The idea of restorative philanthropy was provoked for me at ivoh’s Restorative Narrative Colloquium last weekend. Restorative Narrative is an approach to storytelling (e.g. journalistic, documentary, etc.) that walks with a place or community over time, usually after a tragedy, to show how rebuilding and restoration are emerging. It contrasts (in both content and process)…
[This article was first published here on our partners Exponent Philanthropy’s site] Let’s say you own a company that makes energy bars. You wouldn’t dream of releasing a new product line without seeing if your fitness-focused target buyers liked it. Similarly, a foundation should not launch a new grant program without checking in with the…
As last night’s debate demonstrated again, the GOP debates in this 2016 election season look more like ridiculous reality television than robust, complex, and respectful discussion of matters of meaning – particularly in addressing the deep needs and divides of this nation. One ancient definition of debate is to “smash together” which certainly seems to be…
This post was originally first published on the Compton Foundation’s site. “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” -Arundhati Roy It was definitely not quiet on the streets of Paris during the COP21 meetings during December 2015, but it was possible to…
Last week I was a panelist at the Net Impact Conference in Seattle on Rethinking Scale and Transformative Change. As I explored this abstract sounding topic with my fellow panelists, we started to ground it in practice – both individual and organizational. Particularly in the context of a conference bursting with a couple thousand aspiring do-gooders…