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Since the 1980s, the City Parks Foundation has supported New York’s parks and the programming they offer. With support from big donors, CPF created a fund that channels dollars to parks groups across the city.
A new grant finds the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation doubling down on its efforts to amplify overlooked histories and stories. It also reflects philanthropy’s growing interest in cultivating a more inclusive body politic.
The billionaire Home Depot co-founder has promised to ramp up his philanthropy over the coming years—and the environment is one of three core priorities his foundation recently identified. What can we expect?
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation backed a national monument audit to kick off its $250 million Monuments Project. The results are eye-opening, and raise plenty of questions for arts funders and for civil society at large.
This sporty Midwestern funder has over a billion in the bank, big spend-down plans and a fondness for parks and recreation. Here’s what you need to know about the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
Partners for Places supports green projects that improve neglected areas of cities and help residents grapple with the impacts of climate change. Partnerships across sector are a core part of the effort.
The owners of one of the largest general contractors in the Midwest are funding a new lion habitat at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The gift underscores growing support to position zoos as leaders in conservation.
Leading philanthropists from finance have given more than $2 billion to environmental causes in recent years, transforming this funding landscape. We analyze the giving of these donors, looking at who’s giving to which organizations.
Zoos, which are among some of the nation’s oldest nonprofits, are tapping into new veins of money with work on conservation science and environmental education. The latest example of this strategy comes from Indianapolis.
Investing in parks and other nature amenities has become a growing part of place-based philanthropy in recent years. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is the latest funder to emerge in this space, and it has some seriously deep pockets.
Concerns about gentrification are fueling fraught debates over public places at a moment of rising private grantmaking for parks and other civic amenities. The Boston Foundation is looking to expand who’s heard in these conversations.
Nature-focused legacy institutions like zoos and gardens are finding creative ways to engage the public and appeal to funders, including the billionaire donor class. A major gift to the Chicago Botanic Garden shows this dynamic in action.
In Chicago, some funders and civic leaders see transforming the city’s extensive river system as an opportunity to advance environmental goals while also bringing people together in creative ways. The Chicago Community Trust is a key leader of this work.
With backing from Knight and other funders, Philadelphia has been engaged in a unique experiment to strengthen the city’s civic engagement ecosystem. This initiative has had to overcome a number of challenges.
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has a lot of money to give within a limited time and a limited geography. The funder’s betting on some big parks and trails projects to boost Buffalo and Detroit.
Investing in public spaces in a thoughtful way is trickier than it looks. The Rhode Island Foundation is yet another funder that’s ramping up giving in this space. Why is it giving more here? And what’s its approach?
The Heinz Family Foundation recently handed out $1.5 million for its annual awards in public policy, environment, arts and more. Half of the recipients this year are environmental researchers making a serious splash in policy.
Zoos have wooed donors with more sophisticated programming and stronger arguments about how they benefit communities. But a string of big gifts to these institutions also underscores other key trends in philanthropy.
Cities nationwide are mixing public and private funds to upgrade shared spaces. But what are the social, economic and civic effects? A funder-backed initiative is developing the metrics and data to find out.
Houston has emerged as one of the most green-forward cities in the nation, largely due to private philanthropy. No couple has given more than Richard and Nancy Kinder, who just made their biggest park gift yet.
Glitzy urban parks projects have drawn fire for fueling gentrification and playing to the tastes of the donor class. As funders mobilize behind Philadelphia’s own High Line, they’re looking to avoid mistakes made elsewhere.
Worried about urban equity? Or obesity rates and public health? Or environmental education for young people? Grantmaking for parks is a way to achieve a range of goals. We look at what’s happening in Austin.
Urban redevelopers often ran freeways through low-income neighborhoods in the 20th century, destroying communities. Pittsburgh is using a park to help repair connections, with foundations pitching in.
Perhaps no city has benefited from the surge in regional philanthropy more than Houston. We dig into a huge gift to Houston Zoo and the various factors contributing to the city's emergence as a philanthropic power center.
Atlanta’s got some major parks philanthropy in the works, but there’s also a modest grantmaking program doing the overlooked work of helping neighborhoods spaces in need. What's the lesson?
In another example of philanthropic experimentation in Detroit, a program backed by Kresge is funding local groups to turn vacant lots into neighborhood assets. What can other cities learn from this effort?
Philanthropy has played a key role in Atlanta’s embrace of green spaces. A new project to expand one of its most popular parks will raise 80 percent of its funds from private donors. Are there any downsides?
The latest grocery funder that we’ve gotten to know is the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, which is based in Phoenix. One of its priorities is educating kids about food.
With Pier 55’s dead end, a billionaire with big plans for a public park seems to have finally gone too far. What should cities and donors learn from its collapse?
The Pisces Foundation has been building out niche green programs in water infrastructure, climate pollutants, and now, environmental education. Its leaders explain what Pisces is up to.