Fund the People: A Podcast with Rusty Stahl

Author: Fund the People

Our show offers you transformative (yet pragmatic) ideas, data, and tools to help you invest in the nonprofit workforce. This unique show invites you into fun, provocative conversations with a diverse network of funders, nonprofit leaders, authors, intermediaries, and government leaders. Your host, Rusty Stahl, who founded Fund the People in 2014, is the foremost advocate for the U.S. nonprofit workforce. Our mission? To maximize investment in America's nonprofit workforce to drive equity, effectiveness, and endurance across the sector.
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Build Trust, Practice Equity: Funders and The Black Nonprofit Workforce - with Kaci Patterson, Social Good Solutions and Black Equity Collective
Episode 15
Wednesday, 29 April, 2026

What does it take to move from talking about racial equity to practicing it—inside philanthropy and across the nonprofit sector? In this episode, you’ll get visionary and pragmatic guidance on how funders and nonprofits can close the gap between intention and action. Rusty speaks with Kaci Patterson, Founder of Social Good Solutions and the Black Equity Collective. Kaci shares how her work brings funders and Black-led organizations together to build relationships, trust, and unding strategies that are rooted in community.The conversation also digs into the economic and social impact of Black community organizations, the persistent under-funded/under-capacity paradox faced by these organizations, and the urgent opportunity facing philanthropy. As the DEI backlash and public sector staffing cuts disproportionately impact Black women, Kaci argues that philanthropy has a choice: retreat to old habits or invest boldly in a stronger, more equitable nonprofit workforce. This episode offers both a clear-eyed critique and a hopeful path forward—grounded in relationships, mutuality, shared leadership, and long-term sustainability.Download an edited transcript .pdf⁠ of episodeAbout Our Guest:Kaci is Founder and Chief Architect of Social Good Solutions (SGS), a Black woman-owned and operated boutique social impact consulting firm. Kaci also serves as Founder and Chief Architect of the Black Equity Collective, housed within Social Good Solutions.Kaci launched SGS in 2014 after nearly 18 years of working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Always with an eye toward human and community development, SGS works with philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies to design, operationalize and manage racial justice initiatives from concept to implementation. The firm’s expertise is operationalizing equity, demonstrating what’s possible in philanthropy and creating new standards for equity-centered practices in the field. Since 2014, SGS has raised and leveraged over $86 million (and counting!) for Black-led organizations in California!Links & Resources:Kaci Patterson & Her Work:Social Good SolutionsBlack Equity CollectiveA Guide for Pursuing Black Equity & Racial Justice in Philanthropic Initiatives and Government SystemsResearch & Data Mentioned:The Economic Contributions of California Black-Led Organizations, May 20, 2025, published by the Black Equity Collective and Nonprofit Finance FundBlack-led Nonprofits Didn’t See the Lasting Funding Boosts Promised After 2020’s Racial Reckoning, by James Pollard, April 7, 2026, Associated Press⁠Candid + ABFE report on funding for Black-led nonprofits⁠Black Women Suffered Large Employment Losses in 2025—Particularly Among College Graduates and Public-Sector Workers, by Valerie Wilson, February 10, 2026, Economic Policy InstituteRelated Organizations & Context:BLACC (Building Leaders and Cultivating Change) Fund (at Liberty Hill Foundation)ABFE - A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities (formerly the Association of Black Foundation Executives)Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO)California Community FoundationLiberty Hill FoundationAspen Institute Civil Society FellowshipFund the People Resources:Fund the PeopleFund the People’s Talent Justice Research and Tools⁠⁠Fund the People Premium Podcast on Patreon⁠Fund the People's podcast is available on all platforms. Here are links where most people listen or watch: Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTube video feed or audio-only feedPodPageSimilar Episodes:Funding Advocacy for Racial Equity in a Hostile Climate – with Dr. Giridhar Mallya, Robert Wood Johnson FoundationCoaching Black Women Leaders in White Nonprofit Spaces - with Kelli King-Jackson Coach and ConsultantRacial & Generational Barriers in Nonprofit Careers - with Frances Kunreuther and Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, Building Movement ProjectFunding Black Leaders to Prevent Burnout - with Dany Sigwalt, Power Shift Network