Break Fake Rules: Change Big Giving For Good

Stupski Foundation
  • 4.6 (12)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Monthly

Some rules are meant to be broken—especially the fake ones! Break Fake Rules is a podcast that brings today’s news and big philanthropic issues into focus, challenging the self-imposed rules that shape the flow of money, power, and resources in America. Join Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, and a rotating cast of co-hosts as they unpack the news of the day and engage in conversations with principled rulebreakers in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, media, and more. Each episode examines the fake rules holding the systems in place that don’t serve us—and which rules we must break to secure a better future for all. If you have ever questioned why we live by certain rules and wondered what becomes possible when we do things differently, this show is for you.

  1. 20h ago

    Put Your Money Where Your Mission Is feat. Daniel Gould

    When does protecting an endowment get in the way of the mission? In this episode, co-hosts Glen Galaich and Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, unpack the foundation’s bold decision to double its grantmaking over the next decade. They get into what fiduciary duty should really mean and why a mission has to show up in the dollars a foundation invests, not only the dollars it gives away. They’re joined by Daniel Gould, Vice President of Investments and Operations at Marguerite Casey Foundation, who helped move the foundation from roughly 12% to 100% mission-aligned assets. Daniel reveals what went into the foundation’s decision to give $500 million over the next decade, a timely move to increase its grantmaking in alignment with its mission. Together, they challenge funders to question inherited norms around endowments, investment committees, and what responsible stewardship is supposed to look like. 💡Daniel Gould: “Don’t accept norms in this sector as facts or laws. You have to interrogate a lot of the underlying norms in our sector.” Learn more about Marguerite Casey Foundation and its bold decision to double its grantmaking in service of its mission. Read the RAND study on the nearly $80 trillion redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1% since 1975. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Dr. Carmen Rojas & Glen Galaich Guests: Daniel Gould Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly & Gary Community Ventures Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Put Your Money Where Your Mission Is feat. Daniel Gould

  2. Sep 2

    Is Philanthropy Funding Democracy With the Wrong Tools? feat. Leah Greenberg

    What will it take for philanthropy to unlock the extraordinary potential of 501(c)(4)s? In this episode, co-hosts Glen Galaich and Ralph Lewin, Executive Director of the Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund, challenge the fake rules telling philanthropy to stay neutral, avoid risk, stick to funding 501(c)(3)s, and keep political work at arm’s length. They’re joined by Leah Greenberg, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, a nationwide movement of everyday people organizing across all 50 states. Leah pulls back the curtain on what happens after the protest: local organizing, voter registration, advocacy, mutual aid, relationship-building, and the hard work of turning moments of public anger into sustained political participation. She also challenges funders to stop treating 501(c)(3) status as a moral status and to take seriously what well-resourced 501(c)(4) work can unlock. Together, Leah, Ralph, and Glen pose a sharper question to philanthropy: if the goal is real democratic change, are funders willing to back the people actually organizing to win? 💡Leah Greenberg: “Anybody who's frustrated with, “why am I not unlocking the impact that I should have with the amount of resources that I am putting in,” should really think about whether they're actually putting their resources in in a way that allows us to tap into that impact.” 💡Ralph Lewin: “Organized people shift what's possible, and then institutions and politicians follow.” Learn more and get involved with Indivisible. Check out its Hands Off Our Vote movement, supporting efforts to ensure eligible voters can cast their ballots and have those ballots counted. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Ralph Lewin & Glen Galaich Guest: Leah Greenberg Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Is Philanthropy Funding Democracy With the Wrong Tools? feat. Leah Greenberg

  3. Aug 19

    Philanthropy Needs a Youth-Led Update feat. Gilbert Murillo & Godswill Uyong

    Philanthropy needs a reboot. Youth are nearly non-existent in the rooms where decisions are made about where charitable dollars flow. So what changes when we bring in young people to help direct these dollars? In this episode, co-hosts, Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich and Malila Becton-Consuegra, Stupski’s Bay Area Postsecondary Success Program Officer, welcome two young leaders in philanthropy, Gilbert Murillo and Godswill Uyong, for a conversation about youth voice, power, and who gets to decide where dollars go. Part case study, part vision for the future, they use Stupski’s six-year internship program as an example of how philanthropy can give young people real grantmaking responsibility, space to question established practices, and access to a field whose decisions directly affect their communities. Gilbert and Godswill share their perspectives on philanthropy and what they learned from interviewing nonprofit leaders about Stupski’s spend down. They challenge the idea that foundations should preserve wealth in perpetuity, question why the 5% payout minimum so often becomes a ceiling, and call on philanthropy to move beyond transactional giving. Glen and Malila also consider how foundations can teach young people about the sector without training away the fresh perspectives that make their participation so valuable. At the heart of the conversation is a call to recognize youth leadership as essential to better decision-making and bring relationship, accountability, and love back into philanthropy. 💡Gilbert Murillo: “The rules aren't fake. They are designed the way they're designed, and it's been like that for 400 plus years already.” 💡Godswill Uyong: “When youth help drive grant making, factually, there's more collective knowledge and experience being used to make decisions.” Learn more about California Youth Power Fund, its youth leadership work co-led with Youth Organize! California (YO! Cali), and its partnership with Northern California Grantmakers. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Glen Galaich & Malia Becton Consuegra Guests: Gilbert Murillo and Godswill Uyong Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly & Gary Community Ventures Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Philanthropy Needs a Youth-Led Update feat. Gilbert Murillo & Godswill Uyong

  4. Aug 5

    The Fight Is Generational. The Funding Should Be Too. feat. Emily Lee

    What could we change if we broke out of boom-and-bust election-cycle funding to support long-term generational transformation? In this episode, Glen and co-host Ari Datta, Stupski Foundation’s Food Justice Program Manager, sit down with Emily Lee, executive director and co-founder of Seed the Vote Action, for a conversation about voter organizing, political power, and the fake rules that keep philanthropy funding too little, too late. Emily has dedicated her career to grassroots organizing, multiracial coalition building, and growing people-powered political movements. Through Seed the Vote Action, she mobilizes volunteers in battleground states while building lasting political power in working-class communities and communities of color. Emily challenges funders to move beyond short-term grant cycles and invest in the relationships, organizing, and risk-taking required to meet this moment. At the heart of the conversation is a clear call to philanthropy: stop funding like this is a two-year fight, and start funding like democracy depends on what we build for generations. 💡Ari Datta: “Get really clear on what fake rules you're operating with, and those will be rules set by your board, by internal culture, by your mindset or your belief system, and get really clear on what the real rules are.” 💡Emily Lee: “Don't fund for the grant cycle, fund for the generational fight.” Learn more about Seed the Vote and support its work to build people-powered movements through voter organizing, deep canvassing, and long-term community power. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Ari Datta & Glen Galaich Guest: Emily Lee Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    The Fight Is Generational. The Funding Should Be Too. feat. Emily Lee

  5. Jul 22

    Is The Future of Philanthropy Impermanence? feat. Santhosh Ramdoss

    What changes when we embrace impermanence instead of trying to live forever? In this episode, Glen Galaich sits down with Santhosh Ramdoss, president and CEO of Gary Community Ventures, for a conversation about impermanence and legacy. Guided by Gary’s commitment to move all its assets into the community by 2035, Santhosh debunks the fake rule that philanthropic impact depends on institutional permanence. He invites the sector to imagine a legacy rooted in stronger systems, durable public funding, and the beauty, love, and care we leave behind. In a Break Fake Rules exclusive, Santhosh rolls out a new game, The Philanthropy Challenge, that funders can play to respond to urgent crises and see where philanthropic funds can have the greatest impact. At the heart of the conversation is a more expansive question for wealth holders and foundation leaders: what if ending an institution is not a loss, but a strategic opening? And what becomes possible when philanthropy brings more joy, wonder, and imagination into the work of building a world that can outlast any one foundation? 💡Santhoush Ramdoss: “I think one of the practices that philanthropy does need a lot more of is joy and wonder. I think we've lost our capacity to see what's possible, and sometimes the moment of being in that wondrous possibility of what systems could be is lost.” Learn more about Gary Community Ventures and play The Philanthropy Challenge for yourself! Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Host: Glen Galaich Guest: Santhosh Ramdoss Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly & Gary Community Ventures Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Is The Future of Philanthropy Impermanence? feat. Santhosh Ramdoss

  6. Jul 8

    Philanthropy Needs Its Critics feat. Gara LaMarche

    What happens when philanthropy’s sharpest critique comes from inside the sector itself? In this episode, Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich and co-host Eric Brown sit down with Gara LaMarche - longtime philanthropic leader, democracy advocate, and one of the OG fake rule breakers. Gara worked with George Soros at Open Society Institute, and Chuck Feeney at The Atlantic Philanthropies, and famously served as the “prosecutor” where he put philanthropy on trial in a 2011 mock trial before thousands of foundation leaders. Gara takes on the fake rule that people inside philanthropy are not supposed to criticize it, arguing that philanthropy should release its obsession with ego and that foundations should treat their resources as a public trust. Along the way, he digs into investing in power building, questions philanthropy’s instinct to be overly cautious, and calls on foundation leaders to use their influence to support communities, even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient. 💡 Gara LaMarche: If you can't speak out about authoritarianism or attacks on the very communities that you're purporting to protect, if not now, when? Learn more about Gara LaMarche and his work advancing philanthropy, democracy, human rights, and social justice. Watch Gara put philanthropy on trial. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Eric Brown & Glen Galaich Guest: Gara LaMarche Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Video Editor: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Philanthropy Needs Its Critics feat. Gara LaMarche

  7. Jun 17

    What If America’s 250th Becomes a Turning Point for Repair? feat. Aria Florant

    Fake rules tell us funding reparations is too complicated, too controversial, or too distant. So what will it take for us to see that repair is a responsibility we all carry? In this episode, Glen Galaich and co-host Malia Becton-Consuegra, Stupski Foundation’s Bay Area post-secondary success program officer (who also leads reparations work at the foundation), sit down with a visionary leader in the reparations movement, Aria Florant, co-founder and executive director of Liberation Ventures. They discuss repair, narrative power, and what it takes to build a truly multiracial democracy. As the U.S. gears up to celebrate Juneteenth and its 250th anniversary, Aria challenges the fake rule that supporting reparations is politically impossible, unprecedented, or simply too hard. Instead, she invites us to imagine a country where reparations lay the foundation for enduring generational change. Aria shares how Liberation Ventures is investing in heart-and-mind change, with a Beloved Repair campaign to move reparations from the margins to the mainstream. At the center of it all is a bold, hopeful question: What becomes possible when reparations stop feeling radical and become common sense? 💡Aria Florant: “We should be contending for the hearts and minds of everyone. This is not just about Black people, and all people can and should be doing this work, and in particular, doing it in their own communities with their own people, because we know that peer-to-peer organizing is one of the most effective ways to change culture.” Learn more about Liberation Ventures’work to support Black-led efforts for repair, racial healing, and reparations. Check out their Beloved Repair campaign. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Co-Hosts: Glen Galaich & Malia Becton Consuegra Guest: Aria Florant Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Video Editing: Edith Belmont Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    What If America’s 250th Becomes a Turning Point for Repair? feat. Aria Florant

  8. Jun 3

    Can Funders Beat Thanos Without Engaging in Politics? feat. Vu Le

    There’s a dirty word philanthropy doesn’t like to talk about - politics. But does staying above the political fray actually prevent us from supporting the communities and issues we claim to care about? In this live audience episode, Glen Galaich sits down with Vu Le, author of Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy and the voice behind Nonprofit AF, for a funny, urgent, and table-flipping conversation. With his signature humor and candor, Vu challenges the fake rule that serious work has to be humorless, and pushes the sector to look at what conservative funders have built, what progressive funders keep avoiding, and what it would take to actually fund the future they say they want. Together, Glen and Vu dig into the power dynamics that keep nonprofits begging for crumbs, the limits of donor-centered philanthropy, and the need to make transformative, generational investments to support our democracy today, rather than waiting for it to crumble around us. At the center of it all is Vu’s challenge: philanthropy cannot fight for democracy, equity, justice, and a livable future while staying detached from power. We must harness our imagination and give all our resources like our future depends on it. 💡Vu Le - “We say foundations are not effective, philanthropy is not effective. That's not true. Progressive-leaning philanthropy is not effective because conservative funders have been extremely effective for like four decades now, and we're still here scrambling to do stuff to catch up." Buy your copy of Vu Le’s book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy, and read Vu’s latest musings on NonprofitAf.com. Order your copy of Glen’s book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Learn about the Stupski Foundation. Host: Glen Galaich Guest: Vu Le Executive Producer: Claire Callahan Production Team: Podfly Graphic Design: Middle MGMT

    Can Funders Beat Thanos Without Engaging in Politics? feat. Vu Le
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4.6
out of 5
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About

Some rules are meant to be broken—especially the fake ones! Break Fake Rules is a podcast that brings today’s news and big philanthropic issues into focus, challenging the self-imposed rules that shape the flow of money, power, and resources in America. Join Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, and a rotating cast of co-hosts as they unpack the news of the day and engage in conversations with principled rulebreakers in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, media, and more. Each episode examines the fake rules holding the systems in place that don’t serve us—and which rules we must break to secure a better future for all. If you have ever questioned why we live by certain rules and wondered what becomes possible when we do things differently, this show is for you.

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