Dear Colleague, Maya Angelou once said, “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” For over a decade, we’ve strived to do just that, lead with courage, honesty and humility in all that we do. In holding those values close, we’ve found ourselves at a pivotal point in our organizational journey. Our Board, in partnership with our Interim Executive Director, has decided to sunset AchieveMission at the end of 2020. We are proud and humbled by the impact of our partnerships and the lasting impact these engagements and relationships have had and will continue to have in the nonprofit sector and civil society. This was a difficult decision, as our commitment to creating a more equitable social sector has remained unchanged. However, the very fabric of our ecosystem has been deeply disrupted by the challenging consequences of COVID-19 and has influenced our decision to step back. While this is tough, we are encouraged by the surge in work across nonprofits to deepen diversity, equity and inclusion efforts following the reckoning against racial injustice that began this summer. Eleven years ago, AchieveMission was founded with the goal of increasing the impact achieved by nonprofits by enhancing the sector’s perception and practice of talent management. Over time, we evolved to supporting organizations with the important adaptive leadership and intersectional race equity frameworks needed for equity-centered organizational practices and structures. Since 2010, we have served over 84 organizations who continue to carry forward AchieveMission’s impact in structures, programs and practices and culture. Though our organization is closing, our work is not done. AchieveMission is currently led by two Black women, Interim Executive Director Angela Romans and Board Chair Crystal Sewell, and we have followed the guidance we often provide to our clients - listen to Black women in your organization. The Board is following their direction on what is next and we will all work together to steward a successful transition. We will continue to support the expansive and capable ecosystem seeking to infuse anti-racist leadership and talent practices into how we do everything in our organizations. This includes transitioning our intellectual and remaining financial assets to partners in the ecosystem. We also plan to share lessons learned from this organizational sunset with the field in the coming months. Our staff is deeply committed to continuing to support the sector. Angela will be consulting focused on her passion for supporting nonprofit leaders of color, especially in the education space. Patrick Garrity, Senior Consultant, has embarked on a new endeavor, Tailwind Solutions, to continue supporting the leadership and management of social sector organizations. We are excited for Patrick and encourage our partners to reach out to Patrick as a partner for equitable leadership development and management needs. Erica Harris, Senior Associate, is passionate about building power across civil society and will continue to focus her career on doing so. Finally, we would also like to acknowledge the leadership, dedication and hard work of all of the AchieveMission staff and Board alumni who have worked tirelessly over the past decade in pursuit of our mission. And while this year has been incredibly challenging for most nonprofit organizations in the country, we are humbled and in awe of the radical shifts our clients and other organizations have taken in a short time to lean into racial equity and anti-racism work as a critical pathway to achieving their mission. We are excited to see how the ecosystem continues to evolve to address some of the most pressing issues of our day. Thank you for your partnership. We appreciate you. We hope to cross paths along the way. With grace, love and compassion, AchieveMission Board of Directors
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