Exploring the World of Philanthropy: Making a Meaningful Impact Through Giving

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Aloha

(00:51):
inspired money maker. Thanks for tuning in. If this is your first time
here, welcome. And if you're returning, welcome back.
Let's all be inspired money makers together. When it comes
to giving, I see this often. You're
scrolling through your social media feed and you come across
a fundraiser for a disaster relief effort. You click

(01:14):
donate, you feel a little spark of purpose
and then you move on with your day. But later you might wonder,
did that donation actually make a difference? Did it go to where it was
supposed to? Is there a better way to help? And
that's at the heart of today's conversation. We're discussing something
that affects us all. How to give with meaning.

(01:36):
From billion dollar foundations to crowdfunding pages and
crypto donations, the world of philanthropy is
evolving, but with more ways to give than ever
before. It can also be more complicated and more important.
It's important to give well. So today we're going to explore how
generosity can be smarter, more inclusive and more

(01:59):
impactful. We've brought together a powerhouse panel
of change makers, people who aren't just talking about doing
good, but actually reshaping how it's done. So whether
you're a business leader trying to align your profits with purpose,
a nonprofit pro looking for innovative strategies,
or just someone who wants to make a difference in your community, and if

(02:21):
you agree with me, that we can leave
the world a better place,
then this episode is for you. So stay with us because the
future of giving just might start here. Before we start, a
quick thank you to our sponsor. Today's episode is brought to you by
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(02:44):
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(03:26):
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subscribe, you're supporting the show and I appreciate it.
Let's bring in our panelists. Our first guest is
Jacob Harold. He's a leading voice in social impact
strategy. He's the author of the Toolbox Strategies for
Crafting social impact. He's former CEO of

(03:48):
Guidestar and CoFounder of both Candid and
Project Starling. With deep roots in philanthropy,
climate advocacy and nonprofit innovation,
Jacob now serves as a Planetary fellow at
the Berggruen Institute and Senior Advisor at
Rewiring America. Welcome,

(04:10):
Jacob. Andy, I'm thrilled to be here.
Next we have. We're thrilled to welcome Jamie
Minden, Executive Director of Zero Hour,
a bold youth led climate justice movement.
Jamie began organizing at just age 13
and has since helped lead powerful campaigns with

(04:32):
Sunrise Movement and Fridays for Future. Her
advocacy is grounded in personal experience with California
wildfires and a passion for mobilizing the next
generation. Jamie, great to have you here and
congrats on your graduation. Thank you so much
for having me. So youth led. You will be

(04:54):
representing the youth today. Thanks. No
pressure. And rounding out our panel
today we have Bruno Fierens. He is
joining us from Brussels. He's a fifth generation heir
turned activist for tax justice. He's the
first Belgian member of Millionaires for Humanity,

(05:16):
using his voice to call for fairer taxation in
a more equitable global system. A seasoned media
trainer and former spokesperson, Bruno combines
personal insight with political advocacy
to challenge the status quo. Bruno, welcome.
Thanks for having me. I really look forward to having this

(05:38):
conversation about philanthropy and giving. I think that we
have diverse perspectives and areas of
expertise. Let's jump right into segment one.
Philanthropy has shifted from spontaneous giving to structured
impact driven approaches. Traditional giving supports
immediate needs while strategic philanthropy focuses on long

(06:01):
term change through planned contributions and measurable
outcomes. Impact investing blends financial returns
with social benefits, funding, sustainable businesses and
social enterprises. Unlike donations, these
investments aim to generate profit while addressing global
challenges. Corporate social responsibility integrates

(06:22):
philanthropy into business strategy with companies supporting
environmental, social and ethical initiatives.
Volunteerism allows individuals to contribute beyond money,
offering skills based support, pro bono work and community
engagement. These efforts strengthen organizations and create
direct, tangible benefits. Resources like online

(06:44):
platforms and philanthropic advisors help individuals
align giving with their values. Whether through donations,
investments or time based efforts. A strategic approach
ensures meaningful and lasting contributions to social and
environmental causes.

(07:07):
Bruno, you told me that you wouldn't call yourself a philanthropist,
but you are familiar with different ways of giving back. Can you walk
us through how those experiences ultimately led
you to question their limitations and become an advocate for fairer
taxation through Millionaires for Humanity?
Gladly. Yeah, I am familiar with everything

(07:31):
in that segment. Basically, you know the, the, the emotional donation,
the, the structural donation trying to, to make the family
company more ESG focused.
What was the impact investment thinking.
Over the years, basically I

(07:51):
guess, like many people, I've tried to find ways, oh, where can I help?
You know, the needle. Go in the. In the right direction
or move the needle a bit so that the world is a better place.
And I've tried them all, and I put a lot of time in it, but
then every time. And at the end, there was a
very, a very tangible thing. It led me to

(08:15):
thinking, something isn't working. And basically
what really brought me to that, and the first thing I want to say as
well, is that it hasn't made me cynical about philanthropy
or it hasn't made me cynical about giving. I think it's
important, and it's always going to be important. And I also think
it's always done for the right reasons, for

(08:37):
actually people genuinely want to be. To make the world a better place.
But I remember 10 years ago, I think I started helping
out an organization here in Brussels that is working against
homelessness. Basically, they were trying to make a building to have
homeless people be able to take a shower, which was almost impossible

(08:58):
in the city. And I helped
out with another family, with an aunt of mine, we found some
money. We asked other family members for more money.
It worked. There was a building set up. It's still there 10
years later. 11 years later, it's still there. And it's. And it's working. It's
growing. And beyond showers, now, they try and put people

(09:21):
into housing. It's quite amazing, you know, and I kept in touch
and I. Every year I keep. I keep giving a bit and, And,
And, And I love it. But then I. I had a
really crucial moment where I thought, this is also extremely demoralizing,
because when it started, I think

(09:42):
the number of homeless people in Brussels was assessed to be
3,000 or something. Last year, the number
of homeless people in Brussels, or people, you know, without
homeless people, was assessed to be around
10,000.
I can keep giving money to that fantastic

(10:04):
organization. Its name is DoucheFLUX. And I can keep, you
know, asking my family to give money as long as the
structural issue of homelessness is not also taken care of.
It's. Do you say it in English? It's a. It's a plaster on a. On
a. On a wooden. On a wooden leg. It's.
It's not going to help the structural issue. For me, it

(10:28):
was a learning. It was learning moments where I was like, okay, philanthropy
is amazing and is needed, but it's almost
always going to work on symptoms and not enough on
causes, always on the consequences and not on the structural
aspects. And that ultimately was one of the elements that
led me to becoming a member of Millionaires for Humanity because I kept, you know,

(10:50):
I kept going up the waterfall and thinking, okay, what's. What causes
this? What causes many things? You know, there was other things I was thinking about
just sustainability and others is
attacks, unfairness, or tax. You know,
things not being taxed the right way and growing inequality because of it.
And that is the cause of many, many problems, amongst which that one.

(11:12):
So me, it brought or it helped me understand
certain limitations of philanthropy.
Now, it's not, I, I strongly think it's not one or the other.
They're both one aspect of a
solution to, or, you know, moving that needle. They're
both one element of moving that needle the right way.

(11:35):
But I've noticed that not many people where
or especially well, since I'm the first member, not many people
are or not many wealthy people are advocating for more tax
fairness. Focus on that.
Jacob, you've been sitting at a
vantage point where you've seen a lot of different organizations and

(11:58):
how people engage with different organizations. Also in your
book the Toolbox, you discuss nine tools for social impact.
How can we use these tools to give more effectively?
A good question and a hard question, and one that is a lifelong
quest for me to try to explore and turn that exploration into

(12:21):
lasting results. And I'll build on what, what Bruno was
just saying, this sort of contrast, we saw it in the video between the
sort of traditional approach that was a symptoms oriented, charitable
approach and this, this shift that we've seen over the last approximately 20
years in the direction of strategic philanthropy, really thinking
about structures, thinking about lasting impact.

(12:45):
But it's also interesting to note that, and that's something I've been
deeply a part of and something I really believe in. But we also have
seen in the last several years something of a reaction against
that. And I think it's because we at times lost a little
bit of our humanity and lost a little bit of the, the common touch and
the, the relationships that, you know, often

(13:07):
characterized the, the. The sort of traditional
approach. And so our challenge now, I think, is
to figure out how to be rigorous
and how to be strategic and impact oriented
while recognizing the world's really complicated
and relationships are hard and power dynamics are real

(13:29):
and that we've got to figure out how do we maintain our humanity in the
process of trying to change the world? And I fully, deeply
believe that that's doable, but it does require some real intentionality.
One part of that is recognizing that there's no one answer.
And I think some in philanthropy have fallen into a trap,
and this is true both on the giving and the receiving side of thinking. Well,

(13:52):
there's one way to solve this problem. The secret is a market based
solution, or the secret is community organizing, or the secret is using
behavioral economics or design thinking, or building new institutions or
telling the right story. And what I've come to believe
is that it's actually all of those things and that in a
complex world, we can't apply any one framework and

(14:14):
think that's going to solve all of our problems. The good news in all this
is though, that we have this whole toolbox, this abundance of ways of thinking that
humanity has developed over the course of centuries of how to make the world
better. And so we have this opportunity to tap into that
wealth of knowledge and experience as we go forward and
tackle some really messy problems. And

(14:36):
we're not going to get it right the first time, but with the right feedback
loops of learning and the right degree of humility
balanced with an ambition to actually make some impact, I do think
it's possible for philanthropy to be a
core part of how humanity tackles some of the great challenges
that we're facing. Sounds like a juggling act,

(14:57):
but we can all learn how to juggle. Yeah.
Jamie, I want to ask you because as someone who's been organizing
since age 13, can you share some of your early
experiences, how that shaped your understanding of effective giving and
yeah. Your comments on what Bruno and Jacob

(15:18):
have said so far? Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I definitely got involved in climate organizing through personal experience with the
impacts of the clients climate crisis. I grew up in the
Bay Area, California, where the region had been in a
drought since before I was born. And I sort of slowly, as the drought
intensified while I was in middle school, I sort of started watching like the world

(15:40):
I grew up in shrivel up before my eyes. By the time I was in
high school, we were experiencing the paradise wildfires. By the time
I was in college, we had historic floods.
And so I think I'm part of a generation that has
grown up experiencing the climate crisis on a very visceral
level. So on one hand that's terrifying, but on the other, I think it's very

(16:02):
hopeful in terms of the future of
organizations that are responding to the climate crisis.
I think in terms of philanthropy, now is a very important
time to invest in climate. There have been times when the field of
philanthropy has invested in climate, in times when they really have kind of backed off
of it a little bit. But right now we're seeing that

(16:25):
the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the international climate
scientists have found that we need to limit global average
temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
Global consensus is that between February 2023
and January 2024, it was the first 12 month period in which
the global average temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius above temperature

(16:46):
pre industrial levels. Sorry. And so now
it's really important time to invest in climate, especially
as the US government is shutting down more federal climate grants. You
know, philanthropic dollars make more of a difference right now. I would also
relate this to what Bruno was saying earlier in terms of philanthropy

(17:07):
addressing systemic causes of issues rather than just the symptoms. There
are a lot of organizations that invest in tech and research around climate, which is
fantastic. We definitely need more of that. But the truth is we do
have the technology now to solve the climate crisis if we're to stop
burning fossil fuels on the level that we are currently. What we
lack is and social will to pressure governments and corporations

(17:28):
to make the necessary changes and bring our climate back from the
brink of collapse. And so maybe I have a biased perspective,
but I think that investing in grassroots organizations that
act to address the climate crisis on the level of policy and social change
right now is really vital. Bruno,
you had something to add? No, I want to

(17:52):
say something about what Jacob said. The funny thing is that ever since I started,
you know, being a member of Millionaires for Humanity, I
started meeting way more people and also
people active in philanthropy and more than I
thought or more than I imagined. I wasn't aware of this. I met
some, I met people who, who are active in

(18:14):
philanthropy. But that is, you know, the way they do
it is kind of a slingshot of, they make
their philanthropy, philanthropic activity a
slingshot of, of policy changes.
So they really are, they're like, you know, they try something new and
then they, they go, almost go to the state of the government, say hey look,

(18:36):
you know, we need more. In this case it was, we need more, we need
more daycare places in daycares and you're going to have a big problem.
And we figured something out that might help you. But that,
that was the beginning of that was through philanthropy, philanthropy
and giving. So it, it, it can really work,
work that, that actively. And then on what, what

(19:01):
Jamie was just saying,
that's kind of something you see a lot with wealthy people as well.
They start having their family office
that where they do a lot of impact investment and they do a lot of
philanthropy and they choose a certain type. And then the
funny thing is that when you ask, you know, when you go into a

(19:24):
bit more, the deeper policy sides, like, oh, wait, we don't talk about politics.
My thinking is always like, you know, at a certain point
you can't do that anymore. Like you can have
impact investments or, or donations about, say,
more sustainable clothing, but as long as

(19:45):
legislation around ultra fast fashion, you know, isn't,
has, isn't taken care of, it's
not going to have an impact or not enough. So we, Yeah, I think
we're at a point where we kind of have to, we have to get to
that level, which. Yeah, to that political level,
I guess. Yeah, absolutely agree.

(20:07):
Jacob, any thoughts there? I
mean, there are countless thoughts. I know we have more topics I'll just briefly
mention. This is bringing up a real challenge, I think, for nonprofits and
philanthropy in general, which is, I think that Bruno and Jamie are absolutely
right that for many of the big issues that we're facing, we
have no hope of solving it without engagement in

(20:29):
both politics and policy, and that nonprofits and philanthropy can be a
key driver of that. The challenge that we're facing is that in this moment
of political polarization, we're finding that that's
meaning that particular issues get sort of coded with one
political party or another. And climate change affects everyone. It doesn't
just affect people on the left side of the political spectrum.

(20:52):
And so we've got to figure out how to engage with politics in a
way that helps to solve the problem while being
aware that sometimes we,
if we're not careful, a overly
polarized polity will make it harder for us to get
anything done at all. And I should say I don't know the answer to this.

(21:13):
I just know it's a challenge that people are facing throughout the sector and throughout
society and that we collectively got to figure out how to get past that because
these issues affect everyone. Well said. Let's
go to segment two. Crowdfunding platforms like
GoFundMe and Global Giving have made giving more accessible,
allowing individuals to support causes directly. While

(21:35):
these platforms increase funding opportunities, challenges include
verifying legitimacy and managing fees. Blockchain and
cryptocurrency are improving donation transparency by tracking
funds and reducing transaction costs. Organizations like the
Giving Block and Binance Charity foundation accept crypto donations,
though volatility and regulations present challenges. AI and

(21:58):
big data help nonprofits predict donor behavior, personalize
outreach, and optimize fundraising. Ethical concerns include
data privacy and algorithmic bias. Social media enables
viral fundraising, as seen in the Ice Bucket Challenge and
GivingTuesday. Digital storytelling builds emotional connections
and expands reach to donate safely, verify

(22:19):
organizations use secure payment methods and research
platform policies. Digital philanthropy continues to evolve,
offering more ways to engage with and support impactful causes
efficiently.
Jamie, as a digital native activist,

(22:41):
how has social media empowered or challenged your fundraising
strategies? Absolutely.
I mean, as you kind of alluded, I am from a generation that has
pretty much been born and raised on social media.
And so I don't know the alternative, unfortunately.
But I have seen social media

(23:05):
make a big impact on the reach and scope that movements and
campaigns can have throughout my lifetime. We've
definitely learned a lot from other movements that have
used social media to their advantage. I
started organizing, as I said earlier, when I was 13, but
the climate movement really kicked off in 2019

(23:28):
when Greta Thunberg had her viral moment
climate strikes, and that's when Zero Hour had our
global climate marches around the world as well.
And so social media can definitely have a big impact on
not only growing our base of volunteers, which I think, as you might mention
later, is another way to give back through volunteering,

(23:51):
but also expanding the reach of people who maybe can't give their time,
who can give their money as well.
Jacob, in your experience, you've really seen how platforms like
Guidestar and Candid have transformed donor
engagement. What's the next phase? Is it blockchain,
AI and big data?

(24:13):
It's a good question. I mean, we have seen some real
shifts in how information flows and fundamentally
these technology platforms are about our information flows. They are a
plumbing that helps get the data that a donor,
for example, might need to them at the right
moment. And we've made immense progress and millions and millions of people use these

(24:35):
platforms now. We might even be up to billions.
But, but I will, I will note that we haven't quite gotten to the
point where I think we need to get which is truly
multi dimensional information. That is where
people are already acting and I'll explain what I mean. So a platform
like GuideStar, where I used to be CEO at millions of users

(24:58):
each year, but there are hundreds of millions of donors in the
United States alone. And so we are reaching a significant
portion of them, but not everyone. Mostly that's because
the way the Internet works now, people don't tend to
proactively go out to a particular website to
find information. They're getting it through the AI search result to

(25:20):
the top of a Google page. They're getting it
from social media. Maybe they're on Amazon or
they're on Facebook. And so how do we get the information
to where people are already operating? And we've described that
as a push strategy instead of a pull strategy, instead of, hey, come over to
my website, we've got some great data for you. We're going to push this data

(25:41):
to wherever you're operating so that your
choices can be infused with good information. That's
also really important because in order for donors to be
proactive and not just reactive, they need to have a
slightly different mindset. If donations only, people only make donations when
they're asked, then they're making a series of yes, no

(26:03):
decisions. This organization asked, I'm saying yes. This one asked, I'm saying no.
Which is not really the way you want to do strategy. You want to think
about what do I want to accomplish and proactively
choose among a range of different organizations and make a bigger, longer
term investment. And that's just a different kind of mindset. But the
truth is that's exactly how people think about big purchases in their life,

(26:25):
a car or fancy electronics or a home.
And so people actually have a lot of practice in making complex
decisions based on a lot of information about something they care
about. And so the hope is, over time that
philanthropy can be infused with that kind of data while still holding
on to that humanity. I will say in terms of other technologies,

(26:49):
I think blockchain and crypto will be useful,
probably on the margin. AI could
potentially be transformative for philanthropy and everything else,
but I think at the heart it's actually getting some of the basics of
how the Internet works, right in terms of sharing information,
packaging in a way that's useful, getting it where people need it

(27:12):
in order to enable a more proactive approach to giving.
Jamie, you have thoughts on social media? Yeah, I hate to change the
conversation back, but yeah, I mean, I think one
other positive impact to your earlier question of social media
in organizing is it makes it a lot easier
to get climate communication and education out there

(27:35):
to people who it might not have originally reached. And so we
see that people, especially in my own generation, but cross
generational lines, are really starting
to make more connections between the impacts of the climate crisis
and things like social justice, racial justice, economic issues
and gender issues. And so people are,

(27:58):
in making those connections, people are sort of starting to understand that
climate is sort of one stop shop to help on a lot of
issues. And so I think
that that is impactful when it comes to, you know, donation of
time money into the climate movement. But
there is definitely still a huge need. Thank

(28:20):
you. Let's go to segment three. We're going to talk about measuring Impact.
Effective philanthropy requires evaluating nonprofits based on
transparency, accountability, and financial
efficiency. Organizations that openly share financial
reports, governance structures, and measurable outcomes
demonstrate credibility. Red flags include excessive

(28:43):
overhead costs, lack of reporting, and unclear
impact. Impact measurement frameworks help assess
effectiveness. Social return on investment quantifies
social and economic value, while the Theory of Change outlines
how a program achieves its goals. Logical frameworks provide
structured evaluation metrics. Third party evaluators like

(29:05):
Charity Navigator, GiveWell and GuideStar provide
ratings based on governance, impact and financial health.
Reviewing these resources helps donors make informed choices.
Successful initiatives such as the Gates Foundation's global health
programs and the Robinhood Foundation's poverty reduction
efforts highlight the importance of data driven decision making.

(29:27):
Using a charity evaluation checklist ensures donations support
organizations that align with donor values and deliver
tangible results.
Jacob, what frameworks do you recommend for donors to
assess the effectiveness of their philanthropic contributions?

(29:51):
I mean, this is another question we could talk about for days.
I think it's important to start with what do nonprofits have
in common and what are different
among nonprofits? So all nonprofits are trying to do some good in the
world, but to Bruno's point earlier, some of them
are doing that in a way that's focused on the short term, some on the

(30:13):
long term. As Jamie was talking about, there are some strategies that
require deeper engagement with community organizing, for
example, others that are more about research, others that are more
about high level policy advocacy. And
there is no single framework that can tell you,
you know, whether all organizations are effective because it's just too much diversity. You can't

(30:36):
use the same way of thinking to judge a homeless shelter
that you might use for a
grassroots group working on climate. And so I do think it's
really important that we have some humility in terms of our ability
to kind of universalize what effectiveness means. All that said, I think there are
some basic principles. Transparency is really important and is almost

(30:59):
always a really good indicator that an organization is
not just open to the world, but it offers an
opportunity to judge the clarity of their thinking. And I think one of the
best ways for a donor to consider a nonprofit is to look at the
logic that nonprofit uses on how they articulate how they make change
in the world. Just as Jamie was doing as she was talking about,

(31:21):
why is it that community organizing at this moment is actually
particularly high leverage strategy around climate? Which, by
the way, I think is true. And so one place where I think
donors can sort of trust their own instincts is to make judgments
about that logic. I think it's really important
that organizations have both corporations quantitative and qualitative

(31:43):
ways of learning and judging their own progress. Even if they aren't
perfect, they may not be. I can show you one number that will prove
that we're effective, but at least it shows I'm trying to
hold myself accountable and I'm trying to learn and get better.
And again, I think that should be both quantitative and qualitative.
You want to have the number of people who are showing up to your events,

(32:05):
you might want to do a survey of them and then you want to maybe
do some one on one interviews to get a little bit deeper and get under
know what the numbers might tell you. So there is no simple answer. But I
do think that people are used to, again, going
back to what I was saying earlier, making hard questions in the context of
uncertain information. I'm sorry, making hard decisions.

(32:28):
And they can bring that skill which we've all cultivated
in our lives to the work of philanthropy. And we can do that in a
way that is humble in that we're not going to have a perfect
answer, but is ambitious in that we're really going to aspire to
maximize the impact of our giving.
Bruno, as somebody who wants to do good, and you're also a media

(32:49):
trainer, how do you interpret the storytelling
versus statistical data
in communicating like philanthropic
success? A good question, but
actually I had a question for Jacob actually based on what he's saying.

(33:09):
I love what you just said about, you know, people are capable of making, making
difficult decisions.
It's maybe it's a question a bit related to behavioral
stuff, behavioral dynamics.
When I, you know, when I take my position of someone like me

(33:31):
should actually be paying more taxes. And that
is an, you know, it's a, it's a, it's an imbalance. Huh. In, in
Belgium, taxes are really high. And what I say is that labor
tax should be lower and wealth tax should be higher, not more tax in general,
but different for every country. But when I say that
most people, a lot of the reactions are, oh, you know,

(33:54):
that means you want to give money back to, to the state. And state isn't
handling your money well, look around, they're splurging it.
So they prefer, especially wealthy people prefer having a certain level of control
and having a level, usually they are quite in control of their money. And that's
also one reason of their success. That's what, that's how people,

(34:16):
people make money. That comes with the other
problems with, you know, that gives Me
or philanthropy is too much dependent on my goodwill as a wealthy person and also
gives me ultimately too much power. But my question
is, you know,
saying you want to be taxed more is actually,

(34:40):
yeah, it's giving up control. It's, it's, in a way, it's very counter intuitive
psychologically. And I think especially for
wealthy people, that's difficult. How do
you work with that on a, on a. Because in the end, it's just. For
me, it's kind of the same. It is giving back. It is like philanthropy. It's
giving back and wanting to make the world a better place.

(35:02):
How come that story, how could we make that story work,
you think, Jacob? Yeah, I mean, what a hard question.
And I'll offer some brief thoughts at least first by saying that
I think, you know, especially at least in a democracy, everybody has some
control over the state in their vote. And

so, you know, part of it is like we're using different tools (35:21):
our
money, our time, our vote to have a voice in
our, in our society. And so I think part of
it is telling a story about there's this multiplicity of ways that we're contributing
and having a voice. I do think it's an
interesting paradox because inherently, you know, asking

(35:44):
wealthy people to pay more higher taxes is counter to their
direct interests. The, you know, economics research
is very mixed on this. It's clear that if you look at,
for example, the research on what motivates
employees is clear that money is one motivator,
but it's not the only one. There are other things that really motivate people, and

(36:07):
I think that's true as well around the tax debate. And one
advantage that organizations
like Millionaires for Humanity have is that the pitch is
counterintuitive. And that makes for a great story.
And so it's both an advantage and
you've got this structural disadvantage that is not

(36:29):
as much of a disadvantage, I think, as some people think, but it's still real.
But you have this sort of narrative advantage of being able to get attention. I
mean, we've seen a lot of this with the recent retirement of Warren Buffett as
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. You know, there's been a lot of talk about
his advocacy for higher taxes and
his constant, you know, over and over again saying,

(36:52):
why is it that my secretary pays a higher average tax rate than
I do? And that's a story that sticks because it's
counterintuitive. But to actually get past
that, that sort of broader structural barrier is a real puzzle. And I think A
lot of it has to do with thinking about the other dimensions of life that
people care about.

(37:13):
Thanks. By the way, if I can respond to the story,
to the narrative and telling the story when I, when I give, you know,
a conference or something where I go and speak to people who kind of
need to hear the story. I hear a lot of
yes. But I so far haven't heard anyone say

(37:34):
you're off the, you're off track. Which is interesting.
I think it goes back to what Jacob was saying, is that there's not just
one answer. It requires a little bit all of the
above. But as a financial advisor, I can
say with quite high confidence, most people
do not want to pay more taxes. And

(37:58):
the idea of, okay, I will
acknowledge that yes, if there are
taxes, then maybe you can have more consistency
in how funds are being collected and distributed.
But then the question is a
MacKenzie Scott, for example, I think she's made a

(38:20):
lot of waves in I think giving,
giving teams that she believes in a lot of flexibility
to making her grants without having a lot of
strings attached. It's like she believes that this team
can best allocate toward the mission

(38:41):
and right. Gives them that latitude. Why should
she trust the government to do better? Is
that the question? I think that
I, I, if I can respond to that,
I think the question is really good. Why should, why should I trust the government
to do a better job? I, I don't, I, I, I don't know. I don't

(39:04):
know. I don't know if I do. What I do know is that
it doesn't exempt me from asking myself the question, what is a fair, what
is fair taxation? I can't use this. I can
use the fact that like look around, they're using, you know,
and it very often it's true. But I can't

(39:25):
use that as an excuse to say, you know, oh, then
fair taxation doesn't matter. It's still the cause of a lot of a lot
of stuff. Jamie, what's your thought on
taxes from an environmental perspective?
Yeah, so I just wanted to share one of zero hours. Main campaigns
right now is about ending fossil fuel fuel subsidies both within

(39:47):
the United States and globally. Because in 2022 the
total revenue of the US oil and gas industry was
US$332.9 billion.
But despite being this profitable, the US still provides at least $20 billion
a year in federal subsidies to the industry and billions in state
subsidies from our tax dollars. So we talk like Bruno

(40:09):
was saying about like you know, being a little bit having
a little bit of disquiet about where our tax dollars are going. I think that's
a very valid point. And we see this, we were
engaged in this fight at Zero Hour because we see it as very kind of
going for the jugular on the fossil fuel industry. The Stockholm
Institute has reported in 2021 that as much as 60%

(40:31):
of future oil and gas development would not be economically viable without
these subsidies. And because solar and wind power are both cheaper
to produce than energy derived from fossil fuels, the
expansion of the industry that's happening right now, the fossil fuel industry that
is, would not be possible the way it's
currently happening without our taxpayer subsidies. So I completely agree

(40:53):
and I'm very heartened to hear these points from folks working in the,
and you know, existing within the billionaire or the millionaire sort of
the wealthy donor space, talking about, you know, raising taxes on the wealthy. I think
that's fantastic. But I think also it's very important
to look at where our tax dollars are going and which industries they're propping up,
the impacts that have on our world.

(41:16):
Thank you. Let's go to segment four.
Ethical philanthropy goes beyond donations by ensuring funds are
used responsibly and create lasting impact. Feel good
philanthropy prioritizes emotional satisfaction over effectiveness,
while ethical giving focuses on research, transparency and
measurable results. Power dynamics in philanthropy shape how

(41:39):
those results are achieved and who benefits from them. Funders must
balance influence by supporting long term solutions and collaborating
with local stakeholders. Philanthropic colonialism occurs when
external donors impose solutions without community input,
creating dependency rather than empowerment. Transparency
is key. Responsible organizations openly report

(42:01):
financials, governance and impact. Donors should assess
how funds are allocated and whether aid aligns with local needs.
Supporting grassroots initiatives and prioritizing ethical decision
making ensures philanthropy strengthens communities rather than
controlling them. Thoughtful giving based on research and
accountability maximizes positive change while avoiding

(42:23):
unintended harm.
Bruno, you've said that philanthropy, while valuable,
ultimately places too much power in the hands of the
wealthy. Can you share what ethical dilemmas
does this raise for you personally?

(42:50):
It's a question I got, I, when I started this, this, this
voyage of Millionaires for Humanity, it's a question I get a lot about.
Yeah, what about philanthropy? And it's always two things I say
is, well, first, you know, they say, oh, look at, for example, Bill
Gates. He has this foundation, does amazing stuff. He does. And I'm also not
cynical about that.

(43:13):
But if he chooses to, he could also
not do it. And if, you know, I donate every year to
this organization and if tomorrow there's another one
that has a better pitch I could decide to give to that. It's
too dependent on my goodwill and
ultimately then in a way, gives me a bit too much power. And

(43:38):
I love the thing that said, like, feel good philanthropy,
you know, suddenly maybe my daughter loves giraffes, and then I'm
going to start giving to giraffe organization. It's,
it's, it's not a healthy situation, let's say
ethically, it can
be also used for me, psychologically, it can be used

(44:01):
very easily to, to feel better and then think, okay, I'm, I'm doing my
part, but
not going to the core of things. That's the ethical dilemma, I guess.
Jacob, I think you previously mentioned power dynamics
in philanthropy. What ethical

(44:22):
guardrails would you recommend to ensure giving aligns
with community priorities and not donor
egos? Yeah,
one good piece of news and all this is that there are some
practical things that donors can do in terms of how they structure their
donations that can make a really big difference.

(44:45):
So I'll talk about those, and then we'll talk about some of the sort of
human dynamics as well. But, you know,
very much of philanthropy is what's called project support,
where it's, the money is allocated to a particular part
of an organization, some little sliver. And there can be
good reasons for that. But in general, the people at the

(45:06):
organization have a better sense of where the money could be put to best use
than the donor does. The donor's on the outside looking in.
And so the more that donors can give flexible dollars,
what's often called general operating support, the better,
because that empowers the
individuals at the recipient organization to use all

(45:29):
of their on the ground knowledge to allocate more effectively. It makes the accounting a
whole lot easier. And it really can change the power dynamic, too. It's
not just, I'm a nonprofit, so I'm a contractor for the wishes
of my wealthy donor, but instead, I'm a nonprofit,
I have my own agency, and the donor is trusting
me. Another way this plays out is in duration, in

(45:51):
that most social problems take years and years to solve,
and yet most grants are made one year at a time, which
just can make it really hard for nonprofits to plan and think in the long
term. And so the more that an individual donor or
an institutional donor can say, you know, it's, it's not just, I'm
giving you $10,000 this year, I'm, I'm going to give you $10,000 each of the

(46:12):
next five years and offer you that runway, that sense of stability
to help in your. Help in your planning. So those
are a couple of concrete things. On a more sort of
emotional level, you know, there's just the fact that
many donors are really smart people who have a lot to offer
and I think should be willing and open to offer

(46:36):
their thoughts, but fundamentally to
recognize that it is the recipient who's the expert and to
ensure that
the nature of the conversation is one that's
defined by respect. I'll offer two more final
thoughts. One is that doesn't mean that every

(46:59):
nonprofit is equally good or that donors
don't have to make hard decisions. They do, but
let's make them based on substantive reasons,
and let's make them in a way that is honest and kind
in relation. And then finally, on this question of community voice,

(47:20):
this is hard because some nonprofits truly do have their ear to the
ground and have a deep sense of what a given community might want. Other
ones don't. And that also is harder if you're
working on a global or planetary issue like climate change.
You know, having this specific knowledge as to the particular needs of a given
neighborhood sometimes is really relevant and sometimes less so.

(47:44):
And so I just flagged that. That's a hard question. And I
think it's. It's a great one to ask a nonprofit, how do you bring in
those voices? But also to recognize
that's not always an easy thing to do. And it is often really relevant, but
sometimes there are other kinds of knowledge that might be even more, more
powerful. Bruno, do you have an example of the

(48:06):
human dynamics? No. I was thinking about that from
the beginning of what Jacob said.
One reaction I had that I thought was really interesting because it shows that
link with, with philanthropy and how philanthropy
also is almost, sometimes almost becomes a certain,

(48:27):
an identity, an important identity to wealthy
people. And for me, it was a reaction like
quite emotional. Was saying, you know, I give that much. I
give, I give to, to stuff I believe in every year, blah, blah. And you
come up with this, with this, which is strange thing about being taxed more.
And I could, I could feel how emotional it was. And I also noticed that

(48:49):
I didn't bring it. Why I, first of all, I didn't say anything to that
person particularly. It was as if
I had attacked her identity
almost, or her way of thinking, saying, like, I am
giving back and you are saying I haven't done it the right way.
Or you were saying I haven't led a meaningful life, which I thought

(49:12):
I, I was doing so finding that balance between
saying, you know, what you do is really important and,
and not getting that emotional reaction of you've had it wrong the whole way
is not that easy. I noticed and that, that for wealthy people that,
that that identity of giving can become
quite, quite dominant in a way

(49:35):
I think. Jamie, this,
this phrase, philanthropic colonialism, it's not something
that I really think about that much in the segment
mentioned it. How does Zero Hour address the potential
for philanthropic colonialism in its initiatives?
Yeah, I guess. Could you give me a definition of what you, you think of

(49:58):
as philanthropic colonialism? It's a phrase
that, that I think resonated for Bruno. No,
it did because for me it's
giving but then imposing, imposing a certain, a certain solution
and hey, you know, money's power. So I am giving you this. So you're going

(50:18):
to do it this way because I am the one, I'm the
one with the power. It's having donations with strings
attached. I see. Yeah. Thankfully we've had
sort of the dynamic with many of our larger
donations at Zero Hour where we've been trusted,
sort of like we've proposed our campaigns

(50:42):
and donors think it's a good idea and so they trust us to work
forward from there. But I've absolutely seen
in other organizations and you know, certain,
I guess political parties, I've heard from
anecdotal evidence from folks who are, do a lot of work
in the donor space in parties in the

(51:06):
US that to your
definition of philanthropic colonialism there does really
have an impact negatively when we're trusting
consultants or donors who might not have the lived political
experience needed to make the high level decisions or make
the strategy decisions that need to be made. Like if we're giving them

(51:27):
that power, ultimately our movements sometimes fail
because they might not be the best person to make that decision
and they might not have that experience. So I think it's very vital that
philanthropic organizations take that into account. And as you have been saying,
trust trust movements and

(51:48):
trust the organizations they're donating to, to
maybe have more knowledge or demonstrate the knowledge that is needed
for those high level decisions and that strategy.
Let's bring it home and go to the last segment. Philanthropy
is shifting toward collaboration and technology driven
solutions. Giving circles and pooled funds allow

(52:10):
individuals to combine resources for greater impact. While
community driven initiatives ensure funding aligns with local local needs.
Universal basic philanthropy proposes guaranteed giving
opportunities enabling broader participation in charitable
efforts. AI and machine learning enhance impact by
analyzing data to allocate resources efficiently and match

(52:32):
donors with causes aligned to Their values. Personalized giving
portfolios help donors diversify contributions across different
causes and geographies, maximizing life long term impact.
As philanthropy becomes more data driven and inclusive. Staying
informed on emerging trends ensures effective giving. By
leveraging collaboration, technology and strategic planning,

(52:55):
the next generation of philanthropy aims to create more equitable,
transparent and impactful solutions for global challenges.
Thoughtful adaptation to these changes ensures meaningful
contributions that drive sustainable progress. Progress.

(53:16):
Jacob, what emerging trends do you foresee having the most significant
impact on philanthropy in the next decade?
So, you know, the segment mentioned a few that I think are really important, like
giving circles, a new form of infrastructure that makes
that offers a way for giving to get filtered through community in ways that I
think can be really quite powerful. So it's no longer just an individualistic act, but

(53:40):
it's a collective one. So as, and that's really been expanding globally
and I think that could be really powerful. There have been efforts like Giving Tuesday
that I think are really in the giving pledge
that are just highlighting the pure power of generosity as a human
impulse. And so I think if those can continue to get
momentum, we'll be, you know, we'll be better off. To me, the

(54:02):
big question is how does philanthropy think about its
role in the social contract? What does business do, what does
government do, and what does the nonprofit sector slash philanthropy
do? And the world is changing faster and faster.
Some of that is amazing. AI might supercharge some really interesting
interventions. Some of it is terrifying. It's often

(54:24):
operating at this truly planetary level on a question
like pandemics or climate change or potentially
true AGI.
And so we've got just some work to do to figure out. Okay, we had
traditional charity. We moved on to strategic philanthropy.
What is the next way of thinking that really figures out a role

(54:48):
that is willing to grapple with these big hard problems
while maintaining that fundamental humanity, that compassion, that
honesty, that integrity that
characterizes the best of philanthropy. And so that's an incredible puzzle, but I see
it as an incredible opportunity as well. Where do you think AI can really
have a positive impact and how can it be scary?

(55:10):
Yeah, well, I think AI could have a positive impact on
the giver side just by helping donors sort through
all of the complexity and help them find organizations
that really match their interests and that are operating at a given
level of excellence. On the recipient side, there are
lots of ways that AI could really help nonprofit

(55:33):
interventions. Whether that's through
tutoring, whether that's through discovering
new cures for diseases, whatever it may be.
In terms of the, the dangers of AI, I mean, we can think about
all sort of the sci-fi scenarios, and I think some of those, they're possible.
My bigger concern is that AI will change our politics and change

(55:56):
our labor market so fast that humanity
will not be able to catch up to that
change and that it will just create a lot of churn,
conflict, it might exacerbate political polarization.
And so philanthropy is going to have a really important role, I think, in helping
society navigate the fact that AI is just going to supercharge a lot of other

(56:18):
trends. Jamie, how do you envision
youth led movements influencing the future of
philanthropy? Yeah, I think
just sort of some of the themes that have been discussed today. I think my
generation, at least, I hope my generation sort of sees
climate change as a little bit more of a less

(56:39):
political issue because we are all being impacted by it disproportionately.
And so I have hope that philanthropy
might have a shift in a trend in terms of
that political aspect. In terms of climate change.
It's hard to say. I can't speak for all youth,

(57:00):
but that's definitely a hope of mine.
I think also I hope that trends in
philanthropy turn towards giving
dollars back to chronically underfunded communities. Kind of going back
to our concept of philanthropic colonialism we were talking about earlier.

(57:21):
You know, especially in the environmental movement. The most chronically underfunded communities are
indigenous environmentalists. They're targeted by
states and corporations and killed at a much higher rate than other
organizers for their work. But their work has a much higher impact
on the environment because they have that lived grassroots knowledge of
land defense often and statistically.

(57:43):
And so like, for example, I have a friend we who
I met at COP28 in Dubai, who
is a Waorani indigenous
land defender and his tribe is currently being violently attacked
by oil companies. And yet they're chronically underfunded

(58:04):
for their work, which does have a disproportionate impact in defending the
Amazon where they live. And so I hope that
it's hard for me to make predictions, but I do hope that my
generation, you know, invests in the people
that are having the highest impact and sees the climate crisis as an issue
that will affect us all regardless of political leaning.

(58:27):
We hope that technology and AI can help us
execute things more equitably, but
we'll see how that goes. Bruno, what
broader systemic changes do you believe need to accompany or
even precede philanthropy in order to build a more just

(58:47):
society? Well, I hope, first
of all, I hope. My hope is that
there is. There are so many aspects to philanthropy now, and we've
mentioned them all in the first segment. It goes from classic philanthropy to
structural, strategic, to impact investments,

(59:08):
to warning, fair tax, like. And
that slingshot thinking I mentioned as well, like, there is,
I love Jacob's question about what is
philanthropy societal role going to be
and how is he going to help? All these different things have so much power,
I think, to help the world going the right direction.

(59:31):
To answer your question, I think that,
yeah, however good everyone's intention is, however
much philanthropy there is and however many impact investments there
are, yeah, we need to address
the growing inequality problems because
ultimately they're the most dangerous. And yeah,

(59:55):
that begins with, with looking at having a hard look at what
fair taxation is. Jacob, any
closing thought? I mean, just that
giving in particular, sort of philanthropy, the social sector
in general, can represent the best of humanity. And what an incredible opportunity we all
have to be creative and to lean into the

(01:00:17):
challenges and opportunities that we have in front of us. It's a
gift. Well, thank you, Jacob. Thank you,
Bruno. Thank you, Jamie. What an incredible conversation this
has been. If there's one idea I'm walking away with
today, it's that real impact starts when we align our values
with action. Giving isn't just about

(01:00:39):
generosity. It's about intentionality.
Whether it's through philanthropy, advocacy,
political change, each of us has the power to
shape more than just sustainable and
inclusive and a
just sustainable and inclusive world. The key is not just to give

(01:01:03):
more, but more meaningfully. And
one of the things that I heard repeatedly today is
we are in a very politicized
world. And when we think about giving,
you kind of have to peel the layers of, of politics back
because so often we share common

(01:01:25):
goals and common objectives. So
here's your one assignment for the week. Take 20 minutes,
just 20 minutes to reflect on your current giving,
whether it's time, money, or talent, and ask yourself, is
this aligned with the change I want to see in the world? Then
take one small action to move closer to that alignment. It

(01:01:48):
could be researching an organization. It could be signing
up for a volunteer shift, or even just having a
conversation about wealth, fairness or climate justice
with someone in your family or your network.
Because small steps create big ripples. If this
conversation moved you, please like it. Comment and share the

(01:02:11):
episode. Let's spread the inspiration and keep the
momentum moving. Thank you once again to our
guests. You can learn more and get
more from Jacob Haroldr
at craftingimpact.org. Anything else you want to share, Jacob?

(01:02:31):
That's a good place to Follow him. Jamie
Minden, she's executive director at Zero Hour.
You can go to
thisiszerohour.org. Anything
else, Jamie, before you have to jump off?
Check out our website, our Instagram and our Twitter and Facebook
are also at thisiszerohour. And if you're

(01:02:55):
interested in, if you liked the message I had to say today and you're interested
in donating your time or money, definitely check out our website
at thisiszerohour.org and click on our donation link or action page
and get involved. We'd love to have you join our work. A great
grassroots community organization with a great mission.
So definitely check out their website. And finally,

(01:03:18):
Bruno Fierens. You can
learn more about him at
brunofierensmediatraining.be
and he is a member of Millionaires for Humanity. You can
go to millionairesforhumanity.org Bruno,
anything else you wanted to share? I

(01:03:39):
talked a lot about tax fairness, but
I certainly want to, yeah, I hope,
like inspire anyone to donate. Philanthropy is
really important and it should, everybody should think it
that way. Think about it that way as well. Let's say that as well.
Thanks for having me. Thank you for joining. Thank you for

(01:04:01):
doing good and making the world a better place.
I want to thank the Inspired Money production team
for, for their work. Bradley Jon Eaglefeather
did the edits and Chad
Lawrence animations. So we've got a small but
mighty team. Thank you Inspired Money maker for tuning in today.

(01:04:23):
The next Inspired Money episode I think is going to be

Navigating the Stock Market (01:04:27):
Strategies for Long-Term Investing
Success. Right now that's scheduled for Wednesday,
May 21 at 1 pm so hope you'll join us
then. Until next time, do something that scares you because that's
where the magic happens. Thanks everyone.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Exploring the World of Philanthropy: Making a Meaningful Impact Through Giving