As local banks vanish, foundations should fill the lending gap
Grants alone can't build affordable housing, train workers, or revive rural economies. Mission-aligned lending can extend philanthropy's reach.
By Antony Bugg-Levine
Contributor
Clinton Foundation Aims to Help State Governments Find Nonpartisan Solutions
The goal is to improve health outcomes, especially for women and children, economic security, and democracy.
By Glenn Gamboa
Associated Press
A Democracy Funder’s Confession: We May Be Making Things Worse
Philanthropy has spent a decade defending democracy — while the conditions it aims to improve continue to deteriorate. Here's what needs to change.
By Rachel Pritzker
Contributor
How Foundations Like Kauffman and Walton Use Data Dashboards to Guide Giving
Grant makers big and small are using them to vet proposals, track strategy, and see what their peers fund. Here's what the tools can do — and what they can't.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Why Some Foundations Are Lending, Not Just Giving
Amid ongoing economic uncertainty, some foundations are pairing grants with loans and investments to help nonprofits build lasting financial stability, not just cover this year's budget.
By Stephanie Beasley
Senior Writer and Fellowship Director
Why Progressive Funders Are Now Backing Conservative Groups
Institutional donors gave nearly $1 billion to bridge-building efforts last year, a 36 percent jump. Behind the numbers: a reckoning over whether progressive philanthropy fueled the polarization it set out to fix.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
What the Gates-Epstein Report Teaches Charities About Managing Risk
The findings from the five-month investigation point to insufficient protocols and procedures.
By Alex Daniels and Ben Gose
How Foundation Leaders Are Working to Shift the Power Dynamic
A roundup of foundation leaders' insights on how to give well, in their own words.
Foundations Can Outlive Their Charitable Missions — and That’s a Problem
Society’s needs always change, while many foundations’ missions are intended to satisfy a specific need that’s not eternal.
By Thomas Adam
The Conversation
Philanthropy Isn’t Broken—but How We Fund Might Be
A New Jersey foundation tried paying grantees for results instead of programs, unleashing both greater creativity and improved outcomes.
By Nadine Abraham
Contributor
How a Tribe Mixed Public and Private Dollars to Buy Back Sacred Land
The key to winning philanthropic funding was framing the project as advancing nature and wildlife conservation goals as well as social justice outcomes.
By Rasheeda Childress
Senior Editor, Fundraising
Funders Are Losing the Race to Govern AI. Here’s How They Can Catch Up.
Communities battling data centers and AI surveillance, have little chance of outlasting Big Tech’s political machine without philanthropy's help.
Foundations Rush to Support ‘AI Proof’ Jobs in the Trades
With an older generation of skilled workers retiring, foundations have committed more than a half billion dollars to train their replacements.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Nonprofit Leaders Have Some Blunt Advice for Their Funders
The James Irvine Foundation asked five veteran nonprofit leaders what philanthropy gets wrong. They didn’t hold back.
By Cindy Downing
Contributor
What Funding Everyday Acts of Courage Taught Us About America
Trust in government and institutions has collapsed. But in communities across the country, ordinary people are quietly rebuilding the relationships that hold democracy together.
By Tonya Allen, Deepak Bhargava and John Palfrey
We Lost $500,000 Overnight When Roe Fell. Here’s What Saved Us.
The grants that disappeared were restricted to a single service. The giving that carried us forward trusted us to decide what came next.
By Ramsie Monk
Contributor