Giving Ventures

On this episode of the Giving Ventures podcast, Peter interviews Ian Rowe, author of the new book "Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power," senior fellow at American Enterprise Institute and co-founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a world-class charter high school, the first campus of which opened its doors this year in the Bronx. This wide-ranging conversation explores Ian's experience as an education entrepreneur, what donors can learn from his time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, non-profits that are advancing the idea of agency, and so much more.

2026 will be a big year. No, it isn't a presidential election year. Twenty-twenty-six marks the 250th birthday of our beloved United States of America. The fancy term for that is the semi-quin-centennial. The brand you will get to know it as, though, is America250. That is the name of the organization leading the planning and coordination of a national celebration for this remarkable birthday. Joseph C. Daniels, the new CEO and president of America250, joins host Peter Lipsett on the latest episode of Giving Ventures to talk about his plans for the big birthday bash.

Are free-markets dead? Not a chance. Young entrepreneurs and activists including Cindy Cerquitella of America's Future; Amanda Covo of Teneo Network; and Marissa Gaston of Washington Policy Center join host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett on the latest episode of Giving Ventures to share how they're fanning the flames of freedom in their respective communities.

What are the key ingredients to effective storytelling? IronLight Labs President Jo Jensen, Kite & Key Media CEO and Co-Founder Vanessa Mendoza; Free to Choose Network President and CEO Rob Chatfield; and The Story Incubator Owner Erin O’Connor share the "secret sauce" of solid storytelling, including who should convey your message, how to connect with your audience and how quickly you need to reel in your listeners before they tune out. These tips and more on the latest episode of the DonorsTrust Giving Ventures podcast.

In the seventeenth episode of our Giving Ventures podcast, titled “Winning in the States,” host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with State Policy Network President and CEO Tracie Sharp. State Policy Network is the membership organization for all the free-market, pro-liberty think tanks in the states, driving leadership development, information sharing, and a general cross-pollination of ideas critical to the success of pro-liberty principles. Tracie gives a run-down of hard-fought legislative and legal wins at the state level, including income-tax reform, union reform and, among others, protecting workers' civil liberty as it relates to the so-called "vaccine mandate."

In the sixteenth episode of our Giving Ventures podcast, titled “Free Market Environmentalism,” host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with three nonprofit leaders working to implement changes that better steward earth's natural resources without undermining its most precious resource of all: people. His guests include Brian Yablonski, chief executive officer at the Property and Environment Research Center; Benjamin (Benji) Backer, founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition; and Drew Bond, co-founder of Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions (C3 Solutions).

In the fifteenth episode of our Giving Ventures podcast, titled “Toward Better Policing,” host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with three nonprofit leaders working to implement reforms in our necessary but imperfect criminal justice system. His guests include Adrian Moore, vice president of policy at Reason Foundation; Robert McNamara, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice; and Gordon Cummings, president of CantWait Foundation.

In this bonus episode of the Giving Ventures podcast, host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with Dr. Tom G. Palmer, executive vice president for international programs at Atlas Network, about the situation in Ukraine.

In the thirteenth episode of our Giving Ventures podcast, titled “Freedom in the Press,” host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with three nonprofit leaders carving out a voice for taxpayers and conservatives in the media world. His guests include John J. Miller, founder and executive director of the College Fix; Casey Given, executive director of Young Voices; and Christopher Krug, president and publisher of the Franklin News Foundation.

In the twelfth episode of our Giving Ventures podcast, titled “Engaging Conservative Women,” host and DonorsTrust Vice President Peter Lipsett talks with three nonprofit leaders giving voice to the issues of particular interest to women, including parental leave, workplace flexibility and women in sports, to name a few. His guests include Carrie Lukas, president of Independent Women's Forum; Stacy Blakeley, executive director of The Policy Circle; and Karin Lips, president of the Network for Enlightened Women.