Nneka Allen

Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love is a collection of essays by mostly women of color, examining the racism faced in their profession of fundraising in nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. Many of these essays are truly eye opening and surprising as to what they had to endure in organizations that you think of as ‘doing the right thing’. This would be a great book for many managers and nonprofit heads to read and really digest the words, experiences and point of view of these women. I would really recommend it to any industry. As a professional on the job, in the workplace, we can all gain some insight from these thought provoking essays.… (más)

“However, I believe the potency of our stories dies each time we tell an apocryphal version of our reality” (Niambi Martin- John, p. 84).

This book is the opportunity for stories to be told from the heart, revealing the joy, pain, freedom and love that people of color, throughout North America (and with some references to the UK), as notable fundraisers experience today. Systemic racism often goes unacknowledged and has been far from eradicated or dismantled. This is an eye-opening account for white allies that perhaps thought the charitable sector was anti-racist by default. These fifteen stories show us there is work to be done. This raw, authentic collection brings together many voices but the overall message is one of hope, and each personal account is an inspiring lesson and powerful example in overcoming obstacles that to many might seem at first to be insurmountable. “It is almost supernatural that we as Black people do not hate white people for the pillaging of our hearts, our children and our lives over centuries. Instead we refined a unique and expansive capacity for love” (Nneka Allen, p. 157-158). It is from this love, that courage is born.… (más)