"What Makes Human Beings Human." A Higher Ed Fundraising Boom is Boosting the Liberal Arts

"What Makes Human Beings Human." A Higher Ed Fundraising Boom is Boosting the Liberal Arts

A gift out of Oregon provides another example of a donor motivated by a bold fundraising campaign, and digging deep for the liberal arts. But even as the cash rolls in, demographic shifts among alumni are pushing schools to recalibrate their pitch for liberal arts initiatives.

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Behind a $180 Million Corporate Pledge to Connect Youth with Opportunity Worldwide

Behind a $180 Million Corporate Pledge to Connect Youth with Opportunity Worldwide

A growing number of philanthropic initiatives are zeroing in on the many teenagers and young adults who aren’t engaged in either school or work. The latest effort, from a major financial products company, is addressing this vexing problem at a global level.

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“Of the Community.” How a New African-American Giving Circle is Gaining Steam

“Of the Community.” How a New African-American Giving Circle is Gaining Steam

Giving circles that mobilize money from African-American communities for work that benefits these communities is on the rise. One example is Sisters’ Circle GKC in Kansas City, which has been growing since its creation in 2016.

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How a Major California Foundation is Going All-In on Empowering Low-Wage Workers

How a Major California Foundation is Going All-In on Empowering Low-Wage Workers

Three years ago, the James Irvine Foundation adopted a bold, singular focus: building political power and career opportunities for low-wage workers in the nation’s most populous state. We talk to the foundation’s leadership about how this effort is going.

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Participatory Grantmaking for Teens: The Funders Who Trust Girls to Make Grants

Participatory Grantmaking for Teens: The Funders Who Trust Girls to Make Grants

Participatory grantmaking is gaining steam in the U.S. as an alternative to top-down funding strategies. But it’s also being explored overseas—including by an international funders collaborative looking to empower teenage girls to be leaders in civil society.

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"Empower Them To Succeed." An Alumna Looks to Close the Engineering Gender Gap

"Empower Them To Succeed." An Alumna Looks to Close the Engineering Gender Gap

While there’s no shortage of tech, corporate and institutional funders providing support to boost gender equity in STEM across higher ed, we see few gifts flowing from female alumnae engineers. A gift to UCLA is an exception worth looking at more closely.

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Top Funders and NGOs Think Empowering Women Farmers Can Reduce Hunger. Are They Right?

Top Funders and NGOs Think Empowering Women Farmers Can Reduce Hunger. Are They Right?

CARE’s ambitious initiative to boost women in agriculture in developing countries, backed by the PepsiCo Foundation, is based on an unproven theory of change. It’s the latest example of a funder making a big, risky bet on the potential of gender equity.

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As Wealthy Donors Fuel Campus Growth, What About Low-Wage Workers and Local Residents?

As Wealthy Donors Fuel Campus Growth, What About Low-Wage Workers and Local Residents?

While the higher ed fundraising boom has lifted many boats, university employees often find themselves squeezed by flat wages and escalating housing costs. Some donors are paying attention to these larger equity issues. Will others follow?

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In San Diego, a Corporate Funder Galvanizes a New Effort to Fight Human Trafficking

Students in San Diego schools are at risk of encountering or experiencing human trafficking. A new private-public collaborative seeks to help teachers and children take on this devastating issue.

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Growing Up: How an Advocacy Group for Millennials Seeks to Expand Its Fundraising

Growing Up: How an Advocacy Group for Millennials Seeks to Expand Its Fundraising

Started in 2009 by five law students in a campus cafeteria, Young Invincibles has become an increasingly visible national organization engaging young people in policy issues. Already backed by top foundations, it’s now looking to engage more individual donors.

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What the Critics Got Wrong About the Notre-Dame Cathedral Fundraising Response

What the Critics Got Wrong About the Notre-Dame Cathedral Fundraising Response

Shaming billionaire donors may feel good, but does it actually accomplish anything? A top fundraiser argues that authentic engagement and “radical listening” is a better way to steer big money to the social causes that most need attention.

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Critical Connections: A Foundation Breaks Down Silos to Boost its Impact on Early Childhood

Critical Connections: A Foundation Breaks Down Silos to Boost its Impact on Early Childhood

The Packard Foundation has been helping give kids a strong start in life for over 50 years. But now it’s doing this work differently after adopting a new, more holistic funding approach to early childhood development that better integrates health and learning.

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"I Just Do What I Can." Herb Alpert Reflects On Over 30 Years of Arts Philanthropy

"I Just Do What I Can." Herb Alpert Reflects On Over 30 Years of Arts Philanthropy

Over three decades into his career as an arts patron, Herb Alpert has carved out a unique, prescient, and often contrarian brand of giving. We check in with the acclaimed musician and record producer on his recent big donation and what lies ahead.

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“No Bigger Challenge for Our Planet.” Behind a Campus Gift for Energy Science

“No Bigger Challenge for Our Planet.” Behind a Campus Gift for Energy Science

Even as the effects of climate change have become more visible and devastating, few higher ed donors prioritize this issue. Which is why a $50 million gift to Penn earmarked for research on energy is both anomalous and encouraging.

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A Tale of Two Donors: Disputed Gifts Underscore the Growing Complexity of Higher Ed Fundraising

A Tale of Two Donors: Disputed Gifts Underscore the Growing Complexity of Higher Ed Fundraising

As rank-and-file alumni give at lower levels, and big gifts become more integral to university fundraising plans, we’re seeing an uptick in disputes between aggrieved donors and recipient schools. But these fights can play out in a very different ways.

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The Progressive Funders Looking to Build Power Across Divides in the American Heartland

The Progressive Funders Looking to Build Power Across Divides in the American Heartland

The 2016 election was a reckoning moment for a philanthropy sector long disconnected from rural America. A new funding initiative is looking to remedy that by supporting organizing and movement-building in neglected regions, focusing on the Midwest.

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Many Paths to Progress: A Funder-Backed Study Sets its Sights on Reducing Gun Violence

Many Paths to Progress: A Funder-Backed Study Sets its Sights on Reducing Gun Violence

With Congress long deadlocked on guns, foundations are focusing on practical, local steps to reduce the death toll. A case in point is the Motorola Solutions Foundation’s support of a law enforcement nonprofit that recently issued a wide-ranging set of recommendations.

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Why a Foundation is Doubling Down on Stem Cell Research

Why a Foundation is Doubling Down on Stem Cell Research

The Starr Foundation has been investing in stem cell research for 14 years and recently doubled down on a major collaboration in New York City, to which it’s now committed $150 million. What’s been achieved so far by this effort? And what lies ahead?

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"We Always Dream Big." Another Public University Blows Past a Bold Fundraising Goal

"We Always Dream Big." Another Public University Blows Past a Bold Fundraising Goal

It seems like every week brings news of a regional school meeting an ambitious fundraising goal months, if not years, ahead of schedule. This isn’t a coincidence. We dig into a textbook case from Houston, a city with a famously robust philanthropic culture.

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They Did Well on Broadway. Now This Couple is Giving for Jewish Ethics and Social Justice

They Did Well on Broadway. Now This Couple is Giving for Jewish Ethics and Social Justice

Ruth and Stephen Hendel are best known for backing award-winning plays and musicals, but they’ve also long supported Jewish causes. Their biggest gift yet will establish a new center for ethics and justice at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

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