From Fellow to Associate: Reflections on A Year with Ktisis
As I reflect on my fellowship and transition into the role of Associate, I’m reminded of the story of my arrival to Ktisis. About a year ago, Ricky Benavidez and Michele Bookie emailed to let me know that after two rounds of interviews, I was one of three final candidates for the Ktisis Communications Fellowship. […]
Welcome Cindy Mathew: Our New Senior Director
We are pleased to welcome Cindy Mathew to Ktisis starting this November as a part-time Senior Director facilitating day-to-day team coordination, strategic planning, internal policy and system development, and select client engagements. The rest of her time will be spent as Chief of Staff of the Lares Group, a newly formed venture incubator and family […]
Philanthropy’s Role in a Volatile Political Climate
📷 credit: Miguel Bruna on Unsplash The philanthropic sector is facing a defining moment, as we’ve talked about in previous blog posts, with strategies to defend democracy and specific funding recommendations. The choices funders make today will set the tone for generations to come. While that has always been true, the volatility of our current […]
Funding Healing: Why Philanthropy Should Center Mental Health and Wellness
📷 credit: Kyle Smith on Unsplash Healing and wellness work must be understood and invested in as urgent systemic resilience work, especially for communities on the frontlines of change. The key is to act without reinforcing narratives of individual failure or obscuring structural harm. Healing and wellness work must be understood as systemic resilience work […]
Rising to Defend Democracy, Part 2: A Donor Action Guide
📷 credit: DenaliNPS This post is a follow-up to a funder action guide we shared in July that was oriented toward foundations. Ten months after the 2024 presidential election, American democracy continues its descent into turmoil. As we’ve covered in previous posts, the current administration has criminalized dissent, undermined judicial independence, threatened the integrity of […]
Rising to Defend Democracy: A Funder Action Guide
📷 credit: Mídia NINJA After nearly 250 years, America’s experiment with democracy is under threat and finds itself facing imminent collapse. Many have watched in horror as the current administration dismantles democratic institutions before our eyes. The criminalization of dissent, undermining of judicial independence, attacks on journalism, targeting of trans and immigrant communities, and manufactured […]
The Unique Challenges of Leading Family Foundations: What I Learned from Executive Directors
📷 credit: Direct Media I recently facilitated a coaching group for family foundation executive directors, and their stories highlighted challenges that resonated from my own six years leading the Julian Grace Foundation (a limited lifespan, two-generation family foundation in Chicagoland). If you’re in this role – or considering it – here’s what you need to […]
Challenges of the Virtual Meeting Era
📷 credit: Sonja Hansen I had an experience last week that is familiar for too many organizers and educators. I was preparing to cohost a Zoom call where it seemed like the stars had aligned – a timely topic with a strong set of speakers and an engaged co-host had led us to almost 50 […]
Higher Education at a Crossroads: Reflections on Service, Power, and Accountability at Stanford
📷 credit: Alison Upton López (top row fifth from the left) Alison Upton López, Ktisis Senior Director and National Advisory Board member of Stanford University’s Haas Center for Public Service, recently attended the Spring meeting and first reunion with all past advisory board members. She shares her reflections as higher education institutions remain a focus […]
Narrative Work Matters Now More Than Ever For Immigrant Communities
📷 credit: National Parks Gallery In today’s political landscape, immigration isn’t just a matter of policy; it’s a matter of narrative. Who gets framed as a threat? Who gets left out of the story altogether? And who gets to decide? The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia offers a chilling example. A longtime Maryland resident, Kilmar […]