# From Presence to Power: How to Take On the Fights That Matter and Win

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/from-presence-to-power/
- Published: 2026-07-28T23:48:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/10/13/rashad-robinson-and-nyasha-gwatidzo-to-headline-ifc-2026/)(
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_.

**Buy [From Presence to Power](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593243560?tag=219) from
Amazon.co.uk.**