February 16, 2023 Here Are the Top Philanthropy Stories We're Following in 2023 February 16, 2023/ Philip Rojc Every year, we ponder where philanthropy seems to headed and compile the big-picture currents that we see running through the sector. Here’s what we’re watching this year.Read More
October 25, 2022 “Game-Changing” Gifts from MacKenzie Scott Boost Educators’ Ambitions — and Hopes for the Future October 25, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen We’ve seen a flurry of new gifts from MacKenzie Scott lately, including some big K-12 donations. Two recent education grantees say the recognition and affirmation are almost as valuable as the dollars.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 26, 2022 “Our Focus Is on the Children.” A Software Giant Ups Its Commitment to Public Schools September 26, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Salesforce’s latest round of education funding zeroes in on mental health and resilient schools. It’s praiseworthy support, but begs the question: why is so much private backing for public schools even necessary?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
August 10, 2022 Next in Line: 11 Young Giving Pledgers to Watch August 10, 2022/ Ade Adeniji The Giving Pledge has been taken up by super-rich donors ranging from their 30s through their 90s. While many younger pledgers have given in a relatively modest way to date, there’s a lot more where that came from.Read More
July 07, 2022 Ultra-Wealthy Donors to Watch: Who’s Taken the Giving Pledge So Far in 2022? July 07, 2022/ Philip Rojc Although its usefulness as a prod for vastly larger billionaire giving is debatable, the Giving Pledge remains a window into the continued evolution of big-donor philanthropy as a practice. Here’s who’s taken the pledge so far this year.Read More
June 09, 2022 Seven Things That Scare Us About the Future of Philanthropy June 09, 2022/ Philip Rojc The philanthrosphere is changing fast, and not necessarily for the better. Want to know what keeps us up at night? Here are seven of our biggest concerns about where the sector’s headed.Read More
June 06, 2022 We Surveyed Hundreds of Philanthropy Professionals. Here's What We Found June 06, 2022/ David Callahan Our latest survey of sector professionals brought some not-so-unexpected results alongside a few real surprises. Here’s where respondents stood on philanthropy reform, billionaire giving, racial justice and more.Read More
May 23, 2022 Five Things John Doerr’s Book Tells Us About His Climate Philanthropy and Politics May 23, 2022/ Michael Kavate John Doerr’s star is rising as a climate mega-donor after a recent $1.1 billion donation to Stanford. In this review of his latest book, “Speed & Scale,” we look at what’s informing his climate giving — and what he’s leaving out.Read More
May 12, 2022 Bill Gates Rebranded Himself a Philanthropist. What Would It Look Like for Elon Musk to Do the Same? May 12, 2022/ Philip Rojc When the annals of today’s new Gilded Age philanthropy are written, where will Elon Musk stand relative to Bill Gates, MacKenzie Scott and the rest? And whose more expansive definition of philanthropy will win out?Read More
May 10, 2022 What If Five Top Tech Billionaires Emulated MacKenzie Scott's Approach to Giving? May 10, 2022/ Mike Scutari When MacKenzie Scott embarked on her innovative philanthropic project two years ago, we wondered if her approach would capture the imaginations of other tech billionaires. It didn’t. But what if it miraculously did?Read More
May 09, 2022 What Do Gates, Zuckerberg and Company Have in Common? An Obsession with “Breakthroughs” May 09, 2022/ Michael Kavate Billionaire tech donors like chasing “breakthroughs,” especially when it comes to their climate giving. What does this oft-repeated nomenclature say about their mindset—and what’s missing from their philanthropy?Read More
May 06, 2022 Here’s the Problem with John and Ann Doerr’s $1.1 Billion Climate Gift to Stanford University May 06, 2022/ Michael Kavate Billionaire venture capitalist John Doerr and his wife, Ann, made a record-breaking gift for a new climate school at Stanford. Climate funding on this level is needed, but is an elite institution really the best destination for it?Read More
March 16, 2022 Which Russian Oligarchs Have Been Major Donors in the United States? March 16, 2022/ Philip Rojc The invasion of Ukraine has led to growing pressure from the international community on many fronts, including scrutiny of Russian billionaires who donate to Western institutions. Here’s a list of donors facing backlash.Read More
February 10, 2022 Eds and Meds: How 2021's 50 Biggest Donors Contradict the "Woke Philanthropy" Narrative February 10, 2022/ Philip Rojc The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the nation’s 50 biggest donors reads a lot like a return to 2019—hardly a narrative of surging progressive giving. Even if activist giving is on the upswing, big donors aren’t driving it.Read More
February 08, 2022 What We Know About Jeff Bezos' Funding for Education So Far February 08, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen A lot has happened since 2018, when Jeff Bezos first made a $2 billion pledge for early education. We take a look at his giving to date, including a major focus on his expanding network of Bezos Academy preschools.Read More
January 03, 2022 The Billionaires Abroad Who Are Giving Big for Climate Action January 03, 2022/ Michael Kavate America’s rich are not the only ones giving on climate. In our latest installment on billionaire climate philanthropy, here are some ultra-wealthy Europeans and Australians who also top the list.Read More
December 22, 2021 How the Miser Became a Philanthropist: Revisiting a Holiday Fable in an Era of Modern-Day Scrooges December 22, 2021/ Philip Rojc The backdrop of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” feels eerily familiar these days, as the gulf between the rich and poor widens. Will the Scrooges of today heed the warning of proverbial ghosts?Read More
December 15, 2021 How to Solve the Giving Pledge Bottleneck—and Fund Large-Scale Solutions December 15, 2021/ Sean Davis, Guest Contributor The U.S. has enormous unmet needs, while billions already pledged to philanthropy remain unspent. Guest author Sean Davis proposes a solution that would fund for-profit companies to take on large-scale infrastructure projects. Read More