How a 75-Year-Old Foundation Dramatically Increased Funding for Groups Led by People of Color

How a 75-Year-Old Foundation Dramatically Increased Funding for Groups Led by People of Color

In 2019, Public Welfare Foundation announced a plan to move the vast majority of its grantmaking resources to Black and POC-led nonprofits. Its leadership unpacks the process and shares its results to date.

Read More

Why Mellon Is Boosting Art That Confronts the Criminal Justice System

Why Mellon Is Boosting Art That Confronts the Criminal Justice System

The leading funder of the humanities committed $125 million to lift up the artistic voices of those directly impacted by American legal system. It’s a big influx of cash for this field, and one that Mellon hopes will have broad impacts.

Read More

The Power of Reentry: New Grants Demonstrate the Potential of Holistic Support for Returning Citizens

The Power of Reentry: New Grants Demonstrate the Potential of Holistic Support for Returning Citizens

New backing from the Michigan Justice Fund shines a light on the unmet needs of people reentering society after incarceration — and how attention to this area could help funders address a whole range of social ills.

Read More

This Fund Wants to Dial in on Discriminatory Justice Policy in Massachusetts. Can It Succeed?

This Fund Wants to Dial in on Discriminatory Justice Policy in Massachusetts. Can It Succeed?

The New Commonwealth Fund is on a mission to tackle systemic racism and the racial funding gap. Its latest grants include a data-driven effort to show how criminal justice policy in the Bay State adversely affects youth of color.

Read More

This CZI Spinoff's New Funding Tells a More Nuanced Story About Criminal Justice Reform

This CZI Spinoff's New Funding Tells a More Nuanced Story About Criminal Justice Reform

The Just Trust’s new Safer Communities Accelerator is getting behind groups “working within the system and outside of it.” The trust’s overall approach involves funding direct services as well as broader justice reform advocacy.

Read More

Nine Questions for Lourdes J. Rodríguez, the David Rockefeller Fund’s New CEO

Nine Questions for Lourdes J. Rodríguez, the David Rockefeller Fund’s New CEO

Dr. Lourdes J. Rodríguez recently took the helm at the David Rockefeller Fund, which is undergoing a “generational evolution.” We spoke about how she’s approaching the job, changes at the fund, and great science fiction.

Read More

With a Broad Agenda and A-List Backers, Sandy Hook Promise Is a Fundraising Powerhouse

With a Broad Agenda and A-List Backers, Sandy Hook Promise Is a Fundraising Powerhouse

Sandy Hook Promise recently held a high-profile benefit in remembrance of the elementary school shooting 10 years ago. The event underscored the group’s success, both in attracting major donors and getting results.

Read More

Philanthropy Needs a New Normal: Here Are 3 Ways We’re Reimagining Our Grantmaking

Philanthropy Needs a New Normal: Here Are 3 Ways We’re Reimagining Our Grantmaking

Nonprofits are responding in the moment to a flurry of fast-moving challenges. In this guest opinion, director of programs at the Langeloth Foundation shares three ways they’ve adapted to meet grantees’ needs.

Read More

With Backing from Kresge, Operation Restoration Gives Formerly Incarcerated Women a Leg Up

With Backing from Kresge, Operation Restoration Gives Formerly Incarcerated Women a Leg Up

Upon their release, formerly incarcerated women face steep barriers. Founded by a restorative justice leader who served time herself, Operation Restoration channels philanthropic resources to provide assistance.

Read More

A Criminal Justice Reform Funder Expands its Footprint, State by State

A Criminal Justice Reform Funder Expands its Footprint, State by State

The Just Trust, a criminal justice spinoff of CZI, is adding four more states to its strategy for reform. Here are the details on why the grantmaker is funding where it is, and how it plans to get to all 50 states.

Read More

What We Learned from Five Years of Funding Community Safety and Transforming Policing

What We Learned from Five Years of Funding Community Safety and Transforming Policing

The Communities Transforming Policing Fund (CTPF) supports groups fighting police violence and adverse effects of the carceral system. In this guest post, Director Jeree Thomas discusses how its strategy has evolved.

Read More

This Major Funder Hopes to Break the Link Between Homelessness and Incarceration

This Major Funder Hopes to Break the Link Between Homelessness and Incarceration

A new partnership run by the MacArthur Foundation and the Urban Institute aims to disrupt the connection between housing instability and time in jail — starting in four communities across the country.

Read More

How Public Health Funders Are Taking on the Epidemic of Gun Violence

How Public Health Funders Are Taking on the Epidemic of Gun Violence

As gun violence in the U.S. grows worse, health funders are adopting a range of strategies to address it as a public health crisis. Can they make a difference?

Read More

“Avenues for Hope” in Gun Violence Prevention — and a Major Role for Philanthropy

“Avenues for Hope” in Gun Violence Prevention — and a Major Role for Philanthropy

The Fund for a Safer Future is working to end the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S., and has grown significantly since it started a decade ago. FSF’s David Brotherton says there’s reason for hope outside of Congress.

Read More

How This Star-Studded Justice Reform Outfit Rakes in Big-Donor Support

How This Star-Studded Justice Reform Outfit Rakes in Big-Donor Support

REFORM Alliance and its all-star board have notched a number of big wins on the ground. We catch up with donors Michael Novogratz and Laura Arnold about why they back the justice reform organization.

Read More

Why Philanthropy Has Made Little Progress on Gun Violence — and a Few Reasons for Hope

Why Philanthropy Has Made Little Progress on Gun Violence — and a Few Reasons for Hope

Another school shooting has once again devastated the nation, this time claiming the lives of 21 people. Gun violence should be a preventable problem, but philanthropy has struggled to make a dent. Why, and what can be done?

Read More

"An Epidemic Within the Pandemic." How Eight Funders Back Gun Violence Prevention

"An Epidemic Within the Pandemic." How Eight Funders Back Gun Violence Prevention

In this article that originally ran in 2021, in the wake of two mass shootings, IP’s Philip Rojc looked at key funders of gun violence prevention. We are republishing in response to yesterday’s devastating school shooting.

Read More

“All But Ignored by Philanthropy.” A New Fund Addresses Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

“All But Ignored by Philanthropy.” A New Fund Addresses Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

The Humboldt Area Foundation is tackling an issue that has been largely overlooked by philanthropy — the disappearance and murder of Indigenous people — and has advice for funders who want to do more.

Read More

How a Public-Private Collaboration in L.A. Is Looking Beyond Punishment to Curb Youth Incarceration

How a Public-Private Collaboration in L.A. Is Looking Beyond Punishment to Curb Youth Incarceration

Ready to Rise is channeling government and private funds toward local groups providing support to youth. Organizers hope it can be a model for communities seeking better ways to reduce crime and curb incarceration.

Read More

IP Briefing: What's Going on With Philanthropy for Violence Prevention?

IP Briefing: What's Going on With Philanthropy for Violence Prevention?

Violence is a massive problem in the United States, and though philanthropy supporting efforts to prevent it has long been scant, funding in this area is growing and evolving. Here’s what you need to know.

Read More