Narrative Change

 

Even in the richest state in the richest country in the world, poverty is still viewed as an acceptable, unchangeable part of our economy by most. That’s largely due to harmful narratives about the economy, people experiencing poverty, and what’s possible. So, it was very exciting to attend the SoCal Grantmakers’ Annual Conference “Narrative Power: Reframe Stories, Redefine Culture”.

We focused on how philanthropy can challenge dominant narratives and strengthen the narrative power of communities to create systems change. One key takeaway from the conference was that our stories must highlight how issues like poverty are structural, not individual, and emphasize the importance of collective action, not charity, in order to create change. We look forward to working in collaboration with leading organizations like the Pop Culture Collaborative and the BROKE Project to build narrative power in California.