Sticky Blogs & Laughing While Learning

I continue to be encouraged by the steady stream of reports and commentaries that touch on important aspects of what TWI calls trust-based investing. Yet, just in terms of actually reading everything that comes my way, that stream can sometimes feel like a flood and I can’t help but wonder: what’s really sticking with folks versus the volume of what is produced? More to the point, what’s really sticking with me?

Right as I was thinking about that question this week, I discovered a new blog that definitely made an impression: Nonprofit with Balls by Vu Le, Executive Director of Rainier Valley Corps, as well as humor writer for Blue Avocado. Someone passed along Le’s terrific post “Are your or your org guilty of Trickle-Down Community Engagement” and that led me to his site. At first I thought I’d write some reflections on that piece, but once on the site I soon found myself nodding and laughing along with many of his posts from “There is no such thing as nonprofit sustainability” to “Is equity the new coconut water?” to “Ten resolutions for the nonprofit sector in 2015.”

Anyway, lots of food for thought on his site. And one thing it has me thinking about is how humor, playfulness and creativity might be used to turn promising streams of conversation within philanthropy about thinking and acting differently into wider rivers of change.