Gates and JPMorgan Back White House Outreach to ‘Unbanked’
The Obama administration announced a set of programs Tuesday to expand financial services to the millions of low-income people in America and around the world who lack access to credit, savings accounts, and other fiscal essentials, reports The New York Times.
Smithsonian Museum Launches Program on U.S. Philanthropy
Funded by the Gates Foundation and David M. Rubenstein, the Museum of American History’s “Giving in America” effort will collect, research, and display artifacts documenting the legacy of American philanthropy, the Associated Press writes.
Gates Scholarship Program Aims to Boost Minority Leadership
The successor to Millennium Scholars will distribute $417 million to provide tuition support for 3,000 undergraduate students.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Foundations Are Cautious on Impact Investing
The idea is catching fire on Wall Street, but few grant makers are making it a priority.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
College Endowments Are Flourishing Again — and Critics Are Taking Note
Some in Congress want more money to go to scholarships and less to private-equity managers. But nonprofits worry that restrictions could have a spillover effect on other groups.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Investment Returns: Time to Lower Expectations
The bull market of the past six years may have grant makers counting on 8 or 9 percent gains; longer-term trends suggest those expectations are unrealistic.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Silicon Valley Flexes Its Muscles — Again
The announcement by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, that they will dedicate nearly all of their Facebook stock to doing good marks another milestone in the rise of technology titans as major forces in philanthropy.
Opinion: Philanthropy Must Move Fast to Support Efforts to Curb Climate Change
Foundations play a key role in monitoring pledges by governments and in helping get people of disparate views to take action.
By Julia Stasch
Contributor
Gates Is Spearheading Multibillion-Dollar Clean-Energy Effort
As landmark U.N. climate talks get under way in Paris on Monday, Bill Gates is set to announce a global fund backed by governments and philanthropy to research and develop new clean-energy technologies, Greenwire and The New York Times report.
Lilly Fund Gives $100 Million to Indiana Arts Groups
The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment made grants of $5 million to $10 million aimed at boosting the long-term financial stability of 14 cultural organizations in its home state, reports The Indianapolis Star.
$75 Million Gift Builds Endowment for U. of Texas Hospital
The University of Texas Health Center in Houston will rename its medical school in recognition of the donation from the John P. McGovern Foundation to endow scholarships, faculty chairs, and research, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Post-‘Grand Bargain,’ Detroit Museum Tackles New Challenges
The Detroit Free Press looks at the state of the Detroit Institute of Arts and its effort to raise endowment funds a year after the city emerged from bankruptcy via an agreement in which the museum was a linchpin.
Gifts Roundup: New England Patriots Owner Gives Harvard $20 Million
Other gifts include $25 million for athletics at the University of Mississippi from Florida surgeon Gerald Hollingsworth, and $20 million for education from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Opinion: What’s Behind Top Donors’ ‘Aspiration Gap’?
In a Forbes blog post, two leaders of a philanthropy consulting firm analyze the contradiction between wealthy donors’ expressed wish to effect broad social change and the actual targets of their biggest gifts.
Cal State to Stop Using Private Money to Up Presidents’ Pay
Trustees of the California State University system, which has been dogged by controversies over campus leaders’ compensation, approved a plan Wednesday to end the use of foundation funds to buttress presidential salaries, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Harvard Gets $20 Million to Advance Personalized Medicine
The gift from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s family foundation to Harvard Business School will support research into personalized treatments that tailor care based on a patient’s lifestyle, genes, and other factors, The Boston Globe reports.