Why cause and culture organizations need more time in the room together. Funders, hear us.
Dear Dreamers and Doers,
We hear it after every workshop. The thing people remember most — the thing they pull us aside to say — is how much they valued the time they spent talking to each other.
In a sector defined by doing more with less, carrying the weight of the world’s most urgent problems on chronically underfunded shoulders, simply sitting in a room with people who get it turns out to be a radical act. A breathing space. A gift. And we at DRMTM have come to believe it is one of the most powerful tools funders never put on the agenda — but should.
During our spring workshop travels we had the privilege of watching it happen in real time — twice. CNY Arts in Syracuse and Extraordinary Charities in Palm Beach County each brought together their nonprofit ecosystems for a day of Bold Brand building. Funders like the Gifford Foundation and the LaFrance Project didn’t just write a check and walk away. They showed up. They sat at the tables. They learned right alongside the organizations they support. The result was something you can’t manufacture: real solidarity. Real recognition. That moment when a director from one organization locks eyes with someone from a “competing” organization and says, quietly, “You too?” — that is worth more than any slide deck we’ve ever built.
“I think the favorite part of the day beyond knowledge-building was the time the orgs had to talk to each other and collaborate — a rare gift.”
DRMTM x CNY Arts, Syracuse
Here’s what we know about the people who lead, manage, and champion cause and culture organizations: they are some of the most creative, strategic, fiercely committed professionals in any industry today — and some of the most chronically ignored. Low pay. Relentless pressure to prove impact. Funders who expect organizations to solve generations-old problems on shoestring budgets. A public that loves the mission but rarely sees the machine behind it. Burnout isn’t a failure of will in this sector. It’s a structural condition.
Which is why the energy in these rooms hits different. When you give people doing this work a focused topic and a table full of peers who are carrying the same weight, something quietly transformational happens. They choose trust. They stop surviving and start strategizing. They leave recharged, with tools, with language, and with the knowledge that they are not alone.
This is what collective investment looks like. No single organization carries the cost — funders, service agencies, and community partners come together to give their entire nonprofit ecosystem a capacity-building edge most organizations could never access on their own.
And when funders are in the room learning with the organizations they support — not just funding from a distance — the dynamic shifts. They see the challenges. They feel the passion. They understand what bold, strategic, well-resourced cause and culture organizations can actually do for a community.
We need more of this. A lot more. Whether the topic is brand strategy or budget planning, community engagement or digital communications, our sector grows when it grows together.
If you’re a funder, a service agency, or a community foundation with a network of nonprofits who deserve more than they’re getting — let’s bring them together. Reach out to us at hello@thedrmtm.com and let’s talk about what a day in the room could do for your community.
Here’s to the Conversations That Change Everything,
Surale + Laura + Cheryl