It's the summer of 1993. Jurassic Park just made you believe dinosaurs were real, and it's going to sit in theaters so long you'll see it twice more before school starts. The Sandlot came out in the spring and it's somehow still playing too, a movie about kids whose entire agenda is baseball until dark and one legendary pool day.
The Chronic is thumping out of every car with the windows down. Hey Jealousy is on the radio every 40 minutes and nobody’s complaining. If you wanted to hear a song again, you waited for it. If you wanted to see a movie, you went to the theater, in person, with people. Nothing was on demand, so everything was an event.
We weren't practicing mindfulness. We'd never heard of it. We were present, because there was nowhere else to be, and that was enough.
It was Alan and Ellie standing up in that Jeep, staring at a brachiosaurus like the world had just gotten bigger. And it was all of us in the dark, staring right along with them. Nobody reached for a phone because there wasn't one to reach for.
Thirty-three years later, presence is something we have to choose on purpose. Which is strange when you think about it. The thing that came free with every summer now takes practice. For those of us in nonprofit work, there's more at stake than nostalgia.
beyond the cliff
In her TEDx talk Beyond the Cliff, trauma expert Laura van Dernoot Lipsky talks about the cumulative toll of doing hard work in a hurting world: the anger, the avoidance, the cynicism, the bone-deep exhaustion, and how tempting it is to just go numb. Her answer is presence. So much is out of our control every single day. What stays in our control, she says, is the ability to bring "your exquisite quality of presence to what you're doing and how you're being."
She doesn't frame it as self-care fluff, she frames it as ethics. If you're pouring everything into the mission while neglecting your own corner of the web, that's not integrity-based practice and it's not sustainable.
meanwhile, in 1993
Ben & Jerry's launched a flavor called Wavy Gravy. Caramel cashew brazil nut with a hazelnut fudge swirl, named after the Woodstock legend. It's long discontinued. And this month, Ben & Jerry's Foundation announced it's next.
After 40 years of grantmaking, the Foundation says it will shut down at the end of 2026 after its corporate parent cut off funding and evicted its staff. The fight, now in federal court, comes down to authority: an audit alleging conflicts of interest and missing financial controls (which the Foundation disputes), no endowment of its own, and board members removed under new eligibility rules.
Here's the thing, though. Magnum actually owns Ben & Jerry's. Your c6, your association, your agency partner? They don't own you. Your c3 has its own board, mission, and decisions to make. We see this tension all the time with shared staff, shared space, sometimes shared bank accounts, and nobody worries until the money gets tight or a funder, auditor, or the IRS starts asking questions.
The lesson from Vermont? Independence you can't document is independence you don't have. Look at your bylaws, your 990, your mission, your policies, your board composition, and your money flow before someone else does.
Need a place to start? We put together a short guide: 5 Questions to Ask About Your Foundation's Independence. Reply to this email and we'll send it your way.
meet casey
"My name is Casey, and I'm studying Economics at the University of Richmond. I'm really excited to be at Blue Octopus Consulting this summer as a strategy and consulting intern. Outside of work, I love matcha and spending time outdoors!"
Listening: Nuthin' but a "G" Thang (the sound of every open car window), 500 Miles by The Proclaimers (da da da DA), and Plush (flannel in July).
Watching: The Fugitive - Harrison Ford running, Tommy Lee Jones chasing, and the whole country showing up for it. And on TV, Beavis and Butt-Head…no commentary necessary.
Reading: The Bridges of Madison County on every beach towel and nightstand in the summer of '93, whether you admit it or not.
Playing: Pogs. Just... pogs.
from our summer to yours: wherever you are, be all the way there.
blue octopus consulting, 500 libbie avenue, suite 1b, richmond, va 23226
