One piece of advice I would give everyone in the sector

Hi everyone, this post is long, personal, and likely melancholy. One of the questions I get asked often is “What’s one piece of advice you would give to those of us just entering the sector?” or “What’s the one thing you would tell your past self?” I generally

Year of the Fire Horse, and what it means for our sector

Hi everyone, I am hyped up on leftover Valentine’s Day chocolates that I bought at 50% off, so apologies in advance if this post is a bit rambling. The Lunar New Year is coming up, with this Tuesday, February 17th, being the first day. It is the year of

Is the nonprofit model outdated?

Hi everyone, I'm having a virtual book launch event on February 25th at 10am Pacific Time. It's free, open to everyone, and auto-captions will be enabled. There will be giveaways, quick interviews with a few leaders featured in the book, and a reading by brilliant and

How nonprofits' and philanthropy's fear and disdain of money is biting us in the ass

Quick reminder: I'm having a virtual book launch event on February 25th at 10am Pacific Time. It's free, open to everyone, and auto-captions will be enabled. Details and registration here. -- Last week, I made a reel called “Funders: Stop overthinking how you can help nonprofits

Funders and donors: It’s never too late to join the fight against fascism

Hi everyone, quick reminder that if you’re free this Saturday January 31st at 9am Pacific, please join me and Kimberly O’Neil for “Leading the Work Without Losing Yourself.” It’s free; auto-caption will be enabled. Register here. I know all of us have been thinking about the violent

The White Moderation Genome Project

Hi everyone, if you’re not busy on Saturday January 31st, at 9am Pacific Time, please join me in a FREE virtual conversation, “Leading the Work Without Losing Yourself: A Conversation for Nonprofit Practitioners,” where the awesome Kimberly O’Neil and I discuss how everyone in our sector is holding

Heated Rivalry, if it were set in nonprofit and philanthropy

Hey everyone, thanks to the recommendation/threats of several colleagues, I finished watching Heated Rivalry, a smoldering Canadian show about gay/bi hockey players. When everything is so awful in the world, it’s nice we can find some reprieve in stories of love, romance, and community. And softcore smut

You are awesome, and other reminders as you get back to work this week and feel like crap

Hi everyone, I normally post on Tuesdays, but I know many people are getting back to work today, so I thought I would send some words of encouragement. And those words are: “OMG everything is crappy and I feel like crap and I don't want to write this

The second worst Christmas song ever written, and new forms of poverty porn and saviorism

Hi everyone, this will be the last post for this year. I’ll be back on January 6th. My older son, Viet, loves holiday music, and often asks for it to be played when I drive the kids to various places. The kids would ask me various questions about the

Taking a break this week

Hi everyone, I was writing a blog post, and then just as I was about to publish it, I realized I had already written on the topic! And you know what, the post written 3 years ago was funnier! It was about Plaque and Sack, when you loudly and publicly

“Take it easy in this capitalist hellscape”: Lessons I learned from Alice Wong

“Take it easy in this capitalist hellscape.” That’s the last line that Alice sent me. We had been exchanging emails, as I had quoted her in my new book and wanted to make sure she was OK with it. I asked how she was doing. “I'm hanging

A moratorium on the Attitude of Gratitude

Hi everyone, there is an economic blackout from 11/28 to 12/5 in protest of fascism and corporate greed, so please avoid spending money on those days, as well as avoid streaming services, social media, and AI stuff as much as you can. If you need to buy something,