September 19, 2023 Disruption Isn’t Always the Answer: Why We Embraced Traditional Grant Cycles September 19, 2023/ Danielle Royston-Lopez, Guest Contributor Guest author Danielle Royston-Lopez discusses the Kataly Foundation’s decision to shift from rolling grants to grant cycles, and why philanthropy needs to bring self-awareness and transparency to movement funding.Read More
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
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 21, 2023 This One-of-a-Kind Nonprofit Collaboration Just Might Upend the Funder-Grantee Power Dynamic August 21, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Through the Hub ONE collaborative, four Michigan nonprofits are sharing admin and even fundraising functions, helping them save on operating costs, pay a living wage, and begin to address power disparities in funding.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 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 20, 2023 It’s Time for Real Truth and Reconciliation — and Restorative Justice — in Philanthropy July 20, 2023/ Farai Chideya, Guest Contributor As the rights of marginalized groups and the nation’s very civic culture come under threat, guest author Farai Chideya spotlights the need for honest soul-searching in philanthropy, and shares some practical steps for funders.Read More
July 10, 2023 Big Change Requires Bold Funding: Why We're Upping Our Annual Grantee Payout to 11% July 10, 2023/ L. Anton Seals, Guest Contributor Amid ongoing backlash against equity and social justice efforts, guest author and Woods Fund Chicago Board Chair L. Anton Seals lays out why progressive funders have a responsibility to open up their pocketbooks.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
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 08, 2023 Is Excessive Wealth a Disorder? If So, This New Nonprofit Aims to Cure It May 08, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe It’s all there in the name. The Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute, founded last year, is taking on extreme wealth inequality, a problem with deep ramifications for philanthropy. We talked with its new executive director to learn more.Read More
March 23, 2023 DAF Reform Is on Biden’s Wish List. Does It Stand a Chance? March 23, 2023/ Michael Kavate For the second time, changes to donor-advised fund rules made it into the Biden administration’s budget proposal. It’s a reflection of growing frustration and momentum around reform. Read More
February 02, 2023 Four Things We Actually Like About DAFs February 02, 2023/ Philip Rojc Donor-advised funds are the target of a lot of criticism, including in the pages of Inside Philanthropy — and for good reason. But setting aside their worst flaws, we have to admit that DAFs have a lot to offer. 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
January 24, 2023 For-Profit Philanthropy Is Eroding the Legal Foundations of Charitable Giving January 24, 2023/ Dana Brakman Reiser and Steven A. Dean, Guest Contributors Alternative vehicles like LLCs and DAFs are reducing donors’ reliance on the traditional foundation. Authors of a new book on the topic outline how this undermines the legal basis of philanthropy — and what we can do about it.Read More
December 08, 2022 Rose-Colored Glasses: The Trouble With Industry Numbers on American Generosity December 08, 2022/ Philip Rojc This time of year, we see a lot of big numbers celebrating Americans’ outsize generosity. While there are things to celebrate, such industry-generated figures often gloss over concerning trends related to inequality.Read More
December 06, 2022 How Restricted Project Grants Distort the Missions of Nonprofits December 06, 2022/ Celia Wexler While we’ve seen some advances in the push for more general operating support, the norm is still restricted funding. Nonprofit veterans share the many ways project grants have led them astray and held back progress.Read More