We know that these post-election blues are a thing, but here’s the deal – the need for climate justice isn’t changing. This week on Let’s Hear It, we’re diving deep into the work that’s pushing environmental justice to the forefront of philanthropy, policy, and big-dollar investments. Eric sits down with Danielle Deane-Ryan, Senior Advisor to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and a long-time climate justice funder. Danielle shares her journey from her roots in Trinidad and Tobago to the...

Okay, folks, we know there’s an election happening and that you might be a bit, um, distracted. But one thing is sure, whatever happens this week, a clean energy economy is coming, and we need to do everything we can to make this transition work for everybody. So when you’re finished blowing into your paper bag, you might want to take a moment to think about the future. In this episode of Let’s Hear It, hosts Eric sits down with Rachel Korberg , the Executive Director and co-founder of the...

Fans of Let’s Hear It (and there are oh-so many!) will acknowledge that Eric and Kirk get a little nutty about their guests sometimes. Well, this time, Marc Solomon of Civitas Public Affairs and William Foster of the Bridgespan Group drive Kirk and Eric to 11. The topic this time is Marc’s and William’s new paper “Betting on the Tortoise: Policy Incrementalism and How Philanthropy’s Support Can Turn Small Sustained Steps into Big Impact,” co-written with Eric Chen and Zach Slobig. The problem...

In this dandy episode of Let's Hear It, Eric Brown sits down with Grace Nicolette from the Center for Effective Philanthropy to make sense of the phenomenon that is MacKenzie Scott's revolutionary approach to giving. Grace is the Vice President for Programming and External Relations at the Center for Effective Philanthropy and the co-host with Phil Buchanan of the really terrific (and we're not just saying that!), Giving Done Right Podcast, which kicked off its fourth season on September...

Hey folks, we’re back after a quick summer break. Hope you missed us! As many parents pack their kids off to college this month, it’s important to remember that almost two out of five college students in the U.S. attends a community college. These are students who are often working full time, caring for family members, or going back to school to learn new skills. Oh, and another thing, community colleges don’t brag about how “selective” they are – all are welcome. Our guest on this episode of...

Sometimes it's okay to take a moment away from the massive challenges and simply laugh. Thanks to Esteban Gast and the organization he works for, Generation 180, we can even laugh about climate. Well, actually, Esteban helps us better understand how we can take actions that matter, understand that we're not alone, and have a little fun along the way. Eric and Esteban giggle, chortle, and guffaw through this episode, reminding us all that there are SO many ways to communicate and not all of...

We are so excited about ComNet24 in Kansas City! When Sean Gibbons joined the Communications Network as its new leader a decade ago, he was tasked with leading an organization with 400 members and a staff of, um, himself and a ham sandwich. Today, the Network boasts over 4,000 members and a team of eight, reflecting Sean's infectious enthusiasm and vision for bringing communications professionals together. And together we’ll be – in Kansas City from October 16-18. Sean joins Chief of Staff...

As we approach World Refugee Day, it’s so good to know that there are people like Suzanne Ehlers who are making an extraordinary difference and people’s lives and providing real hope for the future. Suzanne is the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations Refugee Agency. It helps raise awareness and makes funds available to aid refugees around the world, providing them with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives...

A huge thank you to Fatima Angeles, the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, for joining us on the latest episode of Let’s Hear It. Fatima talks with Eric about the Levi Strauss Foundation's groundbreaking work in areas like reproductive justice, worker rights, immigrant rights, and democracy. Fatima discusses her 24-year tenure at Cal Wellness, where she gained invaluable experience in strategic grantmaking, evaluation, and program direction under foundation legends Judy Belk...

Eleven years ago, David Callahan launched a most audacious project – a new publication that was going to get under the hood of philanthropy (to borrow from that great philosopher, Ross Perot) and expose the good, the bad, and the meh. Some folks chortled, some scoffed, and some cast their eyes heavenward in the hope that he would shed a little light on the seemingly byzantine and obscure world of philanthropy. Well, friends, Inside Philanthropy is bigger, better, and badder than ever and...

Join us for a truly extraordinary conversation with the amazing Heather McGhee, the author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. Heather exposes the lie of so-called zero-sum thinking—where one person's gain is seen as another's loss—and flips it on its head by explaining how diverse coalitions can produce a solidarity dividend that makes things better for everyone. Heather is warm, funny, and just plain brilliant and we are so grateful to her for...

We’ve been doing this show for a while, and every so often the pieces just elegantly slide into place. In thirtyish minutes, Robert Pérez does this for us. Robert is the founder and Chief Exploration Officer of Wonder: Strategies for Good, a network of experts in messaging, storytelling, psychology and public-opinion research that works with foundations, nonprofits, activists, and advocates to advance progressive causes across the country and around the world. Wonder has an incredibly...

Societies can’t thrive without sufficient levels of trust – trust in our elected officials, in our major institutions, the value of the dollar bill in our wallet, and even in our belief that our fellow motorists will abide by the traffic laws when we enter an intersection. You know where this is going, don’t you? We have a trust problem that threatens every organization in our country. Kristen Grimm and her colleagues Claire De Leon, Michael Crawford, and Diana Chun at Spitfire Strategies...

When Chris DeCardy took the reins of the Heinz Endowments last year, he was one of the very few former foundation communications directors to ascend to the lofty heights of president. And Chris has dived in with the energy of a teenager. Indeed, if there is a more energetic – nay, ebullient – foundation president in the land, we haven’t met them. Chris makes an extremely compelling case about how crucial western Pennsylvania is to our national and even international politics, and while he’s...

Governments have money and foundations can take risks. Shouldn’t these be marriages made in heaven? Amazingly they’re not, but in California, we’re starting to see partnerships that are bucking the trend, which can be spectacularly good examples of how to make great collaborations work. On this episode of Let’s Hear It, Eric speaks with Elena Chavez Quezada, Senior Advisor for Social Innovation in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Don Howard, president and CEO of The James...

Academy Award season is here, but while the rest of the world may be debating which half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon will take home the most trophies, at Let’s Hear It we’re putting all our chips on Best Documentary Short nominee “The Barber of Little Rock,” co-directed by Christine Turner and our dear friend John Hoffman. Eric and John reunite to talk about the extraordinary film John has co-directed. They appeal to foundations to fund more documentary films, and they marvel at the...

In this episode of Let’s Hear It, our guest is none other than one of Hollywood’s most passionate and entertaining environmentalists – the amazing Ed Begley, Jr. As it happens, Ed and Eric go way, way, back, having worked together in Hollywood in the last millennium. Today, they’re both working in environmental communications, after a fashion, and Ed talks about how he was inspired to become an environmental activist on the first Earth Day in 1970, and how he has used his position as a...

We are so delighted to present the legendary Anat Shenker-Osorio. Yes, that’s right, that Anat Shenker-Osorio. Maybe you’ve heard her on Ezra Klein, MSNBC, on her excellent podcast Words to Win By, or read her work in the New York Times, the Guardian, and more. On our latest episode of Let’s Hear It, Anat goes deep on how to create messages that will help progressive causes succeed.   Anat is a political strategist and progressive messaging genius. She is founder and Principal of ASO...

How many of us in the nonprofit world can track our interest in climate to nightmares we had about natural disasters at age ten? Anyone? Oh, right, just Don Chen, President of the Surdna Foundation, former director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, former CEO (and founder!) of Smart Growth America, and this week’s guest on Let’s Hear It. Don is a fabulous guest to start our new year and sixth season – he is uncommonly thoughtful, optimistic, and soulful, and his ideas...

Here is another one of our favorite interviews - Shanelle Matthews, founder of the Radical Communicators Network, former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives, and now Distinguished Lecturer at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College at the City University of New York. Shanelle is simply amazing and we loved this conversation.

Today, we offer another one of our favorite interviews - a blast from the past with the inimitable Jim Canales, President and Trustee of the Barr Foundation. Jim is charming, funny, and one of they absolute nicest people in philanthropy. If you didn't get a chance to hear this conversation the first time, you're in for a treat.

This holiday season we're re-releasing some of our favorite and most popular episodes. Today - Trabian Shorters, one of our leading thinkers on asset framing - defining people by what they're hopes and dreams and what they have to offer. He has been such an important influence on so many of us.

In our latest episode, we offer a fascinating conversation with Alison Smart, the Executive Director of Probable Futures - a nonprofit climate literacy initiative. Alison shares her organization's approach to democratizing climate science, making climate predictions accessible, and providing practical educational resources for anyone, anywhere, for free.   Eric and Alison discuss how we can better tackle the grand challenge of climate change, the role of local governments, and how we have to...

When Larry Kramer announced recently that he was leaving the Hewlett Foundation to run the London School of Economics, it marked the end of an extraordinarily productive tenure as the head of one of the world’s largest and most influential charitable foundations. In Larry’s nearly twelve years at Hewlett, he helped lead a new era of climate philanthropy, and launched initiatives in transparency, cybersecurity, democracy, racial justice, and economy and society. The guy’s been busy. He’s also...