Ever since he began organizing against Richard Nixon as a Columbia University student, Gara LaMarche has been unafraid to speak his mind. It is no surprise, then, that he is quick to critique the sector of which he has been a leading light for four decades. Funders badly need to rethink their approach to philanthropy, he says, if they are serious about social justice.

"Charity is important, but it’s palliative. So, the kind of philanthropy that I’ve focused on is concerned with the structures of oppression. And while I don’t fault the value of [traditional] philanthropy, if you don’t change the systems and bring about justice, then it’s ultimately just palliative,” LaMarche said in an interview for my Love and Courage podcast, recorded at the Brooklyn offices of StoryCorps, an organization he chairs.

Read the full interview with Gara LaMarche about philanthropy's fight against oppression at huffingtonpost.com.