A Bright Star in Chicago’s Racial Divide: More Than 20 Women of Color Lead the City’s Foundations
A rise in gun violence and a history of segregation are top of mind for grant making boards, leading to a new push on diversity that has brought about big changes in CEOs’ offices.
By Jim Rendon
Executive Editor
Network of Community Foundations Hopes to Attract ‘Big Bet’ Money From Foundations
The big winners, if the movement gains traction, would be small nonprofits with a history of working successfully with community foundations to close the “opportunity gap.”
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
How Grant Makers Can Give Organizers and Activists What They Need to Succeed
The Campaign for Southern Equality lets applicants set the agenda and understands not everybody who has a great idea necessarily has all the tools to write a complicated proposal.
By Britney Nesbit
Contributor
Gates Foundation Commits $310 Million to Help Farmers Prepare for Climate Change (Grants Roundup)
Also, the Lilly Endowment is giving $40 million to build an engineering complex at Purdue U., and four Alaskan grant makers are pooling $40 million to reduce homelessness in the state.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
Immigrants-Rights Groups Need Support for Communications
To shift public debates, these organizations need to tell their stories in a powerful way, and that can mean getting help with writing and strategy, website development, videography, digital marketing, and more.
By Jr. Fund
Contributor
Making sure everyone’s vote is counted, that no misinformation skews the campaign, and that all Americans have a chance to participate are critical — and all would benefit from an investment by grant makers.
By Joe Goldman
Contributor
As Distrust in Big Philanthropy Grows, Here’s How Leading Foundations Are Demonstrating Their Value
By seeking the views of the people they serve, diversifying their advisory bodies, and demonstrating how they learn what works, grant makers can cement their compact with society,
By Melissa A. Berman and Melissa Berman
Can Philanthropy Save Democracy?
A growing number of grant makers of all ideologies see restoring constructive dialogue among citizens and fairness at the ballot box as vital to their cause.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Fun With Gerrymandering: Mapping Software Gives Ordinary Citizens a Lesson in Civics
A group of seven grant makers in Pennsylvania recently ventured into some unusual territory for most of them: the arcane world of congressional redistricting.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Grant Makers Want to Help People Use Their Voices
Some are working to get specific segments of the population more involved in civic affairs while others are taking a broader-based approach to educate people about the Constitution and the political system.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Experimentation and Failure Are What Lead to Successful Advocacy
In the fight for LGBT rights, the Gill Foundation acknowledged and embraced failure, refined its approach, and tried again — ultimately helping to achieve unprecedented advances for equal rights despite being far outspent by the opposition.
By Philanthropist
Contributor
Starr Foundation Awards Rockefeller U. $50 Million (Grants Roundup)
Also, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will use $20 million for clinical drug trials to treat pediatric cancer, and the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund has granted $5 million to Philadelphia newsrooms.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
$100 Million Data Effort Aims to Improve Health Care in Poor Countries
The Precision Public Health Initiative is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation; Unicef; the World Health Organization; the Global Fund; the Global Financing Facility (supported by the World Bank Group); and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
European Grant Makers Pool $50 Million to Improve Air Quality
Initially, the group will support projects in Eastern Europe, India, and Britain.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Success of International Aid Means Grant Makers Can Try New Approaches
Now that more than 1 billion people have lifted themselves out of poverty, it’s time to decide what needs are most urgent, such as education, climate change, and women’s empowerment.
$100,000 Grants Offered to Groups With Smart Ways to Dispel Myths About the Poor
The Raikes, Robert Wood Johnson, and Kellogg foundations are working with Gates to award about $1 million to fight negative stereotypes.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor