January 11, 2023

How Philanthropy Might Surprise Us in 2023

January 11, 2023/ Philip Rojc

Philanthropy can be a bit stodgy, but especially in recent years, the sector has kept us guessing. Here are a few ways philanthropy might surprise us in 2023 — some good, some not so good.

July 15, 2021

The Sackler Toxic Donor Saga Continues With a Ban on “Reputation-Laundering” Naming Rights

July 15, 2021/ Philip Rojc

As part of a $4.5 billion legal settlement, the opioid-dealing Sackler clan will temporarily relinquish the right to place their name on buildings. It’s a novel development for a family central to the ongoing debate over toxic gifts.

August 06, 2020

Progress or Window Dressing? What’s Missing from an Elite School’s New Gift Policy

August 06, 2020/ Mike Scutari

Harvard will now prohibit the solicitation of gifts from donors who have family members applying for admission. Yet the school continues to grant legacy preferences to children of alumni, a practice that critics say perpetuates inequality.

July 29, 2020

“Not an Easy Tension to Bridge.” How Facebook Is Making Life Harder for CZI

July 29, 2020/ Mike Scutari

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grantees and employees have publicly called for changes at CZI and Facebook. We explore why the social network’s actions are spilling over into the legally separate entity built on Facebook riches.

June 25, 2020

Scrutiny of Donors and “Reputation Laundering” is Growing Thanks to COVID and Protests

June 25, 2020/ Mike Scutari

In recent years, critics have sounded off about how the wealthy and corporations use philanthropy to burnish their reputations. Now such concerns are intensifying—even as nonprofits need every donor they can find.

May 05, 2020

Historic But Halfhearted: Behind a University’s Fraught Efforts to Rid Itself of Toxic Donations

May 05, 2020/ Mike Scutari

Increasingly cash-strapped university administrators grappling with how to handle toxic gifts may be reluctant to make a clean break from radioactive donors and their millions. The high-profile case study of Tufts University underscores the drawbacks of this strategy.

April 29, 2020

For Institutions That Got in Bed With a Toxic Donor, Here’s How to Make Things Right

April 29, 2020/ Mike Scutari

As the wealthy class and its philanthropy come under scrutiny, more executives at universities and other nonprofits are grappling with how to deal with gifts from disgraced donors. A recent well-handled case at OSU offers a blueprint.

April 22, 2020

A Spectrum of Excuses: Eleven Reasons Why Organizations Don’t Return Toxic Donations

April 22, 2020/ Mike Scutari

Returning a toxic gift or transferring the amount to a relevant charitable cause isn’t as common—or easy—as you’d think. Recent history shows that the reasons for not doing so range from the well-intentioned to the highly dubious.

September 03, 2019

Epstein, Science, and the Power of Saying No to Money

September 03, 2019/ Tate Williams

We often idealize science as insulated from matters of power and corruption. Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to research institutions and scientists are a reminder that the way we fund science holds meaning and consequences.

July 31, 2019

With Ties to a Top Donor and a Trail of Gifts, the Epstein Scandal Reaches Into Jewish Philanthropy

July 31, 2019/ Debra Nussbaum Cohen

Jeffrey Epstein not only made gifts to a wide range of Jewish organizations, he cultivated a deep relationship with one of the most important Jewish philanthropists in the U.S., billionaire Leslie Wexner—revelations that raise troubling questions.

March 29, 2019

Domino Effect: Have Sackler Donations Finally Become Toxic?

March 29, 2019/ Mike Scutari

Within a week, three major museums pledged to refuse future donations from the Sacklers. But as over a thousand lawsuits against the family make their way through U.S. courts, other recipients of Sackler cash have remained curiously silent.

February 19, 2019

Reckoning: Has the Debate Over Toxic Sackler Gifts Reached a Tipping Point?

February 19, 2019/ Mike Scutari

With new evidence tying the Sackler family to the deadly opioid epidemic, pressure is growing on recipients of Sackler gifts to repudiate the family and return money derived from an empire of addiction. Museums, for the time being, have yet to do so. Why?

August 22, 2018

Toxic Gifts? Coming to Terms with Sackler Family Philanthropy

August 22, 2018/ Mike Scutari

We sort through the biggest controversy yet over the problem of tainted donations. How should nonprofits view gifts, past and present, from a family accused of propagating the opioid crisis?

April 06, 2017

Blowback: When Big Donors Turn Out to Be Shady Characters

April 06, 2017/ Frank Monti

A crazy case involving a wealthy family and a Massachusetts college raises a sticky question: When charities want to distance themselves from the tarnished reputations of donors, what are their options?

September 21, 2016

Donor Non Grata: When a Philanthropist and His Money Turn Radioactive

September 21, 2016/ Mike Scutari

Ever since allegations of widespread sexual harassment came to light, everyone from large public universities to small town senior centers want nothing to do with Roger Ailes and his charitable giving.

July 26, 2016

On Second Thought: Why Did This Donor Withdraw a Naming Rights Gift?

July 26, 2016/ Mike Scutari

It seemed simple enough. A couple wrote a check to fund the construction of an on-campus multicultural center. In exchange, their name would grace the building. What could possibly go wrong?