A wise woman once told me that nonprofit organizations and their missions are “our government’s bandaid.” They’re not meant to eradicate problems and inequalities, they’re built to be a safety net so there is something being done to address the problem.

Governments know that nonprofits alone won’t work their way out of a job. For example, where I live in Austin, it’s unlikely that the number of organizations fighting homelessness will actually eradicate the problem without strong government support and policy. I would even argue it’s impossible.

Organizations are held to a standard to deliver on their mission. Whether it be to eradicate homelessness or to see a world where no child dies of cancer, it is the nonprofit organization’s job to make that mission a reality.

And when they don’t, we blame them.

When CEOs of organizations and leadership teams indulge in money-making activities, they’re seen as greedy, corrupt, and unethical. As if a 501(c)3 status suddenly dons a halo around everyone’s head — they’re “fighting the good fight” and it’s OK (even expected) to not get paid for it.

Many nonprofits are funded either by grants (these can be government, private, philanthropic, etc.), individual donations, or rarely, through their own revenue-generating activities.

Some are funded exclusively by federal government grants. Others are hanging by on a thread by individual donors. Wherever they lie on the spectrum of funding, this remains true for almost every nonprofit in our country: They are reliant on outside funds to operate their organization.

When we give back a dollar to St. Jude’s at the grocery store, we feel good. When we donate to our friend’s birthday charity on Facebook, we feel even better. We tout and share our “goodness” with the world. I get it. I’ve done it, shared it, and felt good about it.

That “feel good” feeling is likely in vain. While the funds help an immediate need, what we’re doing as the consumer is enforcing the bandaid without addressing the wound underneath. It is within the power of the consumer to change this trajectory.

Responding to Demand

It only took a generation to make the community and social impact part of everyone’s marketing plan. We live in a time where there are more companies than ever building corporate-social-responsibility departments and hiring philanthropy managers to manage their giving.

There are a lot of different ways companies can make an impact these days. They can become B-Corps. They can find a fiscal sponsor. They can open a foundation, or they can just donate proceeds. These do make a nominal impact for good in the world, I’m not denying that. But no matter how a company is structured to do good, they are definitely capitalizing off of that good and using it as a marketing technique.

I call this virtue marketing.

So many companies have adapted to impact-work, not because they are comprised of bleeding hearts who care about the world, but because we as consumers are demanding more accountability from the companies we patronize.

Markets will always adapt to the demand — it’s a part of capitalism. It’s a part of the way our country has always done business. Companies are being held accountable these days because consumers demand that accountability.

Watch Out for Virtue Marketing

The problem isn’t in our need for transparent and ethical marketing. The problem is in the smoke and mirror game that marketers big and small have adapted to.

We are being duped.

We have seen a record number of philanthropic donations in today’s world.

Yet, the gap between the haves and the have-nots keeps widening. Billionaires and business leaders are being rewarded for their philanthropic efforts. Instead of rewarding billionaires and leaders for their charity, we need to question the system that allowed them to gain such an immense amount of wealth in the first place.

Why shouldn’t billionaires keep their billions?

Inevitably, every time I talk to someone about the inequitable distribution of wealth in our country, I get this question:

“Why shouldn’t Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg be able to keep their wealth? They earned it.”

I’m not saying billionaires like Bezos and Zuckerberg shouldn’t be wealthy. They worked hard and created innovative businesses that people find useful. That is important. The problem isn’t that they’re wealthy. The problem is that their wealth positions them as more powerful than they are qualified to be.

Why do we award the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative for their investment of billions into education and STEM?

Because we know the education infrastructure in this country is hurting. So we celebrate people who are able to invest in it, without questioning why it is hurting. Teachers are paid laughable wages, while the same teachers who taught the young tech prodigies barely make a living wage.

If Zuckerberg invested in the government instead of his own venture, then we can take the steps to address the systemic problem. Think about it, the government has exponentially more cumulative knowledge on public education than Mark Zuckerberg and Patricia Chan combined.

Why do we continue to celebrate their charities?

Moving Forward and Wielding Our Power

Consumers have power. It is because of our demand for accountability that we see companies doing more to address inequality. Marketers will always respond to the needs of consumers, so we need to change our needs.

Here are three steps we can take today to start making the tectonic-level change needed to end our growing systems of inequality.

1. Stop assuming the government is useless

Today’s politics have driven a deep wedge between the aisles. This helps fuel the idea that government isn’t useful or helpful — but it’s not true. The only way to ensure that folks like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos balance the inequitable wealth distribution is through legislative policy.

We can’t deem government as useless and expect systemic change to happen in the private sector alone. This means both sides need to stop. Stop sharing memes and snippets that fuel the fire. Stop hating each other. In doing so, you’re enforcing the idea that government is useless.

2. Educate yourself

End your slactivism and get educated. Learn from people like Anand Giridharadas.

3. Demand even more accountability

We’ve come a long way in holding corporations and their leadership accountable, but we’re not done. When you donate to a nonprofit, look at their board. Are they all rich, white people?

If Uber Eats has a checkbox that says Donate to BIPOC Organizations Today, question that shit. Who are those organizations? And then look them up. You’ve got some time before your meal gets there anyway.