Making Sense & Maximizing Impact - #1

This is our new version of the “Making a Difference” emails that we’ve (Tom & Julia) been sending since 2016. 

We, and everyone we know, are searching for how to make sense of this horrific moment in our country's history, and to find our own path to impact and our own solutions. Our plan is to send these out every 3-5 weeks, give or take.

To unsubscribe guilt-free, click on your personalized link in any of your received emails.

We’re integrating these emails into our work to share more broadly how we are Making Sense and Maximizing Impact in this critical moment for communities we care about, our democracy and our planet. 

Included in this email: 

	How can we all cope in these unprecedented times?
	How are we shifting our work?
	What’s our recipe for sanity and impact?
	What can people do today to support Minneapolis & Maine? 

How can we all cope in these unprecedented times?

We are living through a New American Fascism, built on some of our ugliest history and on hate.This phase of Authoritarian Consolidation is all too familiar to scholars and activists, here and across the globe. Lying. Undermining the law. Thuggery. Trying to make people give up and give in. 

There are many smart people who write frequently about what is happening. (Here’s a sampling of substacks, one major source of these.)

So, do we want to add to your inbox every month or so? Because, we believe that:

	We all need to do what we can, and need support to do so. (This is a battle of our lifetimes.)
	We all need to play some part in the resistance. (The last thing we can do is give the haters what they want - us to disengage and give up). 
	We all need it: to stay sane, to stay engaged, and to be able to believe in a better future. (This is one key way we are doing so.)

How are we shifting our work?

In our work, we have always sought impact by trying to help others increase their’s. Over the decades, we have increasingly focused on groups and individuals that serve communities of color, LGBTQ+ communities and youth, with a goal of addressing economic inequality and injustice. 

While Julia has continued to consult to local, state and national organizations (primarily youth- and arts-focused groups and funders), over the past seven years Tom has stepped away from his practice to focus on supporting grassroots organizing groups to build long-term power and win elections. The Movement Voter Project has been his primary client. 

At the end of 2025, Tom stepped away from MVP to lead a new Philanthropic Advising & Donor Support service at our firm of 26 years. In addition to these emails, we intend to support a small number of major donors, helping them to clearly articulate their priorities, formulate their strategies for investing in change and maximizing their impact at this critical moment.

Tom has spent the last few years helping donors and their families to invest in political change and social justice. Enough of those he has supported have said they found what he’s written or said to be helpful. So, we are making this change. We intend to encourage support for a wide range of organizations, including those supported by MVP, adjacent to it and distinct. We will also leverage our years working in the nonprofit sector to help donors pursue their priorities, whatever they might be. 

What’s our recipe for sanity and impact?

	Stay engaged: make our own sense of the seemingly senseless. 
	Stay connected: to loved ones and fellow travelers who believe in resistance and making change. 
	Invest time: to support the communities that continue to bear (and have always borne) the brunt of injustice, and play our own role in the resistance.
	Invest wealth: to support the best groups and networks that are actively and effectively defending communities, elections and the law, and organizing for a better future. 

To be clear, these emails and this work are – in significant part –  our own personal strategy for following this recipe. 

While we have invested in change, we have not always found it easy. Money is such a focus of habits and our culture, the very water in which we swim. Making it. Conserving it. Managing it. Investing it. Tracking it. Saving it. 

But, giving it away? We all need some help doing it, and doing so thoughtfully, in alignment with our goals and values. Maximizing our impact, and minimizing the hassle. And, it can be overwhelming: the sheer volume of options and “asks” alone – the emails, the snail mail, the texts, the phone calls. 

This is a critical year to stop American Fascism. We need to fuel the resistance; have elections with integrity; win big margins; and ensure the results are followed. (We’d say respected, but we all can count on shenanigans from our own Federal government.) 

We need to act and invest early this year – as outlined by the All By April campaign focused on foundations – when it can have the most impact. 

For us each, where we give starts with our fundamental goals and values, and with our analysis of the moment. 

What can people do today to support Minneapolis & Maine?
Online links are provided below and are recommended for gifts as large as $5,000. (For larger donations, check, ACH and wire information is available.) 

Minnesota Recommendations:

	TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund (c3, tax-deductible donation): Coordinating its own work and the Minnesota Democracy Defense Table.
	Unidos MN (c3, tax-deductible donation): Coordinating a comprehensive immigrant-defense hotline (Monarca) critical to statewide response.

View a comprehensive list of Minnesota immigrant & refugee support organizations. 

Maine Recommendations:

	Maine People's Alliance (c4, not tax-deductible): State’s largest community action organization.
	Community Organizing Alliance (c3, tax-deductible donation): Based in Lewiston and centered around the Somali community.

Keep up-to-date with Beacon, Maine People’s Alliance’s blog.

We’ll follow up in the coming weeks with some analysis and priorities for early 2026 giving. 

Feel free to share this with others you think might appreciate this - anyone can subscribe here. 

Again, if you’d rather not get these emails: unsubscribe guilt-free, click on your personalized link in any of your received emails. Or email us back, and we’ll take care of it. 

Thank you for being in this work with us. 