Donna Daniels is a left-of-center academic, consultant, and nonprofit executive who promotes a redistributive, race-based model of philanthropy to advance left-wing causes. ^{1 2} She is the chief executive officer of Possibility Labs, a left-of-center funding platform that operates donor-advised funds, provides capital to businesses, and fiscally sponsors other nonprofit organizations. ¹

Daniels is a board member of the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, a donor-advised fund provider supporting mostly left-of-center causes that was created by the Service Employees International Union-associated Amalgamated Bank in 2017. ^{3 4}

Background

Daniels received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in African American studies from Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. ⁵ She began her career as an assistant professor of cultural anthropology and African-American studies at Duke University, later becoming a visiting scholar in African-American studies at Columbia University. ² In 2002, she turned from academia to the private sector, becoming a consultant specializing in retailing to African-American consumers. ^{2 5}

Career in Philanthropy

In 2012, Daniels became a deputy director and then later worked as interim executive director at the Social Venture Network, a now-defunct advocacy group that sought to persuade businesses to adopt left-of-center social and environmental policies. ⁶

From 2018 to 2021, Daniels was a director and later vice president at RSF Social Finance, formerly the Rudolf Steiner Foundation. She led RSF’s donor-advised fund program and was co-chair of the organization’s internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee. ²

She left RSF to become a vice president at the F.B. Heron Foundation, a left-of-center private grantmaking foundation located in New Haven, Connecticut that funds a variety of left-of-center organizations and ostensibly focuses on poverty-related causes. ²

In 2024, Daniels left the Heron Foundation to become the CEO of Possibility Labs, a left-of-center funding platform that operates donor-advised funds, provides capital to businesses, and fiscally sponsors other nonprofit organizations that “advance racial, gender, and climate justice.” ¹

At Possibility Labs, Daniels leads an effort funded by the Kataly Foundation to “take back control” of donor-advised funds and ensure that the resources of those funds are quickly deployed by foundations hosting donor-advised funds toward race-based “liberatory” and “reparatory” philanthropy. ^{1 7 8}

Daniels is also an advisor to the Just Economy Institute (JEI), an advocacy group that pushes for wealth and resource redistribution towards left-of-center political, social, and environmental causes through both government policies and private-sector initiatives. ⁹

Daniels is a board member of the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, a donor-advised fund provider supporting mostly left-of-center causes that was created by the Service Employees International Union-associated Amalgamated Bank in 2017. ^{3 4}

1. “Possibility Labs Enters New Era of Leadership with Deep Focus on Its Movement-Accelerating Mission.” Possibility Labs, May 13, 2024. https://possibilitylabs.org/pl-new-leader/.
2. Daniels, Donna. “Donna Daniels, Ph.d. – Chief Executive Officer – Possibility Labs.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-daniels-ph-d-b510b59/.
3. “Advancing Change: Our First Three Years.” Amalgamated Foundation, 2021. https://www.amalgamatedfoundation.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/amalgamated-v1r8.pdf.
4. “Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821517696.
5. Daniels, Donna. “Biography: Donna Daniels.” The Daniels Consultancy, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140126003431/http://thedanielsconsultancy.com/resume.
6. “The Legacy of the American Sustainable Business Network.” American Sustainable Business Network, August 5, 2020. https://www.asbnetwork.org/legacy.
7. “Possibility Labs on Linkedin: Not Waiting Around: The Foundation Transforming DAFs from Within.” Possibility Labs on LinkedIn: Not Waiting Around: The Foundation Transforming DAFs from Within, September 10, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/possibility-labs_not-waiting-around-the-foundations-transforming-activity-7239095295035199488-VW1R?utm_source=social_share_sheet&utm_medium=member_desktop_web.
8. Philo, Kaila. “Not Waiting Around: The Foundation Transforming DAFs from within – Magic Cabinet.” Magic Cabinet – Opening Up New Paths for Philanthropy, December 10, 2024. https://www.magiccabinet.org/not-waiting-around-the-foundation-transforming-dafs-from-within/.
9. “Our Community.” Just Economy Institute. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://justeconomyinstitute.org/about/community/