When grant makers turned down the author’s request 20 years ago to fund his fledgling organization, he quickly attributed it to institutionalized racism. His mentors’ response: Don’t you dare blame outside forces for preventing you from succeeding. Instead, refine your work and build something better.
By Eboo Patel
Contributor
W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards $80 Million in Bold Plan to Curb Racism by 2030
More than 1,400 applicants were narrowed down to 10, which were each awarded $1 million to hire staff members and consultants and take other steps to refine their ideas without straining their current operations.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
Major Federal Funding to Close the Digital Divide Won’t Succeed Without Philanthropic Support
Digital inequity touches nearly every issue grant makers care about. Yet connecting marginalize people has remained an elusive goal for decades. New government investments totaling $42 billion have the potential to finally change that picture but will require targeted donor dollars to reach their potential.
By Lynette Bell and Larry Irving
Can $100 Million Help Student-Success Programs Work Together, Rather Than Compete?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is investing in six nonprofit groups charged with creating networks of colleges to share their practices.
By Katherine Mangan
Contributor
As Attacks Proliferate, Philanthropy Sends More Money to Groups That Serve Transgender People
Leaders say growing interest from grant makers is helpful but that they need more to build strong, effective, and enduring organizations.
By Kay Dervishi
Contributor
Many Nonprofits Struggle to Recruit a Diverse Volunteer Force
Experts say organizations will struggle to recruit volunteers of color if their staffs aren’t diverse. They also advise groups to look at how and when they offer opportunities to volunteer. Plus see more about volunteering in this overview about the state of volunteering in the wake of the pandemic.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
How Bloomberg Philanthropies Is Working to Build Black Wealth
While racial-justice efforts have commanded the most attention in philanthropy, the foundation says it hopes others will also look at ways to help ensure Black people have more opportunities to accumulate assets. Its first focus has been on relief from medical debt.
By Kay Dervishi
Contributor
America’s nonprofits have promised to make their staffs look like America itself. Yet diversity remains elusive in the ranks of top fundraisers at the biggest organizations, despite significant turnover.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
Humanize Your Hiring Process — Here’s Why and How
Six ways one nonprofit has improved its recruiting — such as highlighting skills rather than credentials, including salary ranges in job ads, and making interviews more equitable.
By Mordy Walfish
Contributor
Nonprofits Scramble to Comply With Fla. Law That Limits DEI Training
The law restricts efforts to talk about race, gender, and other issues of identity. Violations could lead to lawsuits with penalties of up to $100,000.
By Jim Rendon
Executive Editor
Push for Diversity Among Biomedical Grant Makers Gains New Momentum
A new $1.5 billion grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute is one sign of the ways foundations are seeking to reduce bias, as foundations and health charities acknowledge they need to do much better.
By Sono Motoyama
Contributor
New York Foundation Apologizes for Its Role in Tuskegee Syphilis Study
The Milbank Memorial Fund’s public apology to descendants of the study’s victims is rooted in America’s racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020.
By Jay Reeves
Associated Press
Deep Disparities Persist in Finances of Nonprofits Led by White People and People of Color
Foundations made advancements in equity amid the pandemic and racial-justice protests, but BIPOC-led nonprofits still trail their white-led peers in many measures of financial health and sustainability, according to the results of a new survey.
By dan.parks
Contributor
An Experiment Shows What Happens When the People a Charity Serves Tell Their Story to Donors
An appeal created by community health volunteers raised more money than one created by fundraisers, though the money came from fewer donors.
By Emily Haynes
Senior Editor
The National Geographic Society’s First Woman CEO Takes on Ugly Truths From Its Past
The National Geographic Society has to address ugly truths in its history as it reboots under new CEO Jill Tiefenthaler and taps the society’s 134-year legacy of exploration.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
A New Effort Aims to Help Foundations Better Fund Black-Led Nonprofits
Abundance is a collaboration between three Chicago-area grant makers, Chicago Beyond, the Grand Victoria Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
By Jim Rendon
Executive Editor