May 22, 2023 On the Ground with the Ballmer Group, One of LA's Leading Antipoverty Funders May 22, 2023/ Wendy Paris Over the past few years, Steve and Connie Ballmer have continued ramping up their commitments in Los Angeles. We took a deep dive into how a vast tech fortune is being put to use to scale up local economic mobility.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 17, 2023 35 Years Later, What's New With NYC Anti-Poverty Giant Robin Hood? April 17, 2023/ Ade Adeniji Since 1988, the Robin Hood Foundation has channeled Wall Street wealth to Gotham’s needy to the tune of $3 billion. Here’s a peek at the funder’s current outlook as it focuses on relief, recovery and rebuilding after COVID.Read More
July 26, 2022 This Major Anti-Poverty Collaborative is Doubling Down on Support for Early Childhood July 26, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Blue Meridian’s big investment in HealthySteps demonstrates the funding collaborative’s commitment to early childhood and interventions that disrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty.Read More
July 20, 2022 Philanthropy's Role in the Growing Community Schools Movement July 20, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Community schools, which support academic and nonacademic needs of students and their families, have taken the spotlight. Philanthropy has played an important role in the development and spread of this education model.Read More
April 11, 2022 A Funder Effort to Fight Poverty—One Taxpayer at a Time April 11, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Educating people about tax credits can be an effective way for funders to leverage their dollars for a great deal of poverty-fighting power. And there’s a dedicated funder network out there helping to lead the charge.Read More
January 13, 2022 What We Know About the Ballmers’ Ed Funding: Charters, Community Schools, Early Ed and More January 13, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen The Ballmer Group is a longtime funder of efforts to improve economic mobility, including support for K-12 and early childhood. It’s also been sharing more details about its grantees lately. Here’s what we know.Read More
December 01, 2021 Quiet But Extensive: What New Data on the Ballmers' Anti-Poverty Grantmaking Tells Us December 01, 2021/ Philip Rojc A new grants database offers further insights into the giving of billionaire couple Steve and Connie Ballmer, who have moved hundreds of millions to a wide variety of anti-poverty efforts. But are they still playing it too safe?Read More
May 20, 2021 Philadelphia’s GreenLight Fund: Local Priorities and Getting Involved May 20, 2021/ Alyssa Ochs Philadelphia’s chapter of the GreenLight Fund works to tackle poverty at the local level. Here are a few details to consider for organizations interested in getting involved.Read More
March 29, 2021 What Boston Organizations Should Know About the GreenLight Fund March 29, 2021/ Alyssa Ochs As the original GreenLight Fund, GreenLight Boston is an active funder of youth and education in the city. Here are some details about GreenLight Boston and how to approach this grantmaker.Read More
April 16, 2020 What Has the Friedman Family Foundation Been Doing in the Bay Area Lately? April 16, 2020/ Alyssa Ochs Small family foundations are key players in the fight against Bay Area poverty, including the Friedman Family Foundation. Here’s an update about Friedman’s approach for local grantseekers.Read More
September 24, 2019 Billionaires vs. Poverty: Behind a Push to Use Data to Boost Economic Opportunity in Cities September 24, 2019/ Caitlin Reilly Some of the nation’s wealthiest philanthropists have lately swung behind new work to make city economies more equitable and inclusive. We look at a data-driven initiative that is attracting big grant money.Read More
July 17, 2019 Stand Together: The Koch-Backed Anti-Poverty Group Starting off 2019 with a Bang July 17, 2019/ Caitlin Reilly Stand Together, an anti-poverty organization backed by the conservative Koch network, plans to release $10 to $15 million in grants this month. What’s driving this giving by leading donors on the right and where have grants gone so far?Read More
June 04, 2019 Inside the New Billionaire War on Poverty June 04, 2019/ Caitlin Reilly In the past few years, some of America’s richest mega-givers have backed new work targeting poverty. Who’s giving? What approaches are receiving support? And will these donors eventually take a more systemic approach to fixing an unequal economy?Read More
December 18, 2018 A Foundation Looks to Human Service Organizations to Boost Social and Economic Mobility December 18, 2018/ Caitlin Reilly Human service organizations don’t just apply Band-Aids to social problems. They also can drive larger change and help struggling Americans climb up the economic ladder. Or at least that’s the idea behind a Kresge Foundation initiative now in its second year. Read More
December 11, 2018 Unusual Suspects: Two Big Funders Move Off the Beaten Path to Boost Community Development December 11, 2018/ Caitlin Reilly More anti-poverty funders are looking beyond major cities to struggling rural communities. The latest example of grantmakers casting a wider net is the Communities Thrive Challenge, from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Rockefeller Foundation. Read More
October 05, 2018 Behind a New Institute for Economic Mobility: Powerful Data and Billionaire Donors October 05, 2018/ Caitlin Reilly The Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative have both been ramping up anti-poverty work. Now, they’re teaming up to back a policy shop founded by one of the hottest scholars in this space: Raj Chetty.Read More