The Big Win
What ten thousand sunflowers taught me about AI, culture, and the work the sector keeps trying to skip
Articles
Ideas for a sector in motion
Essays on generosity, responsible AI, trust, and the future of social impact.
Latest writing
Articles and field notes
Essays on generosity, responsible AI, and the future of the nonprofit sector.
The Emperor's New Operating System
The nonprofit sector has learned to describe AI fluently. That is exactly the problem.
Shrug Philanthropy
The greatest threat to generosity is not distrust. It is the shrug.
The Article I Kept Not Writing
What my grandfather understood about apathy, and what it has to do with the energy behind every AI prompt
The Third Wave Has a Blind Spot
A thoughtful response to Nan Ransohoff’s important piece on AI, wealth and the future of philanthropy
Why I Should Stop Talking About AI. And Why I'm Not Going To.
What the economic theory of competition, the Industrial Revolution, and the tool open on your screen reveal about the sector that had the antidote all along.
Community Is a Growth Industry
Why the next decade will reward the thing AI cannot make.
Counterfeit Generosity
What we lose when the fundraiser isn’t there.
The Imagination Deficit
Why the Biggest Threat to Your Organization Isn’t AI - It’s a Lack of Vision
Faster Isn't Forward
On curiosity, overwhelm, and the discipline of knowing when to stop.
Sorry I Made You Cry
On the Weight of Knowing What’s Coming - and the Grace of Saying It Out Loud
AI Fatigue Is Real. But Avoidance Won't Stop What's Coming
Leadership, humility, and the cost of looking away.
From Adoption to Evolution
Agentic AI and the Next Nonprofit Operating System
Earlier writing
Selected articles on LinkedIn
Seven essays from Nathan’s earlier article archive, preserved here with direct links to the original publications.
Being Human in the Age of Bits and Bots
March 2025 · 7 min read
What it means to protect human agency, connection, and purpose as intelligent systems become part of everyday life.
A ❤️ Letter to the Nonprofit Community: Part Two
January 2025 · 6 min read
A year of gratitude, reflection, and appreciation for the people carrying nonprofit missions forward.
Summoning AI
October 2024 · 6 min read
Lessons from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice for leaders learning to work with powerful new tools.
AI, Scale, Trust and Risk
October 2024 · 6 min read
Why responsible and beneficial AI is a nonprofit imperative, especially as adoption accelerates.
The Curiosity Code
August 2024 · 6 min read
How curiosity becomes a practical superpower for learning, leadership, and adaptation in the AI age.
Humanity OR Utility vs Humanity OVER Utility?
August 2024 · 6 min read
A choice leaders face when efficiency and human value appear to be in tension.
Beyond AI Ethics
May 2024 · 6 min read
The nonprofit sector’s imperative to move from abstract ethics toward responsible and beneficial practice.