Vu Le is our guest for the Season Nine Finalé, which also serves as an installment of our ongoing Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series. Recorded with a live zoom audience during our spring webinar series, Vu discusses his burnout, funding instability, philanthropy’s power dynamics, and what it will take to strengthen nonprofits in an era of rising authoritarianism. Vu argues that nonprofits and funders must stop normalizing scarcity, invest deeply in leaders and infrastructure, and organize collectively for long-term change.

Drawing from his new book Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy, Vu challenges conventional assumptions about fundraising, nonprofit leadership, and philanthropy itself. The conversation explores why progressive movements struggle to sustain leaders, how conservative leadership infrastructure has been built strategically over decades, and what nonprofit professionals can do right now to protect democracy and each other.

Download a transcript of the episode

About Our Guest

Vu Le is a prominent writer, speaker, and former executive director of Seattle-based Rainier Valley Corps. Widely recognized for his irreverent, no-nonsense approach to social justice and philanthropy, he authors the viral blog Nonprofit AF, and is a co-founder of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement. Most recently he is author of the book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy. In 2020, Vu was our first guest on the Fund the People: A Podcast with Rusty Stahl.

Suggested Links:

Vu Le’s Blog, Nonprofit AF

Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy (Book)

The Sally Covington Report (Moving a Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations)

Community-Centric Fundraising

Nonprofits Are Message with Joan Garry - Episode 251 with Vu

Trust-Based Philanthropy Project

National Council of Nonprofits

Independent Sector

Bolder Advocacy

Rules of the Game Podcast (Note: Rusty misstated the name of the podcast in the recording. The correct name provided here)

Solidaire Network

Fund the People

Fund the People Webinar Series

Related Fund the People Podcast Episodes:

S1:E1 — Vu Le: Treating Nonprofit People Like Batteries - The very first FTP podcast episode, revisited in this conversation, on burnout, scarcity, and nonprofit workforce culture.