By Jody Levison-Johnson, Ph.D., LCSW
When hundreds of leaders gathered at Social Current’s recent SPARK conference, the conversations were as wide-ranging as the sector itself. Still, one question stood out: What would it take to create a new blueprint for a thriving social sector?
That question was not posed as an abstract exercise, but as a collective reflection, because the sector that has always been there for everyone else is feeling the strain of doing so much with so little.
In sessions and hallway conversations, people responded with honesty and heart. They spoke about what makes this sector extraordinary: our ability to center people, to show-up, and to take pride in serving something larger than ourselves. Many described a renewed sense of unity and belief that real change is possible when we move together with purpose.
At the same time, they named the challenges we must confront to build a thriving sector: workforce shortages, pay inequity, and unsustainable funding. They talked about contracts that fail to cover the full cost of impact, and the need for creative, collaborative, and reasonable funding models that allow innovation to flourish.
Yet beneath those ideas ran a common thread: the same creativity and commitment that keep our sector moving forward can also conceal the depth of the challenges we face. Through those conversations, one truth became clear: our sector’s greatest strength — our instinct to make things work no matter what — has also become a great vulnerability.
We’ve built a culture of workarounds. When systems falter, we step forward. When funding falls short, we find a way. When our communities need help, we never stop showing up. That resolve has held this country together through its hardest moments, from economic downturns to natural disasters, to government shutdowns. But it has also kept an underfunded system running on the backs of the people within it.
Recently, I spoke with a provider whose government contract had just been reduced. Walking away wasn’t an option; families depended on their services. So, they agreed, finding ways to keep critical services in place and absorbing the shortfall through reductions in other places — reduced staff support and flat salaries. They knew that if they didn’t, people would be left without help.
That story is familiar across the country. It speaks to the heart of who we are as a sector, and to the hard truth we must now face. By finding constant workarounds, we’ve made it easier for an underfunded system to remain unchanged. When we absorb the cost of broken funding, our people bear the weight. When we deliver services that don’t pay for themselves, we quietly subsidize public responsibility. And when we celebrate ingenuity without insisting on reform, we risk building resilience on exhaustion.
To be clear, naming this isn’t about blame or suggesting it’s wrong to do everything possible to support our communities. It’s about creating understanding. It’s recognizing that the same strength that defines us can also deplete us if we allow it to substitute for systemic change. Understanding that truth is the first step toward building something better.
A new blueprint begins with fair funding. We need funding that covers the full cost of impact, not just the visible costs of service delivery, but the true costs of people, infrastructure, and learning. Paying for the full value of our work isn’t charity; it’s stewardship.
It also requires workforce sustainability. Our impact depends on the well-being of the people who make it possible. We must create environments where they can thrive — emotionally, financially, and professionally — rather than burn out. Caring for the workforce that cares for others is not optional; it’s foundational.
And we must create freedom from the constant workaround. We can no longer rely on improvisation as a strategy. It’s time to design systems that work by intention, not exception. Systems built on trust, collaboration, and the courage to innovate.
The social sector contributes 5.2 percent of the nation’s GDP, $1.4 trillion and employs more than 12 million people. We are not a side story to the American economy; we are its infrastructure of care and connection.
Through Five & Rising, Social Current is partnering with communities in Hawaii, Northwest Ohio, and the Mid-Atlantic to co-create and test new models for fair funding, workforce investment, and system redesign. In each community, local leaders, funders, and residents are working side by side to rethink how resources flow, how staff are supported, and how collaboration can replace competition. Together, we’re building what’s next, replacing scarcity with strength and workarounds with design.
The social sector will always rise to meet the moment. But to keep rising, we must give ourselves permission to stop patching what’s broken and start building what’s possible.
*****
Jody Levison-Johnson, Ph.D., LCSW, is president and CEO of Social Current, partner and solutions provider to a diverse network of more than 1,800 human and social service organizations and home of Five & Rising, a social impact initiative to reimagine the social sector.
