Cause Commodification
Photo via CNN Business
Three years ago Juneteenth officially became a Federal holiday. I wrote about my reactions at the time - admiration for Opal Lee (my soror), respect for her hard work and dedication, and also a sense of fear and dread. Among those fears were empty tweets from lawmakers marking the day (my main pet peeve every MLK Day), flash sales at big box corporations, and fears of the holiday becoming an excuse to take a long weekend without any real commemoration of the reason for Juneteenth or focus on liberation for Black people.
In the three years since the first Federally-recognized Juneteenth, many of my fears have come to fruition. We have seen corporate commodification of the holiday, with splashes of the Pan African colors sometimes awkwardly included in store displays. Some places admittedly “miss the mark” in their efforts.
One reason for my concern was seeing the history of corporate engagement with the celebration of Pride. Like Juneteenth, Pride is rooted in the fight against systemic oppression and discrimination. Held in June in commemoration of the Stonewall Uprisings in June of 1969, Pride has historically included parades and protests as well as celebrations and centering of LGBTQIA+ voices. Called Rainbow Capitalism by some, Pride has more-recently been used as an opportunity for corporations to demonstrate support, while in some cases cashing in with the sale of an abundance of Pride merchandise - all of which is cleared out by July 1st.
Some may ask, what’s the matter with more representation? My answer: when your corporate dollars and policies do harm to the communities you are attempting to represent those gestures don’t mean much. While Walmart may have created a Juneteenth ice cream, their dollars were used to support more than 100 candidates who supported voter suppression by not certifying the 2020 election results. As much as I love ice cream I’d rather have my vote actually count. And I really like ice cream.*
Image via Tito Blog
For many fundraisers, we may be tempted to use celebrations and commemorations as opportunities to make an ask. There are certainly times when you can show connection to a cause that relates to your mission or even demonstrate allyship and solidarity with authenticity. But before launching a campaign connected to a holiday or cultural occasion, ask yourself the following questions:
How does your organization engage with this community outside of this affinity month? If your work is connected to the issue being discussed, by all means share your impact and highlight those most affected by your efforts, especially at a time when public attention is on your community. If the answer is never, perhaps this can be an opportunity to amplify a partner or another community organization that you admire as a show of solidarity.
Is your message centering the needs of the most impacted community or is it centering your organization’s needs? Remember in 2020 when everyone put black squares on their Instagram profiles to show their solidarity with…I think it was meant to be Black people? Or perhaps it was people impacted by police violence? At the time, many Black-led organizations and Black people were calling for an end to state violence or, at the very least, for the right to exist in peace. Instead of centering those messages and those demands from actual Black people, organizations and individuals (some well-meaning) performed allyship with this gesture. In all communications, including fundraising solicitations, the central theme should be the needs of the most impacted community. If you are not able to center the people and cause connected to the celebration, this may not be the best, most authentic time to engage donors for support.
How am I adding value to the conversation? You don’t have to weigh in just because everyone else is doing or saying something. Consider the value you are adding to the conversation with your contribution. Does your organization have an interesting, genuine connection to a particular issue? Is this celebration an opportunity to share compelling client stories? Consider what you’re contributing and the value your input will add to the conversation. If your campaign or fundraising ask feels forced, you can consider amplifying other messages during this time.
While some organizations fall victim to messaging that feels opportunistic or performative, these celebrations can offer unique opportunities to share insights about your work and share compelling stories (preferably in a client, staff, or volunteer voice) that invite others intoyour mission and your organization.
* Check out this Black woman-owned ice cream company.