Daily News Roundup: Universities Get $80 Million and $30 Million Gifts
An $80 million gift to Western State Colorado University came from alumnus Paul Rady. Also, a $30 million donation to Michigan State will go toward constructing a building at the business school; a group of Catholic business leaders sent the Vatican a letter saying they were putting their tithe into an escrow account for now due to the sex-abuse scandals; two House Republicans are investigating three top U.S. environmental groups to see if they’ve acted as agents of foreign government; and much more.
Daily News Roundup: Levi’s CEO Urges Businesses to Take Action on Gun Violence
The company has created a fund to support nonprofit efforts and is doubling its match for employee gifts to anti-violence groups, among other efforts. Plus, read how the University of Michigan will use a $10 million gift to create a foreign-policy center on campus; and how Sylvia Acevedo went from a poor childhood to being a rocket scientist to leading the Girl Scouts; and how the IRS’s new guidance on easing deduction limits for some business owners will affect charitable giving; and more.
3 Donors Back Effort to Keep Generic Drug Prices Low
The $30 million in cash and loans will help support a nonprofit that aims to keep prices affordable for certain widely used drugs.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Philanthropy’s Leadership Is Essential in the Push for Faster Climate-Change Solutions
As a major global gathering of activists is set to open in San Francisco next week, we must press for swift action, because when it comes to climate change, going slowly is the same as failing.
By CHRIS DECARDY
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: U. of Louisville Faces Inquiry Into Big Payments to Former Officials
The university foundation spent almost $4 million in excessive pay to the ousted president and others. In other articles, a court case showed how a Missouri college improperly diverted funds from its endowment; a Pennsylvania inquiry into sex abuse among Catholic clergy may set a precedent; and much more about giving and nonprofit innovation.
Grants Roundup: Wells Fargo Pledges $20 Million for Affordable Housing in N.C.
Also, the H.D. Smith Foundation gives $20 million for the football program at the University of Illinois, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution receives $1 million to buy an acoustic telescope for underwater sounds.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Daily News Roundup: Trump Charity Says Attorney General Lawsuit Is Political
The attack is in response to a lawsuit accusing the organization and Trump family members of violating campaign-finance laws and self-dealing, among other things. In other articles, a look at why nurses at Dignity Health are opposing a merger with Catholic Health Initiatives; how a nonprofit that pays bail is changing lives in places like Tulsa, Okla., and St. Louis; Brad Pitt’s nonprofit faces a potential lawsuit stemming from alleged mold contamination and structural flaws; and much more.
She owns 10.3 million shares in SVMK, the parent company of SurveyMonkey, which she plans to give to her charitable foundation when company goes public. In other articles, the Trump administration will no longer support the U.N agency that assists Palestinian refugees; a $20 million gift to the University of Illinois will include $15 million for a football performance center; Facebook will turn a warehouse in Menlo Park, Calif., into a Community Hub to support nonprofits; plus much more.
Daily News Roundup: Gates Foundation Changes Approach to Public-School Education
It wants to create networks of schools that will solve problems with the help of experts and then share what works. In other articles, President Trump has privately urged evangelical leaders to help Republicans win in the midterm elections; a $50 million gift will go to research at St. Louis University; and more about nonprofits and sex abuse, nonprofit finances, and the arts.
Grants Roundup: Foxconn Commits $100 Million for Engineering Research
Also, Emory University collects $25 million for Alzheimer’s research, and L.L. Bean gives $3 million to sponsor the National Park Foundation’s Find Your Park campaign.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Successes of Calif.’s Grass-Roots Activists Offer Lessons for All Grant Makers
A new book, State of Resistance, is must reading for foundations that want to understand what to do now to influence what’s next across the United States.
By Cathy Cha, Robert K. Ross, Haas Fund and Robert Ross
Daily News Roundup: $100 Million Gift Will Start Research Facility at U. of Wisconsin-Madison
The donation, from Foxconn, will require matching funds of $100 million to establish the research facility at the College of Engineering. In other articles, Y Combinator will contribute $60 million to study universal basic income; J.J. Watt’s foundation offers details where the $42 million it has raised for Hurricane Harvey relief is going; the founder of Craigslist has given $1 million in unrestricted money to Mother Jones; and more about news and nonprofit innovation and foundations.
Daily News Roundup: Zuckerberg and Moskovitz Are Spending Big on Midterm Issues
The Facebook co-founders are spending millions to get people to vote on housing and criminal-justice overhaul. Other articles include profiles two philanthropists: Ken Langone, founder of Home Depot, and Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani yogurt; a report on how money raised for Hurricane Harvey relief was spent; an opinion piece about Anand Giridharadas’s new book Winner Take All and an interview with the author. Plus, much more about nonprofit news and about the arts.
Daily News Roundup: $50 Million Gift Goes Toward Vision Research
In other articles, the United Way’s CEO talks about how the group is modernizing its fundraising strategy; a Georgia State University donor’s gift may have inflated the stock price; Starbucks employees will be allowed to divide their time between work and volunteering; the CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies, who had been in paid leave, has resigned; a Harvard professor makes an argument for public-interest tech courses at universities. Plus, news and opinion on the arts and culture.
Daily News Roundup: Trump Ex-Lawyer Cohen Subpoenaed in Trump Foundation Inquiry
He could give N.Y. State investigators information as they look into whether Trump or his nonprofit did anything illegal. A British tycoon killed in a seaplane crash with his family left Oxfam $53 million due to a “common tragedy clause” in his will; a Wisc. financial adviser is accused of mishandling $3 million; half of the directors and officers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s charitable foundation have connections to businesses that get money from ICE or its foundation; and more.
Podcast: Craigslist Founder’s Giving to Democracy and Journalism
Craig Newmark says once he’d amassed a fortune, he knew it was “time to start giving it away.” His philanthropy has focused on voter protection, women in technology, and other causes.