February 01, 2024 Appreciating Altruism: Against the Backlash Against Philanthropy February 01, 2024/ Wendy Paris Negative sentiment toward philanthropy is on the rise, largely tied, for understandable reasons, to surging wealth inequality. But IP’s Wendy Paris encourages us to set our cynicism aside and appreciate acts of generosity.Read More
January 23, 2024 What Does Cogenerational Funding Look Like? These 10 Grantees Paint a Picture January 23, 2024/ Wendy Paris Funding that supports people of different generations to solve an array of social problems is a small but growing niche in philanthropy. A round of grants from CoGenerate demonstrates how this type of giving works. Read More
January 17, 2024 Grand Finale: A Family Foundation Focused on Free Concerts Announces its Spend Down January 17, 2024/ Wendy Paris The Levitt Foundation has a unique focus on creating music performance spaces as a way to support communities nationwide. The family recently announced it would spend down to boost its impact.Read More
January 08, 2024 What's on the Menu at Blue Meridian? More Place-Based, Multisector Partnerships January 08, 2024/ Wendy Paris Pooling commitments from some of the nation’s biggest philanthropies, Blue Meridian Partners is carrying on its antipoverty efforts with grants in three Sun Belt cities. The aim is to draw in more local, multisector support.Read More
January 03, 2024 Can an Online Dating App’s Giving Combat Social Isolation? January 03, 2024/ Wendy Paris Loneliness has become a serious public health threat in the United States, but there’s scant funding for the topic, and the focus is usually on older Americans. A surprising corporate funder is taking on the cause.Read More
January 02, 2024 How a Storied Arts and Humanities Institution Is Finding Support on Both Sides of the Atlantic January 02, 2024/ Wendy Paris Through its prestigious Rome Prize and other offerings, the American Academy in Rome gives artists and scholars a chance to live and work in the heart of the Eternal City. Fundraising, though, is an ever-evolving challenge.Read More
November 30, 2023 Philanthropy Born of Luxury Goods Helps Fuel a Revival of Art in France November 30, 2023/ Wendy Paris The arts scene in France is booming, thanks in part to the country’s embrace of American-style philanthropy — and the tax breaks that come with it. IP’s Wendy Paris reports from Paris.Read More
November 28, 2023 A Philanthropic Contest Asked for Creative Fiction About Money. Here Are the Winning Stories November 28, 2023/ Wendy Paris This investment company’s foundation took a unique approach to building financial literacy — a short story contest. The winners delivered some deep insights into managing money, including a lesson or two for funders.Read More
November 21, 2023 How This Omaha Foundation Embraced Community-Led, Participatory Grantmaking November 21, 2023/ Wendy Paris In 2008, the Omaha Community Foundation launched its first participatory fund, and has since expanded the strategy with four more. Here’s how and why the foundation has committed to the approach.Read More
November 16, 2023 Four Ways Aging-Focused Funders Are Taking Multisector Collaboration National November 16, 2023/ Wendy Paris As the nation gets older, philanthropic funders are backing a growing array of efforts across sectors to make places and policy more age friendly. Here are several promising developments to note.Read More
November 06, 2023 The Rise of Multisector Partnerships to Address the Problems of Place November 06, 2023/ Wendy Paris Philanthropy-driven, cross-sector collaboration is enjoying a particular uptick on the local level throughout the U.S. Recent examples we’ve covered point to the continuing currency of this trend.Read More
November 01, 2023 Building Bridges: How One Aging-Focused Funder Learned from its Peers November 01, 2023/ Wendy Paris In a twist on the site visit, spending time with another foundation’s grantee helped St. David’s Foundation in Texas build its own intergenerational portfolio. Here’s how the program took shape and what it’s backing. Read More
October 26, 2023 Former Foster Youth Are Too Often Left With Nowhere to Go. This Foundation Is Trying to Help October 26, 2023/ Wendy Paris Many young people leaving the foster system in Los Angeles County find themselves lost, without the kind of financial support or guidance needed to navigate early adulthood. This local funder is working to close the gap in care.Read More
October 18, 2023 With a Big New Commitment, Ballmer Group Promotes Place-Based, Multisector Partnerships October 18, 2023/ Wendy Paris Steve and Connie Ballmer’s philanthropy is further leaning into place-based partnerships with a seven-year, $175 million commitment to StriveTogether. It’s one of Ballmer Group’s largest grants ever.Read More
October 10, 2023 Private Credit Philanthropy: The Ares Charitable Foundation Ties Funding to Investment Performance October 10, 2023/ Wendy Paris Established in 2021, the Ares Charitable Foundation has moved quickly to stand up a corporate giving operation that works in a very specific way — funds within the parent company pledge a percentage of their profits every year.Read More
October 03, 2023 Philanthropy Helps Tap Gentrifiers' Social Connections in Philly Poverty Alleviation Project October 03, 2023/ Wendy Paris In Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood, the nonprofit Xiente is putting philanthropic dollars to use partly in pursuit of an ambitious goal: tapping well-off newcomers’ social networks to help existing residents rise.Read More
September 26, 2023 This Funding Intermediary Is Giving Guaranteed Income a Boost September 26, 2023/ Wendy Paris UpTogether is one of a number of philanthropic efforts supporting local guaranteed income pilots across the country. In the wake of the pandemic, funders remain interested in direct cash, no longer quite so radical an idea.Read More
September 21, 2023 How the Meadows Foundation Supports the People (and Animals) of Texas September 21, 2023/ Wendy Paris Animal welfare is one of many causes championed by the Meadows Foundation, a 75-year-old family funder that gives in its home state of Texas. Here’s a look at how Meadows works and what it’s prioritizing right now.Read More
September 19, 2023 This Bespoke Funding Intermediary Focuses Donors on a Dozen Highly Vetted Global Grantees September 19, 2023/ Wendy Paris Founded by a private equity veteran, Focusing Philanthropy brings a venture-capital-informed approach to the role of philanthropic go-between, routing donor dollars to a carefully curated set of nonprofits.Read More
September 15, 2023 A Foster Youth Activist Calls on Philanthropy to Invest Endowment Dollars in Affordable Housing September 15, 2023/ Wendy Paris Daniel Heimpel believes foundations’ invested assets are a deeply underutilized tool in their efforts to tackle the housing crisis. His path forward? Use grants and investments in tandem to ease the way for affordable housing.Read More