A new podcast from the Center for Effective Philanthropy has set out to explore some of the crucial questions that guide giving – questions that seem basic, but are actually quite complex. Questions like: How much do I give? Where should I give? How do I know if I’m making a difference – or if I’m actually doing more harm than help?
The podcast, which is hosted by CEP President Phil Buchanan and Vice President Grace Nicolette, has released five episodes so far, inviting leaders and experts onto the show to tackle some of philanthropy’s most burning questions.
Episode 1: Change, Not Charity
In episode one, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette talk with a powerhouse leader in philanthropy: Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation (LCF). Jacqueline discusses her work at LCF, the importance of investing in community leaders, the role of racial equity in giving effectively, and strategies for how donors can tap into their communities to find the right organizations to support.
Episode 2 – Giving Until it Hurts: Pain, Faith, and Purpose
In Episode two, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette welcome Jason Hackmann, an entrepreneur and major donor whose name you won’t find in headlines, but who has quietly been investing deeply in efforts to end childhood slavery in Ghana. Jason discusses with Phil and Grace the role that personal experience and faith played in motivating him to identify and give meaningfully to a particular cause.
Episode 3 – Holding up the Roof: How Philanthropy Can Bolster Democracy
In episode three, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette are joined by LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, an organization working to fight voter suppression and build power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. LaTosha shares with Phil and Grace about her experience as an organizer and an intermediary, and discusses the role that donors can play in strengthening democracy.
Episode 4: Making and Measuring Impact
In episode four, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette are joined by Tiffany Cooper Gueye, COO at Blue Meridian Partners and former CEO of the national education nonprofit, BellXcel. Tiffany draws on her experiences as both a nonprofit leader and a funder, as well as her expertise in measurement and evaluation, to talk with Grace and Phil about how donors can better understand what works — and how they can go beyond their traditional networks to identify and support organizations that are doing vital work.
Episode 5: In Community, By Community, For Community
In Episode 5 of the Giving Done Right podcast, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette are joined by Chitra Hanstad, executive director of World Relief Seattle, Washington state’s largest refugee resettlement and services agency. Chitra talks with Grace and Phil about her experience leading a community-rooted organization — as well as discusses the ways in which donors’ behavior can either help or hinder her team’s work.
Two more episodes of the Giving Done Right podcast are still to come – look out on Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts.
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