GOOD NEWS: In Person Matters
Good News: An enewsletter for donors and nonprofits
on strategic planning, governance, fundraising, and executive leadership.
Birthdays
Even though I am an alumnus of Suffolk University Law School, it wasn’t until I stopped recently to read the plaque pictured above that I began to consider the wonder of such a place and the impact philanthropy had on my alma mater's creation. Now, as the United States prepares to mark its 250th year, I find myself considering the unique philanthropic culture of our country as it relates to Suffolk and many other institutions and initiatives like it.
The concept and etymology of the word philanthropy come from the Ancient Greek translation, “a love of humanity.” Whether is Chinese classical thought exalting the virtue of benevolence, Hindu scriptures calling for giving as an imperative duty, Ancient Greeks considering philanthropy fundamental to democracy, ancient civilizations of sub-Saharan Africa placing reciprocity and kindness above all other virtues, Native Americans practicing giving to promote balance and harmony or the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam calling upon believers to care for those in need, there is a long human tradition of kindness directed toward strangers.
What makes the American philanthropic experience unique is that although wealth and charity were not new, using private wealth imaginatively, constructively, and systematically to attack the fundamental problems of mankind was. If one looks around the world for a system of philanthropic activity like we have in the United States today, one will not find any close comparison to what Cotton Mather, Ben Franklin, George Peabody, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and now Mackenzie Scott and others - including my clients - have in mind.
So let’s celebrate all of that too on July 4th. Happy summer.
Stuff Steve is Watching, Listening to, and Reading
F*** AI (20 minute watch)
"This is why you shouldn't be scared of AI. Cause I think AI is just gonna end up making mediocre people dumber. Have you heard how dumb people brag about how they use AI? They're always like, 'Hey, did you know that AI can now read my email, summarize it, and draft a response.' Yeah, you know who else can do that? Me. I can do that. You can't do that? How useless are you?' I don't think your generation's upcoming battle will be humans against IA. That's at least two months away. It's gonna be people with substance against people with shallow knowledge. It's gonna be mastery versus faking it. It's gonna be people with good taste versus tacky. I trust you will put in the work necessary to be on the right side of those battles." Ronny Chieng, Harvard Class Day Address 2026
Watch Here
Champions of HI (18 minute listen)
“Because in the end, what we will treasure most may not be flawless intelligence but imperfect humanity. So of course let us use AI. Let us use it to cure diseases, expand knowledge, improve productivity, and solve problems once thought unsolvable. But let us use AI to illuminate the astonishing distinctiveness of the human mind. A three-pound organ capable of mathematics and music, logic and love, memory and imagination, ambition and compassion. Become champions of HI: human intelligence, human imagination, human inspiration, and human interconnection. Celebrate the gloriously imperfect human mind, because our imperfections are not bugs in some system’s code. They are the cracks that let the light come in.” Fareed Zakaria at Bard College's Commencement 2026
Listen HereTrust In Higher Education (20 minute read)
"Our research took us in many directions. We discussed tuition prices and admissions policy, political bias on campus and technology in the classroom, self-censorship and university governance and grade inflation. We examined what other universities were doing and tried to figure out how Yale measures up. Our research engaged issues of public trust—what the university looks like from the outside in—but also complementary issues of trust within the university itself." Report of the Yale Committee on Trust In Higher Education, April 2026 Read Here
