In May I argued that direct mail didn’t just raise money. It became one of neoliberalism’s handiest tools, reframing collective struggle as a private transaction. It didn’t kill the civic imagination; it domesticated it, shrinking our sense of what participation should mean. What once felt like building movements was replaced with a transactional spirit where growth looked like success but connection became an afterthought. And while many of my colleagues want to keep debating the merit...| responsive.substack.com
Independent analysis of and commentary about philanthropy and giving Co-edited by William A. Schambra, Daniel P. Schmidt, and Michael E. Hartmann| the Giving Review
Last month, I suggested we’re in the midst of a reckoning our sector’s narrators don't want to see coming. They’re not helping us face the system’s unraveling; they’re trying to manage the disruption without surrendering control. They’re still clinging to the tools, institutions, and authority of a system that’s plainly falling apart. What they offer is just enough change to preserve their standing, but not enough to reckon with what truly needs to be rebuilt. Yet many of us can...| responsive.substack.com
Last evening, I took John Palfrey’s “courage is contagious” hashtag to heart and decided to challenge him on some of his statements about philanthropy.| responsive.substack.com
