DESIGNING OTHERWISE
A newsletter for people who design programs and want to do it differently
Issue 05 | The Architecture Always Wins
Hi friend,
I want to tell you about somewhere I went recently.
I visited an outdoor school in Kenya. No walls. The classrooms were trees. The day moved by light and weather rather than bells. Children moved between activities at a rhythm that belonged to them, not to a timetable someone in a he...
May 21, 2026
Issue 05 | What Different Actually Looks Like
Over the past few weeks this newsletter has named some uncomfortable things. The power hiding in proposals. The participation that isn't really participation. The budget lines that tell the truth about whose knowledge counts. The language we've learned to sanitise so our work stays fundable.
And...
Apr 24, 2026
decolonial
design
fundraising
nonprofits
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DESIGNING OTHERWISE
A newsletter for people who design programs and want to do it differently
Issue 04 | The Words We Choose to Disappear
I've been thinking about a proposal I worked on years ago. The community we were designing for had lived through decades of deliberate political disinvestment. There was organis...
Apr 10, 2026
Issue 03 | The Budget is the Design
Designing Otherwise
A newsletter for people who design social impact programs and services and want to do it differently
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Here's something we don't say enough: the budget is not the admin part of program design. It is the design.
Every line item is a deci...
Mar 20, 2026
decolonise
fundraising
philanthrophy
socialimpact
Issue 02 | The Participation Trap
Designing Otherwise
A newsletter for people who design social impact programs and services and want to do it differently
I've been sitting with a word this week: participation. It's everywhere in our sector. And the more I sit with it, the more I think we need to be really clear about what we ...
by Jessica Atuona —
Mar 06, 2026
decolonise
fundraising
philanthrophy
socialimpact
Issue 01 | The Most Powerful Job Nobody Talks About
DESIGNING OTHERWISE A newsletter for people who design programs and want to do it differently
You're receiving this because you're part of the Design for Social Impact community — whether you've taken a course, attended a workshop, or signed up for updates at some point. Thank you for being here...
Feb 23, 2026
design
fundraising
social impact
DESIGNING OTHERWISE