As a child of the ’80s, I grew up admiring strong, pure-hearted heroes like Superman. As I got older, I gravitated toward more complex heroes like Dr. Strange — figures who alchemized their hardships into doing the most good for the most people.
Independent Sector recently launched the Everyday Heroes Campaign to recognize the 13 million people across the charitable sector who embody that same spirit.
Our civil society is powered by ordinary people trying to leave the world better than they found it. But while they serve others, too many are struggling themselves.
Our research with United for ALICE shows that more than 1 in 5 nonprofit workers live paycheck to paycheck. These are social workers, disaster response professionals, and food bank volunteers doing Herculean work with far too little recognition or compensation. Yet, they keep showing up.
What keeps them going? This month, Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and Pride remind us that heroism is about choosing to care, then act – even as we face the most intractable challenges.
Personally, my father has always been my steady source of strength. When my kids were young, he stepped in to care for them while I traveled for work. He’s still the first person I text when I land safely. Too often, fatherhood is reduced to discipline, overlooking the quiet acts of care that shape our lives. But it’s in those everyday moments of love and support that the next generation of heroes is nurtured.
Juneteenth, now a national holiday, marks a beginning of healing from the trauma of slavery. That recognition didn’t come from institutions — it was won by everyday heroes like Opal Lee, who at 89 walked from Fort Worth to D.C. to push for national recognition. Her determination, and that of countless grassroots leaders, shows us what’s possible through concerted and coordinated action.
Pride Month also reminds us that heroism means standing in your truth. Pride began as an uprising against oppression, led by trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. That legacy lives on in today’s nonprofit leaders who continue to advocate for the right of all people to live free, safe, and full lives.
At Independent Sector, our work remains anchored in our vision for a healthy, trusted, and equitable charitable sector. That guiding vision fueled a recent win: successfully striking harmful language from the federal budget reconciliation bill that would have allowed the Secretary of the Treasury to revoke nonprofits’ tax-exempt status without due process.
Independent Sector joined forces with the Council on Foundations, United Philanthropy Forum, and the National Council of Nonprofits — alongside constitutional lawyers, policy experts, and government officials from both sides of the aisle — to mobilize a unified strategy to protect our values and the vital role nonprofits play in civil society.
Dr. Akilah Watkins
We will need the voices of many in this work. This is a time to stretch our collaborative muscle, to use the tools we have at our disposal, and to organize effectively to build collective power. That’s the work ahead at Independent Sector’s National Summit 2025: Building Collective Power for Nonprofits and Philanthropy. I hope you’ll join us in Atlanta this October.
Our sector is more than a moral force; it’s a $1.4 trillion economic engine, representing 5.2% of U.S. GDP. More trusted than any other institution, nonprofits are the glue holding our nation together.
Navigating this moment is challenging, but our sector was built to respond with courage when the stakes are high. As we marshal our collective resources around a shared vision, remember that progress has always come from everyday people who come together and turn pain into purpose, and purpose into lasting change.
Dr. Akilah Watkins is president and CEO of Independent Sector.
