The Power of “Why”: A Better Way to Navigate Donor Requests
In the realm of ethical storytelling, resistance to policies and procedures is inevitable. Sometimes, the pushback comes from within, staff who don’t understand why extra care and caution are necessary when telling stories or why consent matters so much. But sometimes, the resistance comes from donors. Lately, I’ve had no fewer than five people ask […]
Getting Unstuck: Using the Control-Influence-Concern Circle to Overcome Challenges
When I work with teams facing challenges—strained relationships between departments, communication breakdowns, or persistent organizational hurdles—I often see the same pattern: people feel stuck. Frustration builds, blame starts to circulate, and progress grinds to a halt. Here’s the truth: most complaints are about things we can’t control—other people’s behavior, their feelings, their wants and needs. […]
Navigating Ethical Boundaries in Q&A Sessions
Many of my readers who grew up in U.S. classrooms might remember teachers saying, “There are no silly questions.” Actually, the original phrase was “There are no stupid questions,” but we’ve wisely moved away from using such language. While these statements were intended to encourage curiosity and inquisitiveness in children, they don’t hold up as […]
Putting Theory into Practice for Donor-Client Engagements
The cornerstone of my life’s work has been to understand what helps people communicate and collaborate more effectively across human differences. When I first started Philanthropy without Borders, my intention was to was to dismantle the exploitative elements often inherent in donor-client interactions by making the very best research in the social sciences readily applicable […]
5 Pitfalls of Voluntourism
Charging travelers for volunteer opportunities abroad can be a lucrative revenue stream, but do these short-term assignments do more harm than good? So much of…