Funders on Fundraising Podcast

Funders on Fundraising is a podcast about power, trust, and authenticity—and how money moves in the nonprofit sector.

Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or below!

Elizabeth Eagen – Former Senior Program Officer at the Open Society Foundations – Funders on Fundraising

Elizabeth Eagen is a former Senior Program Officer at the Open Society Foundations, where she spent over a decade funding global digital rights and emerging technology work. In this episode, she reflects on the philosophy behind her 50/30/20 funding model, why grantmaking is always shaped by internal dynamics, and what it means to move through the work with clarity, consistency, and long-term commitment. She talks candidly about what she looked for in a pitch: analysis, specific asks, and a conversation that recognizes both sides as professionals. She’s blunt about what backfires, honest about the decisions that get made behind closed doors, and generous in naming what she wishes more grantees understood. It’s a conversation about structure, risk, and how to stay candid without burning trust. Produced by Chris Lawrence and Urbanist Media Cover art by Ben Johnson Theme music by Evan Greer For more tools, workshops, and resources on building authentic fundraising relationships, visit: aspirationtech.org/htrm
  1. Elizabeth Eagen – Former Senior Program Officer at the Open Society Foundations
  2. Kent McGuire – Former Director, Education Program at the Hewlett Foundation
  3. Michelle Shevin – Former Senior Program Manager at the Ford Foundation
  4. Sasha Rabkin – Advanced Education Research & Development Fund
  5. Introducing Funders on Fundraising! (Trailer)

Hosted by Kelly James, a former funder, and Geoffrey MacDougall, a career fundraiser, the show opens up honest conversations between people who shape where resources flow and those who work to secure them.

Each episode demystifies the craft of fundraising—how relationships form, how decisions are made, and how power and persuasion operate when money is on the table. Guests talk candidly about what excites them, what turns them off, and how trust actually gets built in real time.

It’s not about philanthropy’s performance. It’s about the people, the structure, and the tactics that make meaningful commitments possible.

Produced by Chris Lawrence and Urbanist Media

Cover art by Ben Johnson

Theme music by Evan Greer