September 14, 2023 Tracking Green Regrantors: Who’s Funding in the Amazon, Brazil and Beyond? September 14, 2023/ Michael Kavate Billionaires and big foundations, often from abroad, may be the megafauna of Amazon philanthropy, but there’s also a growing array of regrantors, intermediaries and grantmaking nonprofits to note.Read More
September 13, 2023 Why This Major Antipoverty Funder Is Ramping Up Its Investment in HBCUs September 13, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen Against the backdrop of rising funder interest and a controversial Supreme Court decision, the big-donor funding collaborative Blue Meridian Partners is tripling its investment in the HBCU Transformation Project.Read More
September 11, 2023 Hands-On Help: The Other Side of MacKenzie Scott’s Recent Early Childhood Ramp-Up September 11, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen In her early childhood giving this year, MacKenzie Scott is pairing advocacy with direct service funding, including support for programs that provide one-on-one, in-home maternal and infant healthcare.Read More
September 07, 2023 Billionaires Are Backing Brazil and the Amazon. What Do Locals and Longtime Funders Think? September 07, 2023/ Michael Kavate A wave of new commitments from foreign billionaires has some Amazon conservationists and activists feeling hopeful. But they’re also voicing concerns about where and how the money’s flowing.Read More
August 28, 2023 MacKenzie Scott’s Recent Giving for Early Education Spotlights the Power of Advocacy August 28, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen Much of the celebrated megadonor’s recent giving has made its way to organizations promoting early childhood care and education. Many place their focus on advocacy, a strategy some other funders are hesitant to support.Read More
August 23, 2023 What Exactly Is a Philanthropic LLC? Here Are Five Types, Ranked By Transparency August 23, 2023/ Michael Kavate The “philanthropic LLC” — not a legal category, by the way — has swiftly gained popularity among billionaire donors who want to keep their options open. Levels of transparency vary widely. Here’s a rundown.Read More
August 22, 2023 What Type of Climate Groups Does This Billionaires’ Collaborative Fund? August 22, 2023/ Michael Kavate With its many billionaire donors, The Audacious Project can award game-changing gifts to environmental nonprofits. But can it widen the aperture beyond tech-friendly and market-based solutions?Read More
August 03, 2023 A Billionaire Couple Takes Aim at the Medical Debt Weighing Down American Families August 03, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen Medical debt forces families to choose between buying groceries and paying bills, and prevents them from seeking further care. The Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation gave a boost to an effort to wipe out such debt.Read More
August 02, 2023 The Future of Equitable Giving: Understanding and Implementing Trust-Based Philanthropy August 02, 2023/ Stephanie Yan and Amber Coatney, Guest Contributors People talk a lot about trust-based philanthropy, but what does it actually involve, and how can funders implement it successfully? Guest authors Stephanie Yan and Amber Coatney offer some practical perspective.Read More
July 19, 2023 A Global Philanthropic Competition to Save the Lives of Mothers and Babies July 19, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen Lever for Change recently announced finalists in its Maternal & Infant Health Award grants competition. Can this approach, which supports community-based health programs, move the needle on a global problem?Read More
June 13, 2023 Two Years in, The 1954 Project is Moving the Needle on Funding for Black Leaders in Education June 13, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen For Black-led education organizations, accessing philanthropic dollars is far tougher than for their white counterparts. This pooled funding effort is prying open doors — and philanthropic coffers.Read More
June 08, 2023 The Growth of Green Regrantors: Tracking an Evolving Ecosystem of Funding Intermediaries June 08, 2023/ Michael Kavate With more dollars heading toward environmental issues, we’ve seen an explosion of pooled funds seeking to help donors engage with complex problems and front-line communities. IP’s taking stock of this important space.Read More
May 18, 2023 Behind the Scenes of MacKenzie Scott’s Open Call — and a New Service that Emulates Her Approach May 18, 2023/ Mike Scutari Registration for Yield Giving’s open call for proposals closed in early May. Cecilia Conrad of Lever for Change, which is running the competition, shares early findings and a new service allowing others to replicate the process.Read More
May 17, 2023 “This is How We're Supposed to Care for Each Other.” Direct Giving Initiative Tackles Poverty in Flint May 17, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is supporting a plan to provide direct cash payments to expectant mothers and their newborns in Flint, Michigan. Organizers are asking other funders to step up and back the program.Read More
April 19, 2023 Beyond Borders: A Regional Look at MacKenzie Scott’s Global Giving April 19, 2023/ Liz Longley Though most of Scott’s giving so far has taken place in the U.S., her global philanthropy is also expansive. Three regions in particular have received lots of attention: Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South Asia.Read More
April 11, 2023 Is MacKenzie Scott the Leading Social Justice Funder? Yes and No April 11, 2023/ Michael Hamill Remaley MacKenzie Scott has moved huge sums to social justice groups, but should we think of her chiefly as a social justice funder? What exactly is a social justice funder, anyway? We took at close look at 20 grants in search of answers. 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 14, 2023 Why Philanthropists Should Shoot for the Moon March 14, 2023/ James Chen, Guest Contributor Opinions on the “big bets” school of philanthropy vary, but guest contributor James Chen is all in. In this piece, he argues that wealthy donors should go big on high-risk, early-stage ideas.Read More
February 24, 2023 Here Are Four Major National Funders Supporting Rural America February 24, 2023/ Martha Ramirez Rural communities are chronically overlooked by large national funders, with most rural grantmaking coming from place-based or regional givers. It’s a short list, but here are a few bigger names to note.Read More
February 23, 2023 Lifting the Curtain on Philanthropy Advising February 23, 2023/ Beth Breeze and Emma Beeston, Guest Contributors In this guest contribution, Beth Breeze and Emma Beeston, authors of a new book on philanthropy advisors, give us a look at some takeaways from their global study of a growing, but often under-appreciated professional field.Read More