Nonprofit AF

What is Retroactive Allyship Theater, and are you guilty of it?

Posted on June 14, 2021June 15, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A brown and white puppy with a black nose and big, soulful eyes, laying down on what looks like a bed, with their head between their forepaws. Image by T.R. Photography on Unsplash.]

Hi everyone, this week a bunch of groups are having PEEP (Party to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy) gatherings. I’ll have an updated list at the end of the post, so check it out. Also, if you’re in King County, please take some time to fill out the Wages and Benefit Survey and the Employee Engagement Survey; they’ll take a little time to do, but we need good information to ensure people are paid and treated fairly.

My friend and colleague Allison Carney, who coined the immortal term “bizsplaining,” wrote this blog post about how introverts can speak out against racism. It’s made me think about how so many of our strategies for fighting injustice are geared towards extroverts, people who are naturally more comfortable speaking up. For those who are quieter and who need time to reflect, it can be more challenging to push back in the moment when we see or hear problematic things, or when someone needs support.

It’s time we pay interview-stage job applicants for their time

Posted on June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: Four string puppets standing in front of a yellow background flanked by blue curtains. Three appear to be wearing dresses, one with a shirt, pants and boots. All have beady, soul-less eyes, their arms outstretched as if they’re beckoning to be hugged. Image by epicioci on Pixabay]

Quick note before we start: Join me for “Friends with Money: A Fireside Chat for 501c3s & Philanthropists” on Wed, June 9th, 5pm to 6pm EDT. Free via Zoom. We’ll be discussing philanthropy, equity, power dynamics, etc. Also, several groups across the country are putting on a PEEP (Party to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy) event around the summer solstice. I’ll list the ones I have information about at the end of this post. If you’re planning something, please fill out this form, and I’ll mention it next week.

Over the past few years, I keep hearing horror stories from people applying for jobs. Someone had to go through eight rounds of interviews. A friend had a four-hour interview that included an essay followed by a one-hour PowerPoint presentation. A colleague had to come up with a marketing plan for an organization, didn’t get the job, but found that the org had used their ideas without asking for permission. Another person mentioned having a personality test and six interviews that culminated with them writing and performing a one-act puppet show to demonstrate their creativity.

20 subtle ways white supremacy manifests in nonprofit and philanthropy

Posted on June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 by Vu

[A pare of white baby shoes standing on a wheat stalk, in a wheat field. Image by Luise and Nic on Unsplash]

Hi everyone, this post may be less coherent and more serious than normal. I can’t stop thinking about the news regarding the remains of 215 Native children found at the site of a residential school in Kamloops, Canada. White Canadians – teachers, administrators, the church, the government – murdered them. It is deeply sad and horrifying. I can only imagine the pain and trauma these children endured, and what Indigenous families and communities have been going through.

Meanwhile, this week marks the 100^th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, where in the span of hours a mob of white people murdered hundreds of Black people, left thousands homeless, and burned Black Wall Street to the ground. It is profoundly horrendous, and something I don’t think our white-centric education system taught many of us.

[Update: I want to give thanks and credit to K. Kennedy Whiters, Architect and Founder of unRedact the Facts, for giving me feedback and wording to revise the above two paragraphs. Originally, I had used the passive voice, which is another way that we all perpetuate white supremacy].

Advice for progressive billionaires who want to make the world better

Posted on May 24, 2021May 24, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A stack of Euro coins, at the top of the stack sits a tiny figurine of a person sitting and reading a book. Wow, that is a tiny figurine. Where would one even get this? Image by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash]

Over the weekend I listened to this episode of The Ethical Rainmaker, where my friend (and fellow co-chair of Community-Centric Fundraising) Michelle Muri talks with journalist Teddy Schleifer about billionaires and what they’re doing with all that money. Apparently, during the pandemic, the number of billionaires increased by 30%, and 86% of them got even more wealthy than before the pandemic. According to Teddy, Silicon Valley billionaires will in the next couple of decades overshadow large established foundations in terms of assets and influence.

However, there is significant angst about what to do philanthropically with this newfound wealth. There are so many factors to consider: which issues to choose, how to deploy it effectively to bring about the most societal good, how to avoid current ineffective practices. This causes many billionaires to just set money aside in Donor-Advised Funds and other vehicles while they try to figure things out. Some of them literally send tweets asking for suggestions on what to do, what issues they should work on. And because so many of these billionaires are men, they often ask their wives or partner to handle the philanthropy.

Fundraising and the problem with “you”

Posted on May 17, 2021May 17, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A pink water lily, sitting on some lily pads floating on the water. The water and lily pads are in black-and-white. Image by pixel2013 on Pixabay]

Hi everyone. This post may be shorter and more disjointed than usual. Like many of you, I have been affected by all the human rights violations in Palestine, including the murder of Palestinian children. Here are some ways you can help. If you need more information, Decolonize Palestine is a great resource.

I’ve also been thinking of the CDC’s recommendation that fully vaccinated people can go mask-free. While this seems like progress, it moves us out of a “we’re all in this together” mentality and back into an “individual choice” sort of deal, which will endanger more lives. It furthers the issue identified in this article, which highlights how the CDC switched its messaging from how wearing masks protects others, to one that emphasizes individual self-protection.