September 27, 2023 This Couple Just Won One of Conservative Philanthropy’s Top Prizes. What Are They Into? September 27, 2023/ Philip Rojc A passion for private education and entrepreneurship drives the giving of Laura and Jeff Sandefer, who won the 2023 Simon-DeVos Prize for Philanthropic Leadership. Here’s a look at what they back and what they’ve founded.Read More
August 03, 2023 Still an Apex Donor? What's Changing, and Staying the Same, About Jack Dorsey's Giving August 03, 2023/ Philip Rojc Jack Dorsey’s star has faded somewhat since he became a high-profile megadonor back in 2021, but his philanthropy is still going strong. We take a look at what Start Small is backing these days. Read More
July 20, 2023 Foundations Are Giving More and More Money to DAFs. Is That a Problem? July 20, 2023/ Philip Rojc New numbers show the foundation-to-DAF pipeline growing at a rapid rate. That raises a big question: Is the foundation payout requirement now essentially meaningless? It’s a debate that cuts to the core of the sector.Read More
July 13, 2023 Fair-Weather Friends? Progressive Nonprofits' Dangerous Dependence on the Liberal Rich July 13, 2023/ Philip Rojc As left-of-center groups grow ever more reliant on big funders, is there a price to be paid? If and when the liberal donor class pulls back, the fallout may leave its beneficiaries impoverished in multiple ways.Read More
June 29, 2023 Why Philanthropy’s a Bigger Deal Than You Might Think June 29, 2023/ Philip Rojc Charitable giving is often cast as a relatively tiny component of funding for social goods and services. But when you compare the latest numbers to discretionary government spending, it’s actually not that far behind. Read More
June 14, 2023 Taking the Reins, Alex Soros Inherits Substantial Power, Unanswered Questions at OSF June 14, 2023/ Philip Rojc Having succeeded his famous father as chair of Open Society Foundations, Alexander Soros has big shoes to fill, and major challenges to tackle. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about how he’ll handle it.Read More
June 08, 2023 Philanthropy Does a Lot of Navel-Gazing. Is That Accomplishing Anything? June 08, 2023/ Philip Rojc The philanthropy sector is often self-obsessed about the work it’s doing and how it might be perceived, lost in minutiae as the outside public looks on mostly in confusion. Is this doing more harm than good?Read More
June 01, 2023 Can Philanthropy Ever Truly Be Democratized? Here Are Three Things Standing in the Way June 01, 2023/ Philip Rojc There’s been a lot of talk, and some action, around making the sector more egalitarian. But are we all kidding ourselves? Here are some inconvenient truths standing in the way of philanthropic democratization.Read More
May 25, 2023 Freedom Dreaming: A New Collaborative Invites Philanthropy to Reimagine Itself May 25, 2023/ Philip Rojc Philanthropy likes to think of itself as a space for big ideas, but so often falls short of that ideal. A new collaborative is challenging the sector to reimagine its role in the pursuit of collective liberation.Read More
May 23, 2023 Major Philanthropy Sector Groups Are Dragging Their Feet or Outright Opposing DAF Reform. Why Is That? May 23, 2023/ Philip Rojc Donor-advised funds undermine philanthropy’s regulatory framework, and Americans are increasingly unhappy about it. We went looking for some clarity on trade groups’ stances around closing this huge loophole.Read More
May 11, 2023 The End of Philanthropic History and that Pluralism Op-Ed May 11, 2023/ Philip Rojc Foundation leaders recently published a controversial op-ed calling for “philanthropic pluralism.” It’s all too reminiscent of a similarly derided argument holding up the American system as the accepted status quo.Read More
May 04, 2023 In Defense of Perpetuity, Part Two May 04, 2023/ Philip Rojc Last month, IP’s Philip Rojc made the case that there will always be a place for foundations that never spend down, and it sparked some lively debate! We return to the scene of the crime to hit a few more points about perpetuity.Read More
April 27, 2023 Will Phil Knight's Big Hyper-Local Racial Equity Commitment Live Up to the Hype? April 27, 2023/ Philip Rojc The Nike co-founder recently committed $400 million to support the Black community in Portland, Oregon. It’s a big leap from his mostly university-focused philanthropic track record. Is he up to the task? Read More
April 13, 2023 What's Really in a Name? Ken Griffin's Latest $300 Million Joins a Crowded Landscape of Branded Gifts April 13, 2023/ Philip Rojc The billionaire’s mega-gift to Harvard isn’t his first such commitment, and it’s one of an endless array of higher ed naming gifts. The practice may be ubiquitous, but that’s all the more reason it should be questioned.Read More
April 06, 2023 In Defense of the Forever Foundation: Why Perpetuity Will Always Have a Place in Philanthropy April 06, 2023/ Philip Rojc With mega donors like MacKenzie Scott putting the power of time-limited spending on full display, it may seem like perpetuity is going out of style. But there are still some good reasons to play the long game.Read More
March 30, 2023 Jeff Yass Is One of America's Biggest Political Donors. What Does His Philanthropy Look Like? March 30, 2023/ Philip Rojc With a fortune of $28.5 billion, the Wall Street winner has deep libertarian beliefs that form the basis for his vast political giving and more modest philanthropic record — which does come with some interesting twists.Read More
March 22, 2023 MacKenzie Scott's Open Call Is Live. Here's What You Need to Know March 22, 2023/ Philip Rojc Yield Giving teased an open call for applications last year, and now it’s here. Scott’s giving away 250 gifts of $1 million apiece, offering community organizations in the U.S. a chance to “nominate themselves.” Read More
March 15, 2023 Roku Founder Anthony Wood Is a Billionaire Donor to Watch. Here's an Overview March 15, 2023/ Philip Rojc Serial entrepreneur Anthony Wood helped usher in the current dominance of streaming TV. Now, he’s also ramping up his philanthropy with a DAF-centric approach and interests across a range of causes.Read More
March 09, 2023 In a World Beset by Conflict, Could Better Ways to Measure Peace Change the Funding Equation? March 09, 2023/ Philip Rojc Despite the need for peacebuilding dollars, U.S. philanthropies’ support for that work suffers from a lack of viable metrics. Search for Common Ground is tackling a complex task: how to better measure peace.Read More
March 02, 2023 What a Big Gift to the Heritage Foundation Says About the State of Conservative Philanthropy March 02, 2023/ Philip Rojc The Diana Davis Spencer Foundation recently committed $25 million to the Heritage Foundation, not surprising giving its longtime support. But the gift also reflects tensions in conservative giving.Read More