Vu Le
Author, speaker, and former nonprofit executive director
Vu Le is an author, speaker, and former nonprofit executive director who writes the blog nonprofitAF.com, which details the humor and frustration of nonprofit work. Le is a vegan, Pisces, seitan-worshipper, and defender of the Oxford Comma. He has over two decades of experience in the sector, including 13 years as an executive director across two nonprofits. Le is one of the co-founders of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement—a fundraising model grounded in equity and justice that prioritizes the benefit of communities over individual organizations. Le is the author of a new book called “Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector,” which his 9-year-old said, “Is not as boring as I thought it would be.” Each chapter focuses on a specific area of work (fundraising, boards, hiring, and so on), explores the challenges, and showcases the solutions needed for change. In his free time, Le hangs out with his kids, watches TV shows and movies, and eats way too much dark chocolate. He has a BA in psychology and a Master of Social Work, which disappoints all his relatives.
How does Le embody Facing Race’s theme: "Rooted in Resistance, Powered by Solidarity"?
- He says what many of us are thinking: Vu has built a national platform by naming what many nonprofit and movement workers experience every day: underinvestment, burnout, bureaucracy, inequitable funding practices, and the pressure to do transformative work inside systems that often resist transformation.
- He pushes the sector from good intentions to better practice: As a co-founder of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement, Vu challenges nonprofits and philanthropy to rethink power, resources, fundraising, accountability, and what it means to center communities.
- He reminds us that sustaining the work means sustaining the people: Vu’s writing makes clear that racial justice work cannot depend on exhaustion, scarcity, or performative equity. His perspective is especially important for a convening like Facing Race, where we come together to strengthen not only our strategies, but our collective capacity to keep going.
We're excited to have Vu Le join us in November!