I am now publishing Where To Give Now as a Substack newsletter. Read and subscribe!
Here’s a sneak peak:
The most frequent question I get these days is, “How are you feeling?” And my answer of late has been, “Not awesome.”
The gut punches of the last few weeks have hurt. The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and Southern states responded swiftly to eliminate majority-Black districts in the name of partisan (but definitely not at all racial, no sir-ree) gerrymandering. I likened this to the feelings we had after the Dobbs decision -- the highest court in the land said a huge segment of the country is less than. Sadly, it’s a feeling Black voters are all too familiar with.
Then the Virginia Supreme Court overruled the will of the voters and invalidated their new map and voters in Indiana supported Trump-backed five primary challengers to a handful of state legislators who dared to defy him on redistricting. It’s hard to rally in the face of these setbacks. I may have had a good cry over a few glasses of wine on Saturday night. But rally we must -- and we must keep the long game in perspective.
Democrats are in an excellent position for a blue wave in November. But blue waves do not just happen; they need to be nurtured and funded. The Democratic brand is still dismal with voters and leadership has yet to put forward a proactive agenda. But Trump’s declining poll numbers present an opportunity to reclaim power. As we saw with the primaries in Texas and North Carolina last week and with special elections since Trump 2.0, Democrats want to win and are willing to toss aside establishment candidates to do so. We need candidates who meet the moment.
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88% of U.S. foundations and donor advised funds are designed to exist forever. An estimated $3 trillion is held by these institutions.
Imagine what we could do if we unlocked more of today’s dollars to solve today’s problems.
This fall I attended #ASSEMBLE100, the largest gathering to date of “sunset-curious” and “sunset-convinced” philanthropic leaders, hosted by Gary Community Ventures. I’m so proud to be featured in this short film alongside 7 other incredible peers, who like us, are working to unlock more capital, more urgently.
Click here to watch the full film and join us in this growing movement towards impermanence: https://garycommunity.org/short-film/impermanence/?utm_source=partners
Giving Tuesday is upon us and I wanted to pass on some advice for how to maximize your donations and impact. This year, I am particularly focused on communities and issues that have been targeted by the Trump Administration and DOGE cuts.
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We won stuff! 2025 take-aways, lessons for 2026, and more.
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