Nonprofit AF

White supremacy and the problem with centering donors’ interests and emotions

Posted on March 22, 2021March 24, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A small boat on calm water, at sunrise or sunset, the skies in shades of orange and pink. Image by Eila Lifflander on Unsplash]

Hi everyone. Please buckle up, because this may be a bumpy ride for many of you. One, because of the topic. But also because a racist misogynist murdered eight people, the majority being Asian women, in Atlanta last week because he had a “bad day,” so I am not in the mood to soften my messaging.

I am exhausted by the cycle of white supremacist violence and denial. I don’t have the energy to find something to say at the moment that others haven’t already said better. Here’s my friend My Tam Nguyen’s reflection, “Asian American Women Are Resilient—and We Are Not OK.” Please read that. And if your org hasn’t condemned the rise in violence against Asians, do that. Here’s an example, with lots of good resources.

But I do have the energy to discuss a related topic: The pervasive, deeply internalized philosophy that as fundraisers, our job is to connect donors to what they care about, make them feel relevant and appreciated, and by doing that we help them realize their goals of making the world better, and everybody wins. It sounds fine on the surface, even noble, and many fundraisers have internalized this message over decades. I find it one of the biggest contributors to the very inequities we’re trying to fight.

Funders: Here’s a tool to make your grantmaking more equitable

Posted on March 14, 2021March 19, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: An adorable tan and white puppy, smiling at the camera with big dark eyes. Not sure what they are, maybe a shiba inu? Or a husky? Corgi? Picture by Stanley on Unsplash.]

It is not a secret that I am not a big fan of the way grantmaking has been done in our sector. Often, the foundations who claim to be aligned with equity continue to use truly crappy funding practices that perpetuate inequity. As a reminder, only 7% of philanthropic dollars are targeted toward Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and POC communities, and 3% go toward serving disabled people, according to this summary by Candid. Trans communities, meanwhile, receive only .015% “or a penny for every $100.”

If foundations are serious about moving funding to the communities that are most affected by systemic injustice, then their funding philosophies and practices must evolve. My previous organization RVC and I collaborated to develop this Equitable Grantmaking Continuum, based on our experience working with grassroots organizations led by and serving marginalized communities these past several years, and taking a few pointers from efforts such as Trust-Based Philanthropy and Grantadvisor.org. Here’s the full-version, and here’s the one-pager you can print out and hang on your wall. Use this tool to analyze how your foundation is doing and then start taking action. Here are things to keep in mind:

Answers on grant reports if nonprofits were brutally honest with funders

Posted on March 7, 2021March 8, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A cute little raccoon, standing in the grass, one paw raised. They look serious. But so cute! Admit it, this is one of the cutest raccoons you’ve ever seen. Not sure this has anything to do with this post. Just go with it. Image by Gary Bendig of Unsplash]

Hi everyone, this Friday is my birthday. If you want to help me celebrate, please donate to Mujer Al Volante, an awesome organization with the mission of helping “immigrant women become independent and empowered through obtaining a driver’s license, financial sustainability, and community support.” Mujer Al Volante does amazing and important work; thanks for supporting it. Don’t worry about me; I got myself some dark chocolate and a 3-pound bucket of Maldon salt, so I’m good until next year.

Grant reports. We all love to hate them. A reason is that like most things related to grants, we’ve learned to tell funders what we think they want to hear. Imagine if we could be honest, though:

White development colleagues, we need to talk about fundraiser fragility

Posted on March 1, 2021July 12, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: Two fluffy yellow baby chickens standing in the grass. So cute! So small! So fragile! Image by Lolame on Pixabay]

Hi everyone. This post today will likely ruffle some feathers. I only ask that you read it with an open mind, and maybe while eating a bar of dark chocolate (it reduces stress). If you’re a regular reader of my ramblings, you know that I frequently point out various flaws in our field. I do this because I love our sector and the people in it, and I believe in our potential to be truly transformative, to be able to help create the kind of inclusive, equitable world we know is possible. We cannot achieve that potential if we become complacent or self-satisfied with the way things are.

Most of my criticisms have been met with openness, even in disagreement. When I point out how evaluation is so white and problematic, (for examples here, here, and here), colleagues in data and evaluation engage in thoughtful and constructive dialogs. When I provide hard feedback about capacity building (here, here, and here), colleagues in capacity building welcome the discussions.

We must all think about sunsetting, not just foundations

Posted on February 21, 2021February 22, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: A magnificent sunset. Or sunrise. Over a lake. With a wooden path leading out into the water. A boat floats serenely in the distance. Image by Pok_Rie on Pixabay]

Hi everyone. A couple of things before we start. If you can spare it, here are some places to donate to help people in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana who are severely affected by winter storms. Colleagues in these states, I’m thinking of you.

If you are free this Wednesday, February 24th, from 10am to 11am PT, attend this important conversation on the California Black Freedom Fund, a $100M, 5-year initiative “to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.” I’m glad to see this, and I hope this sparks other funders to invest significantly in Black organizing and power-building.

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A concept in philanthropy that I find interesting is “sunsetting,” when a foundation expends its endowment at a rate that will eventually deplete its funds, leading to the foundation closing down. I always appreciate when funders have the courage to do this. So many societal problems could be resolved more effectively if more foundations would spend more now to solve these problems instead of hoarding resources, which allows entrenched issues to persist.