Highs and Heroes

Friends, I am on such a high.

I spent all day yesterday enjoying the Orange County Grantmakers Annual Summit. I’ve had the privilege of working on this event for five years, and each year, it gets better and better.

This year, we had three phenomenal keynote speakers. Did I fangirl? One million percent.

First up was Dimple Abichandani, she of “A New Era of Philanthropy” fame. Dimple is a nationally recognized philanthropic leader, writer, and lawyer. She’s done a ton of work advancing justice by working to transform the collective purpose and practices of philanthropy. And she was a boss in that room yesterday.

Some quotes from Dimple:

• “Be the kind of funder that loves your community. Don’t think in small, siloed ways.”

• “Don’t underestimate the ripples of small shifts. Don’t think that small shifts are going to stay small. That’s how you build culture.”

• “At the heart of philanthropy, there has to be a recognition that we are all interconnected.”

• “As all-encompassing as this moment feels, it’s not a new era. We’re about a decade into this. You have a lot of funders who are still in crisis mode. Increase your payout, yes, but know that the things that are on fire right now will remain on fire.”

Oooh, girl. It was so good.

And then we welcomed Julián Castro to the stage. Julián is CEO of the Latino Community Foundation, but you may remember him from his time as a 2020 presidential candidate and President Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Could I have followed Julián around all day? Absolutely.

Julián talked about how funders and nonprofits alike need to find new ways to collaborate. “There’s strength in numbers,” he shared. “Solidarity counts.” He also shared that all of us — all of us — need to find ways to go above and beyond right now. He closed his talk by saying, “When philanthropy is done best, it’s super connected to the community.” Ok, preach!

Finally, Baratunde Thurston entered the chat. If you don’t know Baratunde, go ahead and google him right now. I would love for him to be my new best friend, but I’ll take hanging out with him for a few hours yesterday because honestly, that was the next best thing.

Baratunde brought the laughs and the truth.

Some quotes from Baratunde:

• “Citizen is a verb. First, you show up and participate. Next, to citizen is to commit to the collective. And to citizen is to invest in relationships, with others and the world around you.”

• “We have an opportunity to create a story that works for all of us. We’ve got to be able to hold this emotional tension at the same time. There’s a beautiful tension between holding the ills of today and what we hope to build.”

Will I be plotting to meet Baratunde in person again? (Um, obviously.)

There’s a lot of heartbreak and hopelessness out there.

But if I’m taking away one thing from my very fun and hopeful day yesterday, it’s that we have each other. We have community...an incredible community. I feel it in Orange County and I hope you feel it where you are.

Our job is to keep focusing on community and connection and care. And to (kinda) quote Baratunde (which I’ll do forever because I’m a super fan), with our focus as our north star, we can write that new story. A new story for all.

With love and appreciation,

Sarah

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📣 ALUMS AMPLIFIED

I’m also excited about being a part of Service Year Alliance’s Alums Amplified initiative, which just launched last week. Alums Amplified Speakers are AmeriCorps alums from across the country who are storytellers and advocates — we all believe in the power of service to transform individuals and communities.

Our group will be writing op-eds, speaking at community events, and at times, trekking to Capitol Hill to advocate for the future of national service.

*️⃣ WANT TO BE INSPIRED?

Looking for some good news? Meet the recently-announced 2025 MacArthur Fellows, the incredible thinkers and doers who just received a no-strings attached award of $800,000 from the MacArthur Foundation.

These individuals are extremely talented and creative and their work just might bring you awe.

😎 DO YOU HAVE RIZZ?

Because the latest edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary now does. More than 5,000 words — including “rizz,” “adulting", "doomscroll,” and “WFH” — have been added to the 12th edition. You can pick up your copy beginning November 18.

(Because I’m a word nerd, I’m for sure getting my hands on the new edition. No hard pass here…)

💘 NONPROFIT LOVE

Mercy Corps is a global nonprofit focused on humanitarian aid, economic development, and disaster relief. It works in some of the world’s toughest places, helping communities recover from crises, build resilience, and create sustainable opportunities.

Founded in 1979, Mercy Corps started in response to a major humanitarian crisis: The famine in Sudan during the 1970s. The founders, Randy Howe and Vicente Escalante, wanted to provide direct aid to people affected by famine and conflict.

Today, Mercy Corps operates in 40+ countries, helping millions of people recover from disasters, build livelihoods, and strengthen local economies.

Want to get involved in this amazing organization? Look here and here for some ideas.