Whenever I point out the challenges with nonprofits getting the funding they need to succeed, invariably someone will bring up the question of whether there are “too many nonprofits” and if much of our problems would be solved if many of them merged or went out of business. Fewer nonprofits
Original title: We need to get off the gaslighting, victim-blaming hamster wheel of bullshit (GVBHWBS) A few weeks ago, I was listening to a panel of funders give advice for nonprofits on the best way to approach their foundation, since funding has been harder to obtain. At another workshop
During the first year of Covid, I was at home with my kids, who were aged 7 and 4 at the time. The days were long, and they constantly needed to be entertained. At one point, they discovered the vacuum and were fascinated by it. So when they weren’t
Disclaimer: This post is not written with any intentional assistance from AI, so expect typos, run-on sentences, unclear points, confusing metaphors, and, you know, some other things I can’t think of right now. Being in the Pacific Northwest is amazing. The food is excellent, and we have so
Hi everyone. I hope you have had a nice break and were able to rest and recharge. I haven’t done one lick of writing in two months, so this post may be a bit rusty (especially as I refuse to use AI for any part of the writing process)
Hi everyone, this is the last blog post before I take my summer break. I’ll be back on September 1st with a tan and a new post. The last few months have been a whirlwind of depressing news. However, there are tons of amazing, inspiring, courageous things happening all
Hi everyone, this is the next-to-last blog post before I go on my yearly summer hiatus. I’ll be off all of July and August to spend time with my kids, who got me a mug that says “Not the worst dad” for Father’s Day. The Parable
Hi everyone, if you’re free this week on June 18th from 11:30am to 1pm Pacific, here's a great webinar: “What If our Trans siblings were fully included and protected in all spaces? A guide to substantive allyship for Trans rights and how to do better with
Hi everyone, if you’re available this Friday, June 12th, 1:30pm to 3pm Eastern, join me for “Reimagining Nonprofit Leadership Without Losing Our Minds: A Joyfully Irreverent Conversation with Author Vu Le.” It’s FREE. Register here. The past few months, I’ve been reading various articles and attending
Exploring the fun and frustrations of nonprofit work
Hi everyone, happy Pride month. Please put on your calendar to attend this webinar on June 18th from 11:30am to 1pm Pacific: “What If our Trans siblings were fully included and protected in all spaces? A guide to substantive allyship for Trans rights and how to do better with
Hi everyone, this week on May 28th at 1pm to 2pm Pacific, I’ll be in conversation with some brilliant leaders (including Jan Masaoka and Al Cantor) about regulatory and tax reform of private foundations, such as with Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs). It’s free. Register here. I’m writing
Hi everyone, I’ve been doing a lot of travel lately in promotion of my book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy. It’s been exhausting, but also fun, as I get to meet with really cool people who remind me just how brilliant, creative, and badass our sector can be. Plus,
Hi everyone, on May 28th at 1pm to 2pm Pacific, I’ll be in conversation with some brilliant leaders (including Jan Masaoka and Al Cantor) about regulatory and tax reform of private foundations, such as with Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs). It’s free. Register here. -- A couple of years ago,
Hi everyone, before we get into this week’s topic, if you’re available this Thursday May 7th at 11am Pacific, please join me in this FREE webinar where I’ll be discussing board governance with Dimple Abichandani, author of A New Era of Philanthropy, and Monika Kalra Varma, President
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’
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
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
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’
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
