This summer, I went on a 6-day white-water rafting trip in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. It was an extraordinary trip in one of the most beautiful, unspoiled, and inspiring places in our country. Thankfully, there are many such places. Frank Church served as Idaho’s U.S. Senator from 1957 to…
Category: Family & Individuals
“The fierce urgency of now”
A year before he was killed, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words at Riverside Church in New York City: We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being “too late.” … This is no time for apathy…
If you’re not scared yet – and even if you are, read this.
I’m extremely alarmed about the possibility that Donald Trump may be elected President again. Adding significant gravitas to that fear is a 920-page document called Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership – The Conservative Project. Anyone concerned about the future of our democracy needs to be familiar with this plan. What is Project 2025? Project 2025’s “goal is to…
Ken Burns is Right: There is nothing equal about this equation.
Ken Burns is one of America’s most preeminent filmmakers and documentarians. His documentaries have chronicled many aspects of American history and for his work, he has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has received fifteen Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. He is an astute student and observer of American life. As the commencement…
My father’s fight to save democracy and defeat authoritarianism – and ours. Are you in?
Recently, I spent two days at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. There, I gained a much deeper understanding of the enormous sacrifices and commitments made by my father, who served in Europe, other loved ones who served there and in the Pacific, and the millions of Americans who worked overseas and at…
It’s Time for Some “Moonshot” Philanthropy
The challenges facing contemporary society are enormous. Think about helping to solve hunger, homelessness, climate change, disease (including pandemics), gun violence, income inequality, discrimination, threats to democracy, education, environmental degradation and so much more. Traditional philanthropic investments have been working for decades to make a dent in solving these problems. In some cases, much progress…
Hungry for Change – simple questions to ask about the ongoing problem of food insecurity in the U.S.
The winter holidays are right around the corner. Soon, many Americans will gather around the dinner table with family and friends to give thanks for abundant blessings and freedoms as they indulge in a cornucopia of delicious traditional foods. Leftovers will last for days. Then, in December, people of different faiths and traditions will celebrate…
Charity “Grand Bargain” strained by Religious Nonprofit Tax Exemption
Over a century ago, Mark Twain prophetically cautioned that “no church property is taxed and so the infidel and the atheist and the man without religion are taxed to make up the deficit in the public income.” In 1937, 73% of Americans said they were a member of a church. A Gallup survey in 2020…
Setting New Table for Family Philanthropy Helps Families Thrive
Many of us grew up sitting at the family dinner table. Often, it was rectangular, with the family’s primary bread winner(s) sitting at his or her end of the table. Regardless of the shape, the rest of the family sat at designated seats, night after night, year after year. Sometimes, long after the kids had…
Nonprofit hospitals highlight important questions about the Charity “Grand Bargain”
The charity “Grand Bargain” in the U.S. allows nonprofit organizations to perform charitable, religious, educational and scientific purposes for the “public good,” often relieving government from performing those same functions. In return for their contribution to the public good, nonprofits are deemed tax-exempt organizations, which means they typically don’t pay income, sales or property tax…