I’m plugged in to what I need to know to do my job well and to be a good neighbor, and I trust that others in my network are doing the same, so that we’ll be able to see the whole picture together.

I’m listening to: DARKSIDE’s new album, Nothing. This is Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington’s experimental project, and I love it so much. I learned about these guys when my brother showed me Nicolas Jaar’s Boiler Room Set from 2013. I haven’t been the same since.

UPDATES:

IN-PERSON WORK + “MUTUAL AID-ING” THE PROFESSIONAL CLASS

I’m gearing up for some travel and in-person facilitation work - and for Good Tech Fest in the spring! I’m thinking about these in-person moments as opportunities for us to check in with each other and to think about give/get - what can we offer each other, and what do we need from each other? More than professional skills/services (which are important right now now), but also - what resources do we each have that we can share? Whether it’s spare cash, clothing, meds, physical space … I think “professionalized” social impact communities have an opportunity to be whole people - sometimes folks don’t need a free scenario palnning session - sometimes folks need gas money!

A HELPFUL FRAMING FOR HELPING ORGS MEET THE MOMENT

Something I’ve been returning to over and over is Daniel Hunter’s article published by Waging Nonviolence, 10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won. There’s a piece of this that has helped me have actionable conversations with clients about data minimization and protection, funding strategies, and spending political/social capital:

This graphic has helped folks (including myself) get out of paralysis and remember where their power is. The last thing I’ll say about this is: “Disrupt and Disobey” is not just throwing bricks through windows: if you saw somebody shoplift, no you didn’t. Don’t be a cop.

LEARNING:

“ADMINISTRATIVE” TASKS & CARE

I’ve been working on a ton of data design-themed projects: Theories of Change + Measurement Frameworks, Evidence Tables (the “why” of data collection before the “how”), and Data Principles. The folks I’m working with are focused on a variety of issues: trans healthcare, LGBTQIA+ rights, early childhood education, health, protecting civil society, and more. One of the throughlines in all of this work is care.

Care, in this context, shows up in several actions that support social change work:

• “Administrative” work:

  • scheduling to accommodate folks’ needs and schedules

  • clear, detailed email correspondence

  • sending out checks on time (or early)

  • taking and sending out clear meeting notes that capture everyone’s input, questions, decisions, and next steps

  • sending meeting agendas ahead of time to manage expectations

• Maintaining and furnishing shared spaces:

  • purchasing comfortable seating (that fits every body)

  • ensuring physical spaces accommodate a variety of sensory needs (avoiding loud lighting, room to spread out)

  • ensuring privacy and safety where needed

• Making space in meetings and conversations to check in and be accountable to one another:

  • shared community agreements

  • shared language to navigate conflict

  • debriefs and opportunities to revisit conversations if needed

• “Operations” or “Governance:”

  • clear organizational and project-based roles

  • clear, reasonable accountability practices

  • consistent guidelines and shared practices for document management and other “in-the-weeds” activities

…there’s more to list here, but these are the activities I’m thinking about most recently. These are often the tasks of the Coordinators, the Office Managers, and the Operations teams. The work of “checking in,” or “making space for feelings” is often feminized and dismissed as a waste of time. What’s more, these activities are often invisible—they’re not captured in impact metrics or case hours—so they’re often under-resourced.

This work - the sometimes mundane, behind-the-scenes work of caring for our organizations and our movements - is what keeps things running. As I’ve been working with colleagues across issue areas on understanding the core activities of their social impact work, what keeps coming up is that care is at the center. Care shouldn’t be categorized as an Admin or Overhead cost - care work is part of what keeps programs running.

And - care work left unattended can really muck things up! Right after Trump took office, the ebook edition of the Simple Sabotage Field Manual by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (declassified in 2008) went viral. One tip to sabotage fascism in the workplace was: “Make mistakes in quantities of material when you are copying orders. Confuse similar names. Use wrong addresses.” There’s so much power here!

So - we’re experimenting to understand: “what happens when we include “admin” as a programmatic/mission-critical activity?” If we outline our assumptions clearly and with credibility, will more funders be willing to fund what they might have previously understood as overhead costs? I hope so. Either way, it’s a really energizing way to think about the work, the data underneath it, and to include Ops folks in Program work in a more explicit and intentional way.

FINDING JOY:

If we don’t have fun, that means the fascists are winning! (this isn’t a pass to ignore what’s going on or bury our heads in the sand, though.)

I’ve been able to find time and space to play and be a goofball, and wow it’s keeping me going. Case in point: I’m almost done painting a New York Mets-themed bicycle:

35 days until opening day, baybeeeeeee!

Other than bikes and baseball, friends, jokes, and moving my body (and not doomscrolling) are keeping my joy accessible.

QUESTION:

How is your organization using its power? Especially if you’re getting more quiet about things like “equity” and using pronouns … I think there’s an assumption under actions like this, which is: “if we stay under the radar, we’ll be able to do more good work.” So - if you’re getting quiet to buy some safety, how are you using that extra space to not only continue your good work, but to provide cover for others who can’t reasonably exist under the radar?

ABOUT GV:

Genevieve (they/them) runs GV Advisory - Guided by collaboration, humanity, and joy, they help social impact organizations embrace data and cultivate a learning culture. This work enables organizations to evolve into entities that operate based on evidence and relationship to community. Reach out to Genevieve at [email protected].