Personal Stories

For decades, I have worked in social change organizations and groups. There was often an unspoken divide: the activists or the staff, and the donors or funders. Even when everyone cared about the same mission, it could still feel like an "us and them" dynamic. The...

Some context For much of my adult life, I have been engaging with money as a spiritual practice. When I graduated from college, I made a decision to live simply and to work for social justice. At the same time, I received a gift of love from my parents that came in...

By Jon Hokama, Wisdom & Money Staff Circle I was relating to money in a very day-to-day way. When I thought about giving, I focused on cash flow—what was coming in, what was going out, what I could adjust month to month. Years ago, my wife Susie and I had set up a...

A story of transformation, by Noa Mohlabane Wisdom & Money's Volcano Circle Member and former Staff and Board Member I didn’t know how to include myself in wellbeing For most of my life, I worked in nonprofits, rented my home, carried credit card debt (up to...

As a child, my prayer took the form of Catholic ritual, especially the weekly practice of going to church.  My parents taught me about the sacred mystery at the center of the mass. I wondered what it meant and set up an appointment with our parish priest to ask how...

As we continue to explore the question of “Why work with wealthy people?”, we invited Nancy Thurston, our Board Chair, to share her wisdom on the question. She has been a part of this work for over 20 years and has a unique understanding of the importance of our work...

Here I offer a personal reflection. Many of you know me as one of the founders of Wisdom & Money and as a current Co-Director. I have the joy of leading many of our circles and online programs, and of walking with some of you as a 1:1 spiritual companion. I came...

By Steven Bonsey In grade school our chaplain entered the pulpit with a toy phone and placed a call to God. “Hello, God?” — and then he proceeded to talk. And talk. He ended the monologue by saying, “It’s been great to talk to you, God!” And he hung up. The lesson was...

I’ll start us off with a question: what do prayer and spending money have in common? For me, I see both as expressions of desire. Prayer, in its most common understanding, is an entreaty—an asking for something: help, to be heard, guidance, or a change in feeling or...

I’m writing this on Inauguration Day 2025, which happened to fall on the same day we honor and celebrate the great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For me, this day is sacred as I think about the historical and current struggles for justice and freedom in the...