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Unicorns Unite: How nonprofits and foundations can build EPIC Partnerships
Calling all changemakers! Open your mind, and buckle up for a bumpy ride through a truth-telling journey about the dysfunctional relationship between foundations and nonprofits. We all know that it’s broken. So why haven't we fixed it? Enter the Unicorns. Join unicorns Jane Leu, Vu Le, and Jessamyn Shams-Lau for a nitty-gritty, inside look at how foundations and nonprofits relate today, and why we're stuck in the status quo. Next, get ready for a rocket-ship ride to a future filled with EPIC Partnerships grounded in equality, trust, and creativity; partnerships to help us think bigger, bolder, and better about social change. Finally, make it happen! Roll up your sleeves and dive into a series of fun and thought-provoking exercises for you to do and discuss with your team, your partners, and your board. Unicorns Unite is a whimsical journey through a challenging conversation that could hold the key to slaying the dragons of injustice and inequity once and for all.
152 pages, Paperback
Published May 15, 2018
27 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 22, 2022
There is serious content here about how nonprofits and foundations can better understand and build empathy with one another in service of being more effective in our joint work, and yet the unicorn shit and illustrations were too much for me.
August 25, 2018
This is a wonderful book. I'm not going to lie, I actually teared up a tiny bit while reading the authors' vision for the non profit field. I'm turning around and buying it immediately. (Shout out to my library for having a copy!)
If anyone is curious, here are the notes I jotted down while doing the dream state exercise. I aspire.
Funder sees the value in our outcomes the way we articulate and measure them, without adding on or demanding we measure other things or collect different data.
We articulate the value of our programs and have a clear explanation of what we're doing and why we're doing it that way. We serve people with intentional, thoughtful, and fun programs.
Funder gives us a large, multi-year unrestricted grant to support our work. Funder is excited about our programs and participates in thoughtful conversations with us about improving and evaluating our work. Funder visits the program, engages with the participants, and gives thoughtful feedback that shows an understanding of the goals and future state we are trying to achieve.
Our accounting and reporting becomes less time consuming and confusing because we're only have to report one way to all our funders. We only have to submit a line item just that accounts for all costs, not specific pots of money. Same with applying. We're have more time and resources to devote to program design, evaluation, strategy, and relationships because we only have to supply a standard set of attachments that don't need to be tailored to fit each funder.
Overhead and fundraising costs are seen as a normal course of business rather than punitively. Our staff is paid a good wage because funders want to pay for staff to run awesome programs!
We can try new things and fail because our funders are collaborative partners and are with us through the decision making and implementation process. Failure is not seen as a bad thing but rather an opportunity to examine what went wrong and share with the field so that other orgs don't duplicate work.
If funders want to see research that backs our outcomes or program design or evidence of long term results, THEY JUST PAY FOR THAT RESEARCH instead of asking the field to do it with no resources. We actually use research based or supported design and when we don't, point out the gap to our community so we can work on it together.
We serve our diverse community with a program that speaks to them - design can be different, but outcomes and values remain the same. The community is also a partner in our work and feels ownership and pride in our collective success.
We are not afraid to partner or collaborate, communicate effectively with our partners, share information, and our staff has the time and energy to build those relationships during the normal course of their work days.
Funders are clear about what they are looking for and accessible if they are not. They expect and ask for transparency and honesty and reciprocate that trust. Funders sponsor field capacity building and participate themselves as partners in the solution.
If anyone is curious, here are the notes I jotted down while doing the dream state exercise. I aspire.
Funder sees the value in our outcomes the way we articulate and measure them, without adding on or demanding we measure other things or collect different data.
We articulate the value of our programs and have a clear explanation of what we're doing and why we're doing it that way. We serve people with intentional, thoughtful, and fun programs.
Funder gives us a large, multi-year unrestricted grant to support our work. Funder is excited about our programs and participates in thoughtful conversations with us about improving and evaluating our work. Funder visits the program, engages with the participants, and gives thoughtful feedback that shows an understanding of the goals and future state we are trying to achieve.
Our accounting and reporting becomes less time consuming and confusing because we're only have to report one way to all our funders. We only have to submit a line item just that accounts for all costs, not specific pots of money. Same with applying. We're have more time and resources to devote to program design, evaluation, strategy, and relationships because we only have to supply a standard set of attachments that don't need to be tailored to fit each funder.
Overhead and fundraising costs are seen as a normal course of business rather than punitively. Our staff is paid a good wage because funders want to pay for staff to run awesome programs!
We can try new things and fail because our funders are collaborative partners and are with us through the decision making and implementation process. Failure is not seen as a bad thing but rather an opportunity to examine what went wrong and share with the field so that other orgs don't duplicate work.
If funders want to see research that backs our outcomes or program design or evidence of long term results, THEY JUST PAY FOR THAT RESEARCH instead of asking the field to do it with no resources. We actually use research based or supported design and when we don't, point out the gap to our community so we can work on it together.
We serve our diverse community with a program that speaks to them - design can be different, but outcomes and values remain the same. The community is also a partner in our work and feels ownership and pride in our collective success.
We are not afraid to partner or collaborate, communicate effectively with our partners, share information, and our staff has the time and energy to build those relationships during the normal course of their work days.
Funders are clear about what they are looking for and accessible if they are not. They expect and ask for transparency and honesty and reciprocate that trust. Funders sponsor field capacity building and participate themselves as partners in the solution.
August 11, 2018
Fast read but extremely important content that I haven't read anywhere else. Strongly recommend this to all foundation and non-profit employees. Fun visuals with a relaxed style that rests on a firm philosophical grounding.
My only criticisms are that 1) the book doesn't flow particularly well, so it feels disjointed, and 2) the inclusion of Vu's blog posts is nice, but again feels out of place and not clearly explained.
My only criticisms are that 1) the book doesn't flow particularly well, so it feels disjointed, and 2) the inclusion of Vu's blog posts is nice, but again feels out of place and not clearly explained.
October 20, 2018
I read this in one sitting. So grateful to the authors for providing us a concise analysis of what is happening in the npo/philanthropy sector and beautiful ways to create a new type of relationship between npos and funders. I've followed Vu's blog since it began so the content and tone were familiar. However, the exercises that the authors created together, and the whole analysis, is necessary for our sector. A must read for all in philanthropy on either side.
January 10, 2019
It is striking how many nonprofit leaders and foundation execs have glaring blind spots about each other's work. Far too few leaders have sat in both seats. Unicorns Unite is an accessible, easy read that bridges the gaps that lead to dysfunction and distrust between foundations and nonprofits. I would highly recommend this for foundation staff who are new to the field and/or have not spent time working in nonprofits.
May 12, 2019
Unicorns Unite is for the nonprofit professional who wants to re-evaluate the sector and how we approach our work. It’s an easy read complete with illustrations and writing prompts to help you apply the topics to your own organization. These aspects can make the seem less “serious”, but it truly is a must-read for understanding the ways in which our sector is dysfunctional and how we perpetuate these problems by not challenging the status quo. I’m excited to discuss with my book club!
June 25, 2018
It's an easy read, though a tough subject to help the nonprofit sector change itself. Puts forth some challenging ideas in a fun and uses enough non-jargon language that most from outside the sector will be able to understand it.
Certainly a must read for any foundation staff and board to read, and a must for all nonprofit professional staff!
Certainly a must read for any foundation staff and board to read, and a must for all nonprofit professional staff!
January 7, 2019
Loved it. Read it in one sitting and I’ll be passing it on to my coworkers so we can work through some of the exercises together. Highly recommend!
October 1, 2019
So much good info in here for funders and non-profits alike!!
October 8, 2023
I love nonprofits. I have always, and likely will always, work for nonprofits. We are, as Vu says, “bad-ass people” who handle the sh*t no one (hi, government!) wants to so our neighbors don’t get left behind.
But I am also tired of the immense power-privilege problems in the nonprofit sector.
Which is why I picked up this book.
I’ve followed Vu’s blog, Nonprofit AF, for years. They give me a laugh at the absurdity of grantor expectations, if anything.
And while I appreciate the laugh, I rarely have felt his blog offered real, tactical solutions to improving our sector.
Beyond recycling MANY of Vu’s old blog posts, this book really does not offer solutions, either. It’s broken into three parts:
- part 1: a depressing overview of the current state of nonprofit - foundation relations. We know, already.
- Part 2: a laughably, idealistic, seemingly unattainable future “dream state” (their words) of what improved nonprofit - foundation relations could look like.
- Part 3: a series of suggested exercises for both nonprofit and foundations to complete to improve their partnerships.
I don’t know if it’s all the unicorn talk of the book, the lack of any real life examples or tactical solutions, and/or the lack of any research, but I truly just don’t see an actionable path forward to improving our sector after reading this.
November 9, 2020
A vital read for anyone who works in the nonprofit field. There isn't a lot of text, but it gives you a lot to think about -- and the unicorn illustrations are adorable! I look forward to dragging my ED and others into doing the exercises, and getting out of the "business as usual" rut. I've been a big fan of Vu Le's Nonprofit AF blog for some time, and many of the same themes are here in this book -- namely, that a new paradigm for nonprofits and funders is both possible and necessary.
March 26, 2023
Well. it’s on me for thinking this was a guide for building community partnerships, and not realizing the title meant partnerships only between nonprofits and foundations.
Oh well I still read the whole thing bc of the picture book format. That was a nice surprise, but I can’t comment on any of the material. Part one was a downer, part 2 was exploring the ideal, and part 3 had exercises.
Oh well I still read the whole thing bc of the picture book format. That was a nice surprise, but I can’t comment on any of the material. Part one was a downer, part 2 was exploring the ideal, and part 3 had exercises.
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September 2, 2023cute and fun, really good info more for established orgs/NP/foundations… will definitely reference in the future
November 28, 2023
Terrific book for anyone who works for a nonprofit or foundation. I'm a huge fan of Vu Le, and his spirit is all over this charming, easy, and thought-provoking book.
October 21, 2020
I wanted to love this book. Because I'm a big fan and follower of Vu Le. And because the concept is so perfect. And, I feel like the authors held back a lot of practical stuff. The ideas are great, and the way the book is put together is fun, but I was left longing for more how-to.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews