Crisis Charitable Commitment Pledges Climb to Nearly $300 Million

By Dan Parks
Contributor

October 6, 2020 | Read Time: 1 minute

An effort to encourage wealthy individuals, donor-advised-fund account holders, and foundations to give more immediately has generated nearly $289 million in pledges, the leader of the effort announced Tuesday.

The Crisis Charitable Commitment, begun in July by Alan Davis, a businessman and president of the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund, also released the names of the signatories so far.

Grant-maker participants include Wallace Global Fund, Libra Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, and Innovo Foundation. Donor-advised fund account holders include Jennifer and David Risher, Liesel and Ian Simmons , and Stephen Prince. Individual signatories include computer scientist Barbara Simons and peace activist Cynda Collins Arsenault.

The announcement comes as calls are heating up for Congress to spur more giving by foundations and from donor-advised-fund accounts, including a proposal recently advanced by billionaire philanthropist John Arnold and Boston College law professor Ray Madoff.

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About the Author

Dan Parks

Contributor

Dan joined the Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2014. He previously was managing editor of Bloomberg Government in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a reporter and editor at Congressional Quarterly and as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He has undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.