Beyond the Mega-Gift: An SSIR Author Conversation Mark Dobosz, Vice President of Philanthropy, Mozaic Senior Life Wednesday, April 29, 2026 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern

What will it take to reverse the recent increasing concentration of charitable giving?

SSIR’s David Johnson speaks w/ Mark Dobosz about his SSIR feature, “Beyond the Mega-Gift.”

Wednesday, April 29

Register here: stanford.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Scale Really Matters (SSIR) The problems are big, the time is short, and the resources are limited.

Growth ≠ Scale. That distinction, Kevin Starr argues in Stanford Social Innovation Review, is what separates the organizations that dent big problems from the ones that don't.
Scale ideas, not organizations.
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/scale-really-matters
#Philanthropy #ImpactInvesting

Beyond the Mega-Gift (SSIR) For four years, small donations have declined across the nonprofit sector, threatening the future of social innovation. But with the right strategies, some organizations are bucking ...

Here's Mark's feature story from our most recent magazine issue:

Beyond the Mega-Gift: An SSIR Author Conversation Mark Dobosz, Vice President of Philanthropy, Mozaic Senior Life Wednesday, April 29, 2026 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern

What will it take to reverse the recent increasing concentration of charitable giving?

SSIR’s David Johnson speaks w/ Mark Dobosz about his SSIR feature, “Beyond the Mega-Gift.”

Wednesday, April 29

Register here: stanford.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Scale Really Matters (SSIR) The problems are big, the time is short, and the resources are limited.

"Everybody’s getting ready for the annual social sector lollapalooza in Oxford, and there have never been so many sessions with the word “scale” in the title..." ssir.org/articles/ent...

When Compliance Aims to Silence (SSIR) A look at the motivations behind and impact of a new law limiting nonprofit fundraising in Ecuador, and how civil society organizations are coming together to reclaim their agency.

Important: When Compliance Aims to Silence: A look at the motivations behind and impact of a new law limiting nonprofit fundraising in Ecuador, and how civil society organizations are coming together to reclaim their agency. ssir.org/articles/ent... - Tania Dávila Paredes, @ssir.org

Scale Really Matters (SSIR) The problems are big, the time is short, and the resources are limited.

"Growth and scale are not the same thing.

Confusing the two comes at a cost—you only have so much bandwidth, and they require different activities and skillsets. Growth and scale can even be in opposition, especially when working with governments."

After the Big Bet (SSIR) Four funding pathways doers are pursuing to sustain resources and impact following the big bet.

What comes after a "big bet" grant?

With the acceleration of big bet philanthropy in the past decade, the sector now has a rich dataset of “sunsets” to learn from.

What Large, Unrestricted Gifts Do for Nonprofit Leaders: ssir.org/articles/ent...

Ten Reasons Not to Measure Impact—and What to Do Instead (SSIR) Impact evaluations are an important tool for learning about effective solutions to social problems, but they are a good investment only in the right circumstances.

I simultaneously believe that we need more rigorous, credible evaluations of social policy AND that some current evaluation systems would be better transformed into good monitoring. I just assigned my students my favorite reading on this topic. ssir.org/articles/ent...

The Pay-It-Forward Threshold (SSIR) What does it take for a nonprofit to grow without external support?

What does it take for a nonprofit to grow without external support?

The Pay-It-Forward Threshold ~ @ssir.org

Scale Is a Myth! Embrace the Long Defeat! (SSIR) Why the ghost of Paul Farmer wants you scaring the horses at Skoll

"They say you don’t come to Skoll to scare the horses. But Paul Farmer, for all his grace and gentleness, loved to grab the gate and give it a good hard shake."

Does Everything in the Social Sector Need to Scale? (SSIR) In a world that no longer behaves like a scalable system, success must be something other than growth.

“But as geopolitical instability grows, inequality deepens, and social systems fracture in new ways—as the world, in short, ceases to behave like a scalable system—it is time to ask the uncomfortable question: Must all social innovation be designed to scale?”

ssir.org/articles/ent...

Returning Yulića: Lessons From Land Rematriation (SSIR) How funders, sellers, and intermediaries can better support Indigenous “land back” initiatives.

Philanthropy has the potential to play a much greater role in resourcing Native communities for land rematriation.

Yet it's essential to understand the journey through rematriation is as delicate and complex as it is powerful and restorative.

Does Everything in the Social Sector Need to Scale? (SSIR) In a world that no longer behaves like a scalable system, success must be something other than growth.

Does Everything in the Social Sector Need to Scale, asks @ssir.org

Does Everything in the Social Sector Need to Scale? (SSIR) In a world that no longer behaves like a scalable system, success must be something other than growth.

The question, then, is what do we stand to lose if scale thinking becomes the predominant lens of looking at social change? ssir.org/articles/ent...

The New Paradigm of Airborne Disease (SSIR) The COVID-19 pandemic shattered established views of airborne disease. Although it represents a paradigm shift in public health, the field has yet to catch up.

Excellent article by @davidcarel.bsky.social & @ssir.org on how we need to approach the new paradigm of airborne diseases. #PublicHealth #Healthcare #Covid #CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNoteOver #LongCovid #Measles #Flu @taniaspencer.bsky.social @n95anaesthetist.bsky.social
ssir.org/articles/ent...

Teaching Disagreement Is Leadership Work (SSIR) Why learning how to disagree well is important to professional development, and four areas where organizational leaders and staff can start.

Why learning how to disagree well is important to professional development, and four areas where organizational leaders and staff can start.

ssir.org/articles/ent...

Beginning soon! Registration link in thread 👇

The New Paradigm of Airborne Disease (SSIR) The COVID-19 pandemic shattered established views of airborne disease. Although it represents a paradigm shift in public health, the field has yet to catch up.

"COVID-19 has caused more than 27 million deaths globally, tuberculosis causes 1.6 million deaths every year, and influenza kills 700,000 annually. We now know that these and many other respiratory infections show considerable airborne transmission."
ssir.org/articles/ent...

Impact Without Imposition: What Role for Northern Academics in the Global South? (SSIR) Three principles for rethinking and changing scholarly behavior.

Found this great piece suggesting 3 practical ways to undergo ethical and socially responsible research in the Global South. Have a look! ssir.org/articles/ent...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy: An SSIR Author Conversation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. The past year has roiled the social sector. The assumption that government is a reliable partner for philanthropies and their visions of impact, effectiveness, and scale has been thrown into doubt. It...

Register here to join live or get the recording and watch later:

stanford.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

What Else Can We Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy (SSIR) A year of turbulence has exposed the dangers of philanthropic monocultures and upended assumptions about impact, effectiveness, and scale. Embracing the varied intentions that motivate people to give ...

Live today at 11am PT / 2pm ET:

Join our conversation w/ Ariel Simon about his article, “What Else Can We Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy”

Freedom for Profit? (SSIR) Stephanie Limoncelli's Advocacy, Inc. argues that the anti-slavery movement's business-friendly orientation impairs its ability to advocate on behalf of workers and exploited victims of trafficking.

Read our Managing Director of External Affairs, Xanthe Scharff's, review of Stephanie Limoncelli's book Advocacy, Inc. in @ssir.org

Teaching Disagreement Is Leadership Work (SSIR) Why learning how to disagree well is important to professional development, and four areas where organizational leaders and staff can start.

Why learning how to disagree well is important to professional development, and four areas where organizational leaders and staff can start. ssir.org/articles/ent...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy: An SSIR Author Conversation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. The past year has roiled the social sector. The assumption that government is a reliable partner for philanthropies and their visions of impact, effectiveness, and scale has been thrown into doubt. It...

Are effectiveness, impact, and scale the only things philanthropists should care about?

SSIR will speak w/ Ariel Simon about his new SSIR article, “What Else Can We Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy” in a live, free-to-attend conversation, on March 23: stanford.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Beyond Direct Provision (SSIR) To create systemic change in health care for children, advocacy groups need to look to government.

"For too long, charitable support for kids has been disconnected from systemic change, being primarily geared, instead, toward direct service programs."

Ted Lempert of Children Now argues that real systemic change requires advocacy groups to look to government:
ssir.org/articles/ent...

Beyond the Mega-Gift (SSIR) For four years, small donations have declined across the nonprofit sector, threatening the future of social innovation. But with the right strategies, some organizations are bucking ...

The fact that just 3 percent of donors now provide 78 percent of all charitable dollars represents an existential threat to social innovation.

Community-based organizations depend on modest local contributions not simply for revenue but for validation, stakeholder investment, and social capital.

Want to Support a Healthy Democracy? Start Here. (SSIR) After a decade of transforming public spaces, we are building trust and connection between Americans.

🔥 Kyle Kutuchief & Alexa Bush in @ssir.org on @civiccommonsus.bsky.social's 10 yrs in public space & democracy — "these investments can turn the tide, in ways that have implications for future philanthropic efforts to promote democratic principles across diverse communities." tinyurl.com/3x7kk7d3

Welcome to the Era of Relational Intelligence (SSIR) As AI begins to transform education, work, and social life, we need to focus on developing and expanding capacities essential for human flourishing.

Across millennia, human intelligence has evolved not simply through logic or invention, but through connection. Our ancestors survived not because they computed faster, but because they cooperated better.