for the Love of
RADICAL
Giving
a podcast on the joy and power of
giving out of love
Listen up.
Check out the For the Love of Radical Giving playlist on GIA’s SoundCloud.
Episodes for this miniseries were released from September through November 2024. Sign up for the GIA Reader Snapshot to get updated when the new episodes and articles are released.
Transcripts, speaker details, and resources can be found on each Episode Page. You can navigate there from the site’s menu or the section below.
a Radical Series
You are tuning into For the Love of Radical Giving podcast, a GIA Reader miniseries that deconstructs traditional philanthropy and celebrates the joy and power of giving out of love.
Each episode explores radical, innovative, community-driven approaches that challenge traditional philanthropic models, highlighting the voices and experiences of those actively working to democratize philanthropy and create equitable, impactful change.
Decolonize Philanthropy
EP01
In this first episode, we unpack how American traditional philanthropy was founded, and how its very guiding principles have choked the industry from doing exactly what it’s meant to do—
Get the resources where they are needed, by means of the people who are affected by both the problem and the solution.
(about 31 minutes)
the gospel of wealth
Michele Kumi (久美) Baer
Kumi Cultural
imbalance of great power
Vu Le
NonprofitAF.com
elite views from the boardroom
Aaron Dorfman
NCRP
we are all related
Nick Tilsen
NDN Collective
In this episode, we will hear from a few radical leaders, moving funds and resources through mutual aid and collective giving efforts.
Each guest embodies the very soul of what ancient forms of giving stood for.
(about 37 minutes)
EP02
Joy in Collective Giving
generosity from your bones
Sara Lomelin
Philanthropy Together
mutual aid in a crisis
Jenice Fountain
Yellowhammer Fund
tendrils in the community
Wit López
Philadelphia Assembly and Till Arts Project
art fueling revolution
Z and M
Operation Olive Branch
No More Starving Artists!
EP03
In this episode, we examine how unrestricted funding is a vital solution—freeing artists from the red tape of traditional grants and allowing them to focus on their craft.
By removing these financial barriers, we can create a future where art—and the people who make it—are truly valued and can thrive.
(about 38 minutes)
artist labor is labor
Jessica Mele
Jessica Mele Creative
gift as you’d like to be gifted
Holly Doll & Joua Lee Grande
Waterers
building capital with unrestricted funds
Eddie Torres
Grantmakers in the Arts
guaranteed income for artists
Ricardo Beaird
Springboard for the Arts
Systems Change
Right Now
EP04
In this episode, we confront the urgent need for systems change within philanthropy.
Our guests go beyond the surface-level fixes and aim to uproot the systems that perpetuate oppression, ensuring that historically marginalized communities have control over their land, resources, and futures.
(about 35 minutes)
will the revolution be funded?
Nairuti Shastry, The Democracy Collab.
Zac Chapman, New Economy Coalition
divest from the carceral system
Lorraine Ramirez
Funders for Justice
investing to build power and wealth
Cierra Peters & Alula Hunsen
Boston Ujima Project
together we rise
Hāwane Rios
Mauna Kea Education and Awareness
Appalachian
Futurism
EP05
In this episode, we’ll see how radical, collective giving can do what traditional philanthropy has not—restore, empower, and finally give back to the communities long asked and forced to sacrifice.
This is Appalachian Futurism, a tribute to the past and a blueprint for a new way forward.
(about 42 minutes)
lay of the land
Joe Tolbert Jr.
Waymakers Collective
rematriating the land
Tiffany P. & Taysha D.
Appalachian Rekindling Project
rural queer stories
Rae Garringer
Country Queers
place justice in knoxville
Ty Murray & Kalil White
The Bottom
Organizing for
Narrative Power
EP06
In this last and final episode, we’re bringing this series full circle by confronting what’s at stake as we choose either to sustain the systems that uphold inequity or to dismantle and reimagine them.
Together, we’ll reflect on how narratives shape our beliefs, influence civic discourse, and define our paths to collective action. This is the call, the challenge, and the opportunity.
(about 33 minutes)
just, pluralist narrative oceans
Bridgit Antoinette Evans
Pop Culture Collaborative
civic spaces in surprising places
Evan Weissman
Warm Cookies of the Revolution
i am life, creator of worlds
Rae Garringer
Country Queers
and I’m
your host…
Tom T. Young
I’m a proud co-founder of Vital Little Plans, an artist giving circle, and Flannel & Blade, a queer-owned communications shop for good.
I first learned about the world of philanthropy through my work with ArtPlace America, and since then, I’ve been working with nonprofits, foundations, and artists to advocate for more unrestricted funding towards individuals and community organizations.
With many, many incredible people surrounding me,
I proudly produced, edited, and narrated
this love letter to radical giving.
Our Guests
Those Who Helped Coordinate
Flannel & Blade
Beth Davenport
Westlake
Kashka Glowaska
Adam Erickson
Joe Tolbert
Lora Smith
Derrick Robinson
My Family
My Husband, Charlie
sound mixing by
PAX Podcast Studios
special thanks to
my editor and friend—
Nadia Elokdah
and Grantmakers in the Arts for hosting on the GIA Reader.