Hello! A warm welcome to you! Here you'll find reflections and conversations on the practice of philanthropy — and on being human. So glad you’re here.
What We’re About Here
The roots of the word "philanthropy" are "love of" and "humanity."
So why do we see so little love, or humanity, in the ways we practice systemic philanthropy in our modern culture?
To love and care for our fellow human beings is one of the most human things we can do. Yet, we've found a way to overcomplicate this natural impulse, to sully it.
Let's get back to the roots of what it means to be human.
Let's return to true philanthropy together.
How Do We Do This?
Loveletters: You’ve likely heard of newsletters. You probably receive more than one. This is a lot like those. But we’re calling it something different. You won’t be getting much “news” when these emails land in your inbox. You will be receiving a whole lot of love. And you will hopefully be receiving a lot of food for thought, inspiration, and reflection. Paid subscribers receive short-form Loveletters on Mondays and Wednesdays and long-form Loveletters on Fridays. Free subscribers receive two long-form Friday Loveletters in a given month. (NOTE: Currently, and for a limited time, free subscribers are receiving Loveletters EVERY FRIDAY, while we grow through our first few months and spread the word about what we’re doing here.)
Podcast: The For the Love of Humanity podcast is a mix of two formats: solo, spoken-word versions of Loveletters, and conversations with guests. Paid subscribers will receive deeper dives of interview conversations and more in-depth teaching in solo episodes, while free subscribers will receive access to one interview and one solo/teaching episode a month. The podcast will be launching SOON!
Community Chats: Here at For the Love of Humanity, we’ve got a written chat feature that allows all paid subscribers to start and participate in ongoing Community Chats. You’ll gain another group chat in your life, and this one is quite likely to surpass the group chats you’ve got going already, to become a favorite, as you’re gathering and engaging with like-minded and like-hearted humans who are as dedicated to creating a healthier, more just, more peaceful world as you are.
Community Coaching: We’ll hold monthly Community Coaching gatherings (via Zoom) for paid subscribers — a chance for you to be together in the present moment with many of the generous and loving souls who gather here. Picture conversation, laughter, warmth, and a depth of connection that will surprise you, given the virtual setting. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn practical lessons from the field, giving you a deeper understanding of how to bring more humanity and love into your own practice of philanthropy. Ask questions. Get answers.
Examples of Potential Topic Areas We’ll Cover Here
Charity/Solidarity
Love: Interpersonal
Love: Intrapersonal
Love: Cultural/Societal
On Being Human
Embodiment
A More Human Fundraising
A More Human Institutional Giving
On Individual, Family Giving
A More Human Donor Relations
Community-Centricity
Community Investment
& More (Open to Suggestions/Requests!)
Intended Audience
For the Love of Humanity’s primary intended audience is people who are actively participating in the “industry” of the modern-day system of philanthropy (from fundraisers, to individual and family donors, to business-based community relations folks, to foundation founders or staffers or board members, to nonprofit board members, to nonprofit staffers, etc.).
However, philanthropy — at its roots — is one of the most human things that a human can participate in. With that understanding, our hope is that EVERYone would be able to gain something from, and grow from participating in, this community.
More About Cecelia & This Work
Cecelia is a social worker, a professional fundraiser, a mystical priest, a teacher, a coach, a guide, a mentor and mentee, a writer, a reader, a global citizen, a community member and nurturer, a co-liberation seeker, a natural world-lover, a musician, a photographer, a gardener, a wife, an auntie, a sister, and more.
She uses this framing as a way of introduction to who she is, because she’s interested in, knowledgeable about, and skilled in a wide range of things. And she aims to bring all of her varied experiences to who, and how, she is here… and to how she guides this project of For the Love of Humanity.
We’ve grown accustomed to fractionalization in every area of our lives — and inevitably, that translates to our inner selves too. We’ve grown to normalize being one person in one setting… and another person in another setting. We’ve been taught that we’re not supposed to bring our whole selves into certain scenarios — most especially ones that we’ve dubbed “professional.”
This should change.
This is not healthy for us as human beings.
We are made to be whole.
So Cecelia models bringing her whole self here, and she asks you to do the same. We will practice a new level of integration together, here.
She started her adulthood living within two monasteries, while studying for and earning her Bachelor’s degree in English. After that experience, she moved into one intentional community, followed by another… and soon, she had moved into what was essentially an ashram, where she dedicated her days to study and growth within the inner mystical spiritual path. She has often joked that she has “monastic tendencies,” and those tendencies continue to this day.
She was eventually ordained as a mystical priest, while in the process of attending graduate school to become a social worker and earning her MSW.
Soon, she found herself engaged in lots of nonprofit-based work, as many social workers do. And she began to realize just how important the funding for the work was. Without that, nothing else was possible.
Her wheels got turning: she had studied writing and communication and was interested in these things she was hearing about, something called “grants.”
What if she learned how to write grant proposals?
She then set out to learn how to do just that, by working alongside and learning from a life-changing mentor. She soon moved into practicing all the other elements of nonprofit fundraising and development, as well (from working with boards, to PR, communications, and marketing, to event-planning, to building relationships with donors, to writing fundraising appeals).
Before long, she started becoming uncomfortable.
Things felt weird.
Perhaps because of both her spiritual and social work training, or even simply because she was especially in touch with her own humanity, she often noticed how much various gnarly societal dynamics — related to race, class, gender, and more — were creating lots of opportunity for dissonance, extra stress, and unique pressures.
Not fun.
Not life-giving.
Not very loving, that’s for sure.
She’s now been working in this field of philanthropy for more than a decade-and-a-half. And she’s been working to change the unhealthy realities and systems within philanthropy for most of that time.
But changing entrenched realities and systems is hard.
We all know this.
Change of any kind is hard for us humans.
True change often seems unreachable.
So.
Instead of struggling against what is anymore, For the Love of Humanity is a new set of seeds Cecelia is planting. And she asks you to join her in helping them grow.
Let’s stop trying to change what is.
Let’s grow something new.
Together.
Join Our Community with a Subscription
For the Love of Humanity is a community of people who want to find the way deeper into love and our shared humanity — to grow a new philanthropy together.
Here’s more about what a subscription means:
Free Subscription: A free subscription will mean two things for you.
One, you’ll receive two long-form Friday Loveletters in your inbox monthly. (NOTE: Currently, and for a limited time, free subscribers are receiving Loveletters EVERY FRIDAY, while we grow through our first few months and spread the word about what we’re doing here.)
Two, you’ll receive access to two podcast episodes a month (one interview, one solo/teaching episode).
Paid Subscription: A paid subscription will mean that you are choosing to actively join and co-create this community, to grow a new philanthropy together. You will then have access to many different ways to do this:
Reading
Weekly long-form Loveletters (Fridays)
Additional short-form Loveletters (Mondays and Wednesdays)
Listening
Receive access to several podcast episodes a month (featuring deeper dives of interview conversations and more in-depth teaching in solo episodes)
Community
Written Community Chats (hosted here, via Substack)
Monthly Community Coaching (hosted via Zoom)
