Year of the Fire Horse, and what it means for our sector
Hi everyone, I am hyped up on leftover Valentine’s Day chocolates that I bought at 50% off, so apologies in advance if this post is a bit rambling. The Lunar New Year is coming up, with this Tuesday, February 17th, being the first day. It is the year of the Horse. Not just the Horse, but the Fire Horse! Visualize a horse made of fire! Kind of like a phoenix, but horse-shaped! Here’s a nice comprehensive primer in case you’re more curious about this year and what it means for your sign.
Last year was the Year of the Snake. The Wood Snake. I wrote about what that meant for us and the world. The snake is associated with evil, cunning, and cruelty. But it’s also a symbol of birth and renewal, as it sheds its skin. What we’ve been seeing is society starting to shed the skin of capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, racism, and so on. It is a painful process, as we have seen over the past several months. But I have hope that a new snake is on its way, a better, more equitable snake.
Plus, wood is an element of endurance and flexibility, as it can bend but not break. Fitting for the past year, where we’ve faced some of the most difficult challenges our sector and communities have ever encountered. But we did not bend or break. People continue resisting and strengthening community in various creative and powerful ways, as we see from Minnesota and elsewhere, and our sector continues doing its work.
So, what does the Year of the Fire Horse mean? The horse is a symbol of speed, movement, and action. It is strong and decisive. The horse is also associated with victory in battle, like the cavalry, and like horses pulling chariots in those movies about ancient Rome. It’s also a symbol of success and good fortune; think of horses winning races.
Fire, meanwhile, is an element of confidence, courage, and effectiveness. Put these two together, and what we have coming up is a year of bold visions, courageous stances, quick and decisive actions, risk-taking, and fanning the small sparks we’ve been nurturing so they become engulfing infernos of equity and progress. And being successful at it all!
Ideally, if we’ve already done our work during the Year of the Snake to shed the philosophies and practices that no longer serve us and our communities, here are things our sectors should consider for this upcoming Year of the Horse:
Funders, fund more, faster, and bolder: If you’re thinking of doing a listening session, prolonged research project, or some type of gathering this year, look at yourself in the mirror and then DON’T do those things. This is the year for progressive-leaning funders to go big and go fast. No more endless time and resources on research, thinking, and reflection. No more summits, webinars, and gatherings. No more logic models, theories of change, and white papers. Y’all have done enough of that. This is a year for action. Increase your payout rates immediately. Fund organizations, movements, and leaders that are protecting communities and leading resistance work. Shorten your grant decision timeline to less than one month. Be the cavalry that nonprofits need as they fight against fascism.
Nonprofits, also be courageous and decisive: Nonprofit organizations, along with movements and leaders, have always been at the mercy of the whims of others—funders, donors, even community members. This is a year to be courageous, loud, and speedy. Move forward when you have enough information to act; don’t wait for perfection. Have the audacity to demand resources you need to do your work effectively. Take risks. Burn some bridges if needed. Say no to donors and funders who are assholes. Add a zero or two to your budget.
Everyone, time to go on the offensive: Horses are often deployed in battle because they are swift and strong. (Let’s save the discussion on the problematic nature of that for another day). The liberal-leaning wing of our sector has always played a defensive role, always responding to inequity and injustice, rarely addressing it head-on. That should change this year. We’ve seen organizations suing the administration, community members chasing ICE out, ineffective politicians being primaried. We need more of that.
Build community and organize: Horses are social animals. They thrive in community with one another. This year, we need to focus on strengthening our community and organizing and mobilizing people to fight back against the fascists who are in power. As we see in Minnesota, when people band together, they are unstoppable. We’re going to need all of us to channel that spirit this year. ICE will move from one place to another, and we’re going to meet them with the full force of community wherever they go, until this administration gives up using this method to terrorize the populace.
Engage in strategic rest: While horses are powerful and can run far and fast, they do need to recharge. This year is a great time to implement a sabbatical policy if you don’t have one, along with paid family leave. If you’re thinking about doing 4-day workweeks, why not try it out this year? Funders, fund sabbaticals and other rest and rejuvenation programs and help protect our leaders from burning out.
OK, that’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts. Last year, the year of the Snake, was a painful period of growth that forced us to shed many of the illusions, beliefs, and practices that were no longer serving us.
This year, the energy shifts toward action and movement.
We ride at dawn on our fiery steeds!
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Vu’s new book is out. "Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector." Order your copy through these links here. Net proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to nonprofits supporting immigrant and trans rights.
Also:
I'm having a virtual book launch event on February 25th at 10am Pacific Time. It's free, open to everyone, and auto-captions will be enabled. There will be giveaways, quick interviews with a few leaders featured in the book, and a reading by brilliant and hilarious drag artist Viper Fengz. Details and registration here.
