A Council of Foundations and Foundation Center report outlines international giving trends by US foundations. The numbers reveal that US foundations, even when funding international programs, most often give to US groups rather than local organizations.
The Charles Koch Foundation will make the details of their future academic grants public and share their criteria for grantmaking.
First Nations Development Institute’s report highlights some challenges facing organizations that serve Native Americans, since foundation giving to these groups declined by almost a third over an eight-year period.
An outsider gets a bright idea that he promises will revolutionize a field and gains access to a wealthy funder. The donor or foundation takes a big risk and makes a mega-grant, then the organization lands on the field like a giant unsocialized toddler and goes belly-up within a few years, with little to show for the endeavor.
Nonprofit media in Chicago include a number of bold attempts at creating a more grounded narrative and now there is a philanthropic initiative that aims to meet them where they’re at.
A foundation exhibits its own sense of hope and faith in the future by investing heavily in intersectional grassroots organizing.
Communities in Schools’ ability to secure sizable long-term grants from a “big bets” funder is based on its emphasis on metrics, willingness to change, and resourced commitment to bring its entire network of affiliates in line—rather than from clear-cut evidence of impact.
The YMCA, whose 2,700 local affiliates serve 22 million people, has launched a national program to better serve LGBTQ families and children. Now comes the challenge of implementation.
Until last Friday, George Mason University strenuously denied that donor conditions put its academic independence at risk. But news sources revealed that donors had been granted direct input on faculty appointments and weighed in on faculty evaluations.
Place-based philanthropy responds to the South’s challenges, but courageous investment in public schools and higher education is still needed.
