Billions Pledged for Racial Equity Giving Not Necessarily Adding Up to Systemic Change
Figuring out how best to deploy money was a struggle for some grant makers, who are now trying to look at what approaches worked best.
By Glenn Gamboa
Associated Press
How Black Voters Matter Uses Its Influx of Dollars to Build Political Power
A year after the police killing of George Floyd and amid a barrage of restrictive voting laws being passed by state legislatures, the group is using millions of dollars in contributions to increase voter participation in the South and beyond.
By Haleluya Hadero
Associated Press
$10 Million Gift to Boost Economic Opportunities for Chicagoans Harmed by Discrimination
Plus, investor Fred Alger gives Mich. war memorial million for a new cultural center.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Nonprofit Powers Creation of Low-Cost Covid Vaccine
The nonprofit group PATH is using its connections with international government agencies, vaccine manufacturers, and scientists to create a coronavirus vaccine that can be manufactured in lower-income countries.
By Emily Haynes
Senior Editor, Nonprofit Intelligence
Q&A With the Lilly School’s New Environmental Philanthropy Scholar
Ashley Enrici recently joined the faculty of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in a new role dedicated to examining issues at the intersection of the environment and philanthropy.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Richard King Mellon Foundation Awards $150 Million to Carnegie Mellon U.
Also, Cisco has committed $50 million to offer scholarships to students at historically Black colleges and universities, and the Annenberg Foundation has given a challenge grant of $25 million to protect wild cougars in Los Angeles.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Philanthropy Is Missing a Major Piece of the Abortion Puzzle
As we prepare for a world without Roe v. Wade, philanthropy needs to radically shift its funding strategy from a decades-long focus on reproductive rights to a much greater emphasis abortion care and logistics.
By Yamani Hernandez
Contributor
Companies Should Make Their Philanthropy More Racially Equitable. Here’s How.
Companies can improve outreach to underrepresented youths, offer paid internships, broaden the definition of impact, and publicly compare their diversity data with their goals.
By Brandolon Barnett
Contributor
Children’s Hospital Receives $25 Million, and Dartmouth Lands $20 Million for DEI in STEM Fields
Plus, the University of California at San Diego Health and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum both received large gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Providing Clothing to Families Facing Poverty Should Be More Than a Funding Accessory
Those of us in the business of offering free clothes to struggling families receive almost no help from grant makers. But ensuring children have shoes, underwear, and apparel that fits is a basic need worthy of philanthropic support.
By Deborah Blatt
Contributor
New Asian American Foundation Aims to Shift Narratives, Curb Hate Crimes, and Promote Change
Sonal Shah, president of the new organization, says that for too long Asian Americans have been made to feel like outsiders in their own country. With $1 billion in cash or pledges and counting, the group hopes to change that.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Synchrony Pledges $50 Million to Expand Access to Education and Skills Training
Also, the Ballmer Group awards $38 million to train more behavioral-health specialists in Washington State, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has made its first round of grants toward its $500 million commitment to organizations led by people of color.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Foundations, the Solution to Our Democracy Deficit Lies in Plain Sight
Conservative grant makers have done an outstanding job of training their leaders. Now progressive funds need to do the same — and put the focus on what activists of all generations need most.
By Deepak Bhargava and Gara LaMarche
Bill and Melinda Gates: Philanthropy Caught in the Crosshairs of Society’s Obsession With Celebrity
When does an extremely normal event become global headline news, and when does a “historic achievement for humanity” fail to create much of a ripple in the news cycle? When the key players in both stories are high-profile philanthropists.
By Beth Breeze and Genevieve G. Shaker
UCSF Lands $60 Million From Pritzkers for Mental-Health Programs
Plus, Dana-Farber received $50 million to support pancreatic-cancer research efforts focused on early detection of the disease.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Fighting Falsehoods Must Be at the Center of All That Nonprofits and Foundations Do
As lies and disinformation increasingly threaten the work of nonprofits, they should incorporate tools that will help dismantle falsehoods and replace them with accurate and more emotionally compelling narratives.