Social entrepreneur Dan Pallotta will offer local donors and the nonprofits they support a whole new way to look at the business of charity when he speaks next month at a luncheon presented by Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. Pallotta, author of the acclaimed book Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, is the featured speaker for “Better Together: Freeing Charity to Change Our Community,” which will be held on Friday, February 26, from 12 to 1:30 pm at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. Admission is $35, and advance reservations are required. Reservations can be made online at gulfcoastcf.org.

At a time when donors have become increasingly careful about where they invest their charitable dollars, Pallotta offers a provocative view of how we can best support our community’s nonprofits. He argues that society holds nonprofit organizations to an economic double-standard, preventing them from achieving greater good by denying them the basic business tools utilized by the for-profit sector. Pallotta calls for a new paradigm for charity, one that discards flawed measures of “efficiency” and focuses instead on what nonprofits achieve and how donors can help them maximize their social impact—a message that is gaining traction. Last month, charity evaluator Charity Navigator issued a joint press release with other watchdog groups stating, “We believe that too many donors are paying too much attention to measures like overhead.”

“Dan Pallotta will challenge some of the fundamental questions we ask when making decisions about our charitable donations,” said Teri A Hansen, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “We think this discussion can give donors new tools to make the best community investments with their charitable dollars. It’s time to reframe our view of nonprofit work and give our nonprofits the freedom they need to achieve their mission.”

The Stanford Social Innovation Review wrote that Uncharitable, “deserves to become the nonprofit sector’s new manifesto.” A book-signing will immediately follow the conclusion of the February 26 luncheon at 1:30 pm. To learn more about Dan Pallotta and his book Uncharitable, visit danpallotta.com.

The Foundation’s Better Together series invites renowned thought leaders to our community to initiate dialogue and spark action on emerging issues. Previous speakers have included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas Friedman and Harvard University professor Dr. Robert Putnam.

Driving directions to Better Together

1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive Sarasota, FL 34236