Who Should Control The Money? With Glen Galaich and Jamie Allison
The Giving Done Right Podcast with Phil BuchananShow Notes
Phil Buchanan is joined by Elisha Smith Arrillaga, CEP's Vice President of Research, as co-host for a conversation focused on some of philanthropy's oldest tensions: who should decide how charitable dollars get spent and how to balance short-term needs with the long view? Their guests, Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, and Jamie Allison, Executive Director of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, are usually the ones asking the questions, as frequent co-hosts on Glen’s podcast, Break Fake Rules.
Glen makes the case from his new book, CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short, that too much charitable wealth sits parked in private equity and hedge fund accounts rather than moving out to the communities that need it, and that donors should treat public stewardship, not private control, as their guiding value. Jamie pushes back on the idea that this is a binary choice between spending down and staying perpetual, describing how the Walter & Elise Haas Fund has worked to increase payout and shift toward larger, unrestricted grants without abandoning a long time horizon. Together, they debate what foundations with large endowments owe to this moment of crisis for nonprofits, why "responsiveness" matters more than any single spending formula, and what foundations might learn from everyday donors.
Disclosure Note: The Stupski Foundation is a CEP podcast sponsor and the Walter & Elise Haas Fund provides grant support to CEP.
Resources:
CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short
Break Fake Rules
Giving Done Right book
Center for Effective Philanthropy State of Nonprofits 2026: What Donors Need to Know
Ruby’s Pantry closes
The Democracy We Are Making: Philanthropy and America’s Next 250 Years
A Sector in Crisis: How U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations Are Responding to Threats
Rethinking Payout: The Hidden Costs of Undervaluing Social Return
A Call for Higher Payout from a Believer in Perpetual Foundations
The Debate That Belongs in Every Foundation Boardroom Right Now
US Firms That Kept DEI Policies Thrived
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