Peter Murray is the founder and president of Accelerate Change, which originated as a project of Center for Public Interest Research. ^{1 2} He advises left-of-center nonprofit organizations on how they can increase funding and membership. On Accelerate Change’s website, it states that it helps nonprofit organizations target ethnic minorities, LGBT, and low-income communities to increase political activity and voter participation. ^{3 4}

Early Career

In 2003, Peter Murray founded the Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL), an organization that trained 6,000 “progressive political and policy leaders” and dissolved in 2012. Prior to founding CPL, Murray served as the president and founder of the Empowerment Group, a Philadelphia-based business training organization for ethnic minorities. He also served as co-founder and executive vice president of the I Do Foundation, which helps couples fundraise for weddings, and he worked as the chief executive officer of Image Contractors, a Philadelphia construction company. ^{5 6}

Accelerate Change

Since 2012, Peter Murray has served as the founder and president of Accelerate Change, ⁷ a nonprofit organization that provides consulting services for left-of-center nonprofit media organizations. It helps media organizations target ethnic minorities, low-income, and LGBT communities to increase their political involvement. ⁸

On Accelerate Change’s “Values and Team” webpage, it states that it uses the identity politics concept of intersectionality and the critical race theory concept of anti-racism to address race issues in its work, claiming that it seeks to “dismantle white supremacy.” ⁹

Consulting

Through his role with Accelerate Change, Peter Murray conducts research on nonprofit finances and strategies to use to consult other organizations. In an interview with Strategy and Business, Murray states that he advises organizations to use media platforms and provide tangible services to their communities to expand their fundraising and membership. ¹⁰

In 2015, Murray published a paper titled, “The Promise of Lean Experimentation,” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, alongside Accelerate Change senior partner Steve Ma, discussing how to evaluate businesses based on their efficiency in the production of their products and services, and expansion. The paper references publications from Accelerate Change regarding how nonprofit organizations can increase fundraising and popularity. ¹¹

In “The Promise of Lean Experimentation,” Murray discusses how philanthropic organizations struggle to employ the same qualities as efficient businesses due to nonprofits not being able to use revenue as a measure of success and can receive funding after going through traditional grantmaking processes despite being ineffective. The paper goes on to claim that philanthropic donors and grantmakers require too many steps and too much information to quickly address social issues. Rather, the paper argues that more funders need to have readily available “experimental” funding that can immediately be used; this method is allegedly  faster and more effective than the traditional process of vetting prospective grantees. ¹²

1. “Vice President Digital Media Job Description.” Accelerate Change, July 2018. https://acceleratechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/VP-Digital-Media-Job-Description-42F2018-1.pdf.
2. Baker, Edward H. “How the NRA Sets the Standard for Customer Engagement: A Q&A with Peter Murray.” Strategy+business, December 19, 2013. https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/How-the-NRA-and-Apple-Set-the-Standard-for-Customer-Engagement-A-QA-with-Peter-Murray.
3. “About.” Accelerate Change, April 1, 2023. https://acceleratechange.org/about/.
4. “Civic Revolution.” Accelerate Change, April 12, 2022. https://acceleratechange.org/civic-revolution/.
5. “I Do Foundation.” Fast Company, February 28, 2002. https://www.fastcompany.com/1540233/i-do-foundation-fast-50-2002.
6. “Peter Murray – Segal Fellows.” Graduate School for Social Policy and Management. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://heller.brandeis.edu/segal/segal-fellows/murray.html.
7. Baker, Edward H. “How the NRA Sets the Standard for Customer Engagement: A Q&A with Peter Murray.” Strategy+business, December 19, 2013. https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/How-the-NRA-and-Apple-Set-the-Standard-for-Customer-Engagement-A-QA-with-Peter-Murray.
8. “About.” Accelerate Change, April 1, 2023. https://acceleratechange.org/about/.
9. “Values & Team.” Accelerate Change, June 4, 2024. https://acceleratechange.org/values-team/.
10. Baker, Edward H. “How the NRA Sets the Standard for Customer Engagement: A Q&A with Peter Murray.” Strategy+business, December 19, 2013. https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/How-the-NRA-and-Apple-Set-the-Standard-for-Customer-Engagement-A-QA-with-Peter-Murray
11. Murray, Peter, and Steve Ma. “The Promise of Lean Experimentation.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2015. https://ssir.org/pdf/SSIR_Summer_2015_PromiseOfLeanExperimentation.pdf.
12. Murray, Peter, and Steve Ma. “The Promise of Lean Experimentation.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2015. https://ssir.org/pdf/SSIR_Summer_2015_PromiseOfLeanExperimentation.pdf.