Home Podcasts The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan
The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan

The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil Buchanan

The Center for Effective Philanthropy 70 episodes Nov 5, 2026

Giving Done Right is a podcast from the Center for Effective Philanthropy that explores how donors and grantmakers can make a meaningful impact with their charitable giving. Host Phil Buchanan talks with nonprofit leaders, effective donors, and experts about where to give, how to identify and support effective nonprofits, and how to increase the odds of making a difference. The show addresses common questions and myths about philanthropy and focuses on practical guidance for giving well, especially when nonprofits and communities face great challenges.

Episodes

Building Community Power With Camille Llanes-Fontanilla and Saúl Ramos
Building Community Power With Camille Llanes-Fontanilla and Saúl Ramos Nov 5, 2026 52:13 What does it look like to build durable community power? SOMOS Mayfair, a grassroots organization in East San Jose founded by and for the historically excluded immigrant families of the Mayfair neighborhood, has received more than $20 million in support from Sobrato Philanthropies, the philanthropic arm of the Sobrato Organization. Phil talks with Camille Llanes-Fontanilla, Sobrato Philanthropies'
Beyond the Binary: Tracy Palandjian on Impact
Beyond the Binary: Tracy Palandjian on Impact Oct 29, 2026 48:26 Phil talks with longtime friend Tracy Palandjian, co-founder and CEO of Social Finance, about the space between traditional grantmaking and traditional investing, and why donors, foundations, and DAF holders aren’t limited to only one or the other. Tracy explains how Social Finance's unusual structure, a nonprofit that is also a registered investment advisor, lets it stay impact-first while deploy
Is Philanthropy Fueling Polarization? With Daniel Stid
Is Philanthropy Fueling Polarization? With Daniel Stid Oct 22, 2026 50:21 Daniel Stid, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the newsletter The Art of Association and host of a podcast by the same name, shares his provocative argument that large-scale philanthropic investment in national policy advocacy has, over time, deepened American polarization rather than healed it. Stid, who spent nearly a decade leading the Hewlett Foundation's U.S. De
Bryan Stevenson on Narrative, Courage, and Meeting This Moment
Bryan Stevenson on Narrative, Courage, and Meeting This Moment Oct 15, 2026 1:00:50 Phil sits down with Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, for a wide-ranging conversation on what this moment of backlash demands of individual and institutional donors. Stevenson places the current retreat from racial equity commitments within a much longer arc: the recurring pattern stretching from Reconstruction through Jim Crow to today, in which peri
Protecting Democracy with Maya Wiley
Protecting Democracy with Maya Wiley Oct 8, 2026 44:28 With the midterm elections just weeks away, Phil talks with Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its Education Fund, about what donors and foundations concerned about the state of American democracy can do right now, and why the philanthropic response has so far fallen short. Maya shares findings from the Leadership Conference's landscape mapping
Who Should Control The Money? With Glen Galaich and Jamie Allison
Who Should Control The Money? With Glen Galaich and Jamie Allison Oct 1, 2026 50:38 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 Fun
Lysa Ratliff Wants You to Trust Her
Lysa Ratliff Wants You to Trust Her Sep 24, 2026 49:15 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 th
Jeff Atwood and Dr. Betsy Burton Are Giving Big and Fast
Jeff Atwood and Dr. Betsy Burton Are Giving Big and Fast Sep 17, 2026 43:51 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 b
Introducing: Season 6 of Giving Done Right
Introducing: Season 6 of Giving Done Right Sep 10, 2026 1:41 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 opport
A Special Goodbye from Grace
A Special Goodbye from Grace Aug 27, 2026 33:34 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
We Need Your Help
We Need Your Help Feb 10, 2026 0:53 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 Don
Ezra Klein on Philanthropy’s Role at a Precarious Time
Ezra Klein on Philanthropy’s Role at a Precarious Time Dec 2, 2025 1:12:01 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 cont

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