Cofounder and CEO @ Grantable | Building a Movement of Economic Revitalization Through Nonprofits at Pillar 3 | Speaker, Writer, & Podcast Host
Joined September 2013
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Been struggling to write lately - this stuff is genuinely depressing. We focus on personalities while the system farms our rage for profit. Trying to channel this into fuel for envisioning economic structures that build communities instead of strip-mining them.
1/ @NonprofitAF shared an analogy I found so memorable:
"I compare nonprofit sector to air, other sectors to food. People focus on food because they can see it, taste it... But air is just as important. We don't pay attention until it's gone."
2/ We don't think about food pantries until we need them. Ignore senior centers until parents age. Take for granted arts programming nonprofits curate around us.
Nonprofits create invisible infrastructure that makes everything else possible.
3/ How do we make the invisible visible without losing authenticity?
Maybe we don't need to be flashy like for-profits. Maybe people just need to notice it's already there.
Book: nonprofitaf.com/book/
Pod: youtu.be/WY_XwWwqkR8
1/ Reading @NonprofitAF's book preview — I lost my mind 🤬 over this quote:
"When we donate to nonprofits with no hope of self-gain, we have every right to judge a nonprofit any way we want."
The assumptions: Low pay, low overhead, be thankful, work is easy.
2/ Common refrain: "When I retire, I'll start a nonprofit because it's so easy."
Imagine the reverse: "When I retire from running this homeless shelter, I'll open a law firm because that seems more relaxing."
Exactly why our sector struggles with legitimacy.
3/ Worth thinking about: How do we change the narrative that nonprofit work is less valuable?
Vu tackles these misconceptions in his book: nonprofitaf.com/book/
Full convo: youtu.be/WY_XwWwqkR8
1/ Here's a moment from my conversation with @NonprofitAF that surprised me. Controversial and thought-provoking.
"We have to be okay on occasion burning some bridges because we've been conditioned to be very nice because funding depends on us being nice to people."
3/ Worth thinking about: How many important conversations are we not having, and why?
Sometimes the most caring thing is telling someone with power they're getting it wrong. But the discomfort is not the point, the movement is.
This kind of honest look at power dynamics in philanthropy is exactly what Vu explores in his new book "Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy" coming out October 14th. Pre-order at nonprofitaf.com/book/
Full conversation: youtu.be/WY_XwWwqkR8
1/ Gem from my conversation with @NonprofitAF: why running a nonprofit was harder than my current tech startup.
"It's like running two businesses at once - the business where you're providing the service, and then a whole other business that is raising the funds for that."
2/ Take a soup kitchen - you operate like a restaurant, except customers don't pay. You want to give good, nutritious food, but you have to figure out where funding comes from.
It's this weird split-brain existence. No wonder nonprofit pros are always so overstretched.
3/ Worth thinking about: How many leaders burn out not because mission work is hard, but because managing two separate businesses simultaneously is exhausting?
This is why @NonprofitAF's new book is so important - we need better systems. Pre-order: nonprofitaf.com/book/
1/ Here's another clip from @NonprofitAF that made me think about why progress feels so slow:
"Those of us who believe in equity and justice are always doubting ourselves. Whereas people who believe in injustice... they move very quickly."
5/ Worth thinking about: How can we use self-doubt for staying ethical, while not slowing down progress our communities need?
6/ Vu explores these barriers in his new book "Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy" - out October 14th!
Pre-order: nonprofitaf.com/book/
Full conversation: youtu.be/WY_XwWwqkR8