Book Recommendation: Vu Le’s Reimagining Nonprofits & Philanthropy

Adding to the conversation about reinventing our sector

Most, if not all, of my readers will be familiar with Vu Le’s beloved blog, Nonprofit AF. For years, his posts have been a fun and informative interlude on Monday mornings for thousands of nonprofit staff and volunteers. He calls it like he sees it, helps us laugh at ourselves, and holds our feet to the fire regarding racial equity and inclusion of marginalized communities in decision-making. He has also been an outspoken voice advocating for reform of philanthropy.

Now, he has written a full book expanding on the ideas in the blog, with chapters on how to reinvent board governance, fundraising, organizational structure, etc. He manages to treat these topics more comprehensively and still retain his signature humor and optimism about the sector despite our many serious issues. Since he is suggesting that we operate in new ways, he includes case studies about nonprofits who are on the leading edge of change.

We are lucky to have Vu here in the Seattle area, and also lucky that Vu threw an awesome book launch party on Tuesday where an amazing group of leaders came together to celebrate him and this accomplishment. If Vu comes to your town, make time to hear from him. And either way, I recommend Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy highly. We need more people dreaming about what might be possible for social impact organizations in the future, as Vu has done here.