The Future Is Collective

Transform workplace structures and empower cultures of care—a practical guide for nonprofit leaders and social justice organizations This book is a powerful call for nonprofits and movement organizations to rethink their internal systems and processes—and to bring workplace culture and management into alignment with their political values and liberatory missions. Drawing on two decades of experience in community organizing and nonprofit leadership, Niloufar Khonsari guides us in transforming our workplaces by decentralizing power; implementing collective governance structures; and centering principles of transparency, equity, and mutual care. Khonsari demystifies collective management for fellow activists, nonprofit workers, and community leaders. This book is not a one-size-fits-all plan; instead, readers are encouraged to draw from its rich collection of real-world examples, case studies, sample workplace policies, tools developed by activist collectives, and personal reflections of movement leaders to explore what works best for their organization at its current stage of growth and evolution. Khonsari also address how to communicate workplace changes to funding bodies—and why this is an essential part of your movement work. Crucially, this book looks at how to handle challenging workplace dynamics, everyday conflicts, and job terminations using a compassionate justice-centered approach. Khonsari calls for nonprofit and movement leaders to embrace conflict resolution as a generative practice—one that builds and strengthens us, nurturing both individual autonomy and collective responsibility. Inspiring and hopeful, The Future is Collective guides nonprofit workers, activists, and community leaders toward a workplace culture of care that truly models the relational systems we want to see in the world. This book is not a one-size-fits-all plan; instead, readers are encouraged to draw from its rich collection of case studies, sample workplace policies, tools developed by activist collectives, and personal reflections of movement leaders to explore what works best for their organization at its current stage of growth and evolution. Inspiring and hopeful, this book will help nonprofit workers, activists, and community leaders work toward a workplace that truly models the kind of relational systems we want to see in the world.