January 05, 2023 Bill Gates' Perpetuity Problem January 05, 2023/ Philip Rojc Bill Gates says he wants to spend down in 25 years, but that’s hard to square with the foundation he’s built — a technocratic global health juggernaut that, in an earlier era, would almost certainly have been intended for perpetuity.Read More
December 21, 2022 Philanthropy Trend Watch: A Few Ways the Sector Is Changing for the Better — and the Worse December 21, 2022/ Philip Rojc As the year draws to a close, we take a look at some developments in philanthropy that have us feeling optimistic about the future, and others that are less encouraging. 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 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
November 17, 2022 Will Jeff Bezos Disrupt Philanthropy Like He Disrupted Retail? It's Doubtful November 17, 2022/ Philip Rojc Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez announced this week they will give most of the Amazon founder’s fortune away. Staggering dollar amounts aside, we can likely expect a fairly conventional philanthropic project. Read More
November 15, 2022 MacKenzie Scott’s Far-Reaching Giving Continues to Grow. What Impact Is She Having? November 15, 2022/ Philip Rojc Another update from America’s most exciting mega-donor shows an ever-evolving set of focus areas, which now include charter schools and lots of global giving. One question we still have: How does it all fit together?Read More
November 10, 2022 Five Midterm Election Takeaways for Philanthropy November 10, 2022/ Philip Rojc The 2022 midterm elections turned out not to be the bloodbath that Democrats — and funders supporting progressive issues — feared it would be. What can philanthropy learn from our latest fraught election cycle? Read More
November 09, 2022 In a Fast-Changing Political Landscape, How Is the Democracy Alliance Evolving? November 09, 2022/ Philip Rojc It’s a very different world than it was when the Democracy Alliance formed, way back in the Bush era. How has this progressive donor powerhouse, once the only game in town, changed over the years? And where is it headed?Read More
November 03, 2022 What We Learned From a Deep Dive into Economic Justice Advocacy Funding November 03, 2022/ Philip Rojc For our latest State of American Philanthropy report, we analyzed the small pool of funders taking on the public policies and power arrangements that govern economic life. Here’s a quick overview of what’s happening.Read More
October 27, 2022 What Can We Learn from the Results of Kellogg's Big Racial Equity Challenge? October 27, 2022/ Philip Rojc Structured as a global competition, Racial Equity 2030 prompted both excitement and criticism when it launched two years ago. Five winners have been revealed, but the work is just beginning. Here are some takeaways.Read More
October 18, 2022 Should Philanthropy Be Paying More Attention to Struggling Men and Boys? October 18, 2022/ Philip Rojc Even as men continue to dominate society at the top, many are falling through the cracks, with sad and disturbing consequences. Can funders make a difference? Read More
October 05, 2022 After Pooling Their Money to Take on Corporate Monopoly, Funders See Signs of Progress October 05, 2022/ Philip Rojc The Economic Security Project’s Antimonopoly Fund spent three years backing a variety of fronts in the battle against bigness. The movement has notched some wins, but will funders stick with it over the long haul?Read More
September 29, 2022 Billionaires Are Still Stingy, but There May Be Grounds for Hope September 29, 2022/ Philip Rojc A flagging stock market has probably been the biggest contributor to billionaires’ modestly improved giving ratios this year. But while the super-rich still don’t give away much, there’s also a growing list of interesting exceptions.Read More
September 22, 2022 Does Global Philanthropy Have a Colonialism Problem? September 22, 2022/ Philip Rojc Efforts such as Bill Gates’ support for a Green Revolution in Africa are frequently criticized as neo-colonialism. That may be overstating things, but parachuting in with big money and big ideas remains common in global giving.Read More
September 19, 2022 The Great Patagonia Giveaway: The Good News and the Bad News September 19, 2022/ Philip Rojc Is Yvon Chouinard’s giveaway of the company he founded something to celebrate or worry about? As is often the case with billionaire mega-giving, maybe it’s a little bit of both.Read More
September 15, 2022 Philanthropy Has Taken a Big Interest in Narrative Change Strategies. Is It Paying Off? September 15, 2022/ Philip Rojc Interest in funding narrative change is growing, but there’s little consensus on how to pursue that goal, or who should lead the charge. A new report dives into those questions, explicitly acknowledging that “values” are at stake.Read More
September 01, 2022 The Mixed Philanthropic Legacy of Julian Robertson, a Standout Wall Street Giver September 01, 2022/ Philip Rojc Julian Robertson, the famed hedge fund investor and onetime “wizard of Wall Street” who passed away last week, was also an enthusiastic philanthropist. While he moved a lot of money out the door, his giving also had its weak points.Read More
August 30, 2022 Is Everything Really So Underfunded? Or Are We Relying on Bad Data? August 30, 2022/ Philip Rojc We hear it all the time: yet another critical cause is getting a tiny sliver of charitable dollars. While the claim often reflects reality, it’s also the case that a lack of transparency is giving us a shaky picture of philanthropic priorities.Read More
August 23, 2022 Seven Problems That Have Defied Philanthropy August 23, 2022/ Philip Rojc There are certain issues where philanthropy has tried to make a dent and failed. Others are seemingly so intractable that funders have mostly shied away. Here are some key areas where the sector has struggled to move the needle.Read More
August 08, 2022 Rick Caruso Might Be L.A.’s Next Mayor. What’s He Like as a Philanthropist? August 08, 2022/ Philip Rojc The billionaire shopping mall developer has embraced law-and-order messaging in his campaign to become mayor of his home city. Here are some key points to know about how this ambitious Angeleno gives his money away.Read More