Blue Cross Blue Shield Grants $55 Million to Lower Cost of Generic Drugs (Grants Roundup)
Also, the Kendeda Fund gives $10 million to raise awareness of the trauma experienced by native children adopted outside of their tribal communities, and the Nike Foundation donates $5 million to build an athletic facility at the Barack Obama Presidential Center.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Microsoft Pledges Additional $250 Million to Address Seattle Homelessness (Grants Roundup)
Also, the Lilly Endowment has given $55 million to bolster the financial health of 13 youth charities in Indianapolis, and the LEGO Foundation committed $24 million to bring play-based learning to five countries.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Grant Makers Push for More Trust in Relationships With Nonprofits
Less paperwork. Simplified ways of measuring impact. More general operating support. It’s all part of the Trust Based Philanthropy Project’s plan for changing the relationship between foundations and grantees.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Nancy Lindborg Will Lead $7.7 Billion Packard Foundation
Lindborg currently is president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonpartisan federal organization dedicated to preventing and resolving armed conflict globally.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Interest in Spend-Down Philanthropy Surges Among Wealthy Families
A report also found that education and health were the most popular causes among families with net wealth of at least $100 million.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Ascend Fund Aims to Elect More Women, With a Boost From Melinda Gates
The collaborative dedicated to helping women get elected to public office, called the Ascend Fund, announced it first grants to two organizations that recruit and train candidates.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Silicon Valley Community Fund Severance and Legal Costs Exceed $1.4 Million, Tax Forms Show
Public documents show the toll of a workplace scandal that led to the ouster of Emmett Carson, the foundation’s CEO, and its top fundraiser, Mari Ellen Loijens.
By MARC GUNTHER
Contributor
Why We Place Our Family Foundation Assets in Socially Responsible Investment Vehicles
Two philanthropists share their story to help others considering an investment strategy that is both profitable and beneficial to society.
By Isa Catto and Daniel Shaw
Data-Driven Program Evaluation Hurts Equity Efforts, Say Critics
Foundations should rethink the way they measure success if they want to achieve progress, say advocates for change.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Syracuse U. Gets $75 Million From the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation
Also, the Center at Sierra Health Foundation is accepting applications for $20 million in grants to help young people battling addiction in California.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Calif. Bill Would Require Greater Disclosure of Donor-Advised-Fund Activity
The legislation could create momentum for national efforts to boost the transparency of donor-advised funds.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Sharon Alpert Set to Leave Nathan Cummings Foundation
Alpert led the grant maker’s move to invest all of its assets in companies that promise a social or environmental benefit in addition to shareholder returns. She will step down by the end of the month.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
City Year Receives $13 Million for 8th-Grade Graduation Program (Grants Roundup)
Also, Habitat for Humanity will use $11 million to deliver occupational-therapy services at home, and $10 million from the Ford Foundation will provide free museum admission to Detroit middle-schoolers visiting the Henry Ford.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
The next downturn — whenever it comes — will likely be different from those in the past.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Grant makers face an uphill battle to get companies to care about more than financial returns.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Philanthropy Must Stop Fiddling While the World Burns
Climate change poses unprecedented pressures and burdens on philanthropy, says Larry Kramer, who leads the Hewlett Foundation. The stresses will grow exponentially in the coming years, ravaging the lives of generations unless we act to mitigate climate change now.
By Larry Kramer
Contributor