A lot of people who work in nonprofits and foundations eventually get the tickle. You know the one. What if I just... went out on my own?

Regan Douglass did something about it. After years as a communications leader at PolicyLink, California Humanities, and the College Futures Foundation, she pulled the ripcord and launched Sparkwise Communications. Two years in, no regrets.

In this episode, Eric sits down with Regan to discuss what it actually takes to go independent — how thick your stomach lining needs to be, how to structure your business, how to smell the tuna fish sandwich wrapped in a red flag before you sign the contract, and how to hold onto your own voice when you've spent years inhabiting someone else's.

This one's for everyone who's been sitting on the egg. It's time to let it hatch.

Follow Let's Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

Glen Galaich is the CEO of the Stupski Foundation — and he just wrote a book that bites the hand that feeds him and serves it up in a 236-page meal.

Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short, out today, makes an argument as simple as it is explosive: when a donor takes a tax deduction to give money away, they've made a deal with the public. That money isn't theirs anymore. But the system we've built lets donors park billions in foundations and donor-advised funds indefinitely — dribbling out 5 cents on the dollar while the rest sits on Wall Street going absolutely nowhere.

Glen isn't an outside critic. He's a sitting foundation CEO who spent years reinforcing every rule he's now trying to break. Eric read an early draft, argued with him about it, and told him his central framing was too polite. Glen ignored him. They pick up that conversation here.

Follow Let's Hear It and leave a rating so more people can find the show.

There's a question Rashad Robinson wants every nonprofit and foundation leader to sit with right now: Are you building power — or just showing up?

Rashad spent 13 years leading Color of Change, co-founded the Fight Back Table, forced over 100 corporations to leave ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful corporate-backed group that shapes conservative state legislation — and took on Facebook in one of the largest boycotts in American history. Now he's channeling all of that hard-won wisdom into a newsletter, a new show on News One, work alongside Jane Fonda defending the First Amendment — and a book, From Presence to Power: How to Take on the Fights That Matter and Win, dropping July 28th from One World/Penguin Random House.

Eric sits down with Rashad for a wide-ranging conversation about what it actually takes to win: the difference between a dialogue and a negotiation, why visibility is only the beginning, what Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance means for the movement, and how to fight fatigue when you're running on empty but can't stop.

This one's got joy, strategy, and only a few references to the New York Mets.

Listen now — and if Rashad's clarity and energy give you something to hold onto, please follow, rate, and review Let's Hear It wherever you get your podcasts.

This might be the most important episode we've ever done, and we swear we’re not just saying that. If you work in or around philanthropy, stop what you're doing and listen.

Nonprofits are facing record demand—higher than during COVID—and they're getting less funding. Not just from government. From foundations too. The sector is in freefall, and many of the people with the resources to help don't even see a problem.

Eric sits down with Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Vice President at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, to unpack their devastating new report, A Sector in Crisis: How US Nonprofits and Foundations Are Responding to Threats. The findings reveal a staggering disconnect: 40% of nonprofits say that funders have shifted priorities in ways that are less helpful at this dire moment.

And get this - 20% of foundations say they don't have much responsibility to help nonprofits navigate this moment at all!!

This isn't a wake-up call. It's a five-alarm fire. And if foundations don't start closing the gap between what they think they're doing and what nonprofits actually need, organizations will close. Communities will suffer. And philanthropy will have failed the very moment it was built for. Unless philanthropy as we know it is just no longer useful.

Listen now. Share it with your board. Share it with your program officers. Share it with anyone who still believes philanthropy can rise to meet this moment—because that moment is now.

Follow Let's Hear It and leave a rating so more people can find the show.

Kristen Grimm is back—and she’s making Let’s Hear It history as the show’s first three-time guest.

In this episode, Eric and Kirk dive into Kristen’s latest thinking on how people interpret what’s happening around them, why facts alone don’t change minds, and what this moment of chaos means for nonprofits, philanthropy, and public-interest communicators. Drawing from her travels, her work at Spitfire Strategies, and plenty of hard-won perspective, Kristen challenges us to stop “fixing” broken systems and start imagining what we actually want to build next.

It’s a thoughtful, candid, and often funny conversation about trust, power, government, and how to create messages—and futures—that resonate beyond the bubble.

Follow Let’s Hear It, leave a rating, and help more people find the show.

AI needs power. A lot of power. But what happens when that power comes from 35 unpermitted gas turbines dropped into the middle of a historic Black neighborhood?

In this episode, Eric sits down with Dr. Sacoby Wilson, award-winning environmental health scientist and recent Heinz Award for the Environment honoree, who’s helping Boxtown in Memphis push back against Elon Musk’s xAI “Colossus” data center. Dr. Wilson breaks down how data centers are becoming the newest front in environmental and energy justice, why the pollution burden keeps landing on the same communities, and what they're doing about it.

We talk about “IMpowerment Science,” community air monitoring, climate redlining, regenerative agriculture, and what it really takes to turn data into power for frontline communities. Then Eric and Kirk reconnect to unpack what this fight says about philanthropy, technology, and who gets left out of our big, shiny visions of the future.

If this conversation hits home for you, follow Let’s Hear It and leave a quick rating or review—it helps more people find these stories and the people behind them.

On the latest Let’s Hear It, Eric sits down with the unstoppable Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America — and wow, is this one a shot of optimism for your civic soul.

From growing up in California’s Central Valley to becoming the first Latina Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate, to running Hillary Clinton’s 2016 political operation, Amanda has seen power from every angle. Now she’s using all that experience to reimagine how government can actually work for people — with systems that are simple, fair, and human.

Amanda and Eric dig into how Code for America is helping states modernize public services, why good government is built in everyday interactions, and what gives her hope even in turbulent times.

A must-listen for anyone who still believes democracy works best when it works for everyone.

🎧 Listen now — and if Amanda’s optimism gives you a lift, don’t forget to follow, rate, and review Let’s Hear It wherever you get your podcasts.

Nonprofits are essential, but are they getting what they need to succeed? And what happens when philanthropy clings to old habits while democracy teeters?

In this episode, Eric sits down with writer, humorist, and nonprofit truth-teller Vu Le, creator of Nonprofit AF. With his trademark mix of sharp wit and blunt honesty, Vu pulls no punches on everything from “crappy funding practices” to the SkyMall-style whims of foundations, to the urgent need for philanthropy to get serious in defending democracy and the most vulnerable communities.

It’s not all fire and brimstone—Vu reminds us why joy itself is resistance, shares what keeps him hopeful (spoiler: snakes and the 3.5% rule), and even previews the joke-turned-fan-demanded one-man show you never knew you needed.

If you’ve ever wondered how nonprofits can thrive in spite of their funding structures this conversation is just what you’ve been waiting for.

💡 Vu’s new book Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy comes out October 14, and Nonprofit AF returns to Substack on August 19.

In this episode of Let's Hear It, Eric sits down with two public interest comms powerhouses—Ann Searight Christiano and Angela Bradbery—who’ve just dropped what might be the most anticipated textbook in our field: Public Interest Communications Strategy for Change Makers. 

Ann and Angela share how their years in the trenches at places like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Public Citizen shaped this groundbreaking resource—and why storytelling, systems thinking, and listening (really listening) are the keys to actually making change. They discuss their “six spheres of influence,” the “back-of-the-envelope” strategy tool, and why being strategic isn’t the same as shouting into the void (no offense to your latest TikTok brainstorm).

It’s a lively, insightful conversation filled with warmth, humility, and a generous dose of “finally, someone wrote this down.” If you’ve ever had a boss say, “just make it go viral,” this one’s for you.

Enjoy the episode—and if you love it, don’t forget to follow, rate, and review. Your support helps others find the show (and helps keep us off TikTok, which we would suck at).

Let’s Hear It is back after a brief break—and we’re diving into one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had yet. In this episode, Eric sits down with Rachael Kagan, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Blue Shield of California Foundation. With a background in journalism and public health, Rachael has channeled her experience into creating The Journalist Playbook—a practical, compassionate, and groundbreaking tool for improving how domestic violence is covered in the media.

Together, they unpack the why and how of this innovative resource, the effect it’s already having across California newsrooms, and what it means to truly shift the narrative around domestic violence. This isn’t just a tool for reporters—it’s a model for how philanthropy, journalism, and advocacy can work together to drive lasting change.

You’ll also hear candid reflections on Rachael’s journey from the frontlines of health communications to the strategic heights of philanthropy, plus a moving reminder that domestic violence affects far more people than we may realize—58% of Californians, to be exact.

Find the playbook at LetsEndDV.org and the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

We’re thrilled to be back—thanks for welcoming us into your ears. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review!