February 28, 2023 Seeing Progress and Potential, Jewish LGBTQ Donors Form a Network to Support Their Community February 28, 2023/ Simone Ellin More Jewish donors are supporting LGBTQ communities, but there’s still much room for growth. Three philanthropists formed the Jewish LGBTQ Donor Network to increase giving, educate and build connections.Read More
November 28, 2022 Cultivation: How the Grinspoon Foundation Is Helping Build a Jewish Future November 28, 2022/ Simone Ellin For the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, cultivating giving from others is a big part of its efforts to move money out the door for the Jewish community. Here are some key approaches the foundation’s taking.Read More
October 17, 2022 How Philanthropy Can Combat a “Ferocious” Wave of Book Bans October 17, 2022/ Simone Ellin As book bans in schools become a key front in the culture wars, organizations like PEN America are betting that Americans’ faith in free speech will prove stronger. Do funders have their backs?Read More
September 08, 2022 Meet the Funder Collaborative Behind a Push for Psychedelic Mental Health Treatments September 08, 2022/ Simone Ellin The Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative has been working to secure federal approval of PTSD treatments using psychedelic substances. With plenty of well-heeled donors aboard, the group’s outlook is bright.Read More
June 30, 2022 How the Weinberg Foundation Is Working to Move the Needle on Poverty in Baltimore June 30, 2022/ Simone Ellin While Baltimore has made some economic strides, gains have been unequal, and the city still struggles with high poverty rates. This long-running local funder is working to make difference, and sees reasons for optimism. Read More
May 13, 2022 “It Can’t Just be Ford.” How Rebecca Cokley Is Centering Disability Rights at Ford and Beyond May 13, 2022/ Simone Ellin When Ford set out to incorporate disability rights into its work, the foundation hired Rebecca Cokley to lead grantmaking on the topic. Cokley is now channeling millions to the cause — and urging others to step up.Read More
April 06, 2022 How Jewish Funders Are Mobilizing to Fight Climate Change April 06, 2022/ Simone Ellin Jewish voters rank climate change as a top priority, and many Jewish philanthropists have demonstrated similar concern. Donors and philanthropic leaders explain what motivates them and how they’re taking action.Read More
March 11, 2022 How This Fellowship Lets Social Justice Leaders Explore Bold Ideas March 11, 2022/ Simone Ellin Since its 2016 launch, the Rosenberg Foundation’s Leading Edge fellowship program has backed some of California’s most promising social justice leaders. Here’s what some fellows in the 2022-2024 cohort are working on.Read More
January 26, 2022 Hilton’s Equity Funding Expands—for a Disability Rights Group, It’s a “Game-Changer” January 26, 2022/ Simone Ellin Philanthropy historically underfunds disability rights and equity. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation recently made a $1 million grant to disability-led organization RespectAbility as part of a growing fund dedicated to equity issues.Read More
January 24, 2022 A Look at This Jewish University’s New $613 Million Fundraising Campaign January 24, 2022/ Simone Ellin New York-based Yeshiva University is looking to expand via an ambitious new fundraising campaign with a goal inspired by the Torah. We look at what the university has planned, and some headwinds it faces.Read More
December 06, 2021 How a Foundation Mobilized to Keep Jewish Summer Camps Afloat During COVID December 06, 2021/ Simone Ellin When the pandemic shut down Jewish summer camps nationwide, the Foundation for Jewish Camp went into action to keep programs running. It’s a good example of how intermediaries can coordinate in specific funding niches.Read More
November 17, 2021 What’s Next for Miriam Adelson’s Philanthropy? Nobody Seems to Know November 17, 2021/ Simone Ellin Following Sheldon Adelson’s death in January, Miriam Adelson controls the couple’s fortune and presumably their sizable philanthropy. We tried to get a read on where giving might be headed—nobody wanted to talk about it. Read More
November 05, 2021 How a Unique Biotech Company Partners With Charities to Find Cures for Rare Diseases November 05, 2021/ Simone Ellin Rarebase is a public benefit corporation that uses genomics to identify treatments for rare diseases. The firm’s unique model relies on small foundations and patient advocacy groups to acquire funds and patient data.Read More
July 15, 2021 "Honored and Elated." 3 Jewish Organizations React After a Windfall from MacKenzie Scott July 15, 2021/ Simone Ellin In MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett’s latest round, several groups rooted in religion made the list, including three Jewish organizations. We checked in with them to get their reactions and find out what they have planned.Read More
April 22, 2021 How a Youth Program Is Engaging the Next Generation of Jewish Philanthropy April 22, 2021/ Simone Ellin Honeycomb, a program of the Jewish Funders Network, engages teens in charitable giving while strengthening their connection to Jewish values. With a new executive director, the program is expanding its offerings.Read More
March 26, 2021 Amid a Lack of Support, This Funding Collaborative Backs Jewish Arts and Culture March 26, 2021/ Simone Ellin Philanthropic support for Jewish arts and culture has declined in recent years, a trend the pandemic has only exacerbated. Here’s how a funding collaborative called CANVAS is shoring up the field and covering new ground.Read More
March 18, 2021 A Local Jewish Philanthropy Steps Up Its Efforts to Look Beyond the Jewish Community March 18, 2021/ Simone Ellin Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia launched a new donor circle in an effort to serve more people beyond the Jewish community. The initiative’s participatory approach engages recipients to find out what they need.Read More
March 10, 2021 How a Top Jewish Foundation Pivoted to Address the Pandemic—and Stuck With It March 10, 2021/ Simone Ellin Like many funders, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles found itself in uncharted territory when the pandemic began a year ago. In scrambling to respond to the crisis, it leaned heavily on its donors and embraced new kinds of grantmaking. Read More
February 23, 2021 12 Self-Made Jewish Women Philanthropists and Where They Give February 23, 2021/ Simone Ellin While Jewish women have always played an important role in charitable pursuits, historically, it was their husbands who built the family fortunes. That’s been changing as more Jewish women business leaders turn to giving. Who are they?Read More
January 28, 2021 How the Jews of Color Initiative Is Funding Work for a More Inclusive Jewish Community January 28, 2021/ Simone Ellin The Jewish community is more diverse than many would imagine, but Jews of color do not always feel welcome in its institutions. A group of foundations helped create a new fund to nurture a more inclusive community.Read More