Heinz Endowments to Make Fewer, Bigger Grants as Focus Narrows
The foundation will concentrate its grant-making on learning, creativity, and improving environmental sustainability in its home city, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
3rd Generation of Walton Family Makes Sharp Turn in Giving
The grandchildren of Walmart’s founder are taking a deeper interest in the specifics of their philanthropy than their parents did — and they have some new approaches in mind for the environment, education, and other causes.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
After Hits and Misses, Waltons Shift Strategy on Their Home Turf
The Bentonville, Ark., area boomed after the family helped remake the town, but a $52 million effort in some of the poorest regions of the Ozarks was less successful.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Walton Fund Uses Market Incentives to Encourage Better Farming Practices
The family foundation plans to spend $455 million to maintain adequate levels of clean water in the Mississippi and Colorado river basins, prevent overfishing in the oceans, and restore damage done to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Philanthropy Needs More Reporters Like Those in ‘Spotlight’
Foundations and rich donors could do much to bolster investigative journalism that uncovers abuses like those The Boston Globe found in the Catholic Church, as portrayed in the Oscar-winning film.
By Pablo Eisenberg
Contributor
Other awards include a total of nearly $11.5 million from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to eight organizations working to make lung- and skin-cancer screening programs, care, and patient support more accessible to underserved populations.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Gateses Make Media Rounds to Promote Latest Causes
In connection with the release of their latest annual letter on philanthropy, Bill and Melinda Gates talked up their top priorities for 2016 in interviews with Wired, The New York Times, and other outlets.
Donor’s Demands Spark Controversy at U. of California Campus
The University of California, Irvine, is weighing turning down $3 million from a Hindu foundation amid faculty and student protests over the level of control the group seeks over the professorships it supports, writes the Orange County Register.
Overcoming the Power Dynamic Between Grant Maker and Grantee
An association of small foundations shares grant makers’ views on how to build authentic relationships with grantees despite the imbalance of power that exists between those who give away money and those who rely on philanthropic gifts.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Grant Makers Applaud Transparency, but Most Don’t Practice It, Study Says
A shortage of staff time and other resources are cited as barriers to greater openness, according to a new survey of foundation leaders.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Clean Energy and Women’s Equality Top List of Concerns of Bill and Melinda Gates
In their annual letter, the couple doesn’t announce any changes to their grant making but sets their sights squarely on the best ways to aid the developing world.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Backlash to Planned Parenthood Study Forces Tex. Official to Resign
The Susan T. Buffet Foundation, which supports Planned Parenthood, funded the study, which was conducted in part by a state health official on taxpayer time, the Associated Press reports.
9 Ways Foundations Can Help Men and Boys of Color
Two foundation leaders offer a roadmap for philanthropies working to improve opportunities for African-Americans and heal racial divides.
By Robert K. Ross and ROBERT ROSS
Nonprofit Leaders Get Free Management Training at Northwestern U.
The Allstate Foundation-funded course offers nonprofit professionals in-person instruction, executive coaching, and $5,000 for additional learning opportunities.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
MacArthur Honors Chicago Arts Groups for Creativity and Effectiveness
The grant maker aims to bolster hometown nonprofits with its awards for “creative and effective” organizations.
By Timothy Sandoval
Contributor
Grant Makers Seek a More Web-Savvy Nonprofit World
Members of NetGain, a partnership aimed at making the Internet work for social justice, have given more than $18 million to the cause in the past year.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor