Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short - Hardcover

by Glen Galaich (Author), Ibram X. Kendi (Foreword by), Katherine Lorenz (Foreword by)

An insider's view exposing the most urgent issue in US big giving--and how to address it

With Americans increasingly concerned about billionaires controlling our public funds and everyday lives, Glen Galaich--social impact expert, nonprofit leader, and Stupski Foundation CEO--delivers his personal conversion story from believing in strong, consolidated donor power to advocating for more community engagement in foundation funding decisions. In Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short, Galaich offers an incisive critique of the United States' approach to charitable Big Giving and its systems and culture that, he argues, encourage excessive donor control.

Most people don't realize (or don't want to talk about) why today $2 trillion in US charitable funds are essentially stockpiled by big donors and foundations too focused on growing endowments through for-profit investments rather than the timely, vital disbursement of these funds back to our communities and nonprofits. Galaich introduces us to the system-wide "Mindset of Control" that allows continued, outsized influence of major donors over charitable assets legally and ethically no longer their money. He discusses how financial and legal systems, combined with outdated traditions, have given big donors a false sense of ownership over effectively public assets, and kept private foundations and donor-advised funds from comprehensively engaging communities. It's a role in the system that Galaich questions if many big donors even want to play.

Inside the book:

• Revealing examples of how excessive donor control maintains an ineffective culture of Big Giving and limits community engagement
• Storytelling that holds a mirror up to the sector's behaviors, myths, and "fake rules" that impede social progress for working-class and perennially under-resourced communities
• A rare peek into the inner workings of private foundations and how grantmaking decisions are made behind the closed doors of nontransparent institutions

Galaich says the good news is that we created this system, and we can change it. Control offers first steps toward a game-changing shift in this massive sector that affects everyone, showing new roles we can play and fairer mindsets. Challenging and principled, Control is essential reading for anyone interested in this country's socioeconomic trends or in changing our world.

Front Jacket

Why does American Big Giving--a sector controlling more than $2 trillion in charitable assets--so often fail to prioritize working-class community needs, as urgent crises unfold?

In CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short, Glen Galaich--the first sitting CEO of a significant private foundation to offer an incisive critique of America's approach to charitable Big Giving--shows how our philanthropic system and culture encourage excessive donor power that limits and derails social change.

CONTROL follows Galaich's personal conversion story from being a proponent of centralized donor control to advocating for more community engagement. Galaich argues that deep misconceptions, power imbalances, and a lack of accountability within philanthropy's antiquated systems are leading to the stockpiling of trillions earmarked for public good. He shows how these funds are instead being used to create more consolidated wealth or are distributed far too slowly, while urgent needs in struggling communities go unmet.

Galaich's engaging storytelling--scenes from behind the closed doors of often nontransparent institutions--holds a mirror up to the sector's behaviors, myths, and 'fake rules' that impede social progress. He explores the historical development of this controlling mindset and how loyal advisors and default practices encourage donor power over funds that legally and ethically no longer belong to them. He questions if these are even the roles that big donors want to play?

The good news, Galaich says, is that we created this system, and we can change it. As working-class Americans grow concerned about the ultra-wealthy's control over their lives, he sees Big Giving as a place of low- hanging fruit to repair trust. Everyone has a role--starting with the sector's own self-correction--and he shares first steps to a game-changing shift. Challenging and principled, CONTROL is also informed by Galaich's extensive off- and on-the-record interviews with other foundation CEOs, advisors, and major donors.

Back Jacket

PRAISE FOR CONTROL WHY BIG GIVING FALLS SHORT

"CONTROL delivers a brilliant and compelling call for philanthropy to shift from a top-down 'control mindset' to a community-centered approach that is key to meeting this urgent moment. Galaich's vision is not only timely, pragmatic, and hopeful--it should be heeded."
--JULIAN CASTRO, CEO of Latino Community Foundation and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

"I love this book. Galaich brings up several really important issues that nobody seems to want to talk about. And he shows something that's rare today: the courage to both challenge your own thinking and to speak out about issues that are common practice in your own field."
--BOB KISSANE, former CEO of the global nonprofit consulting firm CCS Fundraising and Chair Emeritus of Human Rights Watch

"As someone who's spent 25 years raising money, I can definitively say that philanthropy in America is in need of a refresh. Galaich's book is that refresh. He writes with the kind of honesty, humility, and vision that's necessary to break through the old habits of giving--and getting. I hope that everyone in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors will use CONTROL to have transformational conversations about how to create a better future."
--NICK PENNIMAN, American journalist, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit Issue One, and Founder and former Executive Director of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund

"Glen exposes a broken philanthropic system and points to how prioritizing generosity, humanity, and community over fear and control can lead to meaningful change. This is a must-read!"
--JEN RISHER, author of We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth and Co-Founder of #HalfMyDAF

Author Biography

GLEN GALAICH, PhD, is the CEO of the Stupski Foundation. He previously served as CEO of Forward Global (formerly The Philanthropy Workshop) and has worked for more than 25 years with major donors, policymakers, and community leaders to build trustworthy relationships and amplify social impact.