Gladiator Consulting

Who's in #STL for the 2024 Race Forward Facing Race Conference?? We're so excited to see so many friends from around the country – please find us and say hello! And don't miss the sessions being led by some of Gladiator's incredible partners and current/former clients – they are all doing amazing work, so be sure to give them a follow! 1. Look for Gladiator founder Rachel D'Souza at the Conference – she served on the National Advisory Board and will be there Thursday and Friday! 2. Charli Cooksey, Founder & CEO of WEPOWER: Sustaining Movement Beyond the Moment: Lessons from St. Louis @ 11am 3. Claire Schell: Cultivating Psychological Safety by Interrupting White Supremacy Culture @ 11am 4. Thomas Savage, Director of Learning Innovation and Design for Creative Reaction Lab (CRXLAB): Artwork for Equity: Leveraging Artistic Talents Toward Transformative Change @ 11am 5. Dr. LJ Punch, Executive Director of The BRIC (Bullet Related Injury Clinic) and Power4STL: Five-4-Five @ 2pm 6. Forward Through Ferguson: Annissa McCaskill, Executive Director; Faybra J., Lead Racial Equity Capacity Catalyst; and Sarah C. Murphy, Racial Equity Support Catalyst: - A Decade of Activism: Reflections and Future Directions @ 2pm; - Building Racial Equity Capacity: Justice Philanthropy @ 2pm; - 10 Years After Ferguson: What the Movement Taught Us, Where We Go From Here @ 4pm

How do you tackle a #polycrisis? Some thoughts from Gladiator founder Rachel D'Souza:

??ACTION ALERT?? Urge your Members of Congress to vote NO on H.R. 9495! Please help stop the House of Representatives from their latest attempt to sneak in a power grab for the incoming Trump Administration. H.R. 9495 would give unprecedented authority to the Executive Branch to strip nonprofits of their tax exempt status, without transparency or due process. It is ALREADY illegal to provide material support to foreign terrorism – but under this bill, the Administration could label ANY nonprofit as a "terrorist supporting organization" – without sharing their evidence, and providing only 90 days for the accused to clear their name. Most at risk: Law-abiding organizations providing humanitarian assistance in conflict zones. ??MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD?? 1) Read the attached joint statement from the Council on Foundations, the Independent Sector, the National Council of Nonprofits, and the United Philanthropy Forum to learn more. 2) Call your representative today and ask them to vote NO on H.R. 9495!

Systems don't change... PEOPLE CHANGE SYSTEMS. That's the takeaway from Gladiator founder Rachel D'Souza in the latest issue of the Grapple newsletter.

Loved joining colleagues from across the region at today's Nonprofit Professional Roundtables in St. Louis! Many thanks to Association of Fundraising Professionals - St. Louis Regional Chapter, Grant Professionals Association- St. Louis Regional Chapter, and the Nonprofit Marketers Network-STL for hosting. We are ALWAYS down to talk about how nonprofits can build more equitable, sustainable movements by using Community Centric Fundraising principles! #CCF #CCFinthewild

Congratulations to our colleague and friend Karen Nolte!! Our community is better because of your leadership and love for community and children.

Hello, Gladiator Family. Rachel D'Souza here. I wanted to share some of my thoughts over the past few days – because like many of you, I woke up Wednesday morning in a fog. My throat ached from the fear and grief that was lodged there. And when I opened my curtains to reveal a happily shining sun, it felt like a slap in the face. It reminded me of another beautiful morning, this one almost 14 years ago. I was in a hospital bed, recovering from what my medical team had just informed me was a nearly fatal postpartum heart attack. I remember sitting there, asking myself:?“How the hell did I get here?” I couldn’t understand it. I had followed all of the rules during my pregnancy: I attended every appointment, I took all the right vitamins, followed all the diet and exercise guidelines.?I had done everything “right.” As my brain struggled to figure out how I could possibly move forward from that moment, I shuffled over to the hospital window and opened the blinds. Dazzling sunlight poured into the room. Rush hour traffic filled the street with cars carrying people to their daily destinations. I blinked in confusion, unable to square the reality I was experiencing – the life I had known in ruins at my feet – with this other reality outside my window, one in which the sun continued to rise and set and folks carried on with their lives as if nothing had changed. I don’t know how long I stood there. What I do know is that at some point,?I realized that my heart, against all odds, was indeed still beating in my chest.?And in that moment I knew that as long as that was true, I would keep going – wherever my janky heart would take me. Yes, it was true that the life I had known before was over. I knew that whatever the future held, it would be hard; there would be pain, and fear that I couldn’t quite fathom. And it was also true that this new life needed me to press on. After all, there was a beautiful baby boy, just a few days old waiting for me at home. He needed me, and I knew I would never stop fighting for him. My friends, I am not here to tell you that everything is going to be ok. I’m not here to sell you false hope or bullshit platitudes or even try to make sense of how we wound up where we are. I know, as you do, that things are fundamentally different from this point forward; that prior chapter has closed – and while we don’t know what the next chapter holds, we do know it will be hard. We know there will be pain, and fear we can’t quite fathom. And I also know this: The sun was shining Wednesday morning. We are still reaching out to one another to share comfort and connection, to offer solidarity and sanctuary. Our hearts, against all odds, are still beating in our chests. And I know that as long as that is true,?we will keep going. With love in my janky – but enduring – heart,? Rachel

Congrats to our incredible 2024-2025 chapter Fellows!

I am excited to be speaking at this year's Nonprofit Marketers Network-STL Spectrum Conference! This organization has always been near and dear to my heart and I hope to inspire others in the nonprofit marketing and communications sector to help to elevate their mission-driven work. If you are interested in attending the conference, let me know...I may have a few extra tickets if you are looking for a professional development opportunity.