Contributing your full self, the best that you can be, is important in any kind of enterprise. In small-staffed philanthropy, it’s essential. Small funders who’ve made significant, outsized impact often say the knowledge, relationships, “street savvy,” and reputation they leveraged played the crucial role. They will say, “Money wasn’t the most important thing. It was... Read More
Many Americans don’t believe we matter in a system where powerful interests seem to make the rules. Almost half of eligible voters don’t even turn out for elections. Feeling powerless may be our most common self-deception, and our biggest danger. As leaders like Eric Liu remind us, we have tremendous power, if we recognize it... Read More
Many people say the U.S. government imposes too many regulations and too much paperwork on our economy. Although everyone doesn’t feel this way, it’s a pretty common refrain. One arena very free of government requirements is foundation grants to public charities. Yet many people who work in foundations and many professional advisors to foundations—attorneys, accountants, and consultants—are... Read More
In any group or in any relationship, trust is the feeling that allows people to work toward common purpose. Trust comes from a sense of common values and beliefs. But more than that, trust allows us to be ourselves, to be creative, use our talents and skills, and take risks. Where there is trust, we... Read More
At some point in our life and work, we ask ourselves, Is there more to know? Is there more to experience? Is there more impact or change we can make? It’s not that we’re ungrateful for what we have. It’s that we get restless, frustrated, fatigued. We heard somewhere that philanthropy was about taking risks,... Read More
Acknowledging and talking about power is taboo. We’re uncomfortable with the fact that some wield greater strength and influence, and feel no shame about using it to hold sway over others. In spite of our laws and regulations, our checks and balances, our moral and social norms nurturing restraint and respect, people use power to bend... Read More