Why We Are a Nonprofit, Even While Questioning the Nonprofit Model

The nonprofit industry is not working well. We hear this again and again from the people who reach out to Future Prairie. They write about being treated terribly by nonprofit HR departments and being ghosted after multiple rounds of interviews. They share stories of losing jobs at unethical nonprofits, or leaving the sector entirely after witnessing harm done. We are not imagining the contradictions in nonprofit and philanthropy work. Many people entered this work because they cared deeply about social change but now feel betrayed by their institutions. This has especially affected people working at the Portland Art Museum. They live with fear of speaking up about the injustices they witness, because speaking up can cost someone their reputation and their livelihood. This context matters for how we talk about our work at Future Prairie.

We are a nonprofit, but it's not because we think the nonprofit model is inherently good or just. Right now it is the structure that allows Future Prairie to pay artists, move resources, and exist in an industry that requires a mountain of paperwork. People collaborate with and volunteer for Future Prairie because they are tired of being mistreated elsewhere. We try to do things differently, not perfectly, but consciously.

At the same time, Future Prairie's work is heavy. Every big project we've done names and/or carries someone else’s pain. We take that responsibility seriously and often ask ourselves how to honor these stories and turn them into something that leads to power changing hands. 

We need this work to be sustainable emotionally and financially. Naming harm matters, but it is not enough on its own. We want to point toward what could exist instead. Future Prairie as a community–based organization is for people who believe another way is possible. We do not believe artists' only choices are to work inside broken systems or walk away from the work entirely. We believe we can face what is broken, tell the truth about it, and still imagine and build alternatives.

​A tangible example of one way we've done this is through our work with Oregon Community Foundation. We gave them direct feedback on numerous occasions that their grant application standard operating procedures were too complex and administratively burdensome. Now, Oregon Community Foundation's grant applications are quicker to complete, and easier to process, than any other foundation in the Pacific Northwest. We are proud of this impact and hope to continue to do this type of work in our sector. ​