What We’re Learning About MacArthur’s Philanthropy Powerball Experiment

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What We’re Learning About MacArthur’s Philanthropy Powerball Experiment

There’s a lot to like about MacArthur’s 100&Change program, including its eight inspiring semifinalists. But just how "big" are these bets? And can $100 million truly solve a major problem?

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Why Is the Omidyar Network So Focused on Land Rights? Ask the Cocoa Farmers of Ghana

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Why Is the Omidyar Network So Focused on Land Rights? Ask the Cocoa Farmers of Ghana

Cocoa farmers in Ghana make under a dollar a day and pour their sweat equity into land over which they often have no legal title. Can a technological solution change their lives? 

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Here's Another Powerful Player Focusing on Digital "New Collar" Jobs in Africa

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Here's Another Powerful Player Focusing on Digital "New Collar" Jobs in Africa

IBM has been on a campaign to support the 21st century workforce, and it has just committed some serious resources to this effort in Africa, joining other funders on the scene.

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Four Questions About the Future of Gates Philanthropy

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Four Questions About the Future of Gates Philanthropy

The latest annual letter by Bill and Melinda Gates leaves key questions unanswered about where Gates giving might go from here. With $185 billion in play, what might the future hold? 

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Why This Collaborative Wants Philanthropy to Stop Funding Orphanages

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Why This Collaborative Wants Philanthropy to Stop Funding Orphanages

There are 132 million orphans in the developing world, and a growing number of them live in institutions. But some funders are pushing back, stressing the advantages of family and community care. 

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Access to Clean Energy Offers a World of Benefits. Funders Are Paying Attention in Different Ways

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Access to Clean Energy Offers a World of Benefits. Funders Are Paying Attention in Different Ways

Access to energy is a linchpin of advancing sustainable global development forward. Some funders invest capital, others focus on grants. Among the companies raking in the former is d.light. 

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Why is Matt Damon Encouraging Everyone to “Buy a Lady a Drink?”

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Why is Matt Damon Encouraging Everyone to “Buy a Lady a Drink?”

Damon is among the handful of celebrity philanthropists who's really moved the needle on his cause, clean water. So what's he up to now, in working with a beer company? 

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Follow the Money: Why Omidyar Is Behind a Push for More Transparent Budgets

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Follow the Money: Why Omidyar Is Behind a Push for More Transparent Budgets

In theory, attacking corruption is a very strategic use of philanthropic dollars. In practice, this is tough terrain—especially in Nigeria. What can support for a tech-savvy budget group achieve? 

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A Small Funder Making Big Moves to End Child Marriage

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A Small Funder Making Big Moves to End Child Marriage

Child marriage continues to be a pervasive global challenge. The Firelight Foundation is among those funders on this case. 

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Rockefeller Keeps Pushing On Food Waste, This Time With Anthony Bourdain

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Rockefeller Keeps Pushing On Food Waste, This Time With Anthony Bourdain

Even as millions go hungry, staggering amounts of food get wasted. Rockefeller is backing the irreverent chef and traveler to bring attention to this problem. 

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Hilton Tweaks Its WASH Strategy

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Hilton Tweaks Its WASH Strategy

When the Hilton Foundation laid out its new WASH plans in 2010, access remained at the heart of plan. But this big WASH funder continues to make a few tweaks to its approach.

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What a Big Bank is Doing to Light Up Poor Countries

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What a Big Bank is Doing to Light Up Poor Countries

Bank of America's foundation is a surprisingly robust environmental funder, with an eye on clean energy in developing countries. Who knew?

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A Global Push for Youth Financial Inclusion Gains Steam—and Some Big Backers

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A Global Push for Youth Financial Inclusion Gains Steam—and Some Big Backers
Amid a record youth bulge in poorer countries, there's growing work to teach young people how to save and navigate banks early on. Some heavy-hitting funders are getting behind this inclusion effort.
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One Other Little Item on Bloomberg's Agenda: Empowering African Women

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One Other Little Item on Bloomberg's Agenda: Empowering African Women
With a $50 billion fortune to get rid of, it's not surprising that Mike Bloomberg keeps upping his giving in various areas. A case in point is what his foundation is doing in Africa with women.
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Knowledge is Power: An Unexpected Funder Puts In Big for Agricultural Education

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Knowledge is Power: An Unexpected Funder Puts In Big for Agricultural Education
The push for sustainable agriculture isn’t new, but in many regions of the world like Latin America, change can be slow to come. What’s Kellogg doing to hasten the pace of the sustainable agriculture movement there?
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Why Major Funders Continue to Back Africa’s Green Revolution

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Why Major Funders Continue to Back Africa’s Green Revolution
It’s been a decade since Gates and Rockefeller cofounded the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and both remain on a funding roll. But agriculture in Africa is getting plenty of other powerful help.
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Behind the Big Money to Boost Productivity for Africa’s Small and Rural Farmers

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Behind the Big Money to Boost Productivity for Africa’s Small and Rural Farmers
Small-scale farming is the dominant way that the world's rural poor make a living. Top anti-poverty funders, like the MasterCard Foundation, see boosting these farmers as a potential game changer.
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In a Trip Around the World, a Window into a Tech Couple's Growing Philanthropy

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In a Trip Around the World, a Window into a Tech Couple's Growing Philanthropy
VC investor Kevin Efrusy and his wife Molly have been expanding their family philanthropy, with attention to global health and development. To know what they're into, take a look at where they've traveled.
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A Case Study in the Power of Film: Why a Doc on Girls Pulled in Big Bucks

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A Case Study in the Power of Film: Why a Doc on Girls Pulled in Big Bucks
Girl Rising is a documentary that was created to raise awareness of the importance of girls’ education. But it’s more than just a movie, judging by the who's who of funders who've been behind this project.
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Stayed Seated: One Funder’s Push to Keep Girls In School Longer

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Global gender parity in education has been on the rise, but begins to dip after primary school, as girls leave school. Which is why this big foundation is investing millions to help girls keep learning.
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