Josiah H. Brown

Practically Idealistic blog

The title for this blog originated with use of the term “practical idealist” in this 1996 opinion piece, which asked: “To what kind of work should a practical idealist aspire?” A century and a half earlier, Emerson, in his 1841 essay Circles, wrote: “There are degrees in idealism. We learn first to play with it academically. . . . Then we see in the heyday of youth and poetry that it may be true, that it is true in gleams and fragments. Then, its countenance waxes stern and grand, and we see that it must be true. It now shows itself ethical and practical.” John Dewey and Mahatma Gandhi embraced practical idealism in the 20th century, as did UN Secretary General U Thant. Al Gore invoked it in a 1998 speech. In the context of this blog, the term is meant to convey idealism tempered but not overwhelmed by realism: a search for the ideal on a path guided by common sense.

Archive

Older

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Federal, State, Local, and Private Funding for Nonprofits

The Connecticut Mirror addressed effects of federal funding cuts, incuding reduction of the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).

On behalf of Connecticut CASA, I was among the nonprofit representatives cited in the article--a couple of months after a related opinion piece.

In addition to VOCA, our organization is pursuing State funding, as three videos on Connecticut CASA's YouTube channel indicate.

That channel more recently includes video testimony of CASA volunteer Nick Ramirez and me at a City of New Haven meeting regarding federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, which we are also pursuing as a potential re-grant from the City.

Finally, the annual Great Give has concluded--an occasion for private funding. Connecticut CASA is grateful to all who contribute, year-round, including those who donated through this event to help our organization raise some $42,105 from 114 donors.

For the Great Give, Paul Bass of the New Haven Independent interviewed a colleague and me--the latest video on Connecticut CASA's YouTube channel. Subscribe here.

2:20 pm edt

Archive

Older

info@josiahbrown.org