Exploring the fun and frustrations of nonprofit work
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 not about cashflow issues and revenues projections. It was magical; I felt young and alive again.
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***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 summer break from this blog, so this will be the last post for a while. I’ll be back with a new post on August 19th.
Also, I’m switching to another platform [not sure which one, after hearing from some of you about how problematic Substack is] when I get back. WordPress has served its purpose, but it’s gotten increasingly frustrating to use, including the several months when it didn’t send out notices of new posts to anyone. Substack hopefully will take care of some of these problems. The old posts will remain here so you can access them anytime. New ones will be published on the new platform. If you subscribed by email, you’ll automatically be transferred over; feel free to unsubscribe later.
I’m still keeping everything free on the new platforms instead of limiting some content to paid subscribers. But thank you in advance to paid subscribers, both on Substack and on Patreon. Your support each month allows me financial security to speak my mind freely without worrying about being canceled and not being able to pay the bills.
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The last few days in Tokyo have been very fulfilling and exactly what I needed. I don’t want to romanticize Japan too much, as I know it has its share of challenges, but it’s just been nice to be in a society where the sense of responsibly to the collective community is so strong. People care for one another and for the environment. On the trains and everywhere there are constant reminders to be thoughtful about children, older adults, and disabled people. Traveling around with two relatively young kids is always challenging, but I don’t remember a time when I’ve felt this relaxed about their safety. It is such a contrast to the US, where each morning I send them off to school and pray there’s no mass shooting.
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***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 hallucinating a little, which might affect the tone of this piece. Last week, I had a speaking engagement in Canada. While I was there, the president of the US abruptly left the G7 summit. Apparently to start World War 3 until his boss, Putin, told him to back off.
Before my speech, I was making conversation with a colleague at my table, who brought up a problem she sees with our sector: The term “nonprofit.” This is a common discussion we have from time to time over the years. Why define our sector by something that it’s “not”? It’s so confusing and leads to people thinking things like nonprofits can’t generate income.
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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 book-writing-and-promoting process, but all your encouraging messages and pre-orders have been very helpful, so thank you.
This weekend, I attended Seattle’s No King protest. I went because I felt terrible about everything. Over the past few months, there has been one crisis after another. The ICE raids in LA and everywhere, the assault of Senator Padilla, the assassination of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, the continued attacks on trans people, the ongoing support of genocide. Right before the protest, I had read about the deportation of 160 Southeast Asians, including 93 to Vietnam, where I grew up. Many of these people have been in the US since they were children or have never even set foot in Southeast Asia.
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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 Amazon. If you plan to order several copies, use Porchlight for significant bulk rates.
You may have some questions, so here are some FAQs:
What’s the title of the book?
Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector. The title, I know, is usually not my feisty burn-it-down brand, but the publisher advised a simple, easy-to-understand title in order to broaden its reach, including college and grad school curricula.
What’s it about?
It’s kind of a book I wish had been available when I was just starting my career in the sector, a no-BS, equity-grounded guide that synthesizes all the main points I’ve been ranting about over the past couple of decades, but organized into cohesive chapters on fundraising, boards, leadership, advocacy, hiring practices, work culture, data, DEI, philanthropy, and other stuff. Each chapter takes on archaic or ineffective mindsets and practices and offers alternatives and examples. (It’s not a collection of blog posts!)
Are there pictures of baby animals?
Sadly, no, there are no pictures of baby animals in this book at all. Or any pictures. It’s just words. Lots and lots of words. Please take this into consideration when deciding whether to purchase this book.
Will there be some sort of book launch event?
Probably. That requires work, which I don’t like. But everyone is telling me I need to do it for marketing purposes. Holy hummus, I guess I need to start marketing! Oh god, I don’t know anything about marketing!
Will you be going on a book tour?
I’m working on that, but I hope so. I want to do a book/standup-comedy tour in 2026. The sector could use more laughter during these horrible times. Be on the lookout for announcements of tour dates.
How can we support you?
Pre-ordering the book will be helpful, as it shows a strong demand. Also, please reach out to Stacy at NWBspeaking@gmail.com if you’re interested in booking me for a keynote or if you’d like to collaborate on the book tour. And, if you’re a funder and you’d like to help by sponsoring the tour, please let Stacy know.
Now that your book is almost done, are you finally going to start working on Nonprofit The Musical?
This tour will likely consume me for all of 2026. I’m hoping to work on a TV show next. Then maybe the musical. We do need more representation in mainstream media, so I hope more folks will work on different cool projects.
Thanks everyone. You’ve been so encouraging throughout this process. I’m excited for you to read this book, and I look forward to seeing you in person soon!