News & Views
Theo Rigby
Latest Posts
Meeting the Moment. Together.
Photo: Brenda Muñoz, UC Labor Center & Maria Rogers Pascual, LeadersTrust by Masha Chernyak In a few short months, the decisions and actions made by the next administration will have generational implications–not for just two or four years, but for decades to...
Telling A Story of Liberation, and Ourselves
The Fund for Liberatory Practice at the LeadersTrust The Fund for Liberatory Practice (the Fund) was launched in 2022 by the Resilience Initiative and the LeadersTrust to help support and amplify the field-building and exploratory work of liberatory practitioners more...
“HOME is where the Love is”
Whole Communities Project is proud to announce our magazine “HOME is where the LOVE is”. This magazine is for people firmly entrenched in their quest for liberation and adamant about bringing their formations and communities along. In it, you will find in-depth...
How Can We Create Pathways To Mobilize and Diversify Revenue?
To truly change the world, we must revolutionize how we invest in our leaders. At the heart of LeadersTrust's mission is the commitment to truly listen and accompany our leaders through their challenges and triumphs. We've heard their urgent calls for sustainable,...
Introduction to the Thrive Perspectives Series
Funding trust-based capacity-strengthening: what it is, why it matters, and how we know.
Thrive Perspective: What Do We Mean By Trust-based Capacity Strengthening?
A framework for the most important areas of capacity that organizations need now more than ever, and that foundations should make clear they are willing to invest in.
Thrive Perspective: What Does Trust-based Capacity-Strengthening Funding Look and Feel Like?
Some key Do’s and Don’ts for how funders can invest in organizations’ capacity in ways that show they really listen, cede power and decision-making, and create space for transformation.
Thrive Perspective: What Forms Can Foundation-supported Capacity Strengthening Take?
MYGOS of course! But trust-based foundation investments can take other forms each of which builds on the last. We share four ways to help grantees get stronger.
Thrive Perspective: What Is the Case for Capacity-Strengthening Funding and How Can it Best Be Made?
Despite positive results and glowing feedback from grantees, foundation staff still find it hard to make the case for capacity support. We offer some of the strongest arguments and evidence.
Thrive Perspective: Capacity Strengthening at the Systems Level.
How integrating a systems perspective is a crucial but sometimes neglected principle for integrating racial equity within capacity strengthening efforts.
Cultivating Leadership: Reflections on My Nonprofit Capacity Strengthening Internship at The LeadersTrust by Quetzalli Munoz
My name is Quetzalli Munoz. I am a first-generation college graduate from UC Berkeley. I found out about The LeadersTrust (LT) through UC Berkeley’s Social Welfare department. My interests in social media marketing and nonprofit work led me to apply to The...
Love with Rigor: What Buddhist Heart Practices Can Offer Our Sector by Maria Rogers Pascual
Discover the four ways of loving in Buddhism and how they can guide us in building a more compassionate, liberated world. Maria Rogers Pascual explores these ancient teachings in this blog—essential for anyone looking to lead with love! Am I leading with love? It's...
Imagineering & Liberation: A Conversation with Sidney R. Hargro, CEO of The LeadersTrust
In this inspiring interview, Sidney R. Hargro, CEO of LeadersTrust, shares his journey of self-discovery and transformation, from overcoming burnout to embracing his creativity and authenticity. Discover how Sidney's passion for photography shapes his philanthropic...
Reflection: Thinking Integration
October 2023, the LeadersTrust program director, Maria Rogers Pascual, and executive director of Resilience Initiative, Janet Nami McIntyre, took a trip to Costa Rica to practice contemplative and mindfulness practices with a community of other nonprofits. In this...
The Revolution Will Not Be In English Only, Part One: Beginning A Language Justice Journey
ENGLISH The Revolution Will Not Be In English Only, Part One: Beginning A Language Justice Journey Recognizing the Need for Language Justice One of my earliest memories around language was in elementary school when my parents would attend parent-teacher conferences...
Celebrating an FLA Partner
A core part of our mission at the LeadersTrust is to invest in the leadership and organizational capacity of changemakers. The Flexible Leadership Awards (FLA) is one of our time-tested models that provides long-term tailored support to leaders and organizations,...
Liberating Leadership Transition
A Case Study in partnership and purpose between NPAG and The LeadersTrust: As leaders in the social sector, we find ourselves in a dynamic moment of uncertainty and urgency. Our communities and families are asking for healing, and our institutions,...
Reflection: Reimagining Capacity Building
In our fifteen years of partnering with community-based organizations, the Flexible Leadership Award (FLA) has been the primary vehicle by which we have provided support to organization leaders. It is an opt-in initiative which is offered to the grantee organizations...
Podcast: Sidney on Fund the People
Sidney guests on the Fund the People podcast and dishes on a range of topics, including: his journey through philanthropy, the Flexible Leadership Awards, and the importance of investing in leadership, on top of general operating support.
Inside Philanthropy Feature: “Building on 15 Years Supporting Heads of Nonprofits, The LeadersTrust Is Expanding Its Work”
In a recent article at Inside Philanthropy, Sidney talks about the the Flexible Leadership Award, and how it offers an opportunity for leaders to focus solely on building their leadership and deepening their organization’s capacity.
The LeadersTrust on the Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently featured the LeadersTrust and Sidney in a September article on executive leadership, “Haas Fund Spreads Its Work to Coach Nonprofit Leaders to Thrive”.
Press Release: The LeadersTrust Welcomes Sidney Hargro as Executive Director
Today the LeadersTrust is thrilled to announce that Sidney Hargro will serve as the organization’s first Executive Director.
Why Leadership Matters
The LeadersTrust’s Inaugural Executive Director, Sidney Hargro, reflects upon the journey he’s had leading up to this moment, the lessons he’s learned along the way about fostering leadership, and what he hopes for ahead.
Jeanne Bell: Lightning in a Bottle
NPQ contributor Jeanne Bell covers Lightning in a Bottle, which includes case studies and practical guidance for seizing and thriving through a viral movement moment. The report’s primary author, Adela de la Torre, calls it a love letter of sorts to the often-unsung...
A shared vision for building capacity for liberation
What happens when leaders from almost a dozen different consulting groups convene to learn from one another and make progress toward equity and collective liberation? Learn more about their shared vision through easy-to-read infographics. The LeadersTrust...
Marcus Walton: Leading While Black
Get to know the LeadersTrust Advisory Board Member Marcus Walton in this interview from Nonprofit Quarterly. Hear his reflections on his leadership journey. This article is part of the NPQ series of personal essays lifting up Black male voices to highlight the...
Holly Delany Cole: Empathetic. Direct. Restless
“What I strive to do wherever I am is be part of noticing or finding the truth of something – the ‘what truly matters’, and getting other people to care about that, and not the attendant b.s.” Get to know the LeadersTrust interim ED, Holly Delany Cole. What advice...
Linda Baker: Strengthening The Hearts And Lungs Of Social Change
In this blog published by CEP, the LeadersTrust Advisory Board member, Linda Baker says: “One of the most powerful ways that we can support our partners is through “capacity building” — providing a responsive mixture of training, support, and engagement that extends...
Beth Rayfield: Creating a Culture of Fundraising
“As a former organizer, I believe in the saying that every worker is an organizer. As a development professional, I also know that every organizer is a fundraiser.” Beth Rayfield has led fundraising at two organizations that have received FLA support: The Center...
Linda Wood: What does it take to support Leadership and Effectiveness in Movements?
With so much at stake for social change movements, former Program Director at the Haas, Jr. Fund, Linda Wood, shares why investing in leadership is strategic. This blog was originally published by the Packard Foundation. Hear from the LeadersTrust Advisory Board...
Paula Morris: Building Better Nonprofit Boards
“One of the worst-kept secrets in the nonprofit world is that you’re much more likely to hear a litany of complaints about boards than affirmations.” Paula Morris, former director of the Flexible Leadership Awards, shares how boards can become strong partners in...