May 7, 2026 • 32 mins
Widely respected as a mission-driven leader and coalition builder, Kathleen Enright joined the Council as President and CEO in 2019. Under Kathleen’s leadership, the Council launched its new strategy to make philanthropy a trusted partner in addressing society’s most pressing challenges. For the majority of her professional life, Kathleen has focused on making the philanthropic sector more inclusive and effective including during her tenure as founding President and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), and as the group director of marketing and communications for BoardSource. Kathleen is a recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award from the George Washington University Chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha, a public administration honor society. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s of public administration from The George Washington University. Kathleen co-chaired the Vision Design Group of the United Philanthropy Forum (formerly the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers) and has served on the advisory boards of The Center for Effective Philanthropy and the Midge Smith Center for Evaluation Effectiveness. Kathleen speaks and writes regularly on issues of nonprofit and grantmaker effectiveness at national and regional gatherings of executives and trustees.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, you know, I'm a native Kentuckian, and I felt
very blessed that my family always had what we needed.
But I never lost sight of the fact that I
am one generation removed from poverty. And it was my
dad's military service and the gi build that enabled him
to be the first in his family to go to college,
and that led to him being able to create a
better life in a better context for us. So, you know,
(00:23):
my family, my siblings were very much an influence on me.
Both of my parents and our faith tradition led me
to always want to, you know, to be pulled into
helping others. I didn't know that there could be a
career in that, but I certainly at the time knew
that it was going to be an active part of
my life.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And just to say a bit about, you know, about
one of my influences, my mom.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
She modeled just care and concern and inclusion of other
folks in such a beautiful way.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
She was a nurse by training.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
But then she was also engaged and I would call
it a personal ministry of support to the neighbors or
to folks in the church community, and including being a
hospice volunteer. You know, going to bring communion to the
sick in the hospital, you know, a whole host of things.
And ultimately she used her nursing skills to support the
(01:18):
full Catholic parish in Lexandon, Kentucky, where I grew up,
by creating a parish health nursing pilot.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wow, it was just part of her.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
She was going back to get her master's degree in
her forties and it was just part of her you know,
master's project, I guess. And so they would do blood
pressure screenings after church. They she set up a yoga program,
you know, those kinds of things, and one of the prishners,
who happened to be a surgeon himself, thought it was
so helpful that he created a foundation to support parish
(01:52):
health nursing in Lexning, Kentucky. So my mom was the
first person really connected to foyantherb in my life, kind
of incidentally and accidentally because someone saw her good work
and wanted.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
To expand it.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You know, in this series, Kathleen, we always find out
about mentors, whether their parents. With you and your mom,
she sounds extraordinary and you know, the empathy and the
caring and all those kind of things, And I want
to talk about leadership a little bit down the road
with you in this interview. But it's really nice that
we all have these people that are lives that had
this profound effect and we might not realize it right
(02:28):
at the moment, but then we use it our lives,
whether we're running companies or we're dealing with their own families.
And that's a wonderful story. So I'm glad you shared that.
I do want to talk about that more in just
a little bit, but I want to talk about, you know,
coming out of school and what you wanted to do.
You know, we have so many paths that we want
to take, and I you know, when I talk to
my daughter about her going to college and what she
wanted to do, she was pretty firm on what she
(02:49):
wanted to do and be a filmmaker, and she's doing
that now in New York and I love that. But
that's not always the path, but it's there to learn
and figure out what you want to do. So as
you were going to school and coming out, what did
you want to do that you know.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
To be honest, I knew I wanted to help people.
I didn't know exactly what form that was going to take.
So when I went to undergrad, I thought I was
going to be a public interest attorney. I thought that
I could help people, you know, who didn't have representation.
So that was you know, my majors were angling me
towards that. And it was in my junior year of
college where I went out to Washington, d c. For
(03:22):
an internship with a group that worked for runaway and
homeless kids, and I just was hooked. This was a small,
above mighty organization that was advocating for these kids who
didn't have many, many folks in their corner. And so
I learned about the full nonprofit sector and the organizations
(03:44):
that are there to help folks who are, you know,
running on tough times. So I went and got my
graduate degree instead of going to law school, I got
a graduate degree in nonprofit management, and I guess the
rest is history. When I came out of that, though,
you know, I knew about service nonprofits, you know, I'd
always I'd always heard of, you know, food banks and
(04:07):
those kinds of things. But what I hadn't learned about
until graduate school were those It's like the meta organizations,
the organizations that try to.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Help the whole system improve.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So how do you help the whole nonprofit sector be
as strong and effective as possible.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And that's where I've spent my career.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I was right out of grad school, I went to
a place called Board Source that's helping helping trustees of
governing boards of nonprofits do their jobs to the best
of their ability. And then now since and I've run
two different organizations that support foundations, charitable foundations.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I'm standing well, listen, we're here, of course to talk
about Council on Foundations, and I want to do a
lot of that with mission Vision and exactly what you do.
But there really is an extraordinary long history back from
the late forties and this starting to where it is today.
Can you talk to us a little bit and give
us the highlights about the history of it.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, I mean, we are the oldest, longest serving organization
of this type in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
And there are a lot of different kinds of foundations.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
There are you know, foundations created by families out of
their private wealth, by companies out of their profits, and
their community foundations, which are like an aggregation of lots
of the generous people in a particular community who want
to give back to where they live and so we
were actually founded by community foundations back in nineteen forty nine,
(05:29):
you know, for the basic reasons that many associations exist.
They wanted to learn from each other, They wanted to
make sure that they were doing their work to the
best of their ability. And then over time the membership
opened up a bit more to all different kinds of
foundations that give money to charitable causes to try to
make community better.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I know, we're going to learn how this foundation has
grown tremendously over the last sixty seventy years, but sometimes
mission and vision still stay the same about helping people
and people will help other people out there if you
could for us, as we learned about it before we
find out exactly what you do. What is the mission
and vision of the Council of the Foundations.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
You know, it's pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
We want to make sure that those people who are
engaged in generosity, either individually or through the organizations they're
part of, do it effectively, that they are able to
make the difference that they want to make in the world,
that they're able to achieve their mission. And you know, interestingly,
(06:31):
there's a quote from years ago that Warren Buffett said
when he was getting more engaged in his own philanthropy,
which was that you know, he was kind of surprised
to learn that running a nonprofit was harder.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Than running a similarly.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Sized business, because you know, nonprofits are trying to help
people with changing their circumstances. They're trying to work on
intractable issues like poverty, and so you know, the same
is true with giving away money.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You can give away money and not quite be.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Sure whether you're achieving what you want to achieve, or
you can be incredibly strategic and committed to making a difference,
and that takes a whole heck of a lot of
strategy and thought and learning from the wisdom of others
in order to be able to do that.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, well, I love me a good warm buffet quote,
and I've talked to enough of the nonprofits here in
the DMV with another podcast I do, And I think
he's onto something when it comes to that, because you
get a really, really small team and there are big
jobs to do as far as raising money and everything
else that you have to do in a nonprofit. I
do want to do this. I want to give our
listeners a good scope. So if you were to give
(07:41):
Kathleen kind of a thirty thousand foot view about what
Council on Foundations does. What would you tell them?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
You know, I've mentioned, I've hit on it a couple
times that first and foremost, we want to make sure
that charitable foundations are doing their best work, that they
have the resources, the tools to do ethical, high quality
work in their community. So that's a bit of support
that we provide professional development trainings, legal support, all those
(08:07):
kinds of things. And then recognizing the context that we're
in that the institutions that we work for are for everyone.
They are for the greater good, for the public benefit.
So a large priority of ours is how do we
help folks collaborate better, How do we help them bridge
and build common ground in this time where folks are
(08:30):
having a hard time working together when they disagree on
some things. So we have a huge priority around bridging
and building common ground and how philanthropy and charitable foundations
can help knit together communities to solve problems that they're
experiencing together. Finally, we are an advocate to a policy
(08:51):
advocate to make sure that generosity and charitable giving remains a.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Core asset to our country.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So we work with Congress, and we work with federal
agencies including the IRS, FEMA, others to make sure that
we're good partners with the federal government and that the
policies that legislators shape help Flat Top grow. We want
more folks doing more charitable giving, and there are policies
(09:22):
that support that.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
One of the things that really grab my attention on
your website was the building trust in philanthropy. And you know,
the twenty year strategic direction is really ambitious and incredible.
I know you're going to explain this to me because
I know CEOs and presidents like yourself of running companies,
whether it's for profit or nonprofit, usually have three to
five year plan, maybe even a little bit long. This
(09:45):
is a twenty year strategic direction and I'm going, oh,
my goodness, that is something else.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Can you explain what this is?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah, you know, I appreciate, Dennis, you're kind of laughing
a little bit. But taking the long view is a
superpower of foundations. We don't have election cycles, we don't
have you know, quarterly earnings reports that we have to
manage to. We're managed to managing to the generational change
we want to see. We want, you know, every kid
(10:14):
to be able to live a happy, healthy life. We
want you know, education, We want all of these things.
The missions are various and none of them are short term.
All of those changes require decades of investment, collaborative investment.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
You know, no one institution can do this alone.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
It's often you know, public resources, private resources, corporate resources,
and commitment that make that happen.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
So we were as an institution wanting.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
To align what the role that the Council and foundations
is going to play in this work with the time
horizons of the work itself. So if we want to
make sure that philanthropy is a trusted partner over the
long term in creating a better society, better communities, then
we have to build that brick by brick. We have
(11:04):
to do the small things including, you know, being high integrity,
doing what we say we're going to do, being trusted partners,
trying to rebalance some of that power dynamic that sometimes
exists between those who give away the money and those
who receive the money, and you know, and putting mission first.
You know, I think there's a lot of in some
(11:26):
cases people think that philanthropy is connected to ego, and
I think sometimes you know, when everything is about naming
rights or whatever else.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
That's not why most folks do flappy.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
They do philanthropy because they see something they want to
help be a part of changing, and that actually builds
credibility and builds trust when your ego is not part
of the equation, when the difference that you are collaboratively
trying to make is front and center, and you as
a as a donor, understand that the folks are supporting
(12:01):
are the frontlines. You can't succeed without them. They are
the ones doing the work and your success depends on them.
So it's sort of a flip of a script, a
flip of the script that helps build that trust.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Well, I appreciate you giving that some context, and as
you say on the website with the twenty year direction
for a Living Roadmap, which is a really great way
to explain it. But you're working with community foundations, private
independent and family foundations, corporate grand makers, public grandmaking, charities,
global grandmakers, and philanthropy when it comes to serving organizations
(12:36):
and individuals. With all that said, and I'm sure there's
much more you could talk about in that arena. When
somebody wants to partner with you, how does the process work.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Oh, that's such a good question. I mean depends on
the who, right.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
If it's a grand making foundation, they become a member.
We have a thousand members in all fifty states, cross country,
some globally, and you know, and being part of the
Council community means that they both shape who we are
and what we do and receive support from us and
their peers. You know, if it's a different kind of organization,
(13:13):
I mean, we aren't the folks who help point nonprofits
to donors. That's Candid and other groups. But we do
work with people who share our goals. We're working with
a lot of organizations on our upcoming conference, building together
the organizations that have long worked on peace building or
(13:35):
depolarization or bridging and building common ground. So we have
partnerships where we know that these are sophisticated folks who
can bring trainings to our members that we don't have
to create. So you know, that's one way that people
partner with us. But there's you know, we're a big,
(13:58):
complex organizations, so there's a lot of different entry points
depending on what.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
This yeared objective is.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Well, speaking of big and complex, you've got a lot
of programs, and folks, we could have our own podcasts
just on the programs that Kathleen and It came off
for because it really is truly incredible. And then of
course you've got the foundation's specific programs and services, and
then your initiatives. I know we can't go over all
of them today, but if you were to highlight maybe
some of them, not necessarily that are your favorite or
the most important, but some that a lot of the
(14:27):
different people that you work with really enjoy using those
programs and and what you are most proud of.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, we have we have leadership
development programs. We want people serving in philanthropy who are skilled,
who are ethical, who who.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Put mission first.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
So we have a you know, a series of programs
and trainings to try to create the pipeline of those folks.
One of them is called Career Pathways, and that's where
we're helping folks who are at maybe you know, mid
level try to get into the sea inside foundations. And
you know, we focus on diverse candidates, folks who you
(15:07):
know may come from different places or backgrounds or rural
experience or you know, there's a whole variety of ways
that We define that diversity because we think that organizations are.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Better led when they have, you know, a variety of
folks influencing decisions.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So Preer Pathways is a program that I'm incredibly proud of.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I did want to talk to you about advocation. You
had mentioned in a little bit earlier, and I don't
know how often you're going to Capitol Hill and how
it all works, but i'd love to hear kind of
maybe inside baseball when it comes to advocacy of what
you're doing, And what really strikes me is really monumental
and herculean for you is that you're representing so many
different people out there and so many different kinds of foundation.
(15:50):
There's got to always be a clear message. So I
imagine that you've got to be not a well read,
well educated, but really beyond the top of your game
when it comes to advocation. Can you tell us, like,
maybe what a day in the life is when you're
advocating for different foundations and what it's like and what
you do.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, you know, to be honest, this past year was
a big year for us because there was a once
in a generation tax bill, and much of the policy
related to nonprofits and flamb as tax policy. So we
were working with our champions, our Republican and Democratic champions
on the Hill to try to shape that tax bill
(16:26):
in a way that would promote more generosity and more
flammed to be rather than curtailing it. So the big
win that we got this go around was we have
been trying to This is inside baseball, but you know
how they increased the standard deduction so much that a
lot fewer people.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Itemize their taxes.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yes, well, the only way you get the charitable deduction
is if you itemized your taxes, or at least that
was the case. So that meant that only ten percent
of taxpayers were getting any benefit from their charitable donations.
Tax benefit one hundred Most folks give in some way
or the others. So we were trying to make that
a bit more fair. So we and others helped advocate
(17:08):
for a charitable tax deduction for everyone.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
You don't have to itemize.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You can get it even if you are taking the
standard deduction. And it's one thousand dollars for individuals, two
thousand dollars for married couples.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So that's a start.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It's not all the way where we want to get
but that's is it permanent law now, which is you know,
a really powerful thing.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Very good.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Well, listen, we joke on this series that when you're thriving,
like you and your team are at council on foundations,
that it's not always unicorns and rainbows all the time.
And I know things are going well. But with that said,
are there beside the headlines in the news Stadia, are
there current challenges that really affect you and your team
and the people that you work with.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, of course there are.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I mean I think I've already hit on part of it,
which is communities are divided in ways that are hurting peopleeople.
They're hurting our ability to make progress. And you know,
the folks who always, you know, feel it the most
are the people who are already living on the edge.
You know, it's the folks who want to pay check
away from homelessness or you know, one flat tire away
(18:15):
from not being able to go to work. And so
we want for Cornerstone institutions and every one of those
communities to be able to navigate differences and to get
all the voices at the table, but need to be
there to be able to construct positive progress positive solutions.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I mean things as easy as a safe place to play. Right.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You know, if you want to build a community park,
there's lots of input and lots of opinions about what
that's going to look like, and you have to be
able to navigate that well to get to the best
possible solution, and that requires skills, you know, people.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Many of us.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I mean, I guess I'm a middle kid, so I'm
a bored negotiator and I'm used to trying to find.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
The common ground.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
But for many of us, we need to learn it.
We need to recognize what deep listening is required.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
First. How we need to.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
You know, pause on our own advocacy and wait and
listen and ensure that we fully understand where the other
person's coming from, and even if we disagree with them,
that we honor their humanity and that we see them
as a person that we you know, that we care
about and want to be in community with. Right, And
that is a fundamental shift. It's really hard work. It
(19:37):
is not supported by the you know, social media culture
of of you know, amplifying difference, but I think it's
the most important work of our era.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I think that's very well said and I was chuckling
with you being the middle kid, because I think the mom,
your parents and your mom gave you the best of
both worlds. She's caring and kind and all the things
that she did. But also the middle kid, you gotta
fight for you your life, right right, So.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
That's for sure, you got the.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Both of the leadership examples, Denis over the course of
mine life, and not all of them positive.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, I understand, Well, we're going to talk about leadership
in just a second, but I would love because I'm
sure you have just bushels of great stories about it.
And my question is this is why we get up
every day. And I know you've got very hard to
work with your team, and it can be challenging at times,
especially in the climate that we're living in a twenty
twenty six. With that said, is there maybe just a
short story that you can share, whether so you worked
(20:34):
with either foundation or family or a business they you know,
it really turned out really really cool, and it turned
out the way everybody wanted to and more, and this
is why we get up every day to do things
like this. Can you share something with us?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Oh goodness, there are a lot, you know, there are
so many different examples. I mean, I think one of
the things I'm really proud of with my team is that,
you know, we have a thousand members, and so attempting
to be responsive is you know, is a struggle. Sure,
But more and more recently, as our members have discovered
things that they need, more support that they want, they're
(21:09):
coming to us and we're co creating. We're creating together
what it is that would be most helpful to them.
So oftentimes we're working with a group of our members
and potentially other partners. In the current moment, you know,
some of our community Foundation partners wanted to be able
to lift their voices more and to communicate with the
(21:31):
FEDS about what they need, particularly related to disaster relief.
They're front and center on that, and so we created
a program that's going to enable us to do that
together with them.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
If you thought the twenty year plan was ambitious, I
just looked at the upcoming council events calendar. My goodness,
your team and all the things that you do. You
have so many coming up. It's really tremendous. I know
that takes probably just its own job to put all
these events together. Very special, they're all a little different. Obviously,
they're very customized. Can you tell the audience a little
(22:05):
bit about your events and kind of what it is
to go to one of these, Yeah, sure, I mean.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
We have in person events and webinars, we have conferences.
As I said, we've got these like ten month fellowship
type things, cohort work, and so they're all very different.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
In some cases we're just trying to give people the
information they need to do their job well. So we
have you know, short explainers about the legal requirements inside
philanthropy or how to do global giving well. And so
some of these are the kinds of trainings that you know,
every new foundational leader might want to go to because
(22:44):
it gives them the baseline that they need, but also
want we want people to be able to practice how
to do the work differently. So we have this Bridging
Differences Leadership co Court where we work with the Greater
Good Science Center out of Berkeley to help people try
to build the heart set, the mindset and the skill
set to be bridgers to be able to transform conflict
(23:09):
into positive progress. And so that's ten months and people
come out of it transformed, They come out of it
with a fundamentally different worldview and mindset and a way
that they.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Want to do their work.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So it's everything from an hour and a half and
you know sort of you know.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Basic.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Information sharing to you know, professional development that hopefully is
fairly fairly life changing.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
So I want to talk to you about leadership. And
one of the things when I found out I was
talking to you, you know, to give you some context.
I come from a girl family and my wife is
extraordinary and what she does at iHeart on the sales side.
I've got a daughter who's a filmmaker in Brooklyn and
cheese thriving, and just watching them navigate in my adult
life about what they do for a living is extraordinary.
(23:56):
But also the roadblocks that come in front of them
all the time. You as a woman, a company, an
extraordinary company, all these people I know that you know,
and I want to preface this, when I talk to
women that run companies, it's just not about a woman
speaking to women and running companies, but it's still a
herculean feet because we need more women running companies out there.
I think that's obvious. That comes to my field and sports,
(24:16):
and it comes to your field, and I think it's
extraordinary and what I'd love for you to talk about
that and also leadership and what it means to you
as a woman running a company and all the people
that you deal with in your advocation. You've got ten
thousand balls in the air all the time, and what
it's like for you not only to run a company,
maybe have a family and a personal life and have
(24:39):
it at all. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can. I've
seen it at live in person with my family and
what that's like for you. But I'd like you to
talk about that in leadership and kind of what everything
means to you.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Kathleen, Oh goodness.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I mean, Dennis, when you have a job you love,
that changes everything, you know, I have four I've had
the wonderful benefit of basically loving my work for my
entire career. So that's an amazing starting point. I love
coming to work, I love the people I work with.
I feel like I'm making a bit of a difference
in the world through my professional life. So that's all
(25:14):
to the positive. The nonprofit sector does have, you know,
more women in leaderships, so there are more peers, more
people that I have seen as mentors, and you know,
I've been a CEO for a long time. So my
mentors have been my board chairs and other board members
who have generously supported me and giving me feedback, many men,
(25:39):
many women, you know, board chairs over twenty five years.
But the thing that it took me a little while
to just steady into, you know, was being able to
lead from who I am and from my strengths. And
you know, there's a model in people's heads about leadership
(26:00):
sometimes and you know, for some it's you know, strength
or command and control or you know, they're a variety
of things, and none of that works for me. You know,
I'm an incredibly collaborative leader. I'm pretty good at a
couple of things, but I'm better at hiring people who
are really good at a lot.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Of things, and that's exactly and freeing.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Them up to do what they are absolute expert at.
And so, you know, hopefully my leadership team colleagues would
say that they that they feel like we're co creating
a lot of this work together and that they are
set up to do their best work and be their
best selves, held accountable for you know, what we've said
(26:43):
that we'll do together. So I think that that was
one of the you know, the leadership lessons, and it
took me a little while to ease into was you know,
I can lead like like me. I don't need to
lead like anybody else. You know, everyone else is taken.
I can only be me. So let's lean into those strengths.
(27:05):
And you know, for me, that's just incredibly transparent with
my board about what's going well, about what's getting screwed up,
and how they.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Can help me make it better.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Well, I appreciate you sharing all that. And you know,
a couple of takeaways is I'm just getting to know you.
You obviously have tremendous passion, and I think we both
can agree when you run a company, you have to
really love your job and you have to be passionate
about it coming through the door every day, no matter
what's being thrown at you. And then also, this is
not going to surprise you. I've talked to so many
entrepreneurs and CEOs in this series that say, listen, I
(27:39):
can do this really well, but I hire real smart
people where I'm not, so they can execute all the
things that I can't. And your ego has got to
be fine with that, and that's why they're running companies
like you and these other people I talk to. So
that's tremendous. I'm glad you share that. I did want
to put a pin and work just for a second
and talk about philanthropic and charity work. I know it's
very important to you so personally, when you have a
(27:59):
chance to be part of somethingy, what do you like
to be a part of?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Oh, you know, this is something that has evolved over time.
And when I was thinking about this, you know, how
is it that I invest my time and my money
and from a you know, from a film profit perspective,
you know, charitable giving. I'm an insider and so I
know institutions that are incredibly well led. I know the
(28:23):
leaders personally, so I actually invest in leaders. So I
care about you know, a lot of different issues. One
example is that I have. I'm a longtime donor of
an organization in Chicago that helps new moms who you
know might be not well supported by their family or
living in poverty.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
And the reason I do.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That is the dynamo leader of that organization, Laura Zundel.
So you know that is a mental mindset because you know,
the mission can be amazing, but if the people inside
the organization are not strong leaders well set up to
execute on that hard work, then the organization is not going.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
To achieve what it's supposed to achieve.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So financially, you know, it's the marriage of missions that
I care about and leaders who I know are well
equipped to do a good job. In my volunteer time,
you know, a lot of it is opportunities where I
can work together with my fourteen year old daughter, and
so that tends to be the services through my church
(29:33):
where we support homeless folks either to get a hot
meal or a warm shower, and so that is that's
where I'm spending a good bit.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Of my volunteer time right now.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Danny, thanks for sharing all that. I do want to
get some final thoughts from you. We want to get
some website one more time. The future does look bright,
and I know, and I mentioned this a couple of
times in our conversation. While twenty twenty six seems a
little bit on fire, you and your team are doing
some incredible work, nonetheless, which I think the extraordinary, fighting
through all the garbage out there and doing what you
do so well, which I think is so cool. So
(30:07):
maybe some final thoughts about what we talked about and
before is yours.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Well, thank you, Dennis, And you know, it's amazing to
be having this conversation with you right now because we're
celebrating our countries two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and so
we have a moment to reflect on both what has
made America who we are and who we want to
be going forward, and generosity has to be central. Generosity
(30:31):
has been a central value, and I think that we
are well served if it remains core to who we
are as a people. You know, I think back to
the early days where you know, barn raisings and people
just helping one another in the basics of life to
right now where there are so many people who give
(30:51):
generously of their time, of their talent, of their treasure
to support those around them and in ways that that
don't that aren't they are completely community minded. So we're
hoping to build even more people engaged in community support,
in community service and help them do that work so
(31:15):
wonderfully well, so that we can all create the kinds
of communities that we want.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
To live in.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Outstanding well said Kathleen. And we want to give the
website to everybody, and I'd like to give kudos to
your team out there because I know there is a
lot of information of what you do to digest. With
that said, it's a gorgeous website. It is easy to navigate.
You got to find your way around for all the
incredible information. What's the website for everybody, Kathleen.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
It's just COF dot org.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
And we'd love to, you know, to have more folks engaged,
and we can if we're not the right organization to
support the way that you want to contribute to your community,
and we will point you to one.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
That will outstanding. Well, I'm so glad that we had
a chance to spotlight you. I know you have an
incredible team you've talked about that are very hard working
and what they do. But thank you for all that
you do out there, all the incredible work with the
foundations and the charities that you work with. And I'm
glad that we could feature you on CEOs. You should know.
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Absolutely, thank you. Jennis
Well, you know, I'm a native Kentuckian, and I felt
very blessed that my family always had what we needed.
But I never lost sight of the fact that I
am one generation removed from poverty. And it was my
dad's military service and the gi build that enabled him
to be the first in his family to go to college,
and that led to him being able to create a
better life in a better context for us. So, you know,
(00:23):
my family, my siblings were very much an influence on me.
Both of my parents and our faith tradition led me
to always want to, you know, to be pulled into
helping others. I didn't know that there could be a
career in that, but I certainly at the time knew
that it was going to be an active part of
my life.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And just to say a bit about, you know, about
one of my influences, my mom.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
She modeled just care and concern and inclusion of other
folks in such a beautiful way.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
She was a nurse by training.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
But then she was also engaged and I would call
it a personal ministry of support to the neighbors or
to folks in the church community, and including being a
hospice volunteer. You know, going to bring communion to the
sick in the hospital, you know, a whole host of things.
And ultimately she used her nursing skills to support the
(01:18):
full Catholic parish in Lexandon, Kentucky, where I grew up,
by creating a parish health nursing pilot.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wow, it was just part of her.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
She was going back to get her master's degree in
her forties and it was just part of her you know,
master's project, I guess. And so they would do blood
pressure screenings after church. They she set up a yoga program,
you know, those kinds of things, and one of the prishners,
who happened to be a surgeon himself, thought it was
so helpful that he created a foundation to support parish
(01:52):
health nursing in Lexning, Kentucky. So my mom was the
first person really connected to foyantherb in my life, kind
of incidentally and accidentally because someone saw her good work
and wanted.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
To expand it.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You know, in this series, Kathleen, we always find out
about mentors, whether their parents. With you and your mom,
she sounds extraordinary and you know, the empathy and the
caring and all those kind of things, And I want
to talk about leadership a little bit down the road
with you in this interview. But it's really nice that
we all have these people that are lives that had
this profound effect and we might not realize it right
(02:28):
at the moment, but then we use it our lives,
whether we're running companies or we're dealing with their own families.
And that's a wonderful story. So I'm glad you shared that.
I do want to talk about that more in just
a little bit, but I want to talk about, you know,
coming out of school and what you wanted to do.
You know, we have so many paths that we want
to take, and I you know, when I talk to
my daughter about her going to college and what she
wanted to do, she was pretty firm on what she
(02:49):
wanted to do and be a filmmaker, and she's doing
that now in New York and I love that. But
that's not always the path, but it's there to learn
and figure out what you want to do. So as
you were going to school and coming out, what did
you want to do that you know.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
To be honest, I knew I wanted to help people.
I didn't know exactly what form that was going to take.
So when I went to undergrad, I thought I was
going to be a public interest attorney. I thought that
I could help people, you know, who didn't have representation.
So that was you know, my majors were angling me
towards that. And it was in my junior year of
college where I went out to Washington, d c. For
(03:22):
an internship with a group that worked for runaway and
homeless kids, and I just was hooked. This was a small,
above mighty organization that was advocating for these kids who
didn't have many, many folks in their corner. And so
I learned about the full nonprofit sector and the organizations
(03:44):
that are there to help folks who are, you know,
running on tough times. So I went and got my
graduate degree instead of going to law school, I got
a graduate degree in nonprofit management, and I guess the
rest is history. When I came out of that, though,
you know, I knew about service nonprofits, you know, I'd
always I'd always heard of, you know, food banks and
(04:07):
those kinds of things. But what I hadn't learned about
until graduate school were those It's like the meta organizations,
the organizations that try to.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Help the whole system improve.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So how do you help the whole nonprofit sector be
as strong and effective as possible.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And that's where I've spent my career.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I was right out of grad school, I went to
a place called Board Source that's helping helping trustees of
governing boards of nonprofits do their jobs to the best
of their ability. And then now since and I've run
two different organizations that support foundations, charitable foundations.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I'm standing well, listen, we're here, of course to talk
about Council on Foundations, and I want to do a
lot of that with mission Vision and exactly what you do.
But there really is an extraordinary long history back from
the late forties and this starting to where it is today.
Can you talk to us a little bit and give
us the highlights about the history of it.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, I mean, we are the oldest, longest serving organization
of this type in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
And there are a lot of different kinds of foundations.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
There are you know, foundations created by families out of
their private wealth, by companies out of their profits, and
their community foundations, which are like an aggregation of lots
of the generous people in a particular community who want
to give back to where they live and so we
were actually founded by community foundations back in nineteen forty nine,
(05:29):
you know, for the basic reasons that many associations exist.
They wanted to learn from each other, They wanted to
make sure that they were doing their work to the
best of their ability. And then over time the membership
opened up a bit more to all different kinds of
foundations that give money to charitable causes to try to
make community better.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I know, we're going to learn how this foundation has
grown tremendously over the last sixty seventy years, but sometimes
mission and vision still stay the same about helping people
and people will help other people out there if you
could for us, as we learned about it before we
find out exactly what you do. What is the mission
and vision of the Council of the Foundations.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
You know, it's pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
We want to make sure that those people who are
engaged in generosity, either individually or through the organizations they're
part of, do it effectively, that they are able to
make the difference that they want to make in the world,
that they're able to achieve their mission. And you know, interestingly,
(06:31):
there's a quote from years ago that Warren Buffett said
when he was getting more engaged in his own philanthropy,
which was that you know, he was kind of surprised
to learn that running a nonprofit was harder.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Than running a similarly.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Sized business, because you know, nonprofits are trying to help
people with changing their circumstances. They're trying to work on
intractable issues like poverty, and so you know, the same
is true with giving away money.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You can give away money and not quite be.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Sure whether you're achieving what you want to achieve, or
you can be incredibly strategic and committed to making a difference,
and that takes a whole heck of a lot of
strategy and thought and learning from the wisdom of others
in order to be able to do that.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, well, I love me a good warm buffet quote,
and I've talked to enough of the nonprofits here in
the DMV with another podcast I do, And I think
he's onto something when it comes to that, because you
get a really, really small team and there are big
jobs to do as far as raising money and everything
else that you have to do in a nonprofit. I
do want to do this. I want to give our
listeners a good scope. So if you were to give
(07:41):
Kathleen kind of a thirty thousand foot view about what
Council on Foundations does. What would you tell them?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
You know, I've mentioned, I've hit on it a couple
times that first and foremost, we want to make sure
that charitable foundations are doing their best work, that they
have the resources, the tools to do ethical, high quality
work in their community. So that's a bit of support
that we provide professional development trainings, legal support, all those
(08:07):
kinds of things. And then recognizing the context that we're
in that the institutions that we work for are for everyone.
They are for the greater good, for the public benefit.
So a large priority of ours is how do we
help folks collaborate better, How do we help them bridge
and build common ground in this time where folks are
(08:30):
having a hard time working together when they disagree on
some things. So we have a huge priority around bridging
and building common ground and how philanthropy and charitable foundations
can help knit together communities to solve problems that they're
experiencing together. Finally, we are an advocate to a policy
(08:51):
advocate to make sure that generosity and charitable giving remains a.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Core asset to our country.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So we work with Congress, and we work with federal
agencies including the IRS, FEMA, others to make sure that
we're good partners with the federal government and that the
policies that legislators shape help Flat Top grow. We want
more folks doing more charitable giving, and there are policies
(09:22):
that support that.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
One of the things that really grab my attention on
your website was the building trust in philanthropy. And you know,
the twenty year strategic direction is really ambitious and incredible.
I know you're going to explain this to me because
I know CEOs and presidents like yourself of running companies,
whether it's for profit or nonprofit, usually have three to
five year plan, maybe even a little bit long. This
(09:45):
is a twenty year strategic direction and I'm going, oh,
my goodness, that is something else.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Can you explain what this is?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah, you know, I appreciate, Dennis, you're kind of laughing
a little bit. But taking the long view is a
superpower of foundations. We don't have election cycles, we don't
have you know, quarterly earnings reports that we have to
manage to. We're managed to managing to the generational change
we want to see. We want, you know, every kid
(10:14):
to be able to live a happy, healthy life. We
want you know, education, We want all of these things.
The missions are various and none of them are short term.
All of those changes require decades of investment, collaborative investment.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
You know, no one institution can do this alone.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
It's often you know, public resources, private resources, corporate resources,
and commitment that make that happen.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
So we were as an institution wanting.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
To align what the role that the Council and foundations
is going to play in this work with the time
horizons of the work itself. So if we want to
make sure that philanthropy is a trusted partner over the
long term in creating a better society, better communities, then
we have to build that brick by brick. We have
(11:04):
to do the small things including, you know, being high integrity,
doing what we say we're going to do, being trusted partners,
trying to rebalance some of that power dynamic that sometimes
exists between those who give away the money and those
who receive the money, and you know, and putting mission first.
You know, I think there's a lot of in some
(11:26):
cases people think that philanthropy is connected to ego, and
I think sometimes you know, when everything is about naming
rights or whatever else.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
That's not why most folks do flappy.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
They do philanthropy because they see something they want to
help be a part of changing, and that actually builds
credibility and builds trust when your ego is not part
of the equation, when the difference that you are collaboratively
trying to make is front and center, and you as
a as a donor, understand that the folks are supporting
(12:01):
are the frontlines. You can't succeed without them. They are
the ones doing the work and your success depends on them.
So it's sort of a flip of a script, a
flip of the script that helps build that trust.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Well, I appreciate you giving that some context, and as
you say on the website with the twenty year direction
for a Living Roadmap, which is a really great way
to explain it. But you're working with community foundations, private
independent and family foundations, corporate grand makers, public grandmaking, charities,
global grandmakers, and philanthropy when it comes to serving organizations
(12:36):
and individuals. With all that said, and I'm sure there's
much more you could talk about in that arena. When
somebody wants to partner with you, how does the process work.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Oh, that's such a good question. I mean depends on
the who, right.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
If it's a grand making foundation, they become a member.
We have a thousand members in all fifty states, cross country,
some globally, and you know, and being part of the
Council community means that they both shape who we are
and what we do and receive support from us and
their peers. You know, if it's a different kind of organization,
(13:13):
I mean, we aren't the folks who help point nonprofits
to donors. That's Candid and other groups. But we do
work with people who share our goals. We're working with
a lot of organizations on our upcoming conference, building together
the organizations that have long worked on peace building or
(13:35):
depolarization or bridging and building common ground. So we have
partnerships where we know that these are sophisticated folks who
can bring trainings to our members that we don't have
to create. So you know, that's one way that people
partner with us. But there's you know, we're a big,
(13:58):
complex organizations, so there's a lot of different entry points
depending on what.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
This yeared objective is.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Well, speaking of big and complex, you've got a lot
of programs, and folks, we could have our own podcasts
just on the programs that Kathleen and It came off
for because it really is truly incredible. And then of
course you've got the foundation's specific programs and services, and
then your initiatives. I know we can't go over all
of them today, but if you were to highlight maybe
some of them, not necessarily that are your favorite or
the most important, but some that a lot of the
(14:27):
different people that you work with really enjoy using those
programs and and what you are most proud of.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, we have we have leadership
development programs. We want people serving in philanthropy who are skilled,
who are ethical, who who.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Put mission first.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
So we have a you know, a series of programs
and trainings to try to create the pipeline of those folks.
One of them is called Career Pathways, and that's where
we're helping folks who are at maybe you know, mid
level try to get into the sea inside foundations. And
you know, we focus on diverse candidates, folks who you
(15:07):
know may come from different places or backgrounds or rural
experience or you know, there's a whole variety of ways
that We define that diversity because we think that organizations are.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Better led when they have, you know, a variety of
folks influencing decisions.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So Preer Pathways is a program that I'm incredibly proud of.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I did want to talk to you about advocation. You
had mentioned in a little bit earlier, and I don't
know how often you're going to Capitol Hill and how
it all works, but i'd love to hear kind of
maybe inside baseball when it comes to advocacy of what
you're doing, And what really strikes me is really monumental
and herculean for you is that you're representing so many
different people out there and so many different kinds of foundation.
(15:50):
There's got to always be a clear message. So I
imagine that you've got to be not a well read,
well educated, but really beyond the top of your game
when it comes to advocation. Can you tell us, like,
maybe what a day in the life is when you're
advocating for different foundations and what it's like and what
you do.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, you know, to be honest, this past year was
a big year for us because there was a once
in a generation tax bill, and much of the policy
related to nonprofits and flamb as tax policy. So we
were working with our champions, our Republican and Democratic champions
on the Hill to try to shape that tax bill
(16:26):
in a way that would promote more generosity and more
flammed to be rather than curtailing it. So the big
win that we got this go around was we have
been trying to This is inside baseball, but you know
how they increased the standard deduction so much that a
lot fewer people.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Itemize their taxes.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yes, well, the only way you get the charitable deduction
is if you itemized your taxes, or at least that
was the case. So that meant that only ten percent
of taxpayers were getting any benefit from their charitable donations.
Tax benefit one hundred Most folks give in some way
or the others. So we were trying to make that
a bit more fair. So we and others helped advocate
(17:08):
for a charitable tax deduction for everyone.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
You don't have to itemize.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You can get it even if you are taking the
standard deduction. And it's one thousand dollars for individuals, two
thousand dollars for married couples.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So that's a start.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It's not all the way where we want to get
but that's is it permanent law now, which is you know,
a really powerful thing.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Very good.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Well, listen, we joke on this series that when you're thriving,
like you and your team are at council on foundations,
that it's not always unicorns and rainbows all the time.
And I know things are going well. But with that said,
are there beside the headlines in the news Stadia, are
there current challenges that really affect you and your team
and the people that you work with.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, of course there are.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I mean I think I've already hit on part of it,
which is communities are divided in ways that are hurting peopleeople.
They're hurting our ability to make progress. And you know,
the folks who always, you know, feel it the most
are the people who are already living on the edge.
You know, it's the folks who want to pay check
away from homelessness or you know, one flat tire away
(18:15):
from not being able to go to work. And so
we want for Cornerstone institutions and every one of those
communities to be able to navigate differences and to get
all the voices at the table, but need to be
there to be able to construct positive progress positive solutions.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I mean things as easy as a safe place to play. Right.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You know, if you want to build a community park,
there's lots of input and lots of opinions about what
that's going to look like, and you have to be
able to navigate that well to get to the best
possible solution, and that requires skills, you know, people.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Many of us.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I mean, I guess I'm a middle kid, so I'm
a bored negotiator and I'm used to trying to find.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
The common ground.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
But for many of us, we need to learn it.
We need to recognize what deep listening is required.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
First. How we need to.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
You know, pause on our own advocacy and wait and
listen and ensure that we fully understand where the other
person's coming from, and even if we disagree with them,
that we honor their humanity and that we see them
as a person that we you know, that we care
about and want to be in community with. Right, And
that is a fundamental shift. It's really hard work. It
(19:37):
is not supported by the you know, social media culture
of of you know, amplifying difference, but I think it's
the most important work of our era.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I think that's very well said and I was chuckling
with you being the middle kid, because I think the mom,
your parents and your mom gave you the best of
both worlds. She's caring and kind and all the things
that she did. But also the middle kid, you gotta
fight for you your life, right right, So.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
That's for sure, you got the.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Both of the leadership examples, Denis over the course of
mine life, and not all of them positive.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, I understand, Well, we're going to talk about leadership
in just a second, but I would love because I'm
sure you have just bushels of great stories about it.
And my question is this is why we get up
every day. And I know you've got very hard to
work with your team, and it can be challenging at times,
especially in the climate that we're living in a twenty
twenty six. With that said, is there maybe just a
short story that you can share, whether so you worked
(20:34):
with either foundation or family or a business they you know,
it really turned out really really cool, and it turned
out the way everybody wanted to and more, and this
is why we get up every day to do things
like this. Can you share something with us?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Oh goodness, there are a lot, you know, there are
so many different examples. I mean, I think one of
the things I'm really proud of with my team is that,
you know, we have a thousand members, and so attempting
to be responsive is you know, is a struggle. Sure,
But more and more recently, as our members have discovered
things that they need, more support that they want, they're
(21:09):
coming to us and we're co creating. We're creating together
what it is that would be most helpful to them.
So oftentimes we're working with a group of our members
and potentially other partners. In the current moment, you know,
some of our community Foundation partners wanted to be able
to lift their voices more and to communicate with the
(21:31):
FEDS about what they need, particularly related to disaster relief.
They're front and center on that, and so we created
a program that's going to enable us to do that
together with them.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
If you thought the twenty year plan was ambitious, I
just looked at the upcoming council events calendar. My goodness,
your team and all the things that you do. You
have so many coming up. It's really tremendous. I know
that takes probably just its own job to put all
these events together. Very special, they're all a little different. Obviously,
they're very customized. Can you tell the audience a little
(22:05):
bit about your events and kind of what it is
to go to one of these, Yeah, sure, I mean.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
We have in person events and webinars, we have conferences.
As I said, we've got these like ten month fellowship
type things, cohort work, and so they're all very different.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
In some cases we're just trying to give people the
information they need to do their job well. So we
have you know, short explainers about the legal requirements inside
philanthropy or how to do global giving well. And so
some of these are the kinds of trainings that you know,
every new foundational leader might want to go to because
(22:44):
it gives them the baseline that they need, but also
want we want people to be able to practice how
to do the work differently. So we have this Bridging
Differences Leadership co Court where we work with the Greater
Good Science Center out of Berkeley to help people try
to build the heart set, the mindset and the skill
set to be bridgers to be able to transform conflict
(23:09):
into positive progress. And so that's ten months and people
come out of it transformed, They come out of it
with a fundamentally different worldview and mindset and a way
that they.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Want to do their work.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So it's everything from an hour and a half and
you know sort of you know.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Basic.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Information sharing to you know, professional development that hopefully is
fairly fairly life changing.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
So I want to talk to you about leadership. And
one of the things when I found out I was
talking to you, you know, to give you some context.
I come from a girl family and my wife is
extraordinary and what she does at iHeart on the sales side.
I've got a daughter who's a filmmaker in Brooklyn and
cheese thriving, and just watching them navigate in my adult
life about what they do for a living is extraordinary.
(23:56):
But also the roadblocks that come in front of them
all the time. You as a woman, a company, an
extraordinary company, all these people I know that you know,
and I want to preface this, when I talk to
women that run companies, it's just not about a woman
speaking to women and running companies, but it's still a
herculean feet because we need more women running companies out there.
I think that's obvious. That comes to my field and sports,
(24:16):
and it comes to your field, and I think it's
extraordinary and what I'd love for you to talk about
that and also leadership and what it means to you
as a woman running a company and all the people
that you deal with in your advocation. You've got ten
thousand balls in the air all the time, and what
it's like for you not only to run a company,
maybe have a family and a personal life and have
(24:39):
it at all. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can. I've
seen it at live in person with my family and
what that's like for you. But I'd like you to
talk about that in leadership and kind of what everything
means to you.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Kathleen, Oh goodness.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I mean, Dennis, when you have a job you love,
that changes everything, you know, I have four I've had
the wonderful benefit of basically loving my work for my
entire career. So that's an amazing starting point. I love
coming to work, I love the people I work with.
I feel like I'm making a bit of a difference
in the world through my professional life. So that's all
(25:14):
to the positive. The nonprofit sector does have, you know,
more women in leaderships, so there are more peers, more
people that I have seen as mentors, and you know,
I've been a CEO for a long time. So my
mentors have been my board chairs and other board members
who have generously supported me and giving me feedback, many men,
(25:39):
many women, you know, board chairs over twenty five years.
But the thing that it took me a little while
to just steady into, you know, was being able to
lead from who I am and from my strengths. And
you know, there's a model in people's heads about leadership
(26:00):
sometimes and you know, for some it's you know, strength
or command and control or you know, they're a variety
of things, and none of that works for me. You know,
I'm an incredibly collaborative leader. I'm pretty good at a
couple of things, but I'm better at hiring people who
are really good at a lot.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Of things, and that's exactly and freeing.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Them up to do what they are absolute expert at.
And so, you know, hopefully my leadership team colleagues would
say that they that they feel like we're co creating
a lot of this work together and that they are
set up to do their best work and be their
best selves, held accountable for you know, what we've said
(26:43):
that we'll do together. So I think that that was
one of the you know, the leadership lessons, and it
took me a little while to ease into was you know,
I can lead like like me. I don't need to
lead like anybody else. You know, everyone else is taken.
I can only be me. So let's lean into those strengths.
(27:05):
And you know, for me, that's just incredibly transparent with
my board about what's going well, about what's getting screwed up,
and how they.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Can help me make it better.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Well, I appreciate you sharing all that. And you know,
a couple of takeaways is I'm just getting to know you.
You obviously have tremendous passion, and I think we both
can agree when you run a company, you have to
really love your job and you have to be passionate
about it coming through the door every day, no matter
what's being thrown at you. And then also, this is
not going to surprise you. I've talked to so many
entrepreneurs and CEOs in this series that say, listen, I
(27:39):
can do this really well, but I hire real smart
people where I'm not, so they can execute all the
things that I can't. And your ego has got to
be fine with that, and that's why they're running companies
like you and these other people I talk to. So
that's tremendous. I'm glad you share that. I did want
to put a pin and work just for a second
and talk about philanthropic and charity work. I know it's
very important to you so personally, when you have a
(27:59):
chance to be part of somethingy, what do you like
to be a part of?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Oh, you know, this is something that has evolved over time.
And when I was thinking about this, you know, how
is it that I invest my time and my money
and from a you know, from a film profit perspective,
you know, charitable giving. I'm an insider and so I
know institutions that are incredibly well led. I know the
(28:23):
leaders personally, so I actually invest in leaders. So I
care about you know, a lot of different issues. One
example is that I have. I'm a longtime donor of
an organization in Chicago that helps new moms who you
know might be not well supported by their family or
living in poverty.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
And the reason I do.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That is the dynamo leader of that organization, Laura Zundel.
So you know that is a mental mindset because you know,
the mission can be amazing, but if the people inside
the organization are not strong leaders well set up to
execute on that hard work, then the organization is not going.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
To achieve what it's supposed to achieve.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So financially, you know, it's the marriage of missions that
I care about and leaders who I know are well
equipped to do a good job. In my volunteer time,
you know, a lot of it is opportunities where I
can work together with my fourteen year old daughter, and
so that tends to be the services through my church
(29:33):
where we support homeless folks either to get a hot
meal or a warm shower, and so that is that's
where I'm spending a good bit.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Of my volunteer time right now.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Danny, thanks for sharing all that. I do want to
get some final thoughts from you. We want to get
some website one more time. The future does look bright,
and I know, and I mentioned this a couple of
times in our conversation. While twenty twenty six seems a
little bit on fire, you and your team are doing
some incredible work, nonetheless, which I think the extraordinary, fighting
through all the garbage out there and doing what you
do so well, which I think is so cool. So
(30:07):
maybe some final thoughts about what we talked about and
before is yours.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Well, thank you, Dennis, And you know, it's amazing to
be having this conversation with you right now because we're
celebrating our countries two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and so
we have a moment to reflect on both what has
made America who we are and who we want to
be going forward, and generosity has to be central. Generosity
(30:31):
has been a central value, and I think that we
are well served if it remains core to who we
are as a people. You know, I think back to
the early days where you know, barn raisings and people
just helping one another in the basics of life to
right now where there are so many people who give
(30:51):
generously of their time, of their talent, of their treasure
to support those around them and in ways that that
don't that aren't they are completely community minded. So we're
hoping to build even more people engaged in community support,
in community service and help them do that work so
(31:15):
wonderfully well, so that we can all create the kinds
of communities that we want.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
To live in.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Outstanding well said Kathleen. And we want to give the
website to everybody, and I'd like to give kudos to
your team out there because I know there is a
lot of information of what you do to digest. With
that said, it's a gorgeous website. It is easy to navigate.
You got to find your way around for all the
incredible information. What's the website for everybody, Kathleen.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
It's just COF dot org.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
And we'd love to, you know, to have more folks engaged,
and we can if we're not the right organization to
support the way that you want to contribute to your community,
and we will point you to one.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
That will outstanding. Well, I'm so glad that we had
a chance to spotlight you. I know you have an
incredible team you've talked about that are very hard working
and what they do. But thank you for all that
you do out there, all the incredible work with the
foundations and the charities that you work with. And I'm
glad that we could feature you on CEOs. You should know.
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Absolutely, thank you. Jennis
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