Dr. Sulma Gandhi: “This is what I mean by the 'frustrating funder.’ When I was a grantee for all those years, I was always trying to fit my proposal or how I was pitching into the box of the funder who had a particular strategy from some other community, not that of ours.”

What does it take to break free from frustrating funding practices? This month, Stupski Foundation’s Hawaiʻi health program officer, Dr. Sulma Gandhi, shares her journey from grant-seeker to grant-maker and how she embraces trust-based practices to fully invest in community-led holistic health initiatives across Hawaiʻi. Think multi-year general operating support grants without the burdens of proposals, term limits, and cumbersome reporting— how refreshing! Hear how Dr. Gandhi is giving at the intersection of trust and urgency so communities can direct resources where they know they’ll work best.  

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Dr. Sulma Gandhi

Producer: Claire Callahan

In this episode of Break Fake Rules, author and philanthropic rule-breaker Dimple Abichandani joins us at the Global Philanthropy Forum Leaders Summit to spill the tea on her new book, A New Era of Philanthropy. 

💡Dimple Abichandani: “Philanthropy is unique because the rule that we need to move towards is that these funds are not meant to be maintained and grown. They're actually meant to be transformed.”

Learn more from Dimple in her new book, A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth into a More Just and Sustainable Future. 

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Dimple Abichandani

Producer: Claire Callahan

Sarah Longwell returns to Break Fake Rules, this time at the Forward Global Summit! In this episode, Sarah breaks down the state of American democracy and the fractured media landscape in the wake of the election. How can philanthropists play a positive role in the effort to defend democracy and counter misinformation? Listen to Sarah to find out. 

💡Sarah Longwell: “What is the point of having FU money if you don't tell bad people to FU?”

Hear more from Sarah and learn what real American voters think on The Focus Group podcast. For honest news and smart analysis, check out The Bulwark.  

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Sarah Longwell

Producer: Claire Callahan

In the season two premiere of Break Fake Rules, powerhouse rule-breaking duo Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse, Director of Inequality Media join Glen Galaich to explore the challenges of polarity and the corrosive forces of wealth and power on democracy. How we can hold onto hope for a more just future in these challenging times? Tune in to find out. 

💡Robert Reich: “It has become far more important, even than it was 10 years ago, for people to cause good trouble, to poke the bear, to be courageous, to take on the powers that are now dominating America.”

💡Heather Lofthouse: “This is an incredibly important time to be getting the truth out and to use these platforms where so many people are consuming information, news, and fake news.”

Check out Robert Reich’s substack and learn more about Inequality Media. 

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guests: Robert Reich and Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse

Producer: Claire Callahan

Welcome back to Break Fake Rules with Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation. This season, we're excited to bring you a new slate of inspiring rule-breakers in media, government, philanthropy, and more. Listen to a preview of the new season. Full episodes drop monthly starting February 26, 2025.

Wait, there’s more! Tune into a bonus episode to hear some of our favorite rule-breaking moments from the season. Stay tuned for a special announcement about what’s next for Break Fake Rules.

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and explores ways it can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest & Producer: Claire Callahan

For the finale of Break Fake Rules, Glen sits down with longtime political rulebreaker, Julián Castro! Filmed in front of a studio audience at the National Forum on Family Philanthropy, hear Glen and Julián discuss the fake rules Julián encountered throughout his career in government and what he is discovering in his new philanthropic role as CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. 

Learn more about the Latino Community Foundation and their work to unleash the civic and economic power of Latinos. 

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and explores ways it can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Julián Castro

Producer: Claire Callahan

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

In this episode, Glen talks with Jennifer Risher, an author and rulebreaking philanthropist who is motivating donors to move philanthropic wealth off the sidelines and into communities where it is needed today. Hear Jennifer share her initiative, #HalfMyDAF, which is challenging the wealth management system and motivating others to unleash dollars from donor-advised funds. 

Check out #HalfMyDAF and learn more from Jennifer in her book, “We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth”. 

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Jennifer Risher

Producer: Claire Callahan

“Spending down enables us to make larger investments in our grantees to take bigger swings at addressing the barriers that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face when accessing health care.”

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

In this episode, Glen talks with Ryan Easterly, executive director of the WITH Foundation, who is dedicated to advancing comprehensive care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hear Ryan encourage funders to break the fake rules that prevent resources from flowing to people with disabilities who need them today.

Learn more about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich

Guest: Ryan Easterly

Producer: Claire Callahan

It’s time to Break Fake Rules, this time with two remarkable rule breakers who delve into race, philanthropy, and humanity. In this episode, Glen speaks with leading antiracist scholar and award winning author, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Marcus Walton. Which rules must we break to create an antiracist world? Tune in to find out. 

Sign up for The Emancipator newsletter for up-to-date news on the people, organizations, and topics shaping the antiracism movement today.

Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and explores ways it can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. 

Host: Glen Galaich

Guests: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Marcus Walton

Producer: Claire Callahan