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What One Response to California’s 2017 Wildfires Can Teach Philanthropy About Coronavirus

By March 11, 2020

The spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 is at once both unforeseen and inevitable. Michael Lerner of Commonweal and Resilience Project writes, “The coronavirus illustrates how perfectly predictable threats (viral pandemics) disrupt profoundly interconnected and fragile global systems. Financial markets, supply chains, consumer behavior, tourism, healthcare, and both national and global events are all affected by…

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Spend-Out in Sight: What’s the Story?

By April 23, 2019

In 2012 The Whitman Institute made the decision to spend out our endowment over 10 years.  At the time, 2022 was a distant point on the horizon; now, not so much.  What felt theoretical is becoming more real with each passing month and we are feeling more strongly the hint of urgency that comes with…

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The Gift of Disequilibrium

By April 3, 2019

I just recently returned from a maternity leave that was both an eternity and a blink of an eye. I was deeply and shockingly unprepared for the experience of becoming a mother, something I thought would be so natural and easy breezy for a child-loving longtime auntie and former teacher like me. Perhaps it was…

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End of Year Reflections

By December 18, 2018

“I can’t believe the year is almost over.” “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it’s December.” “How is it 2019 already?!” I’ve either used or listened to variations on these sentences a lot lately.  Time seems to move ever faster and events that were a just a couple months ago…

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Interview with Edgar Villanueva: Decolonizing Wealth

By October 10, 2018

In Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar Villanueva provides a refreshing perspective on the future of philanthropy and finance, pointing to Native wisdom as a way to dismantle the oppressive systems that permeate the sector today. With Edgar’s book launch just around the corner, we sat down with him to hear more about his vision and how it…

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