Let's try to be nicer to ourselves and one another while we fight against fascism

Hi everyone, a couple of announcements. First, if you’re in Seattle, please come to the book launch event I’m having on October 14th from 6pm to 8pm at Centilia Cultural Center. Everyone is so stressed, so I want it to be a fun and community-building event. I already

Donor engagement and the retail-ification of equity and justice

Hi everyone, buckle up (though, at this point in the rapid collapse of civilization, I’m not sure any of us can be more buckled than we already are). Whenever I talk about donors, people get weirdly defensive and all up in their feelings, like a mama bear when someone

Donors and funders, instead of freaking out or being numb, here are things you can do to fight fascism:

Hi everyone, quick announcement: If you're free this Friday, September 12th, at 11am Pacific Time, please join me and Edgar Villanueva for an Instagram Live conversation. We'll be talking about my new book and what our sector needs to do to fight fascism. Just get onto

Annual performance reviews suck. Here's how to make them better. Or maybe we should just ditch them.

In my several decades as a nonprofit professional, there are a couple of harrowing occasions that have seared themselves into my soul, causing me to wake up in the middle of the night, filled with rage. One of these occasions involved cryptocurrency, some sock puppets, and 12 gallons of bleach,

Funders, please stop trying to be unique snowflakes

Hi everyone, if you’ve been having issues getting email notices of new blog posts, my apologies. I’m still tweaking the system and possibly might need to switch to another platform, because this has been irritating. Just be assured that unless something out of the ordinary happens (like I

How to stay motivated when everything is on fire and you look and feel like crap

Hi everyone, I just got back from a whirlwind summer in Japan and Vietnam, where I—and I didn’t think this would happen again for me—fell in love. With not having to work. Long walks on the beach—without answering emails. Deep conversations late into the night—but

Instructions on not giving up: Let's conserve our energy for the battles ahead

***Vu’s new book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector, comes out October 14th. Pre-order your copy*** Hi everyone, I am on a plane bound for Vietnam from Tokyo. A couple of announcements before we get started: I’m taking my yearly

Brutally honest answers to 15 pointless questions our sector keeps asking itself

***Vu's new book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector, comes out October 14th. Pre-order your copy*** Hi everyone, I'm on a plane heading to Tokyo. It’s been several hours and I'm tired and grumpy and

The Tide is Surging: The No King Protests and the Beginning of the End of Fascism in the US

Hi everyone. Thank you for all your support when I announced the publication date of my new book last week. I really appreciate it, especially as I was overwhelmed with a feeling of inadequacy upon submitting the manuscript to my editor. Apparently, self-doubt and even dread are common in the

Vu's new book comes out on October 14th. Pre-order your copy today!

Hi everyone, after months of being holed up in my room writing every weekend, and muttering and cursing to myself, I'm excited to announce that my book will be released on October 14th! You can pre-order your copy at Elliott Bay Book Company, Barnes and Nobles, Bookshop, or

Funder-inflicted trauma and how it affects nonprofit leaders and our sector

Hi everyone. Before we get started on today’s topic, happy Pride! To all my colleagues who are lesbian, gay, (fellow) bisexual, trans, genderfluid, intersex, nonbinary, queer, asexual, questioning, or any combination of the above and other identities, you’re awesome. Thank you for being who you are. Please take

Let's support the arts like democracy depends on it—because it does!

Hi everyone, if you’re free on June 5th at 10am Pacific Time, my friend and colleague, Ananda Valenzuela, will be leading a FREE virtual workshop called “Exploring Power Dyamics and Principled Accountability.” It’ll be bilingual in English and Spanish. Register here. Last week, I attended a production of

Policy and Advocacy

Resistance Is Working! A Roundup of Recent Wins!

Hi everyone, happy AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) month. If you’re free this Wednesday May 21st at 9am Pacific Time, here’s a great free virtual panel featuring Asian women entrepreneurs discussing the intersection of business and social justice. *** I hope you are hanging in there

Policy and Advocacy

What the heck is the Overton Window, and how can we use it to advance progressive goals?

Hi everyone, before we get started, our friends at the National Council of Nonprofits are sounding the alarm about the Republicans’ proposed tax bill, which the hope to pass by summer. If it passes, it will be very bad for our sector and the people we serve. It includes allowing

leadership

It’s time for progressives to be arrogant, messy, and unapologetic

There’s been various articles written on the phenomenon of Imposter Syndrome, such as this one by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey called “Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome” and this one by our colleague Esther Saehyun Lee, titled “You’re not feeling imposter syndrome, you are an imposter:

Funder Relations

Foundation trustees, help save democracy or get out of the way

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of all my friends and colleagues in Canada, who just achieved a resounding election victory against their version of MAGA; this came after the horrific tragedy over the weekend at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival. Last week, I gave a keynote at a conference of

Uncategorized

A mass uprising is needed. Our sector has a vital role to play.

I know everyone has been on edge, anticipating the Executive Orders that are coming this week, possibly even today, that are targeted to devastate the nonprofit sector, including targeting climate-focused organizations, punishing organizations that fund or do work abroad, revoking the tax status of organizations like Harvard that refuse to

Funder Relations

Funders, here’s the blueprint for saving democracy

Two weeks ago, I met with a colleague who was invited to a convening of funders in Seattle. He reported that the funders present were wringing their hands, unsure of what their foundations should be doing to respond to the rapid dismantling of democracy and the exponential increase in suffering

nonprofit field

National orgs must step up to help nonprofits and our communities as we face this fascist sh!tstorm

About 15 years ago, I was invited to speak on a panel at a conference run by a large, well-funded national organization whose mission was to represent the entire nonprofit sector. The entry fee for this 3-day conference was $2200, which my org with a budget of $500K couldn’t

Board Relations

My one-man show about nonprofit and philanthropy is going on tour!

Hi everyone, I have been keeping quiet about this exciting project I’ve been working on for the past two years, but I’m happy to report it’s finally ready for the limelight! As some of you know, I have a background in theater. Well, OK, I took Drama

Donor Relations

Amidst the rise of fascism, we need to stop catering to donors' passions and preferences

Hi everyone, happy Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This post may be short and incoherent, because I’m supposed to be wrapping up the manuscript of my book and sending it to my editor at Wiley. Due to the collapse of democracy and the rise of fascism, it must be

Funder Relations

Script for Lord of the Rings, if it were set in nonprofit and philanthropy

Hey everyone, hope you're hanging in there. I've been watching my favorite movies as a break from the horrors of the real world. Some are very inspiring. Lord of the Rings, for example, has lots of parallels to our world, including an all-consuming evil and band

funding

It's Time for Left-Leaning Funders to Fully Fund and Engage in Political Warfare

Hi everyone, this week is my birthday, when I'm officially a year older. But joke’s on the universe, since I’ve always looked ten years older than my biological age! If you’d like to help me celebrate, please donate $44 (or whatever you can afford) to

Funder Relations

Thanks, Foundations, but 6% or Even 10% Payout is Not Enough

Hi everyone, I hope you’re doing OK during this time of Fascist Extremist Assholes Reign (FEAR). If you’re free this week, March 4 to 6, please join me at the virtual Nonprofit Marketing Summit: Evolve, which is FREE. My session will be on March 5th at 11am Pacific