August 30, 2023 “The Time Was Right.” How Three Funders Joined Forces to Simplify the Grant Application Process August 30, 2023/ Mike Scutari The Common App for the Arts, launched by three Bay Area foundations, consolidates each funder’s grants on a single user interface. We look at how it came together, plans for future iterations and more. Read More
August 29, 2023 Unlocking Abundance: A New Philanthropic Status Quo August 29, 2023/ Renee Kaplan, Guest Contributor What does it mean to fund with an abundance mindset? Guest contributor Renee Kaplan shares five ways funders she’s worked with have challenged their assumptions around how to engage in philanthropy. Read More
August 24, 2023 A New Report Shows Promising Shifts in Funders’ Practices. Whether It’s Enough Is Still Up for Debate August 24, 2023/ Mike Scutari New findings from the Center for Effective Philanthropy show that funders cut reporting requirements and upped general operating support post-2020. It’s encouraging news, but still only represents incremental change.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 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
April 25, 2023 “Defend, Develop, Decolonize.” Inside NDN Collective, a Thriving Backer of Indigenous Causes April 25, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen NDN Collective, a growing philanthropic intermediary and organizing force, works to build Indigenous power and has racked up an impressive array of backers. Its leaders would still like to see philanthropy go further and move faster.Read More
January 30, 2023 How the DAF Industry Controls the Data and Attempts to Control the Narrative January 30, 2023/ Dan Petegorsky, Guest Contributor Donor-advised fund sponsors like to present an upbeat picture of their field. In this guest piece, Dan Petegorsky makes a case for why that can be misleading — and how the DAF industry tilts the story in its favor.Read More
December 01, 2022 Three Questions We Have About a Philanthropic Future Dominated by DAFs December 01, 2022/ Philip Rojc As of last year, American donors are putting quite a lot more into donor-advised funds than they are into foundations. Even as calls for reform persist, we consider what the future might look like should this trend continue.Read More
August 03, 2022 Philanthropy's Scarcity Mindset Is Hurting the Sector, Not Helping It August 03, 2022/ Philip Rojc Wealthy individuals and institutions say they want to give more. Majorities of the American public and nonprofit professionals want philanthropy to give more. There’s plenty of money to give. What’s the holdup?Read More
June 09, 2022 Seven Things That Scare Us About the Future of Philanthropy June 09, 2022/ Philip Rojc The philanthrosphere is changing fast, and not necessarily for the better. Want to know what keeps us up at night? Here are seven of our biggest concerns about where the sector’s headed.Read More
June 06, 2022 We Surveyed Hundreds of Philanthropy Professionals. Here's What We Found June 06, 2022/ David Callahan Our latest survey of sector professionals brought some not-so-unexpected results alongside a few real surprises. Here’s where respondents stood on philanthropy reform, billionaire giving, racial justice and more.Read More