How 2 Tennis Pals Helped Save Detroit, and Other Untold Stories
A new book by USA Today’s Nathan Bomey adds to the account of how foundations put up hundreds of millions to pull the city from bankruptcy.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
Grants Roundup: Fundraising Firm Gives $1 Million for Research on Philanthropy
Other notable awards include $25 million from the Resnick Foundation for public-health programs.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
5 Issues Foundations Must Confront to Stay Relevant
As criticism of philanthropy mounts, grant makers must rethink how to spend their endowments and work with grantees — and with one another.
By Phil Buchanan
Contributor
A Big Bet for Change in America’s Heartland
How David Gundlach’s $150 million bequest could transform Elkhart, Ind. — if the county’s community foundation gets it right.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
Limits on the Life Spans of Foundation Endowments Make No Sense
Just as individuals need checking and savings accounts, philanthropy’s ability to solve global problems depends on short-term and long term spending, Silicon Valley Community Foundation head Emmett Carson writes.
By Emmett D. Carson
Contributor
Howard Buffett Touts ‘Brown Revolution’ to Tackle Hunger
The Atlantic magazine profiles the billionaire farmer and philanthropist and his work to reduce global hunger and preserve vast swaths of African wilderness.
Why Grant Makers Should Be Open With Nonprofits
An association of philanthropists who work with few or no staff members shares two videos in which grant makers talk about the importance of open communication with nonprofits and explain why they seek out grantees’ expertise.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Grants Roundup: Walton Family Gives $10 Million to National Gallery of Art
Other notable awards include $15 million from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation for a competition to promote effective social programs.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
A New Website Serves Up 500 Years of Philanthropic History
The National Philanthropic Trust’s 20th-anniversary project is one of a spate of backward-looking enterprises by giving groups.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
How Foundations Can Help Big Cities — Just Like Detroit’s Grand Bargain
Pension troubles could hobble some of America’s biggest urban areas, so philanthropies should step up to use their assets to help.
By HOWARD HUSOCK
Contributor
Pittsburgh Foundation to Stop Matching Giving-Day Donations
The community foundation, which launched its hometown’s annual Day of Giving in 2009, said it could no longer sustain offering matching gifts for the online fundraising event “at a meaningful level,” reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Obituary: Andrew Swinney, Long Led Philadelphia Foundation
Andrew Swinney, who oversaw major growth at the Philadelphia Foundation while serving for 16 years as its president, died Sunday at age 67, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He had been ill for a year with ALS.
MacArthur and Chicago Community Trust Back New Fund to Spread Impact Investing
Working with the Calvert Foundation, the groups hope to attract $100 million for projects in Chicago.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
IRS Issues Rules Favorable to Foundations on Program-Related Investments
The new regulations are designed to encourage grant makers to make investments in areas such as education and the environment that can result in societal benefits and simultaneously generate income.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Opinion: How Buffett’s Giving Could Alter Berkshire’s Future
Warren Buffett’s annual donation of Berkshire Hathaway shares worth billions of dollars to charitable foundations could significantly change his iconic investment firm’s ownership structure and risks undermining its success, two business advisers write in the Harvard Business Review.
Judge OKs Deal Creating $265 Million Native American Trust
The federal discrimination settlement approved Wednesday will distribute more than $300 million to nonprofits serving Native American farmers and ranchers, most of it through a new philanthropy, The Washington Post reports.