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How to Submit an Opinion Piece

The Chronicle’s Opinion section is designed to spark robust debate about all aspects of the nonprofit world. We welcome submissions that provide new insights and promote innovative thinking about leadership, fundraising, grant-making policy, and more.

We welcome submissions from people within and outside of the nonprofit world, and we especially appreciate articles about timely topics. Most of the pieces we publish are about 1,000 to 1,200 words, but we are willing to review articles that are somewhat longer.

See more detailed guidelines.

A few tips to improve your chances of getting the piece accepted:

  • Provide backup to show that your article is based on solid facts, including relevant links to research or other articles that support your argument.
  • Avoid using the op-ed primarily to promote your organization. If the piece focuses on lessons your organization has learned from a program or strategy, also include examples or research from other groups to back up your points and broaden the op-ed’s appeal to a cross section of readers.
  • Avoid jargon that may be part of everyday conversation in your field but could be unfamiliar or confusing to a larger audience.
  • Phrase your arguments as provocatively as you can. Our goal is to encourage lively discussion and question conventional wisdom, as appropriate.

You may submit a finished article or make a pitch by email first.

If you are submitting an article, please do so by email, either with an attached Word document or in the body of the email. Include a short pitch explaining its key points. All submissions must be exclusive to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. We will let you know, typically within a week, if we will run your piece. Please send your submission to opinions@philanthropy.com.

All pieces accepted will be edited, and authors will have a chance to review the changes before they appear on our website. Select articles published online also appear in our monthly print edition.

We also welcome letters to the editor. Send them to letters@philanthropy.com.