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
May 25, 2023 Freedom Dreaming: A New Collaborative Invites Philanthropy to Reimagine Itself May 25, 2023/ Philip Rojc Philanthropy likes to think of itself as a space for big ideas, but so often falls short of that ideal. A new collaborative is challenging the sector to reimagine its role in the pursuit of collective liberation.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 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 18, 2023 “You Can’t Pick and Choose.” A Revealing Look at Why Leaders Accept Toxic Donations May 18, 2023/ Mike Scutari Unlike most nonprofit leaders who’ve received toxic gifts, Bard President Leon Botstein has clearly laid out his reasons for soliciting donations from Jeffrey Epstein. We suspect he isn’t the only decision-maker who thinks this way.Read More
May 16, 2023 We Took a Deep Dive Into Mega-Donor Foundation Giving. Here’s What the Numbers Tell Us May 16, 2023/ Mike Scutari and Sue-Lynn Moses We analyzed recent publicly available data on 85 private foundations established by living mega-donors. It’s a revealing look at what’s distinct about how these influential individuals go about their giving.Read More
May 12, 2023 Patience and Trust: Lessons from a 13-Year Grantmaker-Grantee Relationship May 12, 2023/ Shira Shavit and Scott Moyer, Guest Contributors The Langeloth Foundation has been backing the Transitions Clinic Network for over a decade with sustained, flexible funding. In this guest piece, the leaders of both organizations discuss a relationship that extends “beyond dollars.”Read More
May 11, 2023 The End of Philanthropic History and that Pluralism Op-Ed May 11, 2023/ Philip Rojc Foundation leaders recently published a controversial op-ed calling for “philanthropic pluralism.” It’s all too reminiscent of a similarly derided argument holding up the American system as the accepted status quo.Read More
May 10, 2023 In Three Decades’ of Efforts to Fund the True Costs of Nonprofits, Where Are the Workers? May 10, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The sector has long been grappling with the “nonprofit starvation cycle,” in which organizations are never able to cover the full costs of their work. One key component of the problem has received too little attention — labor.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
May 04, 2023 In Defense of Perpetuity, Part Two May 04, 2023/ Philip Rojc Last month, IP’s Philip Rojc made the case that there will always be a place for foundations that never spend down, and it sparked some lively debate! We return to the scene of the crime to hit a few more points about perpetuity.Read More
May 02, 2023 Slow Government Payments Are One Barrier to Nonprofit Stability. Can Philanthropy Help? May 02, 2023/ Martha Ramirez From reimbursement delays to red tape, cumbersome contracts between nonprofits and government are often a burden, a new report finds. Here’s how that impacts philanthropy — and what private funders can do to help.Read More
May 01, 2023 This Bay Area Grantmaker’s Pushing for Good Nonprofit Jobs. Will Other Funders Take a Cue? May 01, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe With its new $24.5 million Endeavor Fund, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund made a point of selecting grantees committed to their workers’ wellbeing. Haas is also being loud and proud about that fact in front of other funders.Read More
May 01, 2023 IP Explainer: Who Should Decide What Gets Funded? May 01, 2023/ IP Staff Philanthropy is difficult to navigate. That’s why we’ve produced a series of explainers to demystify the basics. Today, we go over a key debate happening in the sector: Who should be making funding decisions?Read More
April 27, 2023 It's Time for Philanthropy to Be as Bold as Leaders on the Front Lines of Social Change April 27, 2023/ Deborah Barron, Guest Contributor More progressive organizations are using a “multi-entity” approach, such as working through both a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4). Guest author Deborah Barron discusses how funders can back them more boldly and effectively.Read More
April 27, 2023 The Radically Democratic Philanthropy of the FRIDA Young Feminist Fund April 27, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Founded in 2008, FRIDA is a collaborative of young feminists, funding young feminists around the world. It’s also been an early adopter of participatory grantmaking and other power-shifting grantmaking practices. Read More
April 26, 2023 Four Big Questions We Have About Michael Bloomberg’s Plan to Give His Company to Charity April 26, 2023/ Michael Kavate The news that Michael Bloomberg intends to leave his share in Bloomberg LP to his philanthropic project holds enormous ramifications for the future of philanthropy. Here are four questions we have about what that could look like.Read More
April 24, 2023 Spring Reading for a Cleaner Planet: Five New Resources on Climate Philanthropy April 24, 2023/ Michael Kavate With spring in the air, here’s some recently released reading material on climate giving, with an emphasis on how funders can clean up their act when it comes to their investments.Read More
April 24, 2023 IP Explainer: What Is Philanthropy Doing—or Not Doing—to Address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? April 24, 2023/ IP Staff Philanthropy is difficult to navigate. That’s why we’ve produced a series of explainers to demystify the basics. Today, we delve into a huge topic in philanthropy right now—the need to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.Read More
April 20, 2023 Six Organizations Fighting to Improve Nonprofit Pay and Working Conditions April 20, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Amid burnout and poor retention, there’s a growing push for funders to provide greater support to nonprofit workers. Here’s a handful of organized efforts. Read More