🎥 UnCharitable - Revisiting Our Ideas About Charity

 

On January 30, 2025, the PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (PMI-SFBAC) Sustainability Group hosted a virtual screening of UnCharitable.

 

Credits: IMDb

Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, UnCharitable features activist and entrepreneur Dan Pallotta, whose TED Talk on the same theme was voted “most persuasive” talks of all time by the TED community. The film poses a radical but simple question: "What if everything we’ve been taught about charity is wrong?"   Learn More https://uncharitablemovie.com/about/

 

Nonprofits are often criticized for their overhead, marketing, and compensation practices. UnCharitable contends that shackling charities to this mindset undermines their ability to grow and achieve impact. Through storytelling and commentary from leaders in philanthropy, the film asks viewers to imagine a new paradigm that grants nonprofit organizations the same economic freedoms we give to for-profit enterprises.

 

Because the PMI-SFBAC is committed to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this event supported Goal #17: Partnerships for the Goals, emphasizing collaboration among sectors.

Attendees were encouraged to watch the documentary beforehand, then join a Zoom session that included light networking, breakout room discussions, and a review of key takeaways.

A registration fee, which could be waived for those facing financial hardship, was collected and then donated to the Dream Center, supporting fire disaster relief efforts in Los Angeles.

 

Reflections on the Film and Discussion

As a Release Train Engineer (RTE) and project manager with nearly a decade’s experience in government contracting, I participated in this event to address a blind spot I’ve developed in my day-to-day work with for-profit institutions. UnCharitable and the resulting conversations made me rethink many of my assumptions about how charities should operate.

 

Personally, I left the event inspired to reexamine my own charitable giving and support nonprofits that are proactive about growth, marketing, and retaining top talent. Even small shifts in how each of us donates or volunteers can effect substantial change. Sharing the film and talk with others, or simply challenging colleagues’ misconceptions around overhead, can help reframe the conversation and lead to greater collective impact. Together, collective minor efforts can scale into massive change.

Greg Vallarino

Confronting the Overhead Myth

As a supplement to the documentary, I listened to Dan Pallotta’s TED Talk, which reinforced a core point: nonprofits are often bound by public perception that equates high overhead with corruption or inefficiency. Most of us like to believe our donations go directly to beneficiaries, but UnCharitable highlights the crucial role of marketing, logistics, and other forms of organizational capacity. If we want charities to scale their impact, we might need to be open to the idea that overhead—spent wisely—can actually propel greater good.

Marketing and the Power of Scale

One of the most striking points was how UnCharitable positions marketing. Many of us are leery of what we see as “corporate advertising,” but the film challenges us to consider how these very tactics can enable a charity to reach more donors and amplify results. This is especially relevant to project managers and those who work on large-scale initiatives; we know that successful project delivery often hinges on communication and stakeholder engagement—both of which can require significant investment.

Discussion Takeaways

Our breakout rooms brought together project managers who share a passion for social good. Some attendees embraced Pallotta’s message wholesale, seeing it as a way to unlock exponential impact. Others pointed out that while it’s important to move away from overhead as the sole metric of success, nonprofits must still handle finances transparently to maintain public trust. As for me, I found myself toggling between my “project manager” mindset and a more personal perspective—wanting to see how this applies to charities I support.

 

Despite differing opinions on exactly how nonprofits should structure themselves or measure success, we agreed on one thing: the current narrative around overhead can deter organizations from making strategic investments that could lead to sustained, long-term impact.

It Matters Now More Than Ever

With ongoing disruptions to agencies like USAID and other sources of government or institutional funding, nonprofits are at a critical juncture. The conversation sparked by UnCharitable serves as a timely reminder that these organizations must be allowed the flexibility and resources to innovate, particularly when they’re addressing pressing social and environmental challenges.

 

✍️ Author

Gregory Vallarino

Release Train Engineer for a government client. Grep has worked for nearly a decade at IBM, primarily bridging the gap between technical and non-technical audiences. He now views himself as “a glue guy,” facilitating collaboration and innovation across teams.

 

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🌱 Events

Keep on the lookout for more events to come as these events are a great way to get involved with the community, learn about sustainability, or get hands-on experience working with organizations that are making the Bay Area more sustainable.