Independent Sector

We envision a world of engaged individuals, robust institutions, and vibrant communities working together to improve lives and the natural world, and strengthen democratic societies. To help create this future, we lead and catalyze the charitable community, partnering with government, business, and individuals to advance the common good.

Our organizational strategies are results-centered and racial equity-focused. We believe that all charitable nonprofits and foundations in this country should be healthy and equitable to ensure that all people in the United States thrive, with targeted focus on Native, Black, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color.

Beliefs
• Collective Solutions – We find better solutions to complex problems when diverse groups, committed to the common good, come together in networks of responsibility.
• Opportunity, Respect, and Inclusiveness – Societies thrive when all people have equal opportunity to succeed, are treated with respect, and can fully participate in the life of the community.
• The Power of the Charitable Community – By taking bold risks, encouraging creativity, fostering collaboration, and inspiring optimism, the sector is a vital, leading force in improving lives and the natural world, and strengthening democratic societies.
• Responsible, Transparent Institutions – Democratic societies rely on transparent, ethical, and accountable institutions and people.

Sector Impact
We create and share knowledge and research to both understand and accelerate the impact of the nonprofit sector. By assessing the health of the nonprofit and philanthropic sector as a whole, we can map out a clearer path toward driving more health and equity in our communities.

Sector Impact Priorities in 2022
1. Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector 2.0
2. Trust in Civil Society
3. Continued Community Engagement around new and current Impact knowledge and research

Building Community
We build community among changemakers who work and volunteer in the social sector in order to focus on wellness, build trust, bridge divides toward belonging, and create this healthy and racially just society to ensure all people thrive.

Building Community Priorities in 2022
1. Advance innovation and activation through constant evaluation of our Sense of Community
2. Offer a comprehensive Fellows Program, including launching new Alumni Network and new Bridging Fellows
3. Upswell events focused on Racial Justice, Self/Community Care, and Bridging and Belonging

Public Policy
We advocate for public policies that strengthens nonprofits, foundations, and diverse communities nationwide – and helps social sector organizations fulfill missions. We serve as a unified voice and information source on pressing legislative and economic issues in our sector.

Public Policy Priorities in 2022
1. “A Seat at the Table” campaign for permanent partnership between nonprofits and the Executive Branch
2. Continued advocacy to strengthen core tax policy priorities and infrastructure investments toward a healthy and equitable communities
3. Launch of a new Advocacy Survey that will fill a 20-year gap in data around nonprofit advocacy and civic engagement (i.e., voter engagement) activities

Founded in 1980, Independent Sector is the only national membership organization that brings together a diverse set of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations to advance the common good. From the biggest foundations to local charities, with staffs from 35,000 to 2, our membership of more than 500 organizations consists of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations from around the United States engaged in every kind of charitable endeavor. We are the “vital meeting ground” for America’s changemakers and problem-solvers. We seek to be the place where vision and strategy come together, where dreamers and doers find common ground. This is “The Great Shared Task,” as our founder John W. Gardner put it.

Independent Sector operates within an Impact Ecosystem that seeks to generate greater health and equity in the United States. At the center of this ecosystem – in collaboration with our members, funders, partners, staff, and board – Independent Sector vigorously strengthens itself as a force for good. We use that enhanced strength to nurture a more healthy and equitable leadership community within civil society. Those bold leaders work with unified purpose to ensure that civil society at large is both healthy and just. Eventually, and ultimately, civil society will resolutely infuse our entire democracy with health and equity – creating the necessary conditions for every individual to measurably thrive.

Accelerating Sector Impact
• Independent Sector, in partnership with Edelman Data & Intelligence, released our second annual “Trust in Civil Society” report. We conducted two national surveys, totaling 8,000 American adults, to assess general population trust in philanthropy and nonprofits and uncover the factors that drive trust in the sector.
• IS, with the Do Good Institute, announced that the latest value of a volunteer hour is $28.54 – up 4.9% from the previous year.
• IS released our second annual “Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector” report, an evolving resource that collects the most current data on the health of the U.S. nonprofit sector across multiple dimensions in a single, accessible format.
Community Building
• Hosted four Upswell Pop-Ups attended by 2,000 changemakers. We also held four Upswell Exchanges, one after each Upswell Pop-Up, to give changemakers the opportunity to unpack the Pop-Up presentations and connect through deeper relationships with one another.
• On October 20-22, IS brought together more than 1,100 changemakers from across the nation for the 2021 Upswell Summit to focus on our collective mission: building a healthy and racially just nation
• Engaged 28 Fellows through the Upswell Fellows program and the American Express NGen Fellows program to strengthen their individual and collective leadership capacity.
• Continued to refine and execute around a data-driven sense of community theory of change based on quarterly Sense of Community Surveys, distributed to all community members in our database.
Public Policy Leadership
• Created in 2021 through a proposed executive order and draft legislation, Independent Sector’s “Seat at the Table” initiative would create permanent, structural mechanisms for the sector to help shape and improve federal policy.
• Compiled a list of resources and educational content about the Accelerating Charitable Efforts (ACE) Act – which revises current laws dictating the pace and transparency of resources flowing from private foundations and donor advised funds – and, more broadly, philanthropy reform.
• Now in its second year, Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG), co-founded by Independent Sector and KABOOM!, continues to engage our diverse community leaders from across the charitable nonprofit sector. The coalition, now more than 50 organizations strong, wrote Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Pallone in support of H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act of 2021. The Act is intended to bolster community and civic structures that ensure all communities across America, especially those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, can rebuild, engage, and thrive.
• The charitable deduction faced a grave threat in 2021: an earlier proposal from the Biden presidential campaign that could have eliminated billions of dollars in giving. Our community has been able to convince the Biden Administration not to put this policy forward in its annual budget or other legislat