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PODCAST

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan

The Center for Effective Philanthropy

From the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), Giving Done Right offers hard-hitting conversations and vital resources to help you make an impact with your charitable giving. Whether you’re an individual donor or your job involves making grants, the challenges are universal: Where should I give? How do I know which nonprofits are effective, and how do I best support them? How can I increase the odds that I am making a difference? Join host Phil Buchanan as he welcomes nonprofit leaders, effective

business non-profit

All Episodes

50:38

Who Should Control The Money? With Glen Galaich and...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/10/01

Phil Buchanan is joined by Elisha Smith Arrillaga, CEP's Vice President of Research, as co-host for a conversation focused on some of philanthropy's oldest tensions: who should decide how charitable dollars get spent and how to balance short-term needs with the long view? Their guests, Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, and Jamie Allison, Executive Director of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, are usually the ones asking the questions, as frequent co-hosts on Glen’s podcast, Break Fake

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49:15

Lysa Ratliff Wants You to Trust Her

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/09/24

As nonprofits face sharply increased demand, deep federal funding cuts, and a fundraising climate unlike anything in recent memory, Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!, joins Phil Buchanan for an unusually candid conversation about what it takes to lead right now, and why she refuses to soften the truth to make anyone comfortable.Ratliff discusses KABOOM!'s new report, State of Our Kids, which finds that 28 million children in the U.S. don't have access to a quality park within a 10-minute walk from

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43:51

Jeff Atwood and Dr. Betsy Burton Are Giving Big and Fast

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/09/17

Phil Buchanan sits down with spouses Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse, and Dr. Betsy Burton, a scientist who has helped develop cancer therapies, to talk about their commitment to give away $50 million, half their family's wealth, over five years, with the bulk of it going toward guaranteed income programs in rural America.Jeff and Betsy describe a two-part strategy that began with $1 million, no-strings-attached gifts to eight organizations they trusted to "kick ass" with

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1:41

Introducing: Season 6 of Giving Done Right

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/09/10

Federal policy shifts continue to upend the landscape for domestic nonprofits, civil society, and international aid alike, leaving donors facing urgent questions about where and how to give.This season on the Giving Done Right podcast, host Phil Buchanan sits down with philanthropic and nonprofit leaders to explore what effective giving looks like in a moment of real strain and real opportunity. Together, these conversations dig into the questions donors are asking today: how to give when trust

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33:34

A Special Goodbye from Grace

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/08/27

After 15 years at CEP and more than 50 episodes co-hosting Giving Done Right, Grace Nicolette is stepping away. In this special episode, Phil Buchanan turns the microphone to her. Together they look back on how philanthropy has shifted over the past decade and a half, from the rise of multi-year general operating support to the risks of inaction in a moment of crisis?Grace shares the guests and stories that have stayed with her, including April Tam Smith, Jeremy Lin, and a give and take with

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0:53

We Need Your Help

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2026/02/10

We want to hear from you about how the conversations on this podcast are making a difference in your approach to philanthropy. If our show has helped you, we want to hear about it! Can you take a few moments to send us a voice memo to gdrpodcast@cep.org? Please include your name, institutional affiliation if you have one, role, and the answer to these questions: What specific ways has Giving Done Right influenced your giving and the way you think about philanthropy? And if it hasn't, what topics

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72:01

Ezra Klein on Philanthropy’s Role at a Precarious Time

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/12/02

As the current federal administration makes sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, political divisions deepen, and the guardrails of American democracy are tested, what is philanthropy’s role in this precarious time? In the final episode of this season, Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette interview New York Times columnist and podcast host Ezra Klein live at CEP’s 2025 conference. Klein contends that America needs to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance,

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41:11

Lessons on Disaster Giving With Patty McIlreavy

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/11/20

Effective disaster giving often begins before a disaster even occurs. So says Patty McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, in this popular episode from the Giving Done Right archives. In conversation with hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette, Patty offers insight into how donors can support disaster prevention by focusing on reducing vulnerabilities as well as support recovery efforts, and the most common pitfalls for donors to consider when responding to disasters

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39:03

Mounting Pressure on Nonprofits: What Donors Need to...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/11/13

Federal funding cuts and increased demand for their services have left nonprofits across the country and issue areas reeling, with many questioning whether they will survive. The consequences are stark, given the vital work nonprofits do in communities across the country. In this episode, CEP Vice President of Research Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D. shares just-collected data on what nonprofits are experiencing, exploring questions like which nonprofits have been hardest hit and what steps

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35:34

How to Get Boards to Help With Fundraising, From The...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/11/06

This week on Giving Done Right, we’re introducing you to another podcast we love: Nonprofits Now: Leading Today, from The Chronicle of Philanthropy. In this episode, two leaders, Kathleen St. Louis Caliento and Nick Grono, join Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer to explain how they have engaged their board in financial efforts. As nonprofits face economic headwinds — including losses in federal funding, rising costs, and the possibility of a global recession — nonprofit boards play an increasingly

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52:56

Building Better Schools: David McKinney on Why...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/10/30

What happens when education reform takes place without the input or engagement of the young people who will experience its effects? Conversely, what happens when youth voices lead the way to change? Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette sit down with their CEP colleague David McKinney, vice president of YouthTruth — a CEP initiative — to discuss how systematically listening to young people at scale can transform education, both at the school and system level. David shares not only his own formative

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42:17

Beyond the Model Minority Myth: Ben Hires on...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/10/23

How does the "model minority myth" impact how funders view and support Asian immigrant communities? What role do disaggregated data play in ensuring their thriving? In a conversation with Ben Hires, CEO of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette dig into the vast array of services that BCNC — and nonprofits like it — provide and the crucial role they play in mitigating the challenging realities facing Asian immigrants today, from ICE enforcement

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43:29

Defending the Freedom to Give with Tonya Allen and...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/10/16

Is the fundamental right to give according to one’s values under attack in America? Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette talk with two influential foundation leaders who are sounding the alarm and fighting back. Tonya Allen, president of the McKnight Foundation, and John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, discuss the Unite in Advance initiative — a coalition defending philanthropic rights — and the broader issue of giving as a crucial first amendment right. The

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40:58

Faith, Generosity, and Justice: Dilnaz Waraich on...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/10/09

What does it mean to tell the Muslim American story of generosity? Why is it important to talk about "religious justice" in philanthropy alongside other forms of justice? These are questions that President of the WF Fund and philanthropic advocate Dilnaz Waraich explores with hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette as she shares her journey from kitchen table conversations about giving back to leading narrative change work that highlights Muslim American generosity.In this episode, Dilnaz

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55:19

An Anti-Authoritarian Playbook for Donors With Joe...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/10/02

President of the Democracy Fund Joe Goldman offers both urgency and clarity for donors concerned about the U.S.’ democratic backslide into authoritarianism in this conversation. As the second Trump administration consolidates power, he offers a practical three-part framework for strategic, democracy-focused giving: strengthening guardrails, powering breakthrough strategies, and working toward reconstruction. In a conversation that grapples with difficult questions about donor fear and the

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56:52

A Defining Moment for Democracy: Angelica Salas on...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/09/25

As ICE raids and warrantless arrests by masked federal agents take place around the U.S., Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights), joins hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette to discuss the unprecedented scale of current immigration enforcement and its implications for everyone.Angelica sheds light on what is happening on the streets and in processing and detention centers, including how individuals are being "disappeared,” due process is being

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68:09

Effecting Change at the Local Level: Wisdom from...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/09/18

Donors looking to make a difference in their local communities can turn to community foundations — local philanthropic institutions driven by giving “of, by, and for the people” and rooted in the goal of creating thriving communities. In this episode, Phil and Grace are joined in conversation by three community foundation leaders: Dick Ober, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, LaTida Smith, president of the Winston-Salem Foundation, and Alesha Washington, president and CEO

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60:10

Happy Mwende Kinyili on Building a Global, Grassroots...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/09/11

What happens when $2.83 billion disappears from women's rights funding globally? Conversely, what is possible when donors break out of traditional silos to work collaboratively with the goal of abundance and liberation for all? Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette talk with Happy Mwende Kinyili, co-executive director of global feminist fund Mama Cash to explore this unprecedented crisis — and discover surprising reasons for hope.Happy shares powerful stories from Kenya to Argentina, explaining how

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51:19

Federal Cuts, Local Food Banks, and what Donors Can...

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/09/04

As federal funding cuts shift more responsibility for food insecurity to local communities, Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette talk with Julie Butner, president and CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank, one of the largest food banks in the United States serving 13 counties around Fort Worth, Texas. Julie reveals that food bank clients are often working families who simply can't afford basic necessities and explains how modern food banks have evolved far beyond emergency food distribution to address

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59:34

Mark Suzman on Funding Urgent Needs

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan ·

2025/09/04

The dismantling of USAID has created the most profound crisis in international development in decades, threatening to reverse years of progress in public health globally. In the season five premier of Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette talk with Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, about what this means and how donors can respond. Suzman also shares candid insights about the Gates Foundation's work, including its evolving strategy and Bill Gates' recent announcement

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