January 6, 2026
Dear Readers,
At severe risk of being outed as a great fan of the 19th-century novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, I’d like to ring in the new year with this choice scene in the book, in Chapter 35, “The Mast-Head,” in which we find our narrator, Ishmael, taking the lookout position, high on the mast, and reflecting:
With the problem of the universe revolving in me, how could I—being left completely to myself at such a thought-engendering altitude—how could I but lightly hold my obligations to observe all whale-ships’ standing orders, “Keep your weather eye open, and sing out every time.”
How do we keep at our daily obligations while reckoning with the grim, sometimes soul-wrenching view before us? After all, 2025 marked the most significant attack on civil society since McCarthyism. Nonprofits are still under attack, and it is not likely to let up anytime soon. And yet, nonprofits are fighting back. (We at NPQ are doing our best to chronicle both currents.)
But back to Ishmael’s question. If my ol’ bachelor’s in English is worth anything, you can take it from me that Ishmael didn’t come to any simple answer. And I’m hardly qualified to attempt one, beyond the obvious, which is that at least, unlike Ishmael, we’re not hunting whales. We’re trying to make the United States a more just, equitable, healthy, and happy country!
This week’s Nonprofit Leadership newsletter offers an exciting New Year’s dose of bold and buoyant ideas. We kick it off with NPQ contributor Ted Siefer, who explores the growing frontier of labor movements and AI. Next, Saqib Bhatti presents a timely action plan for nonprofits to “block” authoritarianism.
Finally, I am honored to present a select handful of pieces edited and authored by the inimitable Steve Dubb, senior editor emeritus for Economic Justice, who leaves NPQ after some eight years of service to the organization. Steve has been a pillar of NPQ, leaving behind a powerful, intelligent, and prescient corpus of work to which he’s dedicated much heartfelt energy and care over the years. We’ll miss his smart insights and moral clarity.
As always, I love to hear back from you—even if it’s just to say hello. Email me at [email protected].
Cheers, and a fortuitous 2026 to us all.
Isaiah Thompson
Editor
Leadership
