Catapult Institute Plenary Session: Vu Le

A Time for Boldness: Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy

In these turbulent times, nonprofits continue to play a critical role protecting and strengthening our community. But like air, our sector is often invisible and under-appreciated. Our community needs us to own our power, unlock our full potential, and forge a bolder path into the future. This includes re-examining many philosophies and practices that we believe are unchangeable. The way we do fundraising, capacity building, and evaluation. The relationships between funders and nonprofits. Our ingrained sense of scarcity and martyrdom. The hunger games. As the challenges facing our community become more entrenched, we can no longer afford to doubt ourselves or do the same things we’ve always done. In this session we will discuss and examine:

• New ways of thinking about the value, power, and practices of our nonprofits
• How to unlock the full potential of our nonprofits and those who work within them
• New ways of thinking about the nonprofit/funder partnership
• How to collaborate to build a bolder vision for our sector and our society.

About Presenter

Vu Le (“voo lay”) writes the blog NonprofitAF.com. He is the former executive director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice by supporting leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities. Vu is a founding board member of Community-Centric Fundraising, a movement that aims to ground fundraising practices in racial equity and social justice. Vu was born in Vietnam. He and his family came to the US when Vu was eight. He spent several years in Seattle, attending elementary and middle school, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee for high school and St. Louis for college and graduate school. He has a BA in Psychology and a Master in Social work. He is a vegan, a father of two kids (ages eight and five), and a staunch defender of the Oxford Comma.

Photo and Video Consent

By registering for this event, you are giving the Grunin Foundation permission to use photos and video on our website and social media. You will also be added to the Grunin Foundation mailing list.

This event is presented by the Grunin Foundation in partnership with Support Center and Center for Nonprofits.