Givers, Doers, & Thinkers—A Podcast on Philanthropy and Civil Society

We are kicking off season three of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers with Jonathan Haidt.

Jonathan is a social psychologist whose research examines the intuitive foundations of morality. You might know him from his New York Times bestseller, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. He is also a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Jonathan has helped found various organizations to strengthen his corners of civil society through Let Grow, Heterodox Academy, and OpenMind. 

Jeremy chats with Jonathan about the moral intuitions and untruths that separate us but perhaps don’t need to. They dive into several provocative questions, including—What is civil society’s exoskeleton? Why are white liberals more depressed? Is social media disastrous for civil society? How did the mental health epidemic among teenagers birth wokeness? What is devasting Gen-Z? How is the death of unsupervised play corrosive in the habits of a democracy? All of this and more in today’s episode with Jonathan Haidt. 

You’ll also hear from American Philanthropic Partner Doug Schneider on strategic development planning. He shares the importance of taking time to slow down towards the end of the year to assess your work and how to best plan for the future. 

Interested in learning more about how to prepare your organization’s 2022 strategic development plan? Join Doug Schneider and Austin Detwiler on Thursday, November 4 for a master class on planning for success in 2022, use coupon code PODCAST to receive a 10% discount.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Wrapping up season two of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy talks with David Patrick King about faith-based nonprofits and how evangelical Christianity specifically has helped shape America’s philanthropic landscape.

David is the Karen Lake Buttrey Director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving and Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. His research interests broadly include exploring the practices of 20th and 21st century American and global faith communities and, more specifically, investigating how the religious identity of faith-based nonprofits shapes their motivations, rhetoric, and practice. And he is the author of the recent book, God’s Internationalists: World Vision and the Age of Evangelical Humanitarianism (UPenn Press 2019), which traces the seventy-year history of World Vision, the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, as a lens into the religious history of international relief and development organizations.

Jeremy and David discuss the longevity of religion-sourced giving in light of the growing demographic of "nones" and what that means for philanthropy moving forward, given that the majority of charitable gifts come from faith-oriented givers. David offers insights to congregations on their fundraising messaging and suggestions about connecting with younger givers and preparing older givers to leave a lasting legacy with the organizations they cherish the most. They also get into fascinating details behind the creator of World Vision International, Robert Pierce, an American Baptist minister and relief worker whose personality was one for the books—literally.

And last but not least, you'll hear from senior consultant Abigail Alberti about the wisdom of planned giving programs and why it is easier to get started than you might think. She demystifies "legacy fundraising" and shares how to implement this tool into your development strategy.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Today on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with JP De Gance, president and CEO of Communio, about the status of marriage in civil society.

JP has spent his two-decade career in philanthropy seeking to scale organizations that improve lives. While executive vice president at the Philanthropy Roundtable, he incubated and launched Communio as a program area of that organization to discover the most effective philanthropic strategies to boost marital health and family stability—a leading predictor in poverty rates and upward mobility. After three years of trial and error, JP and Communio’s co-founding business leaders decided it was time to replicate the strategies that proved to be most effective.

Jeremy and JP chat this week about the work Communio is doing to strengthen marriages around the United States and its amazing success in areas like Jacksonville, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona. They discuss some interesting figures involving government-based marital improvement programs, the importance of storytelling, and insights into the millennial marriage. JP also touches on the increasing gender gap, how his work addresses the reality that there are fewer men in the world, and what it means for the future of marriage.

After the year our country has had, many patients are looking to thank the doctors and nurses who cared for them during one of their most vulnerable moments in life. Owen Thomas shares with Jeremy how grateful patient fundraising is a vehicle for patients to express their appreciation and the best way to handle this sensitive topic. Now is the time for hospitals and healthcare institutions to take a look at grateful patient fundraising.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Today on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with writer Helen Pluckrose about critical social justice ideology, what it is, and what to do about it.

Helen is a liberal, secular humanist writer and cultural commentator. She is the editor-in-chief of Areo Magazine, a broadly liberal humanist digital magazine that focuses on current affairs, politics, culture, science, and art. She is also the founder of Counterweight, an organization that helps individuals resist the imposition of Critical Social Justice on their workplace, university, or children's school. She is co-author, with James Lindsay, of the bestselling book, Cynical Theories.

Jeremy and Helen dive into the theory of critical social justice and how it is reshaping our cultural consciousness and its connection to woke power systems. Helen dissects a postmodernist view of relativism and the movement toward secular moralism. This provocative conversation is full of insights into various aspects of society, from Helen's concerns for American totalitarianism to race, feminism, sexual identity, religion, and much more.

You'll also hear from American Philanthropic senior managing consultant Eric Streiff. Eric chats with Jeremy about digital marketing for nonprofit organizations. He offers insights on the type of content that’s most helpful for nonprofit audiences and how to discover the “why” for your nonprofit’s social media.  

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with Howard Husock.

Howard is a Senior Executive Fellow for The Philanthropy Roundtable and an adjunct scholar in Domestic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously, he was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where he served as vice president for research and publications from 2006-2019. He directed the Institute’s Tocqueville Project, which includes the annual Civil Society Awards and the Civil Society Fellows Program. He is also the author of Who Killed Civil Society? The Rise of Big Government and Decline of Bourgeois Norms.

Jeremy and Howard discuss the distinction between norms and material provisions—and why norms are more important for individual flourishing than provisions to scale societal impact. Howard points out that the strength of our civil society has ebbed as the breadth and character of our government have expanded. He emphasizes that he is not anti-government, but there are several things government does not do well that undermine civil society. When the government gets involved, it typically attempts to fix the problem instead of preventing the problem, which Howard sees as reformative rather than formative. Howard also shares wonderful stories of the unsung heroes who have strengthened American civil society in the past and most recently since the coronavirus pandemic. And he beautifully reminds us: “Civil society is its own reward.”

During this week’s practicalities segment, Jeremy chats with American Philanthropic managing consultant Scott Rubush about crafting persuasive messaging for your donors. The assumption that donors are primarily rational decision-makers, Scott explains, is debunked, and he'll have you reaching for some David Hume.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with Tim Kachuriak.

Tim Kachuriak is the founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter, a fundraising research lab and consulting firm that works with businesses, nonprofits, and NGOs to help them grow their resource capacity. Tim is also the co-founder and board member of Human Coalition and serves on several other organizations' boards.

Jeremy and Tim chat about the patterns that lead to unlocking greater digital fundraising. Tim shares what updates nonprofits should make on their donation page and what the data says about the most compelling email copy and format when communicating with donors. He also highlights how to humanize your donor communications while addressing the "mid-level donor crisis." You'll hear what the most effective nonprofits are doing and how to avoid thwarting your organization's growth, and the challenges Tim sees on the horizon within the nonprofit world.

You might be asking yourself: Does direct mail still work? How does it compare to digital fundraising? Is direct mail going out of style, and will it work for young generations? Spencer Kashmanian, a direct response managing consultant at American Philanthropic, dives into all of this during this week's practicalities segment, including the steps to building a strong direct mail strategy.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Jeremy sits down with Helen Andrews this week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers.

Helen Andrews is a senior editor at The American Conservative. She has worked at the Washington Examiner and National Review, and as a think tank researcher at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Yale University. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Claremont Review of Books, Hedgehog Review, and elsewhere.

Jeremy dives right into Helen's new book, BOOMERS: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster. They cover Helen's views on the boomer legacy and their impact on civil society, from leadership roles to influencing millennials and Gen-Z. She also shares the dangers of generational arrogance and its consequences on leadership—highlighting the myth behind "transformational" leaders and the lies boomers have perpetuated to suit their cultural goals. This is one captivating conversation you do not want to miss.

You'll also hear from senior consultant Mallory Staley. She chats with Jeremy about her tips for working with charitable foundations, specifically the importance of following up and how to do so successfully. If you're looking to strengthen your grants program, this will be particularly helpful to you.   

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with Brad Wilcox about how civil society affects our marriages and families for better or worse.

Brad Wilcox is the Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Brad’s research has focused on marriage, fatherhood, and cohabitation—especially on the ways that family structure, civil society, and culture influence the quality and stability of family life in the United States and around the globe.

Are marriages cracking at a higher rate due to COVID-19? Jeremy asks how the pandemic and social and governmental reactions are affecting marriage and family life. Brad shares his prediction that marriages will move away from a soul-mate or individual marriage model of the 1970s  and towards a family-first model—and how the two models differ and influence civil society. He also notes that the past year's social and economic dislocations will likely cause young adults to be even more cautious about tying the knot in the future. They also discuss some factors strengthening or weakening marriages today and within culture, including social justice, education, politics, work, faith, socio-economic status, and much more.

You'll also hear from managing consultant and capital campaigns expert Scott Bucko on preparing and knowing whether your organization is ready for a capital campaign. Scott shares the four components that need to be in place for a successful campaign.

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Jeremy sits down with Kevin Youngblood this week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers.

Kevin served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm and won eight medals. He was the mayor of Carl, Georgia, and has started several businesses, including Odysseyware, an educational software company focused on reaching at-risk students. Most recently, he helped Grand Canyon University launch their Canyon Ventures program—an innovation center for startups in the valley—where he serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence. The goal is to help these businesses grow from a napkin idea to sustainable revenue as quickly as possible. Through this role, Kevin realized that a lot of startup founders struggle with selling their ideas, selling their products, and bringing in revenue. To respond to this need, he launched Youngblood Works, which provides sales training, mentoring, and customer acquisition services to young entrepreneurs.

Jeremy and Kevin chat about creating sustainable solutions and innovations from scarcity, the importance of planting trees, businesses, and churches within civil society's poorer communities, as well as his work with Local First Arizona and the impact of local banks on economies. Kevin is truly a jack of all trades, and as Jeremy notes, he might be Phoenix's most interesting man.

After that: Why is visual identity important? How do nonprofits benefit from it? What are a few easy ways you can improve your nonprofit's branding? American Philanthropic's director of creative services, Emma Baugher, addresses these questions and more during this week's practicality segment. 

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

This week, Jeremy sits down with Elise Westhoff, President and CEO of The Philanthropy Roundtable. Elise has extensive experience in the world of fundraising, from working as the executive director of The Snider Foundation (2013-2020) to managing major gifts fundraising for neuroscience programs at the Indiana University School of Medicine (2009-2013) and developing a successful $500 million capital campaign strategy for the New York Public Library (2004-2008). She also serves on boards for the Commonwealth Foundation and the State Policy Network.

Jeremy and Elise discuss America's tradition of philanthropy and why it is particularly unique. Elise shares her concerns about philanthropic freedoms, donor privacy, the politicization of charitable giving, and other harmful reforms on the horizon in the world of philanthropy—including cancel culture.

Have you ever asked yourself if a donor club is right for your organization or whether it will increase your major gifts fundraising efforts? Well, American Philanthropic senior consultant Matt Smith gets into the details in this week's practicalities segment. 

You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel