Amazon Commits $125 Million to Housing Equity Fund
Also, Morgan Stanley gave $100 million to the National Equity Fund to help low-income renters in Atlanta, and First Premier Bank has granted $50 million to endow need-based scholarships for students at universities in South Dakota.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Our Democracy Is Faltering, but We Can’t Rely on Philanthropy to Save It
When private wealth and philanthropy continually come to the rescue, we lose sight of the benefits of a representative democracy in which taxes provide for the common good and elected representatives uphold and respect the democratic process.
By Ellen Friedman
Contributor
Investors Trust the Companies They Support. Here’s How Grant Makers Can Do the Same.
Providing support that helps nonprofits improve their management and finances and removing requirements that divert attention from crucial missions is especially important in the pandemic and social upheaval now challenging nonprofits.
By Andrea Levere and Dan Nissenbaum
Childhood Experiences at 4-H Drive a Tech Executive’s Giving
Andrew and April Bosworth have made big gifts to the National 4-H Council and the Peninsula Open Space Trust.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Taking Off Blinders: How the Insurrection at the Capitol Changes My Grant-Making Perspective
I had a clever column worked out to open 2021, one that would detail my New Year’s resolutions to be a better grant maker. I had talked with the colleague who illustrates these dispatches for the Chronicle about the most amusing ways to show me as cleareyed and resolute.
By Lisa Pilar Cowan
Contributor
S.D. Businessman Gives $90 Million to 3 Human-Services Groups
Plus, Jeff Bezos pledges another $25 million to help those struggling in Washington State, and a community college in Virginia lands $2.7 million.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Philanthropy Can’t Replace Our Broken Government — but It Can Help Rebuild It
The Trump administration’s failures during the pandemic have revealed government’s essential role in protecting the public welfare. Philanthropists should work to restore that role, rather than simply stepping in to try to fill the breach.
By Loren McArthur
Contributor
Foundations That Want to Support Local Journalism Should Take a Close Look at Alt Weeklies
For relatively small investments, philanthropy could help preserve some of the most important local journalism around—and fend off growing rightwing “news” sites.
By David Wallis
Contributor
Gates Foundation Commits Additional $250 Million for Covid-19 Tests, Vaccines, and Treatments
Also, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation gave $228 million in emergency financial support to groups working in the arts and culture, humanities, and higher education, and Johnson & Johnson has pledged $100 million to address health equity for people of color.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Philanthropy Favors Traditional Public Schools Over Public Charter Schools, Study Finds
Traditional public schools received an average of $3,090 in philanthropic support compared with $1,680 for public charter schools, a 46 percent disparity, according to a new study.
By Michael Theis
Contributor
Nike’s Phil Knight was No. 2 and Priscilla and Mark Zuckerberg were No. 3 with their donations to secure the safety of the November elections.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Giving Pledge Adds Stephen Schwarzman, William Gross, and 11 Other Billionaires
The Giving Pledge announced Monday that Stephen Schwarzman, William Gross, and 11 other billionaires have committed to giving away at least half their wealth since May of last year, bringing the number who have signed the pledge to 216.
By dan.parks
Contributor
Indigenous peoples are risking their lives to protect the forests the world needs to maintain a healthy planet. But we can’t do it alone.
In Defense of the Jewish Future Pledge
Endowments like this one are not some nefarious plot to control the world from beyond the grave. They are simply a way to set aside money to protect the values and institutions we care about for future generations.
N.Y. Financier Mario Gabelli Gives Fordham $35 Million
Plus, Portland Community College lands a $5.5 million bequest from an Oregon poet that includes cash, a log cabin, and nine acres of land.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Community Foundations Wrestle Over Whether to Accept Government Help
With Congress negotiating a renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program, debate may rise anew within community foundation over whether their pursuit of the loans would siphon funds from service-providing nonprofits.
By Alex Daniels and Michael Theis