A Third of Foundations Increased Their Giving in 2020
Fueled by a strong stock market, private foundations reported an average 13.1 percent return on their investment assets and community foundations 12.1 percent, allowing many to maintain or increase their giving, according to a new survey.
By Michael Theis
Contributor
Philanthropic Support for Communities of Color Is More Robust Than the Data Suggest
Recent research purports to show that philanthropy has fallen well short of what’s needed to support communities of color. But the research itself falls short by focusing on grants to groups that combat systemic racism rather than those that address day-to-day hardships.
By Howard Husock
Contributor
Bill Gates’s Personal Values and Actions Are Relevant to His Philanthropic Work
The head of CharityWatch takes issue with a recent opinion piece saying the media shouldn’t focus on the billionaire’s “personal foibles.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies Commits Additional $31 Million to Partnership for Healthy Cities
Also, four foundations partnered to create a $5.7 million fund that will back grassroots organizations in Detroit, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has given $2.3 million to expand news coverage of health, race, equity, and poverty in the South.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Can the Gates Foundation Cede Power to Those It Seeks to Help?
Recent events, including the impending divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates, are an opportunity for the world’s wealthiest philanthropy not only to diversify its board but to let those it serves participate in the grant-making process.
By Meg Massey and Ben Wrobel
Also, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation gives almost $18 million to fight wildfires in Greece.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Critical Race Theory’s Growing Influence Shows Why Philanthropy Needs to Play the Long Game
An academic treatise first published 25 years ago has propelled a long-overdue reckoning with racial injustice in this country. Critical Race Theory’s journey offers lessons for grant makers on the importance of patience when it comes to changing social narratives.
By Gara LaMarche and Diane Wachtell
Ford and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations Put $7.5 Million Into Efforts to Give Tenants Clout
The funding takes a very different tack from most philanthropic work on housing. It seeks to build organizing power for those at risk of eviction rather than making low-cost loans, for instance.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Philanthropy Can Help Communities Weed Out Inequity in Automated Decision Making Tools
Foundations should work with governments and advocates to ensure new data technology advances social good — and protects people from harm.
By Chris Kingsley and Stephen Plank
Also, two foundations gave $20 million to expand internet access for households in the Cleveland area, and the Knight Foundation awarded $1.5 million to back Black and women entrepreneurs in Macon, Ga.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Philanthropy Can Help Rebuild Main Street for a Post-Pandemic World
The challenges facing downtown areas, especially in communities of color, were exacerbated by the pandemic but have existed for years. Local philanthropy is particularly well-suited to help them recover.
By Nancy Rauch Douzinas and Ann Golob
Foundations Are Undermining Social Equity Under the Guise of Accountability
Grant makers use conflict-of-interest policies to demonstrate they are being prudent with their dollars, but instead this approach allows them to keep an arm’s length from the very people most likely to advance meaningful change.
By Ruby Johnson, Rose Longhurst, Katy Love and Magda Pocheć
$30 Million Storytelling Fund Seeded by Ford, Skoll, and Compton Foundations
Also, three banks have made $30 million in grants to bolster inclusive real-estate development in Memphis, and the New Breath Foundation and the East Bay Community Foundation have jointly pledged $10 million to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Northern California.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
The Gateses’ Divorce Offers a Case Study in What’s Wrong With the Way Journalists Cover Philanthropy
The focus on personality obscures what matters: what Bill Gates is doing to transform global health and stave off climate change, writes a former Gates Foundation official.
By Craig Cramer
Contributor
MacArthur Grant Aims to Help People With Disabilities Find Work in Philanthropy
Fellows get training through an organization called RespectAbility as part of the organization’s push to make up for a void on foundations staffs: Less than 1 percent of people at foundations have a disability, according to a recent study.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
A new $50 million philanthropic effort aims to ensure all Americans have access to high-quality care for children and families. As the Biden administration seeks to expand federal support for caregiving, more grant makers should embrace this opportunity to change what care looks like in the United States.
By Carla Thompson Payton
Contributor