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When federal funding for nonprofits started disappearing last year, the Marguerite Casey Foundation didn't put out a pithy statement, they pulled out their checkbook. The foundation cranked up its grantmaking from around $30 million to $130 million in a single year. Now the foundation has pledged half a billion dollars over the next decade, 50% more than it gave the decade before. Carmen Rojas, the foundation's president and CEO, says its mission matters more than the size of its endowment, and the guy who has to manage the money and write those checks, VP of Investment and Operations Daniel Gould, is just fine with it. On this episode of Let's Hear It, Eric talks with Carmen and Dan about how the Marguerite Casey Foundation pulled it off – from working with their board, managing the money, and creating a culture that believes that compounding the foundation’s benefit to the community is way better than compounding the interest on their endowment.   Follow Let's Hear It and leave a rating to help more people find the show.

Eric went to the Communications Network annual conference for 21 years in a row, so he knows a little bit about what makes this gathering special. In this bonus episode, Eric is joined by Communications Network CEO Sean Gibbons, VP of Events and Community Carrie Clyne, and Director of Strategic Projects and Partnerships Erica Pelletreau two weeks before ComNet26 in San Diego. And this conference comes at a critical time. It's been a very hard year to do communications for good. Nonprofits are losing funding at the same time more people need their help. New research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy reveals that grantees think that their funders are out of touch with their needs. In San Diego, communicators from foundations and nonprofits from around the world will come together to learn from each other, teach each other, and make some lifetime friendships. Can't make it to San Diego? Stick around to find out how you can still be part of it. Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

This podcast exists because Kirk Brown had what Eric thinks was a very stupid idea, to start a podcast about foundation and nonprofit communications. Seven years later, they're still at it. Our guests today, Emily Shaw and Bridget Conley, started the podcast Disrupting Peace because Bridget had a very good idea: create a podcast to take on the question of why peace hasn't worked, and find ways to address those challenges. Bridget is the research director at the World Peace Foundation. Emily is the crack producer who helped her build the show. Organizations are always looking for new ways to use communications to advance their mission, and sooner or later the question comes up, "Should we start a podcast?" So this episode is for every foundation, nonprofit, consultant, or anyone else out there sitting on a podcast idea and wondering if it's worth doing. Check out our website, where you can find all seven years of shows! Follow us on Apple Podcasts Follow us on Spotify Please rate and review! It really helps. Show Notes Our guests and their work Disrupting Peace — https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/ | Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disrupting-peace/id1759500826 World Peace Foundation — https://worldpeacefoundation.org/ Bridget Conley, host bio and research — https://worldpeacefoundation.org/blog/lessons-from-disrupting-peace/ Emily Shaw — https://www.emilyshawcreates.com/  Emily's case study on building Disrupting Peace, which covers a lot of what she describes in the interview — https://www.emilyshawcreates.com/work/disrupting-peace-world-peace-foundation Episodes they mention by name "Why Listening is the First Step to Peace," their most-listened episode — https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/episode/why-listening-is-the-first-step-to-peace "Syria: How Do You Rebuild After a Dictator?" — https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/episode/syria-how-do-you-rebuild-after-a-dictator "We Thought We Solved World Peace," the first episode, with Sam Moyn — https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/episode/we-thought-we-solved-world-peace   The people and ideas they referenced Samuel Moyn, Yale — https://law.yale.edu/samuel-moyn | His book Humane, which is the "bombing for peace" material: https://campuspress.yale.edu/samuelmoyn/humane-how-the-united-states-abandoned-peace-and-reinvented-war/ Generous listening, the scholar's concept Bridget cites, is the framework behind Tufts' Generous Listening and Dialogue Initiative — https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/generous-listening-and-dialogue-initiative-gladi/about Edwin Ginn and the 1910 founding — covered on the WPF site: https://worldpeacefoundation.org/ The Fletcher School at Tufts — https://fletcher.tufts.edu/ Emily's origin story Cozy Boat, the show recorded in the inflatable boat — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cozy-boat/id1403224776 Justine Lucas, the singer-songwriter in the pilot — https://www.justinelucas.com Candy Ears, her ongoing personal project — https://www.emilyshawcreates.com/work/candy-ears Last but not least, our sponsors!   Prebys Foundation — https://www.prebysfdn.org/ | Stop and Talk with Grant Oliphant and Crystal Page — https://stopandtalkpodcast.com Break Fake Rules — https://stupski.org/break-fake-rules/ Lumina Foundation — https://www.luminafoundation.org | Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent — https://www.luminafoundation.org/podcast/

We are delighted to have College Futures Foundation CEO Eloy Ortiz Oakley back on the show to talk about one of our favorite subjects – the value of a college degree or certificate. Eloy joined us to talk about a new study College Futures commissioned from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce that makes a powerful case about how valuable a college education is, not only to students, but to California’s economy. The conversation also offers a perfect example of how a foundation can use research to move policy makers and other decisionmakers to action. Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

Fiona Guthrie spent decades reporting stories as a broadcast journalist and later served as Director of Story at the Ford Foundation. Now, she’s using storytelling to help free people who are wrongfully imprisoned, including those on death row. In this episode, Eric talks with Fiona about the extraordinary career that led her to the Innocence Project, one of the country’s leading advocates for the wrongfully convicted. They discuss why it’s essential for an organization to stay relentlessly focused on its mission while helping build a broader movement for justice—and how storytelling can shape every aspect of a communications strategy. Fiona also reflects on her early days in radio and television in the UK and Australia, as well as the harrowing days covering 9/11. It’s a great conversation with an exceptional communications professional.

Jen Ford Reedy has spent more than a decade leading the Bush Foundation, and over that time she has come to a conclusion that should be a challenge to the field—nobody actually has to be good at philanthropy. There's no license needed, no regulators keeping them accountable, and no market that punishes funders for doing it badly. You can just write checks, get celebrated for your generosity, and never once answer the question of whether any of it actually worked. Her new book, Please Be Good at Philanthropy, out on July 21, 2026 from Disruption Books, argues that good intentions aren't enough, and that philanthropy can do real harm when it's done badly. Jen talks with Eric about why she thinks being good at this work is a skill you have to learn, not something you arrive at already knowing, no matter how successful you've been elsewhere. They acknowledge the challenges funders face in getting honest feedback, especially from grantees who don’t want to risk the relationship. And they discuss the importance of being honest about what didn’t work, without blaming grantees. After the interview, Eric and Kirk chew on what philanthropy actually owes the people it serves, and concede that maybe they should please be good at podcasting while they’re at it. Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

Sean Kelly is one of the sharpest marketing minds Eric has ever met — and he's spent his career doing something all arts organizations dearly want to do: truly understand what their audiences want, align it with their own artistic vision, and set ticket prices accordingly. Sean is the founder of Vatic, a dynamic pricing company for performing arts organizations. His genius is his ability to look at a mountain of data and pull out the story it's trying to tell — then use that story to fill auditoriums and strengthen arts organizations. If you work in or fund the arts, clear your calendar. But any nonprofit communicator can learn a ton from Sean. His ability to truly understand what his audience wants – and needs – is a great lesson for us all. Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

On the latest Let's Hear It, Eric sits down with Marc Moorghen, VP of Marketing and Communications at Lever for Change. Founded by the MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change connects donors with bold ideas through massive open calls. In just six years, Marc and his team have helped move $2.5 billion to nonprofits — including MacKenzie Scott's $640 million Yield Giving Open Call and Pivotal's $250 million Action for Women's Health. Eric and Marc get into how Lever for Change flips the traditional philanthropic "do not disturb" sign on its head, why unrestricted and open-call funding is finally going mainstream, and what it looks like when a foundation actually invites the unsolicited big idea. Also: a hearty plug for Stuart Ewen's PR!: A Social History of Spin — the book that put Marc on this path in the first place. (Kirk has thoughts.) Listen now — and please follow, rate, and review Let's Hear It wherever you get your podcasts. And listen for the opportunity to win a prize!

A lot of people who work in nonprofits and foundations eventually get the tickle. You know the one. What if I just... went out on my own? Regan Douglass did something about it. After years as a communications leader at PolicyLink, California Humanities, and the College Futures Foundation, she pulled the ripcord and launched Sparkwise Communications. Two years in, no regrets. In this episode, Eric sits down with Regan to discuss what it actually takes to go independent — how thick your stomach lining needs to be, how to structure your business, how to smell the tuna fish sandwich wrapped in a red flag before you sign the contract, and how to hold onto your own voice when you've spent years inhabiting someone else's. This one's for everyone who's been sitting on the egg. It's time to let it hatch. Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

Glen Galaich is the CEO of the Stupski Foundation — and he just wrote a book that bites the hand that feeds him and serves it up in a 236-page meal. Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short, out today, makes an argument as simple as it is explosive: when a donor takes a tax deduction to give money away, they've made a deal with the public. That money isn't theirs anymore. But the system we've built lets donors park billions in foundations and donor-advised funds indefinitely — dribbling out 5 cents on the dollar while the rest sits on Wall Street going absolutely nowhere. Glen isn't an outside critic. He's a sitting foundation CEO who spent years reinforcing every rule he's now trying to break. Eric read an early draft, argued with him about it, and told him his central framing was too polite. Glen ignored him. They pick up that conversation here. Follow Let's Hear It and leave a rating so more people can find the show.

There's a question Rashad Robinson wants every nonprofit and foundation leader to sit with right now: Are you building power — or just showing up? Rashad spent 13 years leading Color of Change, co-founded the Fight Back Table, forced over 100 corporations to leave ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful corporate-backed group that shapes conservative state legislation — and took on Facebook in one of the largest boycotts in American history. Now he's channeling all of that hard-won wisdom into a newsletter, a new show on News One, work alongside Jane Fonda defending the First Amendment — and a book, From Presence to Power: How to Take on the Fights That Matter and Win, dropping July 28th from One World/Penguin Random House. Eric sits down with Rashad for a wide-ranging conversation about what it actually takes to win: the difference between a dialogue and a negotiation, why visibility is only the beginning, what Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance means for the movement, and how to fight fatigue when you're running on empty but can't stop. This one's got joy, strategy, and only a few references to the New York Mets. Listen now — and if Rashad's clarity and energy give you something to hold onto, please follow, rate, and review Let's Hear It wherever you get your podcasts.

This might be the most important episode we've ever done, and we swear we’re not just saying that. If you work in or around philanthropy, stop what you're doing and listen. Nonprofits are facing record demand—higher than during COVID—and they're getting less funding. Not just from government. From foundations too. The sector is in freefall, and many of the people with the resources to help don't even see a problem. Eric sits down with Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Vice President at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, to unpack their devastating new report, A Sector in Crisis: How US Nonprofits and Foundations Are Responding to Threats. The findings reveal a staggering disconnect: 40% of nonprofits say that funders have shifted priorities in ways that are less helpful at this dire moment. And get this - 20% of foundations say they don't have much responsibility to help nonprofits navigate this moment at all!! This isn't a wake-up call. It's a five-alarm fire. And if foundations don't start closing the gap between what they think they're doing and what nonprofits actually need, organizations will close. Communities will suffer. And philanthropy will have failed the very moment it was built for. Unless philanthropy as we know it is just no longer useful. Listen now. Share it with your board. Share it with your program officers. Share it with anyone who still believes philanthropy can rise to meet this moment—because that moment is now. Follow Let's Hear It and leave a rating so more people can find the show.

Kristen Grimm is back—and she’s making Let’s Hear It history as the show’s first three-time guest. In this episode, Eric and Kirk dive into Kristen’s latest thinking on how people interpret what’s happening around them, why facts alone don’t change minds, and what this moment of chaos means for nonprofits, philanthropy, and public-interest communicators. Drawing from her travels, her work at Spitfire Strategies, and plenty of hard-won perspective, Kristen challenges us to stop “fixing” broken systems and start imagining what we actually want to build next. It’s a thoughtful, candid, and often funny conversation about trust, power, government, and how to create messages—and futures—that resonate beyond the bubble. Follow Let’s Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

AI needs power. A lot of power. But what happens when that power comes from 35 unpermitted gas turbines dropped into the middle of a historic Black neighborhood? In this episode, Eric sits down with Dr. Sacoby Wilson, award-winning environmental health scientist and recent Heinz Award for the Environment honoree, who’s helping Boxtown in Memphis push back against Elon Musk’s xAI “Colossus” data center. Dr. Wilson breaks down how data centers are becoming the newest front in environmental and energy justice, why the pollution burden keeps landing on the same communities, and what they're doing about it. We talk about “IMpowerment Science,” community air monitoring, climate redlining, regenerative agriculture, and what it really takes to turn data into power for frontline communities. Then Eric and Kirk reconnect to unpack what this fight says about philanthropy, technology, and who gets left out of our big, shiny visions of the future. If this conversation hits home for you, follow Let’s Hear It and leave a quick rating or review—it helps more people find these stories and the people behind them.

On the latest Let’s Hear It, Eric sits down with the unstoppable Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America — and wow, is this one a shot of optimism for your civic soul. From growing up in California’s Central Valley to becoming the first Latina Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate, to running Hillary Clinton’s 2016 political operation, Amanda has seen power from every angle. Now she’s using all that experience to reimagine how government can actually work for people — with systems that are simple, fair, and human. Amanda and Eric dig into how Code for America is helping states modernize public services, why good government is built in everyday interactions, and what gives her hope even in turbulent times. A must-listen for anyone who still believes democracy works best when it works for everyone. 🎧 Listen now — and if Amanda’s optimism gives you a lift, don’t forget to follow, rate, and review Let’s Hear It wherever you get your podcasts.