Here’s what I’ve observed: the things we try to reform are rarely the ones that matter most. Reform tends to fixate on what can be measured, managed, and credited—where reformers still believe control is within reach—while quietly avoiding what they don’t understand, where control is harder to find. And nothing, I’d argue, is more misunderstood—or more resistant to control—than the gift.
I went to a funder space and those words had been subtly printed at me / “This is a no solicitation space.” / My mind translated them from the English in my head to the English in my heart / The funders meant to say, “even though I am here, I am still inaccessible to you.”
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) are corpses. They have been devoured and buried alive while they were still throbbing. They are the first missing persons of a very quickly orchestrated system of mass destruction. Nobody knows where they are or what has happened.
Coming to Terms with the AID Freeze On 6 February 2025, at the invitation of the National Association for Non-Governmental (NANGO), I participated in the …
The 2024 Cazumbada* was a journey into brutal honesty. There was no staging. There was no show for donors or colleagues. There was no story-telling. …
There’s something special about this place. It’s easy to know why people have moved from all over Australia and the world to be here. The …
This open letter was authored by the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development in Ukraine, and also appears on their website. Add your signature to this …
At the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF), the #ShiftThePower Fellowship idea started with several questions: How can we discuss and reflect on issues of power? How …
When I received the confirmation email about being selected for this fellowship, with The Global Fund for Community Foundations I was both excited and nervous. …
For too long, the interaction between funders and grantees has been reduced to little more than a transactional exchange. Money flows one way, deliverables flow …
