Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
Chris Pan's commencement speech at Ohio State has been called "cringe-worthy" and "the worst Ohio State commencement speech ever"but the social entrepreneur and 1999 Ohio State graduate wants to set the record straight.
In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Pan says he was "honored" to be chosen to speak at the ceremony and that he "honestly didn't think it was a prank" when he got an email from President Ted Carter's office on March 8 inviting him to speak.
"I honestly didn't think it was a prank," Pan says.
"I just didn't like realize because it was such a big deal.
Like such a big honor."
Pan, who has spoken at Ohio State several times before, says he started brainstorming ideas for the speech right away and used ayahuasca, a psychedelic liquid from South America, multiple times.
"You look at (people) like John Lennon, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, like these are all guys that regularly work with psychedelics, not for recreational but for healing and for creativity," Pan says.
"I couldn't get myself to do it because that's just not who I am."
He says he tried to write a more traditional speech, but
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
Foundation: Johnson Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is putting its money where its mouth is, investing $50 million to help communities of color get out of poverty, the New York Times reports. Zoila Jennings, the...more
Rebuilding Together has a new CEO, and she's no stranger to nonprofits. Maureen Carlson has been serving as the organization's chief strategy officer since January, and she was named president...more
The Tryon International Film Festival is in its 10th year, and this year's event will be its last. co-founder Kirk Gollwitzer tells the Asheville Citizen-Times that he and his wife, Ashley, came...more
Missouri's Centene Community Ice Center opened last September to much fanfare, promising to be a "state-of-the-art" ice rink that would serve as home to the St. Louis Blues and boost the local...more
Foundation: Humana Foundation
Sara Pantuliano is the CEO of the Overseas Development Institute, a not-for-profit that focuses on humanitarian programs in developing countries. She's also the chair of the seventh advisory...more
"I feel like what I love most about this profession is to make my patients look beautiful," dermatologist Faseeha Raza tells the Dermatology Times. "Make them confident in their own skin, so that...more
Women and Philanthropy at Oakland University is making a big difference on the Michigan campus. The group has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to nine projects, including one that will train...more
Foundation: Ford Foundation
Detroit's newly reopened Michigan Central Station was feted with a star-studded concert last night by Patti Smith, Jack White, The Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard, Illa J, and Slum Village, WXYZ...more
Foundation: California Endowment
"We are breaking the mold," Brenda Solorzano tells the Missoulian. Solorzano is CEO of the Headwaters Foundation, which was created in 2017 to support community health in western Montana. The...more
Foundation: Gates Foundation
"For too long, a lack of money has forced organizations fighting for women's rights into a defensive posture while the enemies of progress play offense," Melinda French Gates says in a...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Ten Years After Katrina, A New Startup Sector Takes Hold In New Orleans
“I think, by 2018, there’s an opportunity for New Orleans to be viewed around the country, around the world, as a hub of entrepreneurship for the South,” says Tim Williamson, the CEO and cofounder of incubator The Idea Village, referring to the year the city will celebrate its 300th anniversary.