MacKenzie Scott’s Investment in the Global Queer and Transgender Movement Is a Game Changer
For years LGBTIQ groups have received scraps from philanthropy despite continuing mistreatment and a growing backlash against the community worldwide. Scott’s generous support for groups like ours shows why giving more is critical.
By Katie Hultquist
Contributor
Persistent Myths About Disaster Giving Continue to Create Major Funding Shortfalls
Philanthropy stepped up in a big way to address the pandemic, but its support for relief and recovery efforts following other climate-driven and humanitarian disasters remains stunningly low. Grant makers need to break out of old patterns that stand in the way of increased giving.
By Regine A. Webster
Contributor
26-Year-Old’s $70 Million Donation Puts Him on the List of Top Donors of 2021
Austin Russell, the founder of Luminar Technologies, determined that per capita philanthropic giving in Orlando lagged other cities.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Why a Young Billionaire Who Led Trip to Space Gave $125 Million to Children’s Hospital
When Jared Isaacman led the first all-civilian trip to space, he and his wife, Monica, donated $125 million to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital — and encouraged others to give as well.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
How a Truckdriver-Turned Harvard MBA Came to Give $101 Million for Nursing Education in Mont.
Mark and Robyn Jones believe their donation to Montana State University will have a bigger impact than if they had made a similar gift to Harvard Business School, where Mark earned an MBA.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Our Annual Philanthropy 50: Top Donors Returned to Pre-Pandemic Causes in 2021
Despite the continuing Covid threat and racial-justice problems, the nation’s wealthiest donors have largely returned to old standbys — handing out big sums to universities, medicine, and their own foundations. But there are exceptions and some interesting new faces.
By Maria Di Mento and Ben Gose
MacKenzie Scott Gives $133.5 Million to Communities in Schools to Aid Underserved Students
Plus, Memorial Sloan Kettering, three universities, a private school in Palm Beach, and a medical center in Bellingham, Wash., landed major gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Legislation Intended to Speed Up Giving Gets a Boost in Congress
Republicans and Democrats in the House introduced a measure that would affect donor-advised funds and foundations. It resembles a proposal in the Senate.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Community Funds Urged to Set Annual Distribution Rate
The Council on Foundations, which represents many community funds, said the minimum annual distribution should be the same as for private foundations, at least 5 percent of assets.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Few Donor-Advised Fund Grants Are Anonymous, Controversial Study Says
However, one expert and advocate for new regulations on donor-advised funds said the study has serious methodological flaws that casts doubt on its findings.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Education and Climate Donors Should Join Forces to Develop Green Schools, Expand Climate Instruction
Addressing the accelerating climate crisis must include the creation of environmentally friendly schools and curricula that educate young people about the perils of climate change — and the role they can play in fighting it.
By Jonathan Klein, Jennifer Moses and Sara Ross
Druckenmillers Give $100 Million to Memorial Sloan Kettering
Plus, the Music School of Delaware lands $10 million, and several universities receive large sums for scholarships, agriculture, and nursing.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
To Help Nonprofits as Omicron Surges, Foundations Should Maintain and Expand New Giving Approaches
Nonprofit leaders and staffs are exhausted from two years of continuing crises. Philanthropies need to respond by doubling down on the more equitable and less burdensome grant-making practices put in place early in the pandemic.
By Ellie Buteau and Phil Buchanan
The Road to a Thriving Democracy Runs Through Our Nation’s Schools
The head of a civics-education nonprofit hails a recent opinion piece on how to build up democracy but says it left out an important point: the need to invest in democracy education in schools.
Foundations That Fund Medical Research Should Require a Diverse Pool of Study Participants
For too long, most data for health studies has come from white people or those of predominantly European ancestry. Philanthropy can play an important role in ensuring that people of color are represented in studies that guide treatments for diseases like Covid-19.
The Metaverse Is Coming, and Philanthropy Needs to Be Prepared
By intervening early in the development of the metaverse, philanthropy can head off the problems that plague Facebook and help build virtual worlds where democratic values flourish and problems are solved with empathy and understanding.
By Hollie Russon Gilman and Ari Wallach