Nonprofit AF

Exploring the fun and frustrations of nonprofit work

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Funder Relations

Funders, please stop trying to be unique snowflakes

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[A clear snowflake crystal standing out among other snowflakes, on the tip of what looks like green leaves, possibly pine needles. Image by Aaron Burden on Unsplash]

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 won the lottery), there will be a new post every Tuesday.

A few months ago, I was attending a conference where there was a panel of funders. Someone asked a question about something, and a panelist answered with this joke: “Well, if you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen…ONE foundation!” Everyone chuckled; one because the joke was well-delivered with good comedic timing, but also because power dynamics have conditioned nonprofit leaders to laugh at funders’ and donors’ jokes, regardless of their mirthful qualities.

But this joke made me think about how easily we just take things at face value when it comes to funder behaviors, even when those behaviors negatively affect nonprofits and the communities they serve. This oft-repeated joke, when explained, means every foundation is unique and has its own values, processes, idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes, and so on, and therefore, nonprofits would do well to do their own research on each foundation they approach instead of relying on general advice about funders.

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

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[A small fluffy round gray bird, standing on a ledge, staring at the camera, looking kind of grumpy. Anyone knows what bird this is? Image by Shridhar Thorat on Unsplash]

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

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[Image description: A cute grey-striped cat, standing next to what looks like a blue curtain, looking upward. Image by Daga_Roszkowska on pixabay]

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 time to celebrate you and the joy you bring to this world.

A few months ago, right after the elections, I met with a couple of board members of a progressive family foundation. It was a nice change of pace. In a world where the default is foundations deciding strategies and nonprofits are forced to apply for funding if they aligned, this foundation was trying to figure out how to transfer strategy-setting and decision-making authority to communities most affected by injustice. This is especially important now, when this administration is aiming to inflict as much harm and cruelty as it could to them.

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

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[Image description: A light-grey bird, standing on a wire, looking to the left with a rather serious expression. Image by balouriarajesh at Pixabay]

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 funders who were mostly awesome and fired up to advance DEI and fight to save democracy. During the Q&A, however, a program officer asked, “How do we make change happen when the people with all the power at our foundations are not in the room?”

By that, of course, he meant foundation board members, aka trustees. This is a dynamic we see across the sector: Foundation staff who get it, who want to do things differently and better, and who leave these gatherings inspired only to be quickly demoralized when they go back to their workplaces and must deal with their foundation trustees, who are often the biggest barriers to progress in our field.

Foundation trustees, if you are reading this, thank you; just the fact that these words somehow reached you is a miracle, as we don’t ever see or hear from many of you. Right now, everything is on fire as the right-wing dismantles every institution keeping democracy and society intact. Nonprofits and foundation are trying to work together to fight this authoritarian regime. You play a vital role. But for you to be effective in that role, there are a few things we need you to understand. These are things your program officers want to tell you but usually can’t due to power dynamics:

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Funders, here’s the blueprint for saving democracy

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[Image description: A protestor in front of a tent, surrounded by several signs. One that stands out says “Stay the course, this will happen to YOU” accompanied by several pictures of war and suffering. Image by greyerbaby on Pixabay]

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 communities are facing.

This week, David Callahan of Inside Philanthropy wrote a post on LinkedIn reporting similar dynamics of tentativeness among funders across the sector. David suggests several possible reasons for the hesitation, including shellshock from the cruelty and chaos unleashed by this administration, as well as funders’ lack of knowledge and confidence as to what strategies would work to counter it. While David and I agree on a lot of things, it’s this last point he makes where we may differ in opinions:

“Third, there’s only so much that funders can or should do to lead. Philanthropy’s main role is to support civil society groups, who rightly should be out front in the pushback to Trump’s actions. If those organizations aren’t coalescing around a set of promising big strategies — and there’s no sign they are — funders have limited options. They can’t bankroll grand new plans to fight MAGA if such plans don’t yet exist.

“Or, as one foundation CEO told me, ‘People keep yelling at us to give out more money, but for what?’”

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