Rethinking charity

The way we think about charity, says Dan Pallotta, is not just outdated, “it’s dead wrong.” An expert on philanthropy and innovation, Pallotta the author of “Uncharitable: How Restraints on Non-Profits Undermine their Potential.”

His TED talk on the subject is among the most-commented of all time. His Sonoma Speaker Series event on January 28 is made possible by a collaboration of Valley nonprofits.

“The nonprofit sector is critical to our dream of changing the world. Yet there is no greater injustice than the double standard that exists between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. One gets to feast on marketing, risk-taking, capital and financial incentive, the other is sentenced to begging,” Dan Pallotta says in discussing his book Charity Case.

What he calls “economic starvation of our nonprofits” is why preventing progress on great social problems. “My goal … is to fundamentally transform the way the public thinks about charity within 10 years.”

Pallotta is best known for creating the multi-day charitable event industry, and a new generation of philanthropists with the AIDS Rides and Breast Cancer 3-Day events, which raised $582 million in nine years. He is president of Advertising for Humanity, which helps foundations and philanthropists transform the growth potential of their favorite grantees. He is also the founder and President of the Charity Defense Council .

7 p.m. $35. Hanna Boys Center. Sonomaspeakerseries.org.