EquitAble Stronger Together with Amber Hamilton
9 snips
Mar 16, 2026 
Amber Hamilton, organizer and critic of philanthropy who created the comic This Week in Purgatory and is writing a book on power. She skewers performative philanthropy and explores the mismatch between foundations and nonprofits. Short, sharp takes on collective leverage, shared risk and authority, protecting grassroots work, and why funding must back organizing and systems change.
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Nonprofits And Philanthropy Live In Different Realities
- Nonprofits and philanthropy operate as two different Americas with different rules, values, and realities that block collective impact.
- Amber Hamilton explains differences in salaries, historical understanding, and decision-making that prevent coordinated progress on issues like homelessness and environment.
Comic Uses Building Metaphor To Show Sector Disconnect
- Amber is launching a comic, This Week in Purgatory, portraying a foundation upstairs and a grantee nonprofit downstairs to satirize sector disconnects.
- The comic includes a basement AA-style meeting for 501c3 staff to vent and heal.
Trust Language Without Risk Sharing Is Hollow
- 'Trust-based philanthropy' as language is insufficient without structural shifts in accountability and shared risk.
- Amber argues trust is hollow when accountability and risk flow only one way from nonprofits to funders.