Mind the Gap: A New Wednesday Series on Mission vs. Money
Every week, unpacking the tensions between doing good work and keeping the lights on—starting with the myth of self-sustaining membership
Starting today, Wednesdays on Backstory & Strategy are all about the space between mission and money—especially in nonprofit media, where sustainability is often a moving target.
I'm calling the series 💬 Mind the Gap, and each week I'll unpack one tension, question, or experiment that lives in that awkward space: the funding strategies that feel promising but fall short, the models that are working (and quietly failing), and what happens when passion collides with payroll.
The first edition—coming next week—dives into "The Myth of Self-Sustaining Membership." If you've ever tried to close a budget gap with a tote bag and a dream, this one's for you.
Hit me with your membership stories, successes, or horror shows in the comments—what's actually working, what isn't, and everything messy in between. I'm especially interested in the stuff that went sideways, because that's usually where the real lessons are.
Why Wednesdays, why this series?
Because I keep having the same conversations with smart people doing important work who are all stuck on versions of the same problems. We're all reading the same case studies about outlets that "cracked the code," but most of those success stories leave out the part where they had three major donors or a lucky viral moment.
The real work happens in the gap between the model you thought would work and the reality of making it sustainable. That's where I want to spend some time.
See you next Wednesday for the membership deep dive. And if you know someone wrestling with these questions, send this their way.