The Chronicle’s Philanthropic Support
The Chronicle of Philanthropy is an independent nonprofit dedicated to providing fact-based information, actionable insights and solutions, and professional training to people who lead nonprofits and foundations.
Another essential piece of our mission is to help the public better understand philanthropy’s impact, with a special focus on working with journalists around the nation to improve the breadth and sophistication of their coverage of the social sector.
To advance both elements of this mission, we rely on a mix of earned income (such as subscriptions, webinar fees, and advertising) and philanthropic support.
For all our grant-funded work, Chronicle reporters and editors determine themes and approaches. None of our benefactors know before publication what topics and angles we are pursuing, and their grants have no influence on our coverage. Read more about our gift-acceptance policy.
Such guardrails are essential to our integrity, but we believe it’s also important for all organizations that provide information to be transparent about our sources of support. That’s why we disclose in our magazine, on our website, and in any article that mentions our supporters, the names of the foundations that provide us with philanthropic grants.
For foundations, individuals, and others interested in providing general operating support or in offering grants that enable the Chronicle to create and expand specific projects, please contact our Development team at Development@philanthropy.com
Following are our current sources of support:
General operating
Ford Foundation
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Advancing public understanding of philanthropy
Lilly Endowment*
The Commons
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Einhorn Collaborative
Walton Family Foundation
Building our Organization
To support our transition in 2023 to spin off from our parent, the Chronicle of Higher Education, we relied on generous support from multiple funders. We also created an independent board of directors. (Learn more about them here.)
Most of the foundation grants for our organizational restructuring supported our earliest stages of work and have been spent. We are in the process now of spending the Lilly Endowment’s capacity building grant, which is active through fall 2026. It is primarily enabling our efforts to build our sustainability and to ensure that we have in place technology that allows us to serve our audiences well with information, live online events, and more.
Past supporters for the transition include:
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Ford Foundation
Heinz Endowments
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Lilly Endowment
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Walton Family Foundation
Learn More
To find out more about our finances and activities, see our Form 990 filings and our audited financial statements.
* Advisory Board
Below is the advisory board we have assembled to provide feedback to the Chronicle, the Associated Press, and the Conversation about issues and ideas of interest to people in philanthropy and to the public. This collaboration is supported by the Lilly Endowment.
Advisory board members
Michael Hartmann, senior fellow and director, Center for Strategic Giving, at Capital Research Center
Leslie Lenkowsky, professor emeritus in public affairs and philanthropic studies at Indiana University at Bloomington.
Jan Masoka, co-chair, Philanthropy Project Working Group
Una Osili, executive director, philanthropy, strategy and operations, at Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
Leslie Slavitt, executive director, Dorothy A. Johson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University
Benjamin Soskis, senior research associate in the Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute
Art Taylor, CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals
Jane Wales, vice president and executive director, Philanthropy and Social Innovation, at the Aspen Institute