How a Donor’s Embrace of a Neglected Idea Allowed This Nonprofit to Thrive
In an unusual move, the Ford Foundation helped a grantee build an investment portfolio. Two results: better fundraising and a $20 million MacKenzie Scott donation.
By Monica Aleman and Ndana Bofu-Tawamba
Foundation Giving May Rise Slightly in 2023 as Assets Overcome Recent Slump
Grant makers’ assets are estimated to have increased almost 8 percent during the first half of 2023 as global stock markets recovered from a tough 2022, according to a new report.
By Yesica Balderrama
Contributor
Philanthropy Must Stop Ignoring the World’s Hardest Hit Climate Victims
Donors who are serious about addressing the climate crisis need to pay attention to places like Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp and other nearly invisible communities across the globe.
By Tamar Kosky Lazarus
Contributor
Arkansas Children’s Northwest Receives $25 Million for Endowment and Expansion
Also, the T. Boone Pickens Foundation has given $20 million to Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Wilmer Eye Institute, and the NBA Foundation awarded $13.5 million to 40 organizations to advance equity in historically marginalized communities.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
A Nonprofit’s Expensive Road to Inexpensive Birth Control
Medicines360 developed a low-cost hormonal IUD but encountered challenges from the tax code, FDA regulations, and Medicare and Medicaid programs. It also spent $82 million.
By Sono Motoyama
Contributor
Cancer Survivor Gives $25 Million to Build El Paso’s First Comprehensive Cancer Center
Plus, Pamela Wood Avedisian gave $20 million to American University of Armenia, MacKenzie Scott gave $12 million for affordable housing, and three other institutions landed multimillion-dollar gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
How Philanthropy Is Helping Cities Adapt to Extreme Heat
Foundations are supporting efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and to hire chief heat officers. Plus: See our August cover story on how nonprofits are confronting their own climate perils.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Wells Fargo Commits Up to $60 Million for Re-Entry Programs for Former Prisoners
Also, the Lustgarten Foundation gave $23 million for pancreatic-cancer research, and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation gave $1 million to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
In a Landmark Voting Case, Philanthropy and Nonprofits Were Crucial Players. Now We Need to Do More
Civil-rights and advocacy groups, powered by money from charitable donors, won a victory for Black voters, who are too often left out of decisions in Alabama and elsewhere. Now is a key moment to capitalize on that work to safeguard our democracy.
By Evan Milligan and Janai Nelson
Writer and Producer Seth MacFarlane Gave $1 Million to Help Hollywood Workers Survive Strike
Plus, actor Eliza Dushku Palandjian and her husband, Peter Palandjian, gave Brigham and Women’s Hospital $7.5 million for substance-abuse treatment, and MacKenzie Scott gave $10 million to a group that works to expand affordable housing.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Shubert Foundation Awards $37.9 Million in Unrestricted Grants to Performing-Arts Groups
Also, the Houston Endowment gave $15 million to four charities that aim to reduce homelessness, and the new Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument has received $3 million from the Mellon Foundation and Fund II Foundation.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Extreme Rhetoric on Policing Has Led Donors Down an Unproductive Path
Grant makers need to make sure the loudest voices in the room aren’t stopping them from investing in meaningful community-engagement efforts that bring police and residents together to develop just and effective approaches to public safety.
Opinion | Criticism of Open Society Foundations’ Layoffs Misses the Historical Context
Shifting its focus from operating programs to primarily giving grants means far less staff is needed to achieve group’s goals, says President Emeritus Aryeh Neier.
Larry Kramer to Leave Hewlett Fund to Head the London School of Economics
As leader of one of the nation’s wealthiest philanthropies, Kramer expanded grant making for climate change, cybersecurity, protecting democracy, and advancing racial equity. He’s also backed a major effort to rethink capitalism.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
In the New Green Economy, Philanthropy Must Take a Smarter Approach to Creating Good Jobs
As federal climate investments open up millions of new jobs, grant makers have a chance to rectify past mistakes and support efforts to create employment opportunities that truly help low-income workers build wealth and advance in their careers.
By Maureen Conway and Amy Brown
Ballmer Group Gives $24 Million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America for Los Angeles County Programs
Also, the Peterson Center on Healthcare creates a $50 million institute to improve health outcomes, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum received $25 million toward its capital campaign.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions