March 10, 2023 These Health Research Funders Are Facing Down the Next Pandemic Threat — Whatever It May Be March 10, 2023/ Paul Karon The Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Open Philanthropy are collaborating under a partnership called Pandemic Antiviral Discovery, funding research to develop treatments that may be needed for future pandemics.Read More
February 06, 2023 Think the Gates Foundation Is Too Influential? It May Get a Lot Bigger — Or Never Go Away February 06, 2023/ Michael Kavate The largest foundation in the U.S. will soon spend $9 billion a year. But a look at the numbers suggests that’s still far from enough to fulfill its pledge to spend down, if that’s actually the plan.Read More
January 05, 2023 Bill Gates' Perpetuity Problem January 05, 2023/ Philip Rojc Bill Gates says he wants to spend down in 25 years, but that’s hard to square with the foundation he’s built — a technocratic global health juggernaut that, in an earlier era, would almost certainly have been intended for perpetuity.Read More
December 21, 2022 Green Heavyweights: The Nation’s 25 Largest Environmental Grantmakers December 21, 2022/ Michael Kavate We compiled a list of the top green funders in the U.S., based on the most recent full year of giving data available. One big takeaway: Living billionaires now dominate the list.Read More
November 14, 2022 What Have Philanthropies Pledged So Far During the UN Climate Summit? November 14, 2022/ Michael Kavate This year’s United Nations climate summit, known as COP27, has played host to a number of philanthropic announcements, some more substantive than others. Here’s a breakdown.Read More
September 22, 2022 Does Global Philanthropy Have a Colonialism Problem? September 22, 2022/ Philip Rojc Efforts such as Bill Gates’ support for a Green Revolution in Africa are frequently criticized as neo-colonialism. That may be overstating things, but parachuting in with big money and big ideas remains common in global giving.Read More
July 28, 2022 Where Will Warren Buffett’s Billions Go? 6 Questions We're Asking About the Future of His Fortune July 28, 2022/ Philip Rojc Upon his passing, Warren Buffett’s estate is set to fuel over $100 billion in giving within a decade. Beyond that, there is little certainty and growing speculation about how it will play out. Here are some of the big unknowns.Read More
July 14, 2022 Staying the Course: 5 Takeaways From Bill Gates' $20 Billion Infusion into the Gates Foundation July 14, 2022/ Philip Rojc Bill Gates’ ultra-gift of $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reaffirms his place as a titan of modern philanthropy. It also signals more of the same to come from the foundation — for better or worse.Read More
July 11, 2022 Study: Philanthropy May Play an Even Bigger Role in Science Funding Than We Thought July 11, 2022/ Paul Karon Analyzing millions of tax filings, a research team found that philanthropic funding for science has reached $30 billion a year recently, rivaling government outlays. And that wasn’t the only interesting fact they unearthed.Read More
June 14, 2022 The U.S. Billionaires Funding Work to Keep the Planet Green and Clean June 14, 2022/ Michael Kavate Philanthropy is one of several forces that works to preserve landscapes, fight pollution and improve agricultural practices. Find out who among America’s wealthiest is putting the most toward such causes.Read More
May 04, 2022 What's Going on with Philanthropy for Global Health? May 04, 2022/ IP Staff Philanthropy represents only a fraction of global health spending, and large foundations dominate U.S. giving for global health. Still, COVID-19 has led to an uptick, both from established funding leaders and others.Read More
March 10, 2022 Why Gates Is Building Up Local Immunology Capacity to Study COVID in the Global South March 10, 2022/ Paul Karon A Gates Foundation program is funding the development of local laboratory sites throughout the Global South to improve our understanding and response to new COVID variants and other epidemic threats.Read More
March 01, 2022 Big Grants for Topic-Specific Journalism Bring Opportunity, Concerns Over Independence March 01, 2022/ Mike Scutari Funders usually shy away from providing substantial topic-specific support to media outlets. But a huge climate change grant to the Associated Press underscores the promise and pitfalls of such giving.Read More
February 22, 2022 Getting the Call: A Look at MacKenzie Scott’s Recent Ed Giving February 22, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen What’s it like to get a bolt-from-the-blue gift from MacKenzie Scott? We talk to some recent recipients from the world of K-12 education and explore what this latest round of funding tells us.Read More
February 16, 2022 A Universal Flu Vaccine Could Save Millions of Lives. Private and Public Funders Hope to Make it a Reality February 16, 2022/ Paul Karon A universal flu vaccine could be a game-changer for global health and prevent future catastrophic pandemics. Several private funders are teaming up with government agencies to accelerate progress.Read More
January 26, 2022 A Billionaire, a Baroness and Bridgespan: What We Know—and Don’t Know—About Gates’ New Board January 26, 2022/ Philip Rojc It’s finally happened. The Gates Foundation has four new trustees, three of whom are newcomers. Here’s a bit about each of them, and what this new arrangement may tell us about the world’s largest foundation.Read More
January 20, 2022 MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates and the Case for Walking Away January 20, 2022/ Philip Rojc MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates have partnered once already, and seem to be influencing each other’s giving. We hypothesize about what a more extensive team-up could accomplish, and what it would take to get there.Read More
January 12, 2022 What We Learned From a Deep Dive Into Tech Industry Giving January 12, 2022/ Mike Scutari We recently published an in-depth paper on the philanthropy of mega-donors hailing from the tech industry, as part of IP’s State of American Philanthropy project. Author Mike Scutari walks through some of our key takeaways.Read More
December 02, 2021 The American Billionaires Most Engaged in the Climate Fight December 02, 2021/ Michael Kavate Climate change was a relatively small niche in philanthropy for years, but has been gaining traction among the country’s wealthiest donors. Here are some of the billionaires who are most involved in the issue. Read More
December 02, 2021 A New Alliance for Vaccine Equity Is Encouraging, But Why Aren’t More Funders Stepping Up? December 02, 2021/ Philip Rojc With omicron looming, foundations like Ford, Rockefeller and Gates are spearheading an international funders’ alliance for vaccine equity. It’s worthy work, but why aren’t more big funders stepping up on global health equity?Read More