A $350 Million Pledge Aims to Build Economic Development in Detroit
Plus, Georgetown University receives $100 million from Frank McCourt Jr. to diversify the public-policy field, and a medical school receives $2 million to improve health care for the homeless.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
The Bezos Earth Fund Needs to Stop Shortchanging Environmental-Justice Nonprofits
The $10 billion fund should lead the way toward increased giving to groups working in communities hit hardest by climate change — rather than giving more to large, well-resourced environmental policy organizations.
By Peggy Shepard
Contributor
$300 Million Health Gift; $85 Million to Okla. Community Foundation
Plus, two medical centers, a global development charity, and a university all landed big gifts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Conservatives Should Applaud — Not Fight — Efforts to Change Philanthropic Giving Rules
Rather than attacking proposals to overhaul donor-advised funds and other giving practices, conservative groups need to focus on the real culprit — the growing use of donor dollars to support political activities.
By Craig Kennedy and William Schambra
The Pandemic Response Shows Why Charities, Not Governments, Are the Best Option for Those in Need
Calls for more government help fail to recognize who is actually doing the hard work during this time of extreme crisis — the local groups that know their communities best and can respond quickly.
By Megan Rose
Contributor
Companies Committed Two-Thirds of Total Giving Earmarked for Racial Equity
Companies donated or pledged about $8.2 billion of the $12 billion in total contributions that were earmarked for racial equity since the police killing of George Floyd.
By Haleluya Hadero
Associated Press
Billionaire Casino Magnate Steve Wynn and Wife Give $50 Million to Upstate N.Y. Hospital
Plus, Cornell, DePaul, the University of Missouri, and New York Public Library received gifts of more than $10 million.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
$10 Billion Bezos Earth Fund’s New CEO Expected to Provide Strategy and Transparency
Andrew Steer, who leads the environmental think tank World Resources Institute, says the Bezos fund plans to give all its money away in a decade.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Attacking Traditional Philanthropy Is Wrongheaded and Out of Sync With Most Americans’ Giving
Systemic social and economic change is not and should not be the primary focus of philanthropic support. Expanding the reach of our nation’s great charitable institutions and supporting local causes is still the best way to help people achieve the American Dream.
By Howard Husock
Contributor
Technology Entrepreneur Nahum Guzik Gives $25 Million for Cultural Center
Plus, the ACLU lands $15 million for a project focused on LGBTQ and HIV issues, and three medical centers, a university, and a private day school also receive big donations.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
New Program Trains Athletes in Advocacy and Philanthropy
Players on the Indiana Fever WNBA team are the first group in the new program designed to train professional athletes in how to choose a cause they care about and inspire people to support it.
By Emily Haynes
Senior Editor, Nonprofit Intelligence
Pooled Journalism Funds Could Help Save Local Newspapers
As investment companies like Alden Global Capital continue to decimate newsrooms, philanthropic and civic leaders should come together to provide the consistent resources they need to survive and thrive.
By Julie Sandorf
Contributor
Nonprofits Welcome Billions in Pandemic Giving but Wonder if Support Will Last
Philanthropy’s response to Covid-19 in 2020 — $20.2 billion, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday — eclipsed giving to any other natural disasters in recent memory, and many grant makers dropped a wide range of restrictions they typically impose on their grantees.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
How Our Foundation Is Helping Small Businesses Make It Through the Pandemic
Providing no-strings-attached funding to neighborhood businesses will save jobs, bolster the local economy, and offer hope to struggling entrepreneurs. Now we need more grant makers to take on this task.
By Jane Wurwand
Contributor
Our Nation Cannot Heal Without First Acknowledging Who Made Us Sick
Too many of our ultrarich citizens and philanthropists have enabled, abetted, or turned a blind eye to extremism.