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title: "The Social Profit Sector Is Making Decisions Based on Lies | Common Ground Consulting"
description: "After 35 years inside civil society, I've watched the sector tell itself stories that stopped being true a decade ago. The Social Prophet is where I say what I actually think. Issue #1 is live."
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Sector Insights · Philanthropy · Trust · Equity

# The Social Profit Sector Is Making Decisions Based on Lies

By Craig Bowman May 7, 20261 min read 

Share: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcommongroundconsulting.ai%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-profit-sector-is-making-decisions-based-on-lies)Copy link

![The Social Profit Sector Is Making Decisions Based on Lies](https://vonqfnmlbhjkmhstimpk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/1778185973394-09kzom.png)

The organizations doing the most important work in the world today are navigating one of the most disruptive periods in the history of civil society. USAID dismantled. Grassroots giving collapsing. AI adopted everywhere, governed nowhere. Boards simply rubber-stamping. And a resilience narrative that mistakes endurance for strategy.

I've spent 35 years inside this sector, as an executive director, a government program builder, a board member, and a consultant to more than 375 organizations across 35 countries. I've watched enough cycles to know when a pattern is legible.

That's why I launched [The Social Prophet](https://www.thesocialprophet.org).

Every month, one structural question. Honest analysis. No vendor pitches. No comfortable stories about resilience. The kind of thinking the sector needs but rarely gets from sources that don't have something to sell.

The inaugural issue is live today. It names five beliefs the social profit sector holds right now that are going to be expensive. Not philosophically wrong. Expensive, in lost staff, lost donors, lost relevance, and lost mission.

Read it and subscribe at [thesocialprophet.org](http://thesocialprophet.org).

Share: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcommongroundconsulting.ai%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-profit-sector-is-making-decisions-based-on-lies)Copy link

## Strategic Intelligence  
for the Social Profit Sector

The Social Prophet is our founder's independent monthly newsletter. Honest analysis of where the sector is headed, backed by evidence.

![The Social Prophet logo](/assets/social-prophet-logo-B4M5vO4w.png)[Subscribe at thesocialprophet.org](https://thesocialprophet.org)

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