742. Money Is Medicine: Decolonizing Wealth and the Future of Philanthropy - Edgar Villanueva

Innovation

Sep 21

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About This Episode

Edgar Villanueva spent years inside foundations watching endowments get celebrated while grants got scrutinized. Then an elder told him the medicine that had chosen him was money — and that one sentence became Decolonizing Wealth and the reparative philanthropy framework now shaping how donors, foundations, and corporations think about their own wealth.

In this conversation, Edgar shares why the work starts with the wealth holder rather than the community, what changes when an institution names where its money came from, and the one shift any nonprofit leader can make today.

Joining us as guest co-host is Lindsey Fuller, Executive Director of The Teaching Well.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Why reparative philanthropy starts with a question most institutions refuse to ask: where did this money come from in the first place?
How a foundation funding smoking cessation programs was spending tobacco money — and what that contradiction taught him about the work
The one shift any leader can make today: do your own work around money, before you ask anyone else for theirs

You'll walk away with a different starting point for every funder conversation you have. 🩵

Episode Highlights:

(3:38) Growing up between the haves and the have-nots
(8:26) Behind the curtain: what he saw as a young program officer
(10:24) The ice cream party problem
(14:30) The elder, the medicine, and the book that changed everything
(20:16) Reparative philanthropy: where did this money come from?
(24:45) No wealth exists without harm
(29:04) The one shift you can make today
(33:09) Beyond self-care: why leaders have to dig deeper
(37:34) Liberated Capital: a donor community for "whosoever will"

Episode Transcript

Meet Edgar: The Insider Who Named What Philanthropy Won't Say Out Loud

Edgar Villanueva is the founder and CEO of the Decolonizing Wealth Project and the author of Decolonizing Wealth, now in its second edition. An enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Edgar came into philanthropy as a program officer in his twenties and spent years watching how decisions about capital actually get made. His work has helped move nearly $1 billion toward Black and Indigenous communities, and he's now building toward $1 trillion in distribution by 2035. He also runs Liberated Capital, a multi-class, multiracial donor community that has moved $30 million in grants — and he's working on a second book.

Powerful Quotes

"The elder said to me that the medicine that had chosen me was money. And that one sentence changed my life." — Edgar

"I didn't understand why we would have an ice cream party every time our endowment grew another million, but we did not have an ice cream party if we gave away another million." — Edgar

"I'm in this industry that is so upside down." — Edgar

"There is no wealth that exists without some harm that has happened to people or the planet." — Edgar

"When you get their heart and soul right, the money is going to go where it needs to go." — Edgar

"Community already knows and remembers when you come there with your money. They already know." — Edgar

"It's so easy for what I call the colonizer virus to impact all of us, and that leads to unnecessary competition between us." — Edgar

"I didn't feel brave at the time. I was terrified. I was trembling." — Edgar

"We all have to do our work around money. Whether you're a giver, recipient, rich or poor — no matter what, we all have things that we've been taught around money." — Edgar

Resources Mentioned

Decolonizing Wealth Project: Edgar's organization, working with donors, foundations, and corporations on reparative philanthropy
Decolonizing Wealth: Edgar's book, first published in 2018 and now in its second edition
Money as Medicine journal: a companion to the book for individual self-study or group work around money beliefs
Liberated Capital: a multi-class, multiracial donor community launched in 2019; roughly 700 members, $30 million moved in grants to Black and Indigenous organizations, community advisors across five funds, plus healing summits, seasonal gatherings, caucuses, and a four-part series on ancestral reconnection
Letter to America: Edgar's letter, referenced by Jonathan in the conversation
The Teaching Well: co-host Lindsay Fuller's organization, a wellness collective building adult cultures in schools
Edgar on Instagram and LinkedIn