Opinion Archives

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Opinion

Will DEI Die? The Fate of Equity Efforts in 2026 and Beyond

Predictions for the Year Ahead

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Opinion

Prospects for Increased Foundation Payout in 2026

Predictions for the Year Ahead

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Opinion

Survival Strategies for Struggling Nonprofits in 2026

Predictions for the Year Ahead

Illustration of two large blue hands forming a bridge across a gap, supporting diverse groups of people walking towards each other. On the left, a city, and on the right, nature.

Opinion

Every Funder’s Must-Do in 2026: Bring Americans Together

Predictions for the Year Ahead

A weathered blue coin-operated telescope stands in the foreground, overlooking a vast, layered mountain range partially obscured by mist. Distant snow-capped peaks rise under a pale blue sky, with a dark forested silhouette framing the bottom right.

Opinion

Philanthropy in 2030: Leaders Predict the Future

Five leaders on what the sector will look like in five years.

Bruce Springsteen on stage, singing into a microphone, holding a black electric guitar, and pointing forward with his right hand. He wears a waistcoat and tie.

Opinion

To Navigate This Crisis, Take a Note From Springsteen

New biopic shows the importance of authenticity as the nonprofit sector faces an existential reckoning.

By Eboo Patel
Contributor

A man with a mustache and glasses, wearing a light shirt, laughs loudly while placing a hand on the shoulder of a woman with dark curly hair and glasses, who is also laughing with her mouth wide open. They are outdoors with other people and green trees in the background.

The Commons | Opinion

Who Can Rescue Democracy? Local Funders Have the Edge

National philanthropy cannot pull democracy out of the ditch. Renewal — with community foundations leading the way — must come from the ground up.

By Daniel Stid
Contributor

Isometric illustration of diverse people, many holding phones, standing on fragmented pieces of an American flag, symbolizing national division.

Opinion

To Protect American Democracy, Pretend It’s Already Gone

This clarifying exercise might help funders fight authoritarianism and adapt to extraordinary times.

By Cora Daniels
Contributor

Opinion

Wealthy People Want to Give More. Why Don’t They?

A small minority of the ultra-wealthy give at the highest levels. Here’s what they do, and how more donors can emulate them.

By Sofia Michelakis
Contributor

The Commons | Opinion

Why Philanthropy’s Democracy Talk Turns People Off

Here are the words that leave average Americans cold — and the language that could connect them to the billion-dollar fight to strengthen the country.

By Matt Watkins
Contributor