David Callahan

After more than a decade at the helm of the $13 billion foundation, Larry Kramer will step down at the end of the month. IP’s David Callahan looks back on what made his tenure unique, and some of his key accomplishments.

Top philanthropists have become ever more adept at working the levers of power in order to shape federal policy. Here are the living donors who wield the most influence in the nation’s capital.

IP Editor David Callahan talks with political scientist Steve Teles about the surprisingly plentiful opportunities for funders to work across the ideological divide on issues like housing, criminal justice and more.

Our latest survey of sector professionals brought some not-so-unexpected results alongside a few real surprises. Here’s where respondents stood on philanthropy reform, billionaire giving, racial justice and more.

IP founder David Callahan lays out some big ideas for how MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett can build on their historic philanthropy to better take on America’s entrenched economic and political inequality.

Eli Broad, who died last week, was a larger-than-life philanthropist. He tapped his fortune to bankroll ambitious initiatives in education, the arts and science. His turbo-charged giving offers both inspiration and cautionary lessons.

As Gara LaMarche prepares to leave his role heading the Democracy Alliance, a network of wealthy donors, he talks to IP editor David Callahan about his quarter-century in philanthropy, starting with his work with George Soros in the 1990s.

IP editor David Callahan talks to Overton about his work to revive the Joint Center for Economic and Political Studies, the challenges of fundraising to scale a think tank, and the need to invest in Black policy experts.

IP Editor David Callahan talks with the Roosevelt Institute’s CEO about how she grew the New York-based think tank’s funding and influence by focusing on drivers of inequality and advancing a new set of rules to govern the economy.

IP’s David Callahan talks with Neera Tanden—who leads the Center for American Progress and has been tapped to head OMB—on the center’s work, the donors who support its $50 million budget, and the role of think tanks in shaping policy.

When Ali came to the L.A.-focused foundation in 1999, it was a nearly all-white institution that steered clear of backing advocacy and organizing. As he steps down from his job, Ali talks to IP Editor David Callahan about Weingart’s transformation.

It’s clearer than ever the U.S. would be better off with higher taxes on the wealthy, a more robust government, and less reliance on charitable giving. Still, in coming decades, giving by the rich is only going to become more important.

As philanthropy steps up in a national crisis with emergency relief, will the recent growing attacks on it now evaporate? Or, in the dark times ahead, will the concentrated wealth of foundations and billionaires draw even more scrutiny?

With Mike Bloomberg entering the Democratic primary, IP’s David Callahan reviews his record of giving, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a data-driven technocratic approach in an era of ideological and tribal political conflict.

Before he died last fall, the billionaire Paul Allen built up a powerful in-house capacity at his company, Vulcan Inc., to tackle urgent issues like wildlife protection and climate change. IP editor David Callahan takes an inside look at its unique strategy for impact.

Laura and John Arnold are well known for their foundation’s prolific grantmaking. But the couple has long been engaged in political giving, too. And now they’re bringing these two strategies together in a single organization, Arnold Ventures.

Rob Reich has become one of the nation’s preeminent scholars of philanthropy by asking hard questions about the role of private giving in democracies. In an important new book, Reich deepen this critique. But just where, exactly, do his ideas lead?

The main philanthropic organization of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam has gone through some big changes in the past year. With a new strategy, it’s looking to confront the rise of illiberal populism and "reimagine capitalism.”

With the news that she will give away her $37 billion fortune, MacKenzie Bezos is set up to become one of the world’s biggest philanthropists. IP Editor David Callahan offers a few thoughts about what Bezos can learn from other top donors.

There's a lot going on in philanthropy right now. And last January, we made nearly 40 predictions about what might happen in the world of giving in 2018. We take a spin through the list and see how we did.

For all the talk of a golden age of philanthropy, the rich are piling up new wealth much faster than they’re giving it away. Most give mere crumbs compared to their net worth. The Bridgespan Group is looking to change that.

A who’s who of billionaire philanthropists spent millions to elect a champion of charter schools to a key office in California. Such giving is a key strength of the charter movement. But is this any way to make K-12 policy?

Donald Trump may be a billionaire, but no recent president has inspired fiercer opposition within the far upper class. Many top philanthropists are among those who’ve given record sums in the most expensive mid-term election in U.S. history.

Paul Allen, who died recently, exemplified the best of big philanthropy. He embraced risk taking and cared deeply, journeying to the outer frontiers of scientific knowledge and to the front lines of the world’s biggest challenges. IP editor David Callahan assesses his legacy.

News last fall of a hidden $8 billion foundation based offshore in Bermuda underscores just how opaque the world of big philanthropy really is. In a post first published in November, we explore what other surprises might be coming.

As Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos turn to large-scale giving, they’re targeting two urgent but neglected areas. That’s smart. But if Jeff is really worried about inequality, his real power lies in changing how Amazon operates.

At one level, Winners Take All is a very satisfying read, skewering today’s elite for its hypocrisies. But it offers an incomplete and distorted look at America’s wealthy class and its role in social change.

The field of venture philanthropy first emerged two decades ago, fueled in part by the spirit of the dotcom era. IP Editor David Callahan talks to its leaders about what they’ve achieved and how this movement has evolved.

After more than a decade of epic giving, Buffett is much richer than when he started. We check in on one of the most fascinating stories of big philanthropy. 

As another foundation swings behind impact investing in a big way, there are some good reasons to fret about where things are going. Here are a few questions that still need to be worked out.