Paul Asplund - Blog

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Complete Series from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Complete Series from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

A deep dive into institutional isomorphism, the nonprofit starvation cycle, and how funder expectations systematically undermine the organizations trying to create change. Includes the author's firsthand account of Lava Mae's rise and fall. Complete three-part series with citations and resources.

Letters to the Housed, HomelessnessPaul AsplundJanuary 5, 2026NonprofitReform, SystemicChange, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, NonprofitIndustrialComplex, PhilanthropyReform, TrustBasedPhilanthropy, SocialJusticeComment

Part 6: Democracy, Small Scale, and Community Control Produce Better Results from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 6: Democracy, Small Scale, and Community Control Produce Better Results from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Worker cooperatives, community land trusts, and self-managing organizations prove that democracy, small scale, and community control produce better outcomes than hierarchy—and these models have been working for decades.

Paul AsplundDecember 23, 2025Comment

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 5: Six Practices That Actually Work (And Why Most Funders Won't Use Them) from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 5: Six Practices That Actually Work (And Why Most Funders Won't Use Them) from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

Evidence shows trust-based philanthropy works. MacKenzie Scott's $19.2 billion in unrestricted giving strengthened 93% of recipient organizations. Here are six practices funders can adopt—and why most won't.

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundDecember 12, 2025EndHomelessness, NonprofitLeadership, SocialJustice, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, SystemicChange, HousingJustice, CommunityOrganizing, PhilanthropyReform, TraumaInformedComment

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 4: When Funders Actually Trust Nonprofits, Organizations Get Stronger from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 4: When Funders Actually Trust Nonprofits, Organizations Get Stronger from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

When you give organizations unrestricted money and trust them to use it well, 98% succeed. How many times do we need to learn this lesson before we believe it?

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundDecember 1, 2025EndHomelessness, NonprofitLeadership, SocialJustice, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, SystemicChange, HousingJustice, CommunityOrganizing, PhilanthropyReform, TraumaInformedComment

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 3 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 3 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

I was there when Lava Mae collapsed. We served 30,000 people, inspired 80+ organizations worldwide, and received a million-dollar grant. Then the founder said 'I'm exhausted.' This is what happens when we fund programs but not people.

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundNovember 24, 2025EndHomelessness, NonprofitLeadership, SocialJustice, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, SystemicChange, HousingJustice, CommunityOrganizing, PhilanthropyReform, TraumaInformedComment

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 2 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 2 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

Welcome back. We ended last week with a quote from Lumbee Tribal member Edgar Villanueva: "All of us who have been forced to the margins are the very ones who harbor the best solutions." But those solutions remain unfunded because funders with the least connection to problems control resources meant to solve them. This week, we're digging deeper into the inequality—and inequity—in the vast majority of nonprofit boards.

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundNovember 17, 2025EndHomelessness, NonprofitLeadership, SocialJustice, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, SystemicChange, HousingJustice, CommunityOrganizing, PhilanthropyReform, TraumaInformedComment

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 1 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded | Part 1 from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

How big funding systematically warps nonprofit missions. Research on institutional isomorphism, the nonprofit industrial complex, and choosing mission over money.

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundNovember 8, 2025EndHomelessness, NonprofitLeadership, SocialJustice, RadicalHospitality, MissionDrift, SystemicChange, HousingJustice, CommunityOrganizing, PhilanthropyReform, TraumaInformedComment

Part 3: The Money and the Mechanisms from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 3: The Money and the Mechanisms from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Los Angeles has $700-790 million in available funding to build 11,700-15,000 Vienna-style social housing units by the 2028 Olympics. Learn how Measure ULA, Palisades reconstruction, and Olympic funds can solve our housing crisis with proven cost-rent financing models.

Letters to the Housed, HomelessnessPaul AsplundNovember 1, 2025EndHomelessness, RadicalHospitality, SystemicChange, SocialHousing, ViennaModel, LA2028Olympics, MeasureU, #AffordableHousing, HousingJustice, CommunityAction, TraumaInformed, SecondGraceLA, HousingFirst, PublicHousing, OlympicLegacyComment

Part 2: A Housing Model That Works from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 2: A Housing Model That Works from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Paul AsplundOctober 27, 2025Comment

Part 1: House Them or Hide Them from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 1: House Them or Hide Them from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Paul AsplundOctober 20, 2025Comment

Part 3: The Deeper Conversations - Philosophy and Systems Change from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 3: The Deeper Conversations - Philosophy and Systems Change from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Designing LA County's new Department of Homeless Services revealed a deeper paradox: Can incremental reform address a crisis rooted in capitalism and structural injustice?

Homelessness, Letters to the Housed, Human Centered DesignPaul AsplundOctober 13, 2025HomelessnessLA, LACounty, SystemsChange, StructuralChange, HousingJustice, LivedExperience, AssetFraming, AntiCapitalism, HomelessServicesComment

Part 2: Day 2 - The Energy of Creation from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 2: Day 2 - The Energy of Creation from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Day 2 of LA County's design lab: 100 participants prototype solutions for HSH. Data ownership, breaking silos, and power-sharing with lived experience emerge as central themes.

Homelessness, Letters to the Housed, Radical HopePaul AsplundOctober 6, 2025HSH, LACounty, DesignLab, DataOwnership, LivedExperience, SystemicChange, CommunityCoDesign, RadicalHope, HomelessServices, ServiceCoordinationComment

Part 1: Building Solutions from the Ground Up: Inside LA's Homelessness Design Lab from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Part 1: Building Solutions from the Ground Up: Inside LA's Homelessness Design Lab from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Inside LA County's groundbreaking design lab where 100+ participants are rebuilding homeless services from scratch. A firsthand account of human-centered design reshaping HSH to replace LAHSA.

Homelessness, Community, Letters to the Housed, Personal Data RightsPaul AsplundSeptember 29, 2025#HomelessServices, LACounty, HSH, #HumanCenteredDesign, SystemicChange, RadicalHope, ServiceReform, DataOwnership, CommunityEngagementComment

Personal Data Rights and Systemic Change: Building Coordinated Care for Our Unhoused Neighbors - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Personal Data Rights and Systemic Change: Building Coordinated Care for Our Unhoused Neighbors - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Exploring how personal data ownership and coordinated care systems can transform homelessness services in LA, especially as the city prepares for 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

personal data rights, homelessness services, coordinated care systems, LA Olympics 2028, World Cup 2026, systemic change, homeless industrial complex, federal policy changes, community organizing

Personal Data Rights, Coordinated CarePaul AsplundSeptember 22, 2025personal data rights homelessness, coordinated care systems LA, Olympics 2028 homeless impact, systemic change homelessness services, federal policy homeless community, homelessness, data rights, systemic change, LA Olympics, community organizing, federal policy, coordinated care, social justice, housing rights, nonprofit managementComment

Giving Ourselves Grace - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Giving Ourselves Grace - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Learn how to practice sustainable self-care in service work. From trauma-informed to healing-centered approaches - you can't give what you haven't got.

Letters to the Housed, CommunityPaul AsplundSeptember 12, 2025#RadicalHope, RadicalHospitality, Love, CompassionFatigue, Forgiveness, MoralStress, TraumaInformed, HealingCentered, GraceComment

What We Could Achieve With The Money We’re Wasting On Occupying Our Cities - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

What We Could Achieve With The Money We’re Wasting On Occupying Our Cities - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Military occupation costs $1.6M daily while housing all of Chicago's unhoused neighbors costs $383K. Discover the shocking math behind America's misplaced priorities and proven housing solutions.

Paul AsplundSeptember 7, 2025Comment

Hope Series Part 3: Radical Hope - Tools for Working in the Margins from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

Hope Series Part 3: Radical Hope - Tools for Working in the Margins from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

"Radical hope is hope that exists even when we are experiencing the destruction of our culture," writes Jonathan Lear. In times of authoritarianism, violence, and despair, how do we nurture hope? Through a deeply personal story of addiction recovery, spiritual awakening, and 30 years of practice, discover the prayers and tools that sustain radical hope when the world feels broken.

Homelessness, Inspirational, Radical HopePaul AsplundAugust 31, 2025#RadicalHope, #SpiritualJourney, #FaithInDarkTimes, #DailyPrayers, #SpiritualPractice, #HopeAndResilience, #SpiritualTransformation, #PrayerLife, #FaithAndRecovery, #SpiritualAwakeningComment

From Wrestling to Surrender: What Happens When We Stop Fighting the Call to Serve - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

From Wrestling to Surrender: What Happens When We Stop Fighting the Call to Serve - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

Discover what happens when we stop fighting the call to serve others. From San Francisco's streets to spiritual transformation, learn how sustained engagement with homelessness reveals profound truths about dignity, community, and our own healing.

Practicing Hope: Torn Between Comfort and Calling- Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Practicing Hope: Torn Between Comfort and Calling- Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Paul AsplundAugust 15, 2025Comment

The Grammar of Hope: What Sustains Us When the World Feels Broken - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

The Grammar of Hope: What Sustains Us When the World Feels Broken - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Why Do You Continue to Work to End Homelessness? The question came at the end of a recent Hollywood Forward meeting, one of those moments when the leader asks each person to share what drives them. Around the circle, people offered thoughtful responses: compassion, justice, personal mission. When my turn came, my answer was simply: "Hope."

Paul AsplundAugust 9, 2025Comment

Español