Donors’ Forum is composed of leaders from different sectors of the nonprofit and philanthropy worlds. Each month – September through June – we interview a person with perspective and experience that we feel is of interest to our members. We gather to share insights and questions about best practices, innovative ways of working, and challenges in the field.

APRIL 2025  

LISA PILAR COWAN

APRIL 22, 2025

8:30am - 9:30am ET

Please join us for our next Donors' Forum meeting on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.  We will be on Zoom.

The meeting will run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. (EDT)  We begin and end precisely on time.  Please note: We record our discussions and archive them on our website, so that they will be available in the future.

Our guest will be Lisa Pilar Cowan, the Vice President of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.  In this capacity she helps with strategy, development and oversight of foundation programs and grantmaking. Lisa has been working with community-based organizations for the last 25 years, first as a community health educator and program director at several youth-serving agencies, then as a Senior Consultant at Community Resource Exchange. Lisa was the Co-Founder of College Access: Research and Action, where she continues to act as an advisor. Most recently, Lisa was the Principal Consultant at Hummingbird Consulting from 2013-2016.  Lisa sits on the board of Brooklyn Workforce Innovations. She served as the Board President of the Red Hook Initiative from 2005-2013. 

We will discuss, among other things, how foundations might alter their philosophy of funding in the Trump era.

Recently, on March 18, 2025, Lisa published an editorial in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "As Funders Face New Levels of Risk, What Does Bravery Look Like?"  She asserts, "We foundation leaders have long been insulated from threats. It’s time to shed our chicken feathers."  And then begins her column with this: "My perpetual low-level nausea has persisted for eight weeks now. Each day I read about another decimated federal agency. And each day I hear from a grantee or allied organization whose funding is at risk and who is searching for answers. I keep waiting for this feeling of crisis to subside, but it never does."

After the election, she placed the following - from Anna Galland, the former executive director of MoveOn - above her desk, as a reminder: “We should all do the most courageous thing we can, and we should do it as publicly as we can again and again and again in the coming years.”

These are interesting times for nonprofits.  And this will be an interesting discussion.  You can read the article here, and you can learn more about Lisa Cowan here.

As always, those who join us will engage in an interactive, discussion-oriented format.  Doug White, a thought leader on nonprofits and philanthropy, whose most recent book is "Wounded Charity" (2019), is the moderator.

Please register (RSVP) with our Eventbrite link. You'll receive the link to join the Zoom Room in the confirmation message from your registration along with reminders with the handy Zoom link embedded.

Note: Out of respect to our speaker, if you sign up, please attend.

Many thanks!

Stanley, Deborah, and Brittany

PASt speakers

Over the years, over 100 guests have joined us at Donors’ Forum.  They include foundation leaders, public charity leaders, fundraisers, authors, journalists, and philanthropists.  Each is a thought leader in either the field of philanthropy.

  • 01.12.2021: Whitney Tilson - Founder and CEO Empire Financial Research
    02.11.2021: Greg Luianoff - President and CEO Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
    03.10.2021: John MacIntosh - Managing Partner Seachange Capital
    04.22.2021: Carrie Rich - Co-Founder and CEO Global Good Fund
    05.13.2021: Adam Treiser - Founder and CEO Arjuna Solutions
    06.15.2021: Andy Ram - Spokesperson Israel Tennis and Education Centers Foundation
    07.21.2021: Maya Horgan - Famodu Founder Ingressive Capital and Ingressive for Good (Nigeria)
    09.29.2021: Eileen Heisman - President and CEO National Philanthropic Trust
    10.21.2021: Jaimie Mayer - Board Chair Nathan Cummings Foundation
    11.10.2021: Tracy Weiner - CEO Marcum Foundation
    12.15.2021: Kate Bahen - Managing Director Charity Intelligence (Canada)

  • 01.16.2020: Elijah Goldberg - Co-Founder and Executive Director Impact Matters
    02.13.2020: Wendy Diamond - Founder and CEO LDP Ventures; Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization
    04.28.2020: Doug White - No outside guest - First Online Meeting Topic: Philanthropy and the Coronavirus
    06.09.2020: Rob Wray - CEO BlueStar Senior Tech
    08.04.2020: David Vise - Executive Director Modern States
    09.22.2020: Michael Gelb - Author and Management Consultant; Senior Fellow Center for Humanistic Management
    10.13.2020: Mike White - Senior Director of Major and Leadership Giving West Point Association of Graduates
    11.18.2020: Stacy Palmer - Editor Chronicle of Philanthropy
    12.08.2020: Chris Belisle - Executive Director of Corporate Relations Asia Society

  • 01.09.2019: Justin Elliott - Journalist ProPublica
    02.06.2019: Art Taylor - President and CEO Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
    03.21.2019: Karen Rosa - Former VP and Executive Director Altman Foundation
    04.03.2019: Brian McCourt - Founder, Board Chair and CEO ABLE Foundation
    05.01.2019: Carol Argento - VP Charles Hayden Foundation
    06.26.2019: Molly Bingham - Founder Orb Media
    09.17.2019: Michael Kolhagen - CEO Center for Educational Innovation (CEI)
    10.24.2019: Thomas Krever - CEO Hetrick-Martin Institute (LGBTQ)
    11.14.2019: Jay Sullivan - Manager (also author) Exec|Comm
    12.12.2019: Chuck Stetson - Founder and Chairman Healthcare Impact Foundation and Essentials in Education

  • 01.09.2019: Thomas Brown - CEO Ad Altius Advisors
    02.07.2018: Joe Torre - Founder Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation (also, Yankees coach)
    03.06.2018: Steve Nardizzi - Former CEO Wounded Warrior Project
    04.18.2018: John MacIntosh - Managing Director SeaChange Capital Partners
    06.05.2018: Barnaby Marsh - Co-Foounder Saint Partners
    09.06.2018: Laura Callahan - Founder Upstart Co-Lab (also board chair of Global Giving)
    10.04.2018: Rachael Chong - CEO Catchafire
    11.07.2018: Richard Feiner - Lecturer - Nonprofit Management Master's Program Columbia University
    12.12.2018: Martin Whittaker - CEO Just Capital

  • 01.10.2017: Whitney Tilson - Manager Kase Capital (hedge fund)
    02.01.2017: Steve Feldman - President and Co-Founder Renovation Angel
    03.01.2017: Karl Zinsmeister - President; author Philanthropy Roundtable
    04.04.2017: Ken Eyler - Accountant; cybersecurity Arthur Bell
    05.04.2017: Elissa Kramer - Board Member Greenwich House
    06.20.2017: Ginny Brown - Founder SEEK Safely
    09.26.2017: Taylor Hudson - Founder and Executive Director Athlete Ally
    10.17.2017: Julie Shafer - Head of Strategic Philanthropy and Purpose Investing Family Wealth Advisors (BNP Paribas)
    11.02.2017: Corliss Taylor - Development Officer Raymond James Charitable
    12.14.2017: Denise Federer - Speaker, coach, consultant, psychologist Federer Performance Management Group

  • 06.16.2016: Ken Berger - Former CEO Charity Navigator
    09.22.2016: Martin Whittaker - JUST Capital
    10.13.2016: Phil Strassler - Founder Strassler, LLC
    11.02.2016: Judith Berkowitz - Philanthropist and board member Upenn, Rockefeller University, and others
    12.08.2016: Judith Factor - Executive Director Friends of Karen

Our Team

  • Deborah Goldstein

    When I'm not being a tech host for Donors' Forums, I work with motivated professionals as an executive coach and workshop facilitator with customized live and virtual programming. I'm certified in Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ®) and Diversity Coaching (through CDI and Howard University).

  • Doug White

    I am the moderator of Donors' Forum meetings and have worked with nonprofits and philanthropists for 40 years. I have written five books, the most recent of which is "Wounded Charity: Lessons Learned from the Wounded Warrior Project Crisis”.

  • Brittany Lane

    I am the Donors' Forum administrator with a background in philanthropy but now chase after my twin five year old boys and lead their school’s PTO.

  • Stanley Goldstein

    A CPA by training, I have been in the private equity field for several years now as Managing Partner & Chairman of Knickerbocker Financial Group, an investment house with a strong leaning toward ESG. About 20 years ago, I launched Donors' Forum.