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The Problems With Philanthropy, and What We Can Do to Fix Them
As I step into a new role where I can provide support for people of color, I recognize philanthropy’s faults
I was not raised with ambitions of becoming a philanthropist or an understanding that a system existed to incentivize people to give their wealth under the guise of helping others. I grew up in a household that didn’t need those incentives. We just gave. My parents were the first two people in their respective families to immigrate to the U.S. from Nicaragua, and with that came a responsibility to open our home to those making the journey to this new country.
My mom was one of the first homeowners in her family, making our kitchen counter, our living room, and our space the obvious places to eat, celebrate, and plan for our collective future and freedom. My family didn’t do the calculations of tax breaks or write-offs. They just did, like so many others do, the work of remembering that our fates are tied together and when one of us has some space to breathe, a place to rest, and food to eat, we are all better off.
I heard the whispers after meetings about how to “talk” to funders and manage them so that good work could still have the…
