From Presence to Power: How to Take On the Fights That Matter and Win
From Presence to Power is a practical guide to winning social change, built on one distinction: being visible is not the same as having the leverage to change the rules.
Rashad Robinson argues that many campaigns stall because they confuse presence (the visibility of marches, media attention and popular issues) with power (the ability to change the rules society runs on, or the decisions made by politicians, corporate executives and others in authority). Drawing on more than twenty years of leadership in the fights for LGBTQ rights and racial justice, he sets out lessons on how power really works and how everyday people can build real leverage inside systems designed to resist them.
Robinson has taken on technology companies, the criminal justice system, politicians in Washington and Hollywood executives, and writes from both the front line of protest and the back rooms of negotiation. The publisher describes the book as a hopeful, practical guide for anyone who wants to understand power, gain it and use it, and it carries endorsements from a wide range of activists, authors and union and campaign leaders. The US hardback runs to 400 pages and has been described as a national bestseller.
For fundraisers, the relevance lies in the book’s focus on strategy and leverage rather than awareness alone. Charity leaders and campaigners who work on policy change, corporate accountability or narrative change may find its framework useful, as may fundraisers who want to think harder about the difference between attention and influence. It is a US title with a US political context, so readers will need to translate its examples to UK settings.
Rashad Robinson is also a plenary speaker at the 2026 International Fundraising Congress (IFC) in the Netherlands.
About Rashad Robinson
Rashad Robinson is a social justice leader, strategist and organisation builder who has designed campaigns to change public policy, corporate practice, electoral outcomes and media representation. He led Color Of Change for nearly fourteen years, growing it from a start-up into a national racial justice organisation, and earlier led programmes at GLAAD during the campaigns for marriage equality and against discrimination.
He now advises foundations, nonprofits and leaders in media, politics, government and business through Rashad Robinson Advisors, and writes a weekly newsletter, How We Win.
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