Closing Remarks
News and Views from the World of Non-Profit Closures, Project Endings, and Our Changing Relationship to Longevity In Civil Society
12 July 2024

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Levar Burton on an episode of Reading Rainbow

Hey everyone!

Thanks for reading the inaugural edition of Closing Remarks. People are constantly sending me links to things that are closing, have closed, or need to be thinking about closing, so I figured I would start a little link roundup to share out with the greater community. Here we go!

1) Girls In Tech Closes
Girls In Tech, a global non-profit organization focused on the engagement, education, and empowerment of women in technology. announced their closure this Monday after a formidable 17 years of operations. I haven't heard much on the backchannels about the closure, but the Wikipedia article funding as the root cause.

2) The Big Quiet goes silent
 The Big Quiet, a project focused on facilitating and promoting meditation around the world has come to a halt after 9 years of operations. Click here to watch the beautiful video they made to commemorate their work.

3) Miles College Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Birmingham-Southern College
 Ok, so it seems that after much ado about the May 2024 closure of Birmingham-Southern College (a 170 year-old institution!), it seems the college is getting a new lease on life as it joins the spate of US colleges that are being acquired by larger university systems.

4) New Doc Sheds Light On Abrupt Ending of PBS's Reading Rainbow
In this LinkedIn post, succession planning expert and nonprofit leader Naomi Hattaway shares about the new Netflix documentary that focuses on the rise and fall of PBS's children's literacy program Reading Rainbow. In the post (and further in the discussion thread), Naomi touches on the way that traunmatic closures can leave enduring wounds on all affected. 

5) Patagonia's Ultimatum
While Patagonia is not exactly a non-profit, it is a B corp and, as such,  a company ostensibly operating in the "do good" space, so I am adding this news here because it is definitely about a highly likely abrupt ending for many employees who have been given 3 days to decide whether they wish to relocate or leave the company.


6) SSIR Article On "Fixed-Length" Foundations
"Although most private foundations are designed to last forever, many philanthropists and impact investors are beginning to question this model."
In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, the writers profile The Linked Foundation, a 20-year initiative focused on improving the health and economic self-reliance of underserved women in Latin America and the United States.
 
7) Erin Richardson On Time, Museums, and Meaning-Making
Last week at the Stewarding Loss Community of Practice gathering (which I facilitate), museum collections expert Erin Richardson gave a *brilliant* presentation on museums, what they mean, who they are for, and how long they are/should be for. I wrote a little summary on the blog. Check it out!

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.....And that's it! If you've made it this far, I wanna thank you again for reading. Definitely let me know what you think, and feel free to share anything you think I may have missed!

Closing Remarks is brought to you by The Wind Down, a consultancy for exploring, building, designing, and delivering better non-profit endings.

 
 
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