Change Happens: Make It Matter

Participants: Phuong Quach (interviewer); Bipasha Ray (interviewee)
Publisher: NPAG
Resource Type: Interview/ Article
Principle: Supporting Leadership as Acts of Courage; Collaborate to Strengthen Ecosystem

This interview features NPAG's Phuong Quach in conversation with Leading Forward's Bipasha Ray, exploring why philanthropic support for nonprofit leadership transitions is both urgent and insufficient — and what funders can do to change that. Bipasha draws on current field data, examples from movement organizations in Minnesota, and Leading Forward's Funder Action Guide to make the case that well-resourced transitions build organizational resilience and stronger democracy. The conversation also surfaces the specific and disproportionate barriers faced by BIPOC leaders and leaders from the communities they serve, and offers practical entry points for funders ready to shift their approach.

Funders can use this resource to:

• Understand the scope and urgency of the current wave of nonprofit leadership transitions and its impact on the sector.

• Make the case internally for prioritizing leadership transition support as a core component of organizational effectiveness and capacity-building grantmaking.

• Identify financial and non-financial ways to support grantee partners before, during, and after executive transitions, including through the Leading Forward Funder Action Guide.