The mysterious, secret lives of foundation board trustees

Hi everyone, if you’re in Seattle next Monday, May 4th, 6pm to 8pm PT, please join me and fellow rabble rouser Glen Galaich, author of CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short, for a no-bullshit conversation about philanthropy. RSVP here so we know how much hummus to order. It’

Let’s talk about the “master’s tools,” what they are, and what they are not

Hi everyone. If you’re free on May 7th at 11am Pacific, please join me in this webinar where I’ll be discussing board governance with Dimple Abichandani, author of A New Era of Philanthropy, and Monika Kalra Varma, President and CEO of BoardSource. As our world faces increasing challenges,

Liberal funders and donors, you need to invest in progressive leaders the way the right wing invests in conservative ones

Hi everyone, next week, on April 20th at 11am Pacific time, please join me and Rusty Stahl of Fund the People, as we talk nonprofit staff, burnout, what’s needed right now in this political context, and what we need to learn from the right-wing movement about how they

We need more nonprofit leaders running for political office!

A few weeks ago, I was at a gathering that included many high-wealth individuals. I talked to a man who told me his family was concerned about the environment, so they used a ton of money--millions!--to form an organization to do climate policy work. I asked how

Nonprofits, time to be less like a unicorn and more like a platypus

Hi everyone, I spent all day frolicking under some cherry blossom trees while it was sunny in Seattle, and then going to a nursery to buy some cherry blossom trees, and then contacting the City to initiate the process to get the permit to plant them in front of my

Increasingly more organizations are compensating job candidates for interviews, yay!

Hi everyone, remember a few years ago when most organizations didn’t list salary numbers in job postings, often instead putting meaningless stuff like “competitive salary,” and many of us fought against it? Our rabble-rousing worked, and now, I’m surprised when I see any job posting that DOESN’

Nonpartisan work is necessary, but not sufficient, if we want to save democracy

Hi everyone, quick reminder that if you’re free this week on Thursday March 19th, 1:45pm Pacific Time, I’ll be having a virtual discussion on my book, Reimaging Nonprofits and Philanthropy, with Ile Kimoyo. It is free and open to everyone. We’ll be diving into the book

Good news roundup! Things to make you feel hopeful about our world!

Hey everyone, it’s my birthday this week, and if you’d like to help me celebrate, please donate to Mujer Al Volante, the QTBIPOC Nonprofit Mutual Aid Fund, and UnKoch My Campus. It’s been a while since we’ve done a good news roundup. While there are horrible

10 questionable assumptions we make when fundraising that are holding us back

Hi everyone, as I’m getting older, I start reflecting on my work, and there are a few things for which I’m proud of having accomplished. One was coming up with the acronym MYGOD—which stands for Multi-Year General Operating Dollars. Another was when I was able to

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