Break Fake Rules: Change Big Giving For Good

Why are people willing to give up power in exchange for the promise of protection? Recorded live with Northern California Grantmakers at SFJAZZ, host Jamie Allison invited Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, renowned historian and scholar, and Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, to discuss their new books, Dr. Kendi’s Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, and Glen’s CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Together, Dr. Kendi and Glen explore what it takes to move away from distrust and zero-sum thinking toward trust, solidarity, and shared responsibility. Their conversation asks a timely question of both democracy and philanthropy: what becomes possible when we stop treating one another as threats and start recognizing how connected we actually are? 💡Dr. Ibram X. Kendi: “The weakest link in the chain of ideas are those who believe they're not connected to the rest of us.” Order Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, and his new children’s book, The Power of Our. Learn about his work at the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study. Learn about the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Northern California Grantmakers, and the Stupski Foundation. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Host: Jamie Allison Guests: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi & Glen Galaich Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: SFJazz and Podfly Video Editing: SeeBoundless Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

When does protecting an endowment get in the way of the mission? In this episode, co-hosts Glen Galaich and Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, unpack the foundation’s bold decision to double its grantmaking over the next decade. They get into what fiduciary duty should really mean and why a mission has to show up in the dollars a foundation invests, not only the dollars it gives away. They’re joined by Daniel Gould, Vice President of Investments and Operations at Marguerite Casey Foundation, who helped move the foundation from roughly 12% to 100% mission-aligned assets. Daniel reveals what went into the foundation’s decision to give $500 million over the next decade, a timely move to increase its grantmaking in alignment with its mission. Together, they challenge funders to question inherited norms around endowments, investment committees, and what responsible stewardship is supposed to look like. 💡Daniel Gould: “Don’t accept norms in this sector as facts or laws. You have to interrogate a lot of the underlying norms in our sector.” Learn more about Marguerite Casey Foundation and its bold decision to double its grantmaking in service of its mission. Read the RAND study on the nearly $80 trillion redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1% since 1975. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Dr. Carmen Rojas & Glen Galaich Guests: Daniel Gould Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly & Gary Community Ventures Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

What will it take for philanthropy to unlock the extraordinary potential of 501(c)(4)s? In this episode, co-hosts Glen Galaich and Ralph Lewin, Executive Director of the Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund, challenge the fake rules telling philanthropy to stay neutral, avoid risk, stick to funding 501(c)(3)s, and keep political work at arm’s length. They’re joined by Leah Greenberg, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, a nationwide movement of everyday people organizing across all 50 states. Leah pulls back the curtain on what happens after the protest: local organizing, voter registration, advocacy, mutual aid, relationship-building, and the hard work of turning moments of public anger into sustained political participation. She also challenges funders to stop treating 501(c)(3) status as a moral status and to take seriously what well-resourced 501(c)(4) work can unlock. Together, Leah, Ralph, and Glen pose a sharper question to philanthropy: if the goal is real democratic change, are funders willing to back the people actually organizing to win? 💡Leah Greenberg: “Anybody who's frustrated with, “why am I not unlocking the impact that I should have with the amount of resources that I am putting in,” should really think about whether they're actually putting their resources in in a way that allows us to tap into that impact.” 💡Ralph Lewin: “Organized people shift what's possible, and then institutions and politicians follow.” Learn more and get involved with Indivisible. Check out its Hands Off Our Vote movement, supporting efforts to ensure eligible voters can cast their ballots and have those ballots counted. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Ralph Lewin & Glen Galaich Guest: Leah Greenberg Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

Philanthropy needs a reboot. Youth are nearly non-existent in the rooms where decisions are made about where charitable dollars flow. So what changes when we bring in young people to help direct these dollars? In this episode, co-hosts, Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich and Malila Becton-Consuegra, Stupski’s Bay Area Postsecondary Success Program Officer, welcome two young leaders in philanthropy, Gilbert Murillo and Godswill Uyong, for a conversation about youth voice, power, and who gets to decide where dollars go. Part case study, part vision for the future, they use Stupski’s six-year internship program as an example of how philanthropy can give young people real grantmaking responsibility, space to question established practices, and access to a field whose decisions directly affect their communities. Gilbert and Godswill share their perspectives on philanthropy and what they learned from interviewing nonprofit leaders about Stupski’s spend down. They challenge the idea that foundations should preserve wealth in perpetuity, question why the 5% payout minimum so often becomes a ceiling, and call on philanthropy to move beyond transactional giving. Glen and Malila also consider how foundations can teach young people about the sector without training away the fresh perspectives that make their participation so valuable. At the heart of the conversation is a call to recognize youth leadership as essential to better decision-making and bring relationship, accountability, and love back into philanthropy. 💡Gilbert Murillo: “The rules aren't fake. They are designed the way they're designed, and it's been like that for 400 plus years already.” 💡Godswill Uyong: “When youth help drive grant making, factually, there's more collective knowledge and experience being used to make decisions.” Learn more about California Youth Power Fund, its youth leadership work co-led with Youth Organize! California (YO! Cali), and its partnership with Northern California Grantmakers. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Glen Galaich & Malia Becton Consuegra Guests: Gilbert Murillo and Godswill Uyong Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly & Gary Community Ventures Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

What could we change if we broke out of boom-and-bust election-cycle funding to support long-term generational transformation? In this episode, Glen and co-host Ari Datta, Stupski Foundation’s Food Justice Program Manager, sit down with Emily Lee, executive director and co-founder of Seed the Vote Action, for a conversation about voter organizing, political power, and the fake rules that keep philanthropy funding too little, too late. Emily has dedicated her career to grassroots organizing, multiracial coalition building, and growing people-powered political movements. Through Seed the Vote Action, she mobilizes volunteers in battleground states while building lasting political power in working-class communities and communities of color. Emily challenges funders to move beyond short-term grant cycles and invest in the relationships, organizing, and risk-taking required to meet this moment. At the heart of the conversation is a clear call to philanthropy: stop funding like this is a two-year fight, and start funding like democracy depends on what we build for generations. 💡Ari Datta: “Get really clear on what fake rules you're operating with, and those will be rules set by your board, by internal culture, by your mindset or your belief system, and get really clear on what the real rules are.” 💡Emily Lee: “Don't fund for the grant cycle, fund for the generational fight.” Learn more about Seed the Vote and support its work to build people-powered movements through voter organizing, deep canvassing, and long-term community power. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Ari Datta & Glen Galaich Guest: Emily Lee Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Graphic Design: Middle MGMT