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,
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 invest
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 it had
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
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’T
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
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
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 stop
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
Exploring the fun and frustrations of nonprofit work
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.” 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
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,
Last week, I was in Toronto facilitating a conversation on equitable grantmaking with a group of brilliant colleagues, including several funders and impact investment leaders. During the rise of authoritarianism, it is vital for funders to understand what’s at stake and to act accordingly. I reminded the workshop attendees
