Nonprofit AF

Exploring the fun and frustrations of nonprofit work

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20 subtle ways white supremacy manifests in nonprofit and philanthropy

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[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 100th 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].

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Advice for progressive billionaires who want to make the world better

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[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.

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Fundraising and the problem with “you”

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[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.

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12 ways “all lives matter” manifests in nonprofit and philanthropy

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[Image description: A black-and-white image of protesters. They are facing away from the camera. One person, wearing a face covering and baseball cap, raises a sign that says “with privilege comes responsibility.” Image by Lan Nguyen on Unsplash]

Hi everyone, before we get to this week’s topic, thank you to those of you who voted on the new name of our annual sector-wide event where nonprofit and philanthropy leaders get together to get snacks and hang out to help break down some of the pervasive power dynamics between us. (We’re changing the original name—BEER, Beverage to Enhance Equity in Relationships—to be more inclusive of colleagues in recovery). We got over 1500 votes! The clear winner, with nearly 40% of the votes, is PEEP—Party to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy. So there you have it. Some of you are hilarious, providing suggestions like Party to Enhance Equity, and Party to Open Others to Philanthropy.

Anyway, I hope you’ll host a PEEP event sometime around mid-June. If you plan to have one, please fill out this form, so that I can help promote your event. And so help me MYGOD (Multi-Year General Operating Dollars), if you call it a “PEEP Party” (like “ATM Machine” or “PIN Number”), I will rain hellfire on you and your communications team.

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The real reasons many organizations are still unable to diversify their board, staff, fundraising committees, etc.

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[Image description: Three apples standing in a row on a shiny black surface, the two on the outside being red and white and identical, while the one in the middle is in grayscale but otherwise also identical in size and pattern to the other two. I thought I would mix it up a bit by including pictures of fruit instead of the usual pictures of baby animals. Image by geralt on Pixabay]

Hi everyone, sorry this post is a day late (my laptop updated at the most inconvenient time last night and took hours). Before we get to this week’s topic, quick announcement. BEER, which stands for Beverage to Enhance Equity in Relationships, took a break last year, but is now back on this year. It is a time for foundation staff and trustees and nonprofit staff and board members to get together in their cities and just hang out and see one another as human beings. It usually happens around the Summer Solstice, so this year it’ll be around June 17th or 18th. Of course, grabbing some fries or ice cream together preferably outdoor or virtually is by no means a substitute for meaningful change in philanthropy, but it’s a start.

However, we’re changing the name to be more thoughtful to colleagues who are in recovery or who don’t drink for religious or other reasons. The finalists so far are “Party to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy (PEEP),” “Beverage to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy (BEEP),” “Party to Enhance Equity in Relationships (PEER),” or “Power-Equalizing and Equity in Relationships (PEER).” Please go here to vote on it. I’m serious! It’ll take you literally 20 seconds. Feel free to suggest other names. I’ll announce the new name next week!

One of the questions I get asked most often when I give presentations is “Vu, have you tried tea-tree oil for your acne?” But also just as frequently asked is “What advice do you have for my organization as we try to diversify our board, staff, etc.?” For years people have been asking how to diversify their orgs. This is discouraging. We’ve had endless DEI workshops, various “white papers” and articles, and at least one puppet show. What the heck is going on? Why do we suck so much at diversifying?

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