Let's hang out. We can talk about life. Or our rates. Or newsletter dating. Or...

👋 Hello Ashley, Will, and Caroline! I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Future Community.

Let's hang out in Portland!

I'm on the road this week learning about the poor ergonomics of an Airbnb decorated by TikTok.

If you're in Portland, Oregon, this weekend come hang out at Laurelhurst Park with me and other fantastic folks. It's a casual hang out from 11 am to 2pm on Sunday, July 5th. Come as you can, bring whomever (kid, dog, mom) and we'll toss frisbees and catch up.

Click reply or message me for location details or questions.

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️ Then catch up on a few recent posts:

• Last week: Who reads newsletters, anyway? <– With plenty of recent data.
• Delight turns following into belonging <– Turns out that making people feel seen and valued is good for your list and its impact.
• Ducks and funnels and impact <– Maybe we should do less optimizing and effiency-izing and more talking to people.

The Rate Report

Kudos to Sam Landenwitsch and crew for launching the 2026 Rate Report that looks at survey responses from 50+ independent consultants working across the nonprofit advocacy and fundraising sector.

Nothing in here is particularly surprising. It confirms what I already know: I wildly undercharge for my work and hourly billing is bad for consultants and contractors. It's bad for clients, too, but it's not easy to surface that in data like this. I'll say this, though:

• Consultants who are constantly feeling underpaid/undervalued aren't happy and aren't doing their best work.
• Clients and consultants who are documenting every moment of their day and who are constantly thinking about spend and billable hours are not focused on great work with big impact. They're more likely muddling through a checklist.

There are gradations of the hourly situation and, believe me, not every retainer client or consultant is doing well. But, as the Rate Report shows, hourly billing drives down outcomes for consultants.

Bright Ideas

I've been on the road so these seem a bit more ran

• An email newsletter can be and do most anything. Want an example? Check out how newsletters are the hottest thing in dating. [Anna Holmes / The Atlantic]
• Oh No Babe, We Gotta Go: One poet’s journal entries during the 2025 L.A. fires. [Kate Durbin / Los Angeles Review of Books]
• Conversations and thoughts about existing with unpredictable change and resilience: How to live in a restless world. [Matt Simmons / The Narwhal]

Events and Training

• From viral content to narrative infrastructure: How movements can build power is happening from 1-2pm BST on Wednesday, July 8th.
• Public Agenda is hosting a talk with Sam Pressler and Riki Conrey PhD on July 9: What Young Men Are Telling Us: Insights from New Research. This will dig into findings from the Listening to Young Men report released in May.
• How can the environmental sector retain Gen Z talent? is hosted by Green 2.0 on July 16th.
• Want to get your event or training out to the Future Community network? We're happy to share. Click reply and make sure we know about it.

Future Community Jobs

Here are roles spotted the past few days. Many more on the full Future Community job list (don't forget the resources and links to other lists on that page).

Audience, content, journalism and news roles

• Interactive Story Designer : ProPublica [Remote in the US] ⏱️ July 8
• Journalist-in-Residence : The Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) / Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism [Remote in the US]
• Director, Newsletter Strategy & Email Operations : Condé Nast [New York City]

Communications

• Senior Manager New Media : States United Democracy Center [Remote in the US]
• Media Director : Working America [Washington, DC]
• Director of Writing and Editing : Climate Power [Remote in the US]
• Lead Writer : Thousand Currents [Remote] ⏱️ July 3
• Social Media Manager : The Anxious Generation Movement [New York City]
• Coordinator of Digital Media and Communications : The Center for Civic Education [Remote in the US]
• Director of Communications : The Biomimicry Institute’s (“TBI”) [Remote in the US]
• Editorial Manager : Founders Pledge [New York] ⏱️ July 12
• Communications Coordinator :  The Future Society [Remote, between ET and CET]
• The Senior Communications Specialist : World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [Washington D.C.]
• Director of Strategic Communications : ACLU California Action [Sacramento or Remote in California] ⏱️ August 3

Nonprofit organizations

• Coalition Director- Civic Alliance (Part-time Contract) : Democracy Works [Remote within the US, DC, NYC OR LA preferred]
• Impact Manager : Acumen [London, UK] ⏱️ July 10
• Managing Director : Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) [Remote in the US, New York City Preferred]
• Digital Director : This is Wisconsin [Remote in Wisconsin] ⏱️ ASAP
• Head of Video : Pew Research Center [Washington, DC]
• Chief of Staff : Environmental Defense Fund [New York City or Washington D.C]
• Senior Director of Finance : The Savanna Institute [Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, or Iowa] ⏱️ July 26
• Program Director – Clinical Trial Abundance : 1Day Sooner [Washington, D.C]
• Project Manager : Everyday Plastic [Remote, UK] ⏱️ July 3
• Head of Strategic Partnerships : C40 Cities [London, UK] ⏱️ July 7
• Managing Director : Awana Digital [Remote in the Americas]
• Director of Global Programs : Thousand Currents [Remote, Africa, Asia the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean]
• Deputy Director of Programs and Campaigns : The California Domestic Workers Coalition (CDWC) [Remote in San Francisco or Los Angeles preferred] ⏱️ July 21
• Senior Director, Chapters : Active Minds [Remote in the US] ⏱️ July 20
• Regional Campaign Manager (9 Openings) : Greenlight America [Flexible in multiple states / See descriptions] ⏱️ July 15
• Senior Manager, Outreach and Membership : Alliance for Justice (AFJ) [Washington, DC]
• Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator : Responsive Gov [Remote in the US]
• Distributed Organizing Manager : Humans in Control [Remote in the US]
• Contractor Role – Senior Organizer,Worker-Led Campaigns : Online to Offline Strategy Group [Remote in the US]

Fundraising and Development

• Associate Director of Development (Consultant) : Bash Advisory [Remote in the US] ⏱️ July 31
• Digital Marketing & Donor Engagement Advisor : Unlimit Health [Remote, UK] ⏱️ July 16
• Chief of Development : Clean Air Task Force (CATF) [Remote]
• Development Officer : American Bird Conservancy (ABC) [Remote in the US] ⏱️ July 17
• Senior Director of Philanthropic Partnerships : Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) [New York, Washington, San Francisco or London]
• Chief Development Officer : The Center for Civic Education [Remote in the US]
• Donor Relations Manager : Cityside [Oakland, CA]
• Development Specialist : New Roots Institute [Remote, North America]

Foundations and Philanthropy

• Senior Director, Development & Strategic Partnerships : EFI Foundation [Washington D.C]
• Digital Marketing Lead : David Suzuki Foundation [Vancouver, Canada] ⏱️ July 12
• Associate Communications Officer, Social Media : Gates Foundation [Washington, DC or Seattle, WA]
• Senior Philanthropy Officer : The Breast Cancer Research Foundation [New York]
• Community Education & Outreach Coordinator - Georgia Chapter : The Parkinson’s Foundation (PF) [Atlanta, GA]
• Senior Associate Director, Philanthropic Partnerships and Manager Philanthropic Partnerships : ClimateWorks Foundation [Remote in the US]
• Technology Fellow: Digital Safety and Security and AI and Philanthropy: Ford Foundation [ New York City]⏱️ July 6

Agencies, data, politics, products & more

• Digital Project Coordinator (Part-time) : Rad Campaign [Remote in the US]
• Community Manager : Co-Lab on U Street [Washington, DC]
• Senior UX/UI Designer (6 month contract) : Teal Media [Remote in the US]
• Communications and Business Development Manager : Potrero Group [Remote]
• Senior Engineer, Digital Products : National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) [Remote]

Hey. Ted here. I run Bright+3 where we give changemakers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to create content that builds stronger communities.

I also write this newsletter (aka Future Community) and run the Future Community Jobs list.