By Michelle Shireen Muri, Freedom Conspiracy Principal and CCF co-chair
Episode Summary
“Faulty.” “Problematic.” “Racist.” In this episode, we talk about why these terms are now regularly used to describe the foundations that the nonprofit and philanthropic systems were built upon. Guest Christina Shimizu, a co-founder of Community-Centric Fundraising, briefly explores the relatively recent history of how these systems came to be, why they are built on deep injustices and how philanthropy and nonprofits are actually a political and economic system.
Unpack all of this with us! If we don’t examine how these things came to be, we can never hope to reimagine them, improve them or do better, to benefit the communities we are trying to serve.
Find episode notes and the podcast transcript here.
About the Ethical Rainmaker podcast
In the United States alone, philanthropy is a $427 million dollar industry, of which 68% comes from individual donors. Yet the practices, theories, and foundation of modern philanthropy and fundraising often ignore the ways in which the industry perpetuates harm.
The Ethical Rainmaker, hosted by Michelle Shireen Muri, is a podcast that hosts authentic conversations grappling with the questions that we don’t often ask in the nonprofit world. Join us as we explore some of the practices that undermine our missions and navigate the way forward with today’s resisters, reimaginers, and the re-creators of the third sector. It’s time to think differently.
Michelle Shireen Muri
Michelle Shireen Muri (she/her) is the co-chair for Community-Centric Fundraising and the host of the new podcast, The Ethical Rainmaker, launching July 29. She is the founder of Freedom Conspiracy, a small collective of fundraising consultants focused on bringing values-aligned practices to clients in the nonprofit and philanthropy spaces. She can be reached at @freedomconspiracy on Instagram.
Hello! Thank you for this and all of your discussion resources. Amazing! Do you have transcripts available?
Hi Lisa,
You can find the transcript in the podcast episode show notes here: https://www.theethicalrainmaker.com/listen-now/episode-7-the-racist-roots-of-nonprofits-philanthropy-with-christina-shimizu
Yes, please make transcripts available for accessibility purposes.
Hi Stephanie,
You can find the transcript in the podcast episode show notes here: https://www.theethicalrainmaker.com/listen-now/episode-7-the-racist-roots-of-nonprofits-philanthropy-with-christina-shimizu
Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! I have had this conversation so many times with my partner (though not quite to this depth – loved the historical info). Thank you. Christina articulated all my thoughts and struggles with working in this sector. Wonderfully done.
(Also, I’m glad to have found someone else who also did research on the history of the 501(c)3 tax code.)