January 12, 2024 With "A Little Courage," Ipas Is Shifting Money to the Front Lines of Abortion and Contraceptive Access January 12, 2024/ Dawn Wolfe By redirecting money from its own operating expenses, the international reproductive justice organization has been able to double the number of grantees receiving support through its Ipas Collaborative Fund.Read More
January 10, 2024 To Increase Trust in Philanthropy, We Have to Put a Stop to "Billionaire Shell Games" January 10, 2024/ Dawn Wolfe A report from the Institute for Policy Studies details how tax code loopholes are used to warehouse wealth. IP’s Dawn Wolfe argues that such practices not only keep money from reaching nonprofits, they undermine public trust.Read More
January 08, 2024 How One Community Funder’s In-House Campaign Is Moving the Needle on Voter Engagement January 08, 2024/ Dawn Wolfe Facing another difficult election year, funders may want to take note of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation in Connecticut. It’s already seen notable success with its own bilingual get-out-the-vote campaign.Read More
December 20, 2023 How TAG’s New Executive Director Aims to Meet the Sector’s “Practical and Aspirational” Tech Needs December 20, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Jean Westrick recently took the helm at Technology Association of Grantmakers, following a stint at Chicago Community Trust. It’s a smaller organization, but one where Westrick could have a very big impact. Read More
December 19, 2023 Seven Questions for McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen December 19, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Tony Allen led Detroit’s Skillman Foundation before taking the helm of Minneapolis-based McKnight. Allen shares her thoughts on cross-sector work, criticisms of philanthropy, and what she misses most about Detroit.Read More
December 15, 2023 Meet the Song Foundation: A Michigan Take on Silicon Valley Philanthropy December 15, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Founded in 2019 from the cybersecurity fortune of Dug and Linh Song, this multipurpose grantmaker is poised for growth on its home turf of southeastern Michigan. Here’s why this is a regional funder worth keeping an eye on.Read More
December 06, 2023 Suicide Is at Epidemic Levels in the U.S. Philanthropy's Response Has Been Underwhelming December 06, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Despite the scope of the problem — someone in the U.S. dies from suicide every 11 minutes — national philanthropies’ willingness to directly confront it hasn’t measured up. Read More
November 28, 2023 Does Funding Better Salaries and Benefits Improve Nonprofit Impact? Here’s What We Know November 28, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe It seems intuitive that funding for higher salaries and benefits would improve a nonprofit’s ability to carry out its mission. But what does that impact look like? Here’s what the data and anecdotal evidence tell us.Read More
November 22, 2023 A Cross-Sector Coalition Raises Nearly $1 Billion to Tackle Racial Wealth Inequality in the Twin Cities November 22, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe In its mission to take on stubborn racial wealth divides in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the GroundBreak initiative has the backing of partners spanning philanthropy, the private sector and government. Here’s a closer look.Read More
November 20, 2023 This Chicago-Based Initiative Is Combining Grants and Investments to Cultivate Black Ownership November 20, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe One of the factors driving the racial wealth gap is a lack of owned commercial property. In an effort to remedy that, a multifaceted initiative is purchasing properties to house local businesses in communities of color.Read More
November 07, 2023 How Might AI Impact Nonprofits and Foundations? Here's a Crash Course November 07, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days, but what exactly does that mean for nonprofits and their funders? Here’s a primer on nonprofit AI, including key issues and potential pitfalls to keep in mind.Read More
November 03, 2023 What These Three Funders Can Teach Philanthropy About Supporting Nonprofit IT November 03, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe It wouldn’t be a huge stretch to say all funders are IT funders these days, given the centrality of tech tools to so much nonprofit work. We look at how that plays out through the lens of three grantmakers on the front lines of IT funding.Read More
October 27, 2023 This Foundation’s Helping Injured Veterans with an Overlooked Issue: Starting Families October 27, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe While the VA provides infertility treatments for some veterans, there are gaps. The Bob Woodruff Foundation’s VIVA initiative aims to fill them with a more inclusive and flexible model of support.Read More
October 19, 2023 Philanthropy's Support for Reparations Is Stronger Than You Might Expect October 19, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Two new reports from Bridgespan and Liberation Ventures make the case for funders to back reparations for slavery and systemic racism. The researchers also found a surprisingly high level of support for such work. Read More
October 12, 2023 How John Palfrey Is Leading MacArthur Into a New Era of Philanthropy October 12, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe John Palfrey has led this $8 billion foundation through a time of great change — a racial reckoning, the rise of trust-based philanthropy, and program shifts at MacArthur. We take stock of how Palfrey’s done so far, and what’s next.Read More
October 02, 2023 Could “Subscription Philanthropy” Help Nonprofits Afford Subscription-Based IT Services? October 02, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Nonprofit tech expert Adam Rosenzweig walks us through why, in an era of increasingly subscription-based IT services, funders need to change how they back nonprofits’ tech needs — and start doing so, period.Read More
September 28, 2023 As Funders Press Forward for Local Journalism, Doubts Persist Around the Role of Racial Equity September 28, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Several criticisms have circulated around Press Forward, a recently-announced $500 million local news initiative backed by a host of funders. One issue stands out: its vague, noncommittal language around racial equity.Read More
September 20, 2023 Social Service Funders Must Support LGBTQ+ Nonprofits to Advance Their Missions September 20, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Dawn Wolfe offers three reasons (actually four) why funders backing direct social services need to include and prioritize LGBTQ+ nonprofits in their portfolios, and why failing to do so may perpetuate harm.Read More
September 18, 2023 Over $83 Million Out the Door in Eighteen Months: An Update on CZI’s Justice Reform Spinoff September 18, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The Just Trust spun out from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2021 with $350 million to spend on criminal justice reform over five years. It’s seeking to channel the movement’s ideological diversity and bring in new donors.Read More
September 13, 2023 Report: The Nonprofit Hiring Crisis Is Still a Thing September 13, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The National Council of Nonprofits’ newly updated Nonprofit Workforce Survey makes it clear that across the sector, organizations still can’t hire and retain essential staff. Funding, obviously, is a big part of the problem.Read More