This month, we had another great UnSectored Talk. Thanks to all of you who attended! We continued to refine the UnSectored vision and talk about what needed to be done to break down barriers to social change. You can read a summary below–but why would you, when you have an amazing graphic recording of our conversation?!

(Click on the image to view an expanded version of the graphic.)

Thanks to Caitlin Connelly Ellsworth for lending her time and talents to make this beautiful representation of what it means to be “unsectored.”

Our next UnSectored Talk will be held on Monday May 14th, from 7-9 pm. You can learn more and register here. This talk will focus on “The Legality of Social Change.” We will be discussing everything from the IRS form 990 to benefit corporation legislation to how the puritanical views of our founding fathers led to a dysfunctional and divided tax code. What do Puritans have to do will all this? Come on the 14th and find out!

At the April Talk, I also made the announcement that it would be the final general Talk about UnSectored’s future and what it means to be “unsectored.” From now on, Talks will be focused around specific issues (like “The Legality of Social Change”) and organized by anyone who has a topic related to unsectored ideas. If you are interested in hosting an UnSectored Talk, learn more and get in touch.

I also announced the launch of UnSectored Working Groups. These Working Groups will build on the conversations at the Talks and focus on specific projects to break down barriers to social change. Ultimately, there will be many groups working on disparate issues, but the initial Group will be focused on refining UnSectored’s vision and mission, as well as producing a report on what we learned from the first six months of operating. If you are interested in joining a Group, learn more and sign up.

Hope to see you in May, or at a Working Group meeting, or at another Talk soon!

Summary of April UnSectored Talk

• We are only as good as the definitions we give ourselves. Without clear language, it is difficult to work across, or even within, sectors.
• UnSectored, as it is conceived of now, is one step removed from the actors that create social change. It facilitates, it doesn’t “do”.
• UnSectored should be about individuals, not organizations. Everyone comes to UnSectored Talks for different reasons, but we come as representatives of ourselves, not as organizations.
• There is a lack of trust within all sectors, but particularly in the nonprofit sector. This is linked not only to the tendency for people to be risk averse, but also because of arrogance that one knows better than another.
• To build this trust, people need to come together and put names to faces.
• People come to UnSectored Talks for a variety of reasons, including intellectual curiosity, networking, a desire to find like-minded people, and to get feedback on ideas.

Again, you can get a much better idea of went on at this Talk from the graphical record, done by Caitlin Connelly Ellsworth: