Philanthropy Northwest
32 episodes listed below
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Can we talk about…? is a podcast that invites philanthropic leaders into candid conversations with their peers to normalize the messiness of leading for racial equity and reflect on what it takes to create lasting transformation. In Season 3, Mares Asfaha guides us through a deep dive of equity in community philanthropy organization. This podcast is brought to you by Philanthropy Northwest.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Candid interviews connect racial equity commitments to the board, funding and governance decisions that determine what philanthropic institutions actually do.
Can we talk about...? turns philanthropy's internal decisions into candid, practical conversations about power. Hosts including Katie Hong and Mares Azfaha ask philanthropic leaders to examine how boards, grantmaking strategies and organizational habits can either advance or…
A board full of 'nice people' stalls racial equity, and your conflict-avoidance radar starts beeping.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at accountability as a daily practice, not just a slogan.
Accountability is the point of this conversation, and it is treated as a lived practice rather than a slogan. The episode ties racial equity work to the everyday mechanics of philanthropy: grantmaking priorities, board roles, job descriptions, and the habits that shape how an…
Equity work gets real when leaders clear space for staff to do it.
This conversation makes a quiet case for leadership that clears space for the people doing the work. It stays close to practice, moving through board dynamics, staff agency, hiring, role fit, compensation, and the daily habits that can either support or weaken equity work.
A practical look at how board niceness can stall racial equity work.
This conversation makes a clear case that board niceness can slide into conflict avoidance, and that habit can leave racial equity work and community-centered change stuck.
A season-closing conversation where trust, power, and intergenerational work stay stubbornly concrete.
Katie Hong and Abby Sarmack close season 2 with a conversation that keeps racial equity grounded in practice. It returns often to what happens when theory meets power, accountability, and the speed of trust, and it is at its best when the focus narrows to the habits that matter…
A grounded case for calling care, not survival, radical.
The episode centers racial equity in philanthropy by asking who gets labeled radical and who is simply trying to survive with dignity. It draws a sharp line between the communities being funded and the tax and power structure built to protect white wealth and power, then keeps…
A grounded look at equity-minded philanthropy when goals meet real lives.
Can We Talk About? frames this episode around what it takes to advance racial equity in philanthropy when the work meets different places, issues, and communities.
A grounded look at racial equity in philanthropy, with rest, recognition, and story-sharing at the center.
Abbey Sarmack and Carmen James Randolph spend this episode on the practical, uneven work of racial equity in philanthropy. The conversation feels most grounded when it moves from general sector language to the Women’s Foundation of the South and its Woke at Rest retreat, where…
A steady look at Black prosperity, accountability, and place-based philanthropy.
D'Artagnan Calliman and Juma Say frame Black prosperity in Portland as something measured over years, not quarters. The episode keeps returning to 1803 Fund's mix of investment and grantmaking, and that focus gives the conversation its clearest shape: five-year grants,…
The episode centers on how tough it can be to say no to donors, especially in community philanthropy where relationships carry weight.
Lillian and Lindsay talk about the practical work of showing up for community while keeping the process manageable and accountable.
The episode flips the usual question of risk.
Abigail Sarmack opens by asking what the Indigenous way of Indigenous women caring for their communities looked like at the beginning, and whether philanthropy can find its way back there.
The conversation starts with values.
Mara Zasfaha opens the episode by framing accountability as something relational, not just procedural.
It opens with a simple idea.
The conversation pushes back on board culture that prizes niceness over action.
Katie Hong and Abby Sarmack close season 2 by reflecting on racial equity work.
Abbey Sarmack opens a conversation about funding movements and asks what "radical" really means.
Katie Hong opens by framing the series around the messiness of leading for racial equity in philanthropy.
Abbey Sarmack frames the conversation as part of a crisis in philanthropy and community.
The conversation begins with a long horizon.
Susan Taylor Batten and Lyle Matthew Kan talk with Katie Hong about what it means for philanthropy to lead with racial equity in a moment shaped by fear.
Katie Hong opens a broad, patient conversation about public education and racial equity.